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Biomedical subjects

S C Ohaegbulam

Publications and source records attributed to S C Ohaegbulam.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Dandy-Walker syndrome: incidence in a defined population of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Dandy-Walker syndrome (DWS) is characterized by cystic dilatation of the 4th ventricle and absence of the cerebellar vermis. There may also be posterior fossa enlargement, hydrocephalus, hypoplastic cerebellar hemispheres and other malformations within and outside the central nervous system (CNS). The condition is uncommon, and the incidence is unknown. We studied the incidence of DWS in a defined Saudi Arabian population of military personnel and their dependants. We identified all patients diagnosed with DWS during an 11-year period (1989-1999) from a cohort of 45,274 live births. The incidence of DWS was 1.0 per 100,000 live births per year. The incidence by sex per 100,000 live births per year was 1.24 for males and 0.78 for females. DWS formed 3.5% of our cases of infantile hydrocephalus.

Catchment Area, Health↗

Geographical neurosurgery.

Disparities in manpower and facilities notwithstanding, neuroepidemiology might explain the observed differences in the mix of neurosurgical caseload in different parts of the world. The highest incidence rate of primary intracranial tumor was in Europe and the lowest rate in Africa. Glioma was more common in the West, teratoma in Japan and the Far East and meningioma in Africa. The lowest rates of childhood brain tumors were in South America, Africa and Asia. Stroke rates were very high in Finland and China. Blacks, Japanese and Chinese had more intracranial vascular occlusive disease while whites had more extracranial disease. Finland had a very high SAH incidence rate but the Middle East and Africa had low rates and a reversal of the aneurysm: AVM ratio. Highest incidence rates of neural tube defects occurred in countries where consanguineous marriages are common. Brain abscess, tuberculoma and other granulomas from infestations were preponderant in developing countries. Head injuries accounted for up to 40% of all neurosurgical admissions in some developing countries. Outside the USA and South Africa, civilian gunshot injuries were uncommon.

Africa↗

Experience with ventriculo peritoneal shunts at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu.

In a study of 212 children at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu who received ventriculo peritoneal shunt for hydrocephalus over a 13-year period (1977-1989, 14 had infected shunts and one developed shunt nephritis. Staphylococcus aureus was responsible for 36.4% of the positive cultures and was responsible for the only case of shunt nephritis. This is about the fourth case of shunt nephritis associated with Staphylococcus aureus shunt infection, in the literature. The pertinent features of this case were intraventricular haemorrhage as the cause of the hydrocephalus, frequent revision of shunts before the onset of nephritis and full recovery following intravenous antibiotic therapy and reimplantation of a new shunt.

Adolescent↗

Ethnic distribution of intracranial aneurysms.

The reported higher incidences of intracranial arterial aneurysms (IAA) in Africa and Asia raised the question of possible racial differences in aneurysm incidence. This prompted a retrospective study of the 244 cases of IAA seen at the Henry Ford Hospital (HFH) from 1979 to 1985. There were 171 whites and 73 blacks in the study group. The results showed a higher white to black case ratio (2.3:1) than the white to black hospital population ratio (1.14:1). If only bleeding aneurysms were considered, there were 81 whites and 52 blacks, with a white to black case ratio of 1.6:1, thus giving only a borderline racial difference. The peak age of aneurysm incidence was the fifth decade for blacks and the sixth decade for whites. The most common aneurysms sites were: [table: see text]

Adult↗

Surgically treated traumatic subacute and chronic subdural haematomas: a review of 132 cases.

One hundred and thirty-two cases of surgically treated traumatic subacute and chronic subdural haematomas are reviewed. A high male to female ratio of 5:1 is noted. The age distribution and the clinical picture are comparable with the pattern in other reported studies. All patients were treated with simple burr holes and evacuation of blood without membranectomy, postoperative drainage or posturing. The results were excellent as 62 per cent made a good recovery, 33 per cent had mild disability, 4 per cent had severe disability and only 1 patient died. There were no recurrences. The simplicity of making burr holes recommends the method to more doctors, thereby extending the frontiers of treatment beyond the confines of neurosurgical centres.

Adolescent↗

Intracranial tumors in Enugu, Nigeria.

Over a five-year period, there were 48 cases of intracranial tumors at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria. All the patients were Nigerian Negroes. Glial tumors accounted for 20.8%, pituitary tumors 18.8%, and meningiomas 16.7%. There were five cases of tuberculomas and five cases of metastatic tumors. Miscellaneous tumors contributed 22.9% of the total. There were more males than females, especially in the meningioma and tuberculoma groups. Nearly one-half of the tumors were in people in their first and second decades of life; two-thirds of the tumors were in those under 30 years of age. One-third of the patients have died within the five years under review. The results of this survey are strikingly different from Caucasian series. The relatively low incidence of gliomas and the high incidence of meningiomas and pituitary tumors in this study are interestingly similar to the results of other workers who studied Negro populations and may underscore the importance of genetic factors in the development of some brain tumors.

Adolescent↗

Experience with brain abscesses treated by simple aspiration.

No deaths have occurred in 15 consecutive cases of intraparenchymatous brain abscesses in Nigerian patients who were treated by aspiration, systemic antibiotics, dexamethasone and anticonvulsants. Four patients had persistent convulsions which responded well to drug therapy and two patients had hemiparesis but were able to return to their jobs. The simplicity of this method of treatment and the results, achieved without the benefit of computerised tomographic scan, raise the question as to whether the recent trend towards excision of brain abscess is justifiable.

Adolescent↗

Unusual craniocerebral injuries from nailing.

Three cases of unusual craniocerebral injuries caused by deliberate driving of nails into the head are reported. All injuries were on or near the midline in the parietal area and the nails measured about 10 cm. Two of the patients experienced little pain during the procedure and did not lose consciousness. The extraction of each nail was extremely easy. The only patient who died was admitted in a coma and had meningitis.

Adult↗

Tuberculoma of the central nervous system in Eastern Nigeria.

Although tuberculosis is prevalent in Eastern Nigeria, only 5 cases of tuberculoma of the central nervous system (CNS) were recorded over a 5 year period in a hospital in which about 4000 tuberculosis patients were treated. All the patients were Igbo males. In 4 cases the tuberculoma was supratentorial and in 1 case there was an extradural extraosseous spinal tuberculoma.

Adolescent↗

Ectopic epidural calvarial meningioma.

A rare case of ectopic epidural calvarial fibroblastic meningioma is reported in a 31-year-old male. Arising from the inner table of the skull, it produced an intracranial mass which resulted in hemiparesis and Jacksonian epilepsy.

Adult↗