Browsing by Author "Isah, A."

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Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension in Nigeria
(Nigerian Association of Nephrology, 2020) Kadiri, S.; Arogundade, F. A.; Arije, A.; Omotoso, A.; Onwubere, B.; Aderibigbe, A.; Isah, A.; Mbakwem, A.; Salako, B.; Isezuo, S.; Ogun, S.; Sani, M.; Ulasi, I.; Familoni, O.; Ogbera, A.; Ogah, O.; Ademola, A. D.; Opadeyi, A.; Asinobi, A.
Background: Hypertension, defined as blood pressure > 140/90 mmHg, has assumed greater public health importance in Nigeria in the last 2 decades. Many reports put the adult prevalence rates at 20-40%, with some major ones specifically reporting 27.8% and 28.9%. Low detection and reporting rates, inadequate investigation and treatment rates all combine to increase the burden. The guidelines provide updated information. Recommendations: The traditional risk factors, with the addition of high income and education status, are highlighted. Recommendations regarding the use of devices and the setting, including home and ambulatory, in the measurement of the blood pressure, are updated. The importance of total cardiovascular risk assessment and risk stratification, employed in initiating and guiding therapy, is emphasized. Lifestyle modifications are prescribed for all; they are described with estimates of BP responses and with a greater reference to local conditions. Attention is drawn to the early use of medicine therapy in those with high CV risk and multi-medicine therapy in those with BP > 160/100 mmHg. The use of single pill combinations, wherever feasible, is recommended, and the prediction is made of most patients eventually requiring multi-medicine therapy. Considerations of cost, availability, tolerance and patient-specific factors influence the choice of medicines, and although any of the several medicine classes could be used for initial therapy, thiazide and thiazide-like diuretics and calcium channel blockers are recommended for single or dual-medicine therapy. Alternatively, any of these and any of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, angiotensin receptor blocker, centrally acting agent, beta-blocker or alphablocker could be used for combination therapy. Effective and recommended combinations and a list of the commonly available medicines in Nigeria are listed. Aspirin for secondary prevention and statin therapy should be used as required. The goal of treatment is commonly <140/90 mmHg, but could be lower in patients with diabetes, chronic kidney disease. Patient counselling, follow-up and treatment monitoring are emphasised. Outlines of treatment in special groups or situations including diabetes, chronic kidney disease, haemoglobinopathies, HIV-infection, paediatric patients, patients with sexual dysfunction, resistant hypertension, hypertension emergency, community control and prevention are provided.
Integrated sustainable childhood Pneumonia and infectious disease reduction in Nigeria (INSPIRING) through whole system strengthening in Jigawa, Nigeria: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial
(BioMed Central Ltd, 2022) King, C.; Burgess, R. A.; Bakare, A. A.; Shittu, F.; Salako, J.; Bakare, D.; Uchendu, O. C.; Iuliano, A.; Isah, A.; Adams, O.; Haruna, I.; Magama, A.; Ahmed, T.; Ahmar, S.; Cassar, C.; Valentine, P.; Olowookere, T. F.; MacCalla, M.; Graham, H. R.; McCollum, E. D.; Falade, A. G.; Colbourn, T.
Background: Child mortality remains unacceptably high, with Northern Nigeria reporting some of the highest rates globally (e.g. 192/1000 live births in Jigawa State). Coverage of key protect and prevent interventions, such as vaccination and clean cooking fuel use, is low. Additionally, knowledge, care-seeking and health system factors are poor. Therefore, a whole systems approach is needed for sustainable reductions in child mortality. Methods: This is a cluster randomised controlled trial, with integrated process and economic evaluations, conducted from January 2021 to September 2022. The trial will be conducted in Kiyawa Local Government Area, Jigawa State, Nigeria, with an estimated population of 230,000. Clusters are defined as primary government health facility catchment areas (n = 33). The 33 clusters will be randomly allocated (1:1) in a public ceremony, and 32 clusters included in the impact evaluation. The trial will evaluate a locally adapted ‘whole systems strengthening’ package of three evidence-based methods: community men’s and women’s groups, Partnership Defined Quality Scorecard and healthcare worker training, mentorship and provision of basic essential equipment and commodities. The primary outcome is mortality of children aged 7 days to 59 months. Mortality will be recorded prospectively using a cohort design, and secondary outcomes measured through baseline and endline cross-sectional surveys. Assuming the following, we will have a minimum detectable effect size of 30%: (a) baseline mortality of 100 per 1000 livebirths, (b) 4480 compounds with 3 eligible children per compound, (c) 80% power, (d) 5% significance, (e) intra-cluster correlation of 0.007 and (f) coefficient of variance of cluster size of 0.74. Analysis will be by intention-totreat, comparing intervention and control clusters, adjusting for compound and trial clustering. Discussion: This study will provide robust evidence of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community-based participatory learning and action, with integrated health system strengthening and accountability mechanisms, to reduce child mortality. The ethnographic process evaluation will allow for a rich understanding of how the intervention works in this context. However, we encountered a key challenge in calculating the sample size, given the lack of timely and reliable mortality data and the uncertain impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Measuring oxygen access: lessons from health facility assessments in Lagos, Nigeria
(BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, 2021) Graham, H. R.; Olojede, O. E.; Bakare, A. A.; Iuliano, A.; Olatunde, O.; Isah, A.; Osebi, A.; Ahmed, T.; Uchendu, O. C.; Burgess, R.; McCollum, E.; Colbourn, T.; King, C.; Falade, A. G.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted global oxygen system deficiencies and revealed gaps in how we understand and measure ‘oxygen access’. We present a case study on oxygen access from 58 health facilities in Lagos state, Nigeria. We found large differences in oxygen access between facilities (primary vs secondary, government vs private) and describe three key domains to consider when measuring oxygen access: availability, cost, use. Of 58 facilities surveyed, 8 (14%) of facilities had a functional pulse oximeter. Oximeters (N=27) were typically located in outpatient clinics (12/27, 44%), paediatric ward (6/27, 22%) or operating theatre (4/27, 15%). 34/58 (59%) facilities had a functional source of oxygen available on the day of inspection, of which 31 (91%) facilities had it available in a single ward area, typically the operating theatre or maternity ward. Oxygen services were free to patients at primary health centres, when available, but expensive in hospitals and private facilities, with the median cost for 2 days oxygen 13 000 (US$36) and 27 500 (US$77) Naira, respectively. We obtained limited data on the cost of oxygen services to facilities. Pulse oximetry use was low in secondary care facilities (32%, 21/65 patients had SpO2 documented) and negligible in private facilities (2%, 3/177) and primary health centres (<1%, 2/608). We were unable to determine the proportion of hypoxaemic patients who received oxygen therapy with available data. However, triangulation of existing data suggested that no facilities were equipped to meet minimum oxygen demands. We highlight the importance of a multifaceted approach to measuring oxygen access that assesses access at the point-of- care and ideally at the patient-level. We propose standard metrics to report oxygen access and describe how these can be integrated into routine health information systems and existing health facility assessment tools.
Safety of artemisinin-based combination therapies in Nigeria: a cohort event monitoring study
(Springer, 2013) Bassi, P. U.; Osakwe, A. I.; Isah, A.; Suku, C.; Kalat, M.; Jalo, I.; Wammanda, R. D.; Ugochukwu, C.; Adesina, O.; Nyong, E. E.; Osungwu, F.; Pal, S.; Nwoasu, S. C.; Wallberg, M.; Coulter, D.
Background: A pilot programme of Cohort Event Monitoring (CEM) was conducted across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria on patients treated for uncomplicated malaria with artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). The emergence and spread of malaria parasites resistant to commonly available antimalarial drugs necessitated a shift in policy for malaria treatment by the Federal Government from the use of chloroquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) as first-line treatments to ACTs. Initial reports following deployment of ACTs in clinical settings raised safety concerns regarding their use. Although artemisinin and its derivatives are generally thought to be safe, there are currently few or no data on their safety among populations in Nigeria. Objectives: The main objectives of the CEM programme were to proactively determine the adverse event (AE) profile of artesunate/amodiaquine (AA) and artemether/ lumefantrine (AL) in real-life settings and to find out the factors predisposing to AEs. Methods: The CEM study was observational, longitudinal, prospective, and inceptional. Patients were observed in real-life situations. It was conducted in six public health facilities in Nigeria on patients with a clinical diagnosis of uncomplicated malaria treated with ACTs. Patients were prescribed one of the ACTs on an alternate basis as they enrolled into the programme. Follow-up reviews were undertaken on days 3 and 7 following commencement of ACT treatment. At follow-up, patients were evaluated for any clinical event that they might have experienced following the use of the ACTs. We report the result of this initial pilot in which 3,010 patients treated for uncomplicated malaria with AA or AL were enrolled. Results: The seven most common AEs seen were general body weakness 25.0/36.6 % (AL/AA); dizziness 11.9/17.2 % (AL/AA); vomiting 8.0/10.2 % (AL/AA); abdominal pain 8.5/7.2 % (AL/AA); insomnia 6.3/5.9 % (AL/AA); body pains 3.4/5.2 (AL/AA) %; anorexia 8.5/4.6 % (AL/AA). Most adverse events occurred from day 1 and peaked by day 2 and 3 of medication with the mean duration of events being 3 days. By the end of the followup visit on day 7, the AEs had resolved in the majority of patients. Adverse events were more common in the AA group than AL revealing a better safety profile for AL (p< 0.001). Both ACTs demonstrated good ability to resolve the clinical symptoms of uncomplicated malaria. Conclusion: In conclusion, this pilot CEM programme suggests that adverse events with ACTs were common. However, serious life-threatening events were not common. It appears that ACTs have a tolerable safety profile among Nigerians.