RESUMEN
Background: Little is known about the factors responsible for the academic performance of clinical dentistry/dental surgery students, particularly those in their finals in Nigerian universities. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to identify the subjective factors that may affect the performance of dental surgery finalists at the undergraduate level in Nigerian dental schools and to proffer realistic suggestions to improve dental surgery education. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey of final-year dental surgery students in Nigeria was conducted using a well-structured validated online questionnaire distributed randomly through online platforms. Descriptive and inferential data analysis was done with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Chi-squares and Fischer's exact values were calculated. Significance was set at P < 0.05. Consent was obtained from all participants. Results: Sixty-nine final-year dental surgery students completed and submitted the questionnaire. The hours spent on clinical hands-on-dental practice, dental surgery lectures/clinics attendance, and impact of particular course lecturers were the top three most agreed factors influencing the performance of dental surgery students in their examinations. A significant relationship (P = 0.027 [<0.05]; X2 = 4.873) exists between gender and the perception in that the greater cumulative number of study hours was alluded to significantly influencing performance in examinations. More females unlike males indicated that the total number of hours studied does not affect performance. A statistically significant association (P = 0.004 [<0.05]; X2 = 13.274) was also found between age grades and the influence of repeating an examination on performance. A majority of the respondents across all age grades indicated that repeating students do not always perform better or even pass the examinations. A majority of the respondents across all age grades indicated that those that have completed a degree before medical school do not always perform better in examinations. This finding also had a statistically significant association (P = 0.048 [<0.05]; X2 = 7.886). Conclusions: There is a need to coordinate efforts in the management of dental institutions to ensure that adequate attention is given to the dental surgery students at every stage of their training. Creation of dental surgery mentorship programmes may also help in the overall quality of the programme.
RESUMEN
Most people on folic acid to boost erythropoiesis and prophylactic antimicrobials, the standard management of steady state sickle cell disease (SCD), have unacceptable numbers of crises. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of adding multimodal therapy with potassium thiocyanate and omega-3 fatty acids to the standard management of steady state SCD. Pre- and post-treatment numbers of crises and other disease indices were compared in 16 HbSS individuals on folic acid and paludrine after 12 months of adding eicosapentaenoic acid 15 mg/kg/day, docosahexaenoic acid 10 mg/kg/day, and potassium thiocyanate 1-2 mL/day, each milliliter of which contained 250 mg of thiocyanate and 100 micrograms of iodine to prevent hypothyroidism: a possible side-effect due to competitive inhibition of the transport of iodide into the thyroid gland by thiocyanate. Median number of crises reduced from 3/yr to 1/yr (P < 0.0001). There was no evidence of impaired thyroid function. Plasma level of tri-iodothyronine improved (P < 0.0001). Steady state full blood count and bilirubin level did not change significantly. The findings suggest that addition of potassium thiocyanate and eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids to standard management of steady state SCD reduces the number of crises. This observation needs to be evaluated in larger studies.
RESUMEN
In a previous retrospective study, it was observed that the greater the amounts of the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the blood, the lesser the number of complications of sickle cell disease (SCD) and the higher the steady state haemoglobin level. SCD causes ischaemia-reperfusion injury and inflammation; which can be ameliorated by a metabolite of DHA that down-regulates expression of pro-inflammatory genes. The objectives of this prospective pilot study were to evaluate the effects of DHA and EPA supplements in SCD, and test the hypothesis that these effects are mediated partly by reducing inflammation. Oral DHA and EPA supplements were given to 16 SCD patients for 6 months. We then compared pre- and post-supplementation values of number of crisis, steady state Hb, plasma unconjugated bilirubin and three indices of inflammation: plasma interleukin-6, blood neutrophil and platelet counts. There was a significant reduction in the plasma level of unconjugated bilirubin, and the number of sickle cell crisis; but not in the markers of inflammation. The pilot data suggest that DHA and EPA supplements reduce the number of crisis and steady state haemolysis in SCD; but provide no evidence that these effects are mediated by reducing inflammation.