george aryee - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by george aryee

Research paper thumbnail of Profile of Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea: An Initial Experience in a Tertiary Health Facility

Research paper thumbnail of Perioperative Analgesic Effect of Serratus Anterior Plane Block for Breast Surgery: A Randomized Control Study at a Large Teaching Hospital in Ghana

Research paper thumbnail of Management of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS): clinicians' knowledge and practice

Health Sciences Investigations Journal, Nov 17, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Comparison of Crystalloid Preloading and Coloading for Prevention of Spinal-induced Hypotension in Cesarean Delivery: A Randomized Controlled Trial at a Tertiary Facility in Ghana

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, Jul 16, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Predictors of household direct cost of burn injury in adult patients at a tertiary healthcare facility in Ghana: an analytical cross-sectional study in Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

˜The œPan African medical journal, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Preoperative Intravenous Dexamethasone and Postoperative Analgesia Following Breast Surgery: A Prospective, Randomized Double-Blind Trial at a Tertiary Healthcare Facility in Ghana

PubMed, May 25, 2023

Introduction: Breast surgery may be associated with significant postoperative pain and if not ade... more Introduction: Breast surgery may be associated with significant postoperative pain and if not adequately treated, may lead to the development of chronic post-surgical pain. This necessitates the use of effective management, involving the use a multimodal analgesia regimen for the management of post breast surgery pain. The analgesic effect of perioperative use of dexamethasone has been explored but findings have been inconsistent. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the postoperative analgesic enhancing effect of a single preoperative dose of dexamethasone on patients undergoing breast surgery at a tertiary hospital in Ghana. Materials and methods: This was a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 94 consecutively recruited patients. Patients were randomized into two groups: dexamethasone (n = 47) and placebo (n = 47). Patients in the dexamethasone group had 8mg (2 mL of 4 mg/mL) dexamethasone and those in the placebo group had 2 mL of saline administered intravenously just before induction of anaesthesia. All patients received a standard general anaesthesia with endotracheal intubation. The numerical rating score (NRS), time to first analgesic request and the total opioid consumed in the first 24 h were recorded. Results: Patients receiving dexamethasone had lower NRS scores at all measured time points but this was significant only at 8 h post-surgery (P = 0.037). The time to first rescue analgesia was significantly prolonged in the dexamethasone group (339.26 ± 312.90 min vs. 182.10 ± 166.72 min; P = 0.020). However, the mean total opioid (pethidine) consumed in the first 24 h postoperatively was not significantly different between the dexamethasone and control groups (113.75 ± 51.35 mg vs. 100.00 ± 60.93 mg; P = 0.358). Conclusion: A single preoperative dose of 8mg dexamethasone given intravenously, reduces postoperative pain compared to placebo, significantly reduces the time to first analgesia but not the total opioid consumed in the first 24 h post breast surgery.

Research paper thumbnail of Intranasal Ketamine for Premedication in Children: A Comparative Study in Ghana

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences

BACKGROUND: Premedication is helpful especially in children in reducing the stress associated wit... more BACKGROUND: Premedication is helpful especially in children in reducing the stress associated with anesthesia and surgery. Pediatric patients for surgery in Korle Bu Teaching Hospital are currently not sedated preoperatively due to unavailability of effective pediatric sedative preparations. Ketamine is readily available, inexpensive, and has been used for pediatric sedation through various routes with good outcomes in other geographical regions. Its intra-nasal use shows promise and avoids the anxiety and pain associated with establishing of an intravenous access and administration of drugs intravenously and intramuscularly. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of intranasal ketamine as premedication for pre-operative sedation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A double-blind, randomized, and controlled trial was conducted on 76 pediatric elective surgical patients aged between 1 and 6 years at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive 10 mg/k...

Research paper thumbnail of Income redistribution, technology and employment in the footwear industry

Research paper thumbnail of Greek Resistance Army

International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-), 1951

Research paper thumbnail of Additional file 1: of Estimating the incidence of tuberculosis cases reported at a tertiary hospital in Ghana: a time series model approach

Reported monthly TB cases data set for a ten-year period at the chest clinic-Korle-bu teaching ho... more Reported monthly TB cases data set for a ten-year period at the chest clinic-Korle-bu teaching hospital. (XLSX 12 kb)

Research paper thumbnail of Patients’ knowledge and perception of anaesthesia and the anaesthetist at a tertiary health care facility in Ghana

Southern African Journal of Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 2017

View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 2 View citing articles Southern Africa... more View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 2 View citing articles Southern African Journal of Anaesthesia and Analgesia is co-published by Medpharm Publications, NISC (Pty) Ltd and Informa UK Limited [trading as the Taylor & Francis Group].

Research paper thumbnail of Factors influencing the choice of anaesthesia as a field of specialty in University of Ghana School of Medicine and Dentistry, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

Southern African Journal of Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Safety and efficacy of single-dose preoperative intravenous dexamethasone on postoperative nausea and vomiting following breast surgery at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

Ghana Medical Journal

Objectives: Dexamethasone has beneficial effects on postoperative nausea and vomiting, however, m... more Objectives: Dexamethasone has beneficial effects on postoperative nausea and vomiting, however, many clinicians have raised legitimate concerns regarding its effect on blood glucose concentrations. This study determined the safety and efficacy of a single pre-operative dose of dexamethasone for PONV prophylaxis in patients undergoing breast surgery. Design: Prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial Setting: Surgical wards of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana Participants: The study was conducted among breast surgery patients. They were consecutively recruited and randomized into two groups: dexamethasone (n = 47) and placebo (n = 47). Interventions: Patients in the dexamethasone group received 8mg (2mls of 4mg/ml) dexamethasone while those in the placebo group received 2mls of saline intravenously. PONV impact scores and blood glucose levels were recorded at 4, 8 and 24 hours postoperatively. Main outcome measures: Incidence of PONV and blood glucose levels Resu...

Research paper thumbnail of Modeling births at a tertiary health-care facility in Ghana: Box-Jenkins time series approach

Background & Aim: Changes in the trend of births among women have been studied worldwide with ind... more Background & Aim: Changes in the trend of births among women have been studied worldwide with indications of peaks and troughs over a specified period. Periodic variations in the number of births among women are unknown at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH). This study sought to model and predicts monthly number of births at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G), KBTH. Methods & Materials: Box-Jenkins time series model approach was applied to an 11-year data from the Department of (O&G), KBTH on the number of births from January, 2004 to December, 2014. Box-Jenkins approach was put forward as autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model. Several possible models were formulated, and the best model, which has the smallest Akaike information criterion corrected (AICc) was selected. The best model was then used for future predictions on the expected monthly number of births for the year 2015. Analysis was performed in R statistical software (version 3.0.3). Res...

Research paper thumbnail of A Simplified Adult Expiratory Support Device: First Clinical Cases in a Low Resource Setting

The Annals of Thoracic Surgery

Research paper thumbnail of Comparing the Forecasting Performance of Seasonal Arima and Holt -Winters Methods of Births at a Tertiary Healthcare Facility in Ghana

Journal of Biostatistics and Epidemiology

Introduction: Studies have shown periodic variations in the number of births using different math... more Introduction: Studies have shown periodic variations in the number of births using different mathematical models. A study conducted at the Korle-Bu teaching hospital obtained Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model on a monthly number of birth for an 11-year data. However, this study did not compare the obtained model with other forecasting methods to determine the method that will best explain the data. This study sought to compare seasonal SARIMA model with Holt-Winters seasonal forecasting methods for an 11-year time series data on the number of births.. Methods: Data were analysed in R software (version 3.3.3). Holt-Winters and seasonal ARIMA forecasting methods were applied to the birth data. The errors of the out – of-sample forecast of these methods were compared and the one with the least error was considered the best forecasting method. Results The in-sample forecasting errors showed that SARIMA (2,1,1) x (1,01,) was the best among the other models....

Research paper thumbnail of Nitric Oxide and Pre-Eclampsia: A Comparative Study in Ghana

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences

BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia is one of the commonest aetiologies of foetal and maternal mortality and... more BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia is one of the commonest aetiologies of foetal and maternal mortality and morbidity. Though common, the aetiology of preeclampsia has remained unknown with several inconclusive theories surrounding the disease. Recent studies have implicated vascular endothelial dysfunction and possibly nitric oxide in preeclampsia.AIM: To compare plasma nitric oxide levels in pre-eclampsia and healthy pregnant women in a large tertiary hospital in Ghana.METHODS: This was a case-control study conducted among pre-eclampsia and healthy pregnant women in Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital over a four-month period. Thirty (30) pre-eclamptic and 30 healthy pregnant women aged 18-35 years with over 30 weeks’ gestation were consecutively recruited into the study after obtaining informed consent. Plasma nitric oxide levels were determined using the Griess Reagent system. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20.0 and results were compar...

Research paper thumbnail of Serum nitric oxide levels in healthy pregnant women: a case- control study in a tertiary facility in Ghana

Maternal Health, Neonatology and Perinatology

Background: Pregnancy is associated with significant changes in maternal cardiovascular system wh... more Background: Pregnancy is associated with significant changes in maternal cardiovascular system which regulates oxygen and nutrient supply to the growing foetus. Nitric oxide, a physiologic vascular smooth muscle relaxant regulates blood flow and therefore may play a role in the cardiovascular changes in pregnancy. The study aimed to determine the levels and changes in maternal serum nitric oxide levels during healthy pregnancy. Methods: A case-control study was conducted among 32 healthy non-pregnant women as controls and 100 healthy pregnant women (consisting of 33 first trimester, 37 s trimester, and 30 third trimester) as cases. Subjects were consecutively recruited into the study after obtaining an informed consent and meeting the inclusion criteria. Griess Reagent method was used to determine serum nitric oxide levels. Results: There were no statistically significant difference in the ages and parity of recruited cases and controls. Mean arterial blood pressures were significantly lower (p = 0.009) and serum nitric oxide levels were significantly higher (p < 0.001) in healthy pregnant women compared to healthy non-pregnant women. There was a non-significant progressive increase in serum nitric oxide levels during healthy normal pregnancy. Conclusions: The finding of a significantly reduced blood pressures and a significant increase in serum nitric oxide levels in healthy pregnancy may suggest a role of nitric oxide in vascular adaptation in pregnancy.

Research paper thumbnail of Serum Calcium and Magnesium Levels in Normal Ghanaian Pregnant Women: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is described as a normal physiologic state associated with various biochemi... more BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is described as a normal physiologic state associated with various biochemical changes. Magnesium and calcium are essential macronutrients required for foetal growth. Complications associated with their deficiency during normal pregnancy include; low neonatal birth weight, pre-eclampsia, eclampsia and preterm labour. Changes in serum levels of magnesium and calcium in normal pregnancy have not been extensively studied among Ghanaian women. AIM: To determine the variation in serum magnesium and calcium levels with gestational age in normal pregnancy in Ghanaian women. METHODS: A hospital-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 32 normal non-pregnant women (Group A) and 100 normal pregnant women (Group B) attending the clinic at the Korle-Bu Teaching hospital. The group B pregnant women were further divided into Group B1 (n = 33), Group B2 (n = 37) and Group B3 (n = 30) based on their pregnancy gestation as first, second and third trimester re...

Research paper thumbnail of Knowledge of Anaesthesia Providers on Exposure to Inhalational Anaesthetic Agents in Ghana

Journal of Biosciences and Medicines

Background: Chronic exposure to inhaled anaesthetic agents poses an occupational hazard related t... more Background: Chronic exposure to inhaled anaesthetic agents poses an occupational hazard related to the practice of anaesthesia. Therefore, this study sought to find out the perception of anaesthesia providers on exposure to inhalational anaesthetics, evaluate their knowledge on the effects of chronic exposure and strategies to reduce chronic exposure to operating room inhalational anaesthetic agents. Method: This cross-sectional survey was conducted by administering a self-administered questionnaire to 71 anaesthesia providers in Ghana who attended the annual refresher course of the faculty of Anaesthesia, West African College of Surgeons, in 2016. Data collected were analysed and presented as frequencies and percentages. Results: Halothane and isoflurane were the most frequently used inhalational agents by the respondents. Majority (90.1%) of the respondents perceived they are exposed to inhalational anaesthetics in their working environment. Majority of the anaesthetic providers cited poorly functioning scavenging systems (28.2%) and use of paediatric Ayre's T-piece (28.2%) as sources of exposure to inhalational anaesthetics. All respondents admitted making attempts to reduce their exposure to inhalational anaesthetics. Majority of the respondents mentioned teratogenicity (77.5%) and hepatotoxicity (67.6%) as effects of chronic exposure to inhaled anaesthetic agents. Conclusion: Anaesthesia providers in Ghana perceived they are chronically exposed to inhalational anaesthetic agents in their work environment. They are aware of the sources of inhalational anaesthetic agent exposure, associated health risks and strategies required to reduce chronic exposure to inhaled anaesthetic agents.

Research paper thumbnail of Profile of Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea: An Initial Experience in a Tertiary Health Facility

Research paper thumbnail of Perioperative Analgesic Effect of Serratus Anterior Plane Block for Breast Surgery: A Randomized Control Study at a Large Teaching Hospital in Ghana

Research paper thumbnail of Management of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS): clinicians' knowledge and practice

Health Sciences Investigations Journal, Nov 17, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Comparison of Crystalloid Preloading and Coloading for Prevention of Spinal-induced Hypotension in Cesarean Delivery: A Randomized Controlled Trial at a Tertiary Facility in Ghana

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, Jul 16, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Predictors of household direct cost of burn injury in adult patients at a tertiary healthcare facility in Ghana: an analytical cross-sectional study in Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

˜The œPan African medical journal, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Preoperative Intravenous Dexamethasone and Postoperative Analgesia Following Breast Surgery: A Prospective, Randomized Double-Blind Trial at a Tertiary Healthcare Facility in Ghana

PubMed, May 25, 2023

Introduction: Breast surgery may be associated with significant postoperative pain and if not ade... more Introduction: Breast surgery may be associated with significant postoperative pain and if not adequately treated, may lead to the development of chronic post-surgical pain. This necessitates the use of effective management, involving the use a multimodal analgesia regimen for the management of post breast surgery pain. The analgesic effect of perioperative use of dexamethasone has been explored but findings have been inconsistent. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the postoperative analgesic enhancing effect of a single preoperative dose of dexamethasone on patients undergoing breast surgery at a tertiary hospital in Ghana. Materials and methods: This was a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 94 consecutively recruited patients. Patients were randomized into two groups: dexamethasone (n = 47) and placebo (n = 47). Patients in the dexamethasone group had 8mg (2 mL of 4 mg/mL) dexamethasone and those in the placebo group had 2 mL of saline administered intravenously just before induction of anaesthesia. All patients received a standard general anaesthesia with endotracheal intubation. The numerical rating score (NRS), time to first analgesic request and the total opioid consumed in the first 24 h were recorded. Results: Patients receiving dexamethasone had lower NRS scores at all measured time points but this was significant only at 8 h post-surgery (P = 0.037). The time to first rescue analgesia was significantly prolonged in the dexamethasone group (339.26 ± 312.90 min vs. 182.10 ± 166.72 min; P = 0.020). However, the mean total opioid (pethidine) consumed in the first 24 h postoperatively was not significantly different between the dexamethasone and control groups (113.75 ± 51.35 mg vs. 100.00 ± 60.93 mg; P = 0.358). Conclusion: A single preoperative dose of 8mg dexamethasone given intravenously, reduces postoperative pain compared to placebo, significantly reduces the time to first analgesia but not the total opioid consumed in the first 24 h post breast surgery.

Research paper thumbnail of Intranasal Ketamine for Premedication in Children: A Comparative Study in Ghana

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences

BACKGROUND: Premedication is helpful especially in children in reducing the stress associated wit... more BACKGROUND: Premedication is helpful especially in children in reducing the stress associated with anesthesia and surgery. Pediatric patients for surgery in Korle Bu Teaching Hospital are currently not sedated preoperatively due to unavailability of effective pediatric sedative preparations. Ketamine is readily available, inexpensive, and has been used for pediatric sedation through various routes with good outcomes in other geographical regions. Its intra-nasal use shows promise and avoids the anxiety and pain associated with establishing of an intravenous access and administration of drugs intravenously and intramuscularly. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of intranasal ketamine as premedication for pre-operative sedation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A double-blind, randomized, and controlled trial was conducted on 76 pediatric elective surgical patients aged between 1 and 6 years at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive 10 mg/k...

Research paper thumbnail of Income redistribution, technology and employment in the footwear industry

Research paper thumbnail of Greek Resistance Army

International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-), 1951

Research paper thumbnail of Additional file 1: of Estimating the incidence of tuberculosis cases reported at a tertiary hospital in Ghana: a time series model approach

Reported monthly TB cases data set for a ten-year period at the chest clinic-Korle-bu teaching ho... more Reported monthly TB cases data set for a ten-year period at the chest clinic-Korle-bu teaching hospital. (XLSX 12 kb)

Research paper thumbnail of Patients’ knowledge and perception of anaesthesia and the anaesthetist at a tertiary health care facility in Ghana

Southern African Journal of Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 2017

View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 2 View citing articles Southern Africa... more View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 2 View citing articles Southern African Journal of Anaesthesia and Analgesia is co-published by Medpharm Publications, NISC (Pty) Ltd and Informa UK Limited [trading as the Taylor & Francis Group].

Research paper thumbnail of Factors influencing the choice of anaesthesia as a field of specialty in University of Ghana School of Medicine and Dentistry, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

Southern African Journal of Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Safety and efficacy of single-dose preoperative intravenous dexamethasone on postoperative nausea and vomiting following breast surgery at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

Ghana Medical Journal

Objectives: Dexamethasone has beneficial effects on postoperative nausea and vomiting, however, m... more Objectives: Dexamethasone has beneficial effects on postoperative nausea and vomiting, however, many clinicians have raised legitimate concerns regarding its effect on blood glucose concentrations. This study determined the safety and efficacy of a single pre-operative dose of dexamethasone for PONV prophylaxis in patients undergoing breast surgery. Design: Prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial Setting: Surgical wards of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana Participants: The study was conducted among breast surgery patients. They were consecutively recruited and randomized into two groups: dexamethasone (n = 47) and placebo (n = 47). Interventions: Patients in the dexamethasone group received 8mg (2mls of 4mg/ml) dexamethasone while those in the placebo group received 2mls of saline intravenously. PONV impact scores and blood glucose levels were recorded at 4, 8 and 24 hours postoperatively. Main outcome measures: Incidence of PONV and blood glucose levels Resu...

Research paper thumbnail of Modeling births at a tertiary health-care facility in Ghana: Box-Jenkins time series approach

Background & Aim: Changes in the trend of births among women have been studied worldwide with ind... more Background & Aim: Changes in the trend of births among women have been studied worldwide with indications of peaks and troughs over a specified period. Periodic variations in the number of births among women are unknown at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH). This study sought to model and predicts monthly number of births at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G), KBTH. Methods & Materials: Box-Jenkins time series model approach was applied to an 11-year data from the Department of (O&G), KBTH on the number of births from January, 2004 to December, 2014. Box-Jenkins approach was put forward as autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model. Several possible models were formulated, and the best model, which has the smallest Akaike information criterion corrected (AICc) was selected. The best model was then used for future predictions on the expected monthly number of births for the year 2015. Analysis was performed in R statistical software (version 3.0.3). Res...

Research paper thumbnail of A Simplified Adult Expiratory Support Device: First Clinical Cases in a Low Resource Setting

The Annals of Thoracic Surgery

Research paper thumbnail of Comparing the Forecasting Performance of Seasonal Arima and Holt -Winters Methods of Births at a Tertiary Healthcare Facility in Ghana

Journal of Biostatistics and Epidemiology

Introduction: Studies have shown periodic variations in the number of births using different math... more Introduction: Studies have shown periodic variations in the number of births using different mathematical models. A study conducted at the Korle-Bu teaching hospital obtained Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model on a monthly number of birth for an 11-year data. However, this study did not compare the obtained model with other forecasting methods to determine the method that will best explain the data. This study sought to compare seasonal SARIMA model with Holt-Winters seasonal forecasting methods for an 11-year time series data on the number of births.. Methods: Data were analysed in R software (version 3.3.3). Holt-Winters and seasonal ARIMA forecasting methods were applied to the birth data. The errors of the out – of-sample forecast of these methods were compared and the one with the least error was considered the best forecasting method. Results The in-sample forecasting errors showed that SARIMA (2,1,1) x (1,01,) was the best among the other models....

Research paper thumbnail of Nitric Oxide and Pre-Eclampsia: A Comparative Study in Ghana

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences

BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia is one of the commonest aetiologies of foetal and maternal mortality and... more BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia is one of the commonest aetiologies of foetal and maternal mortality and morbidity. Though common, the aetiology of preeclampsia has remained unknown with several inconclusive theories surrounding the disease. Recent studies have implicated vascular endothelial dysfunction and possibly nitric oxide in preeclampsia.AIM: To compare plasma nitric oxide levels in pre-eclampsia and healthy pregnant women in a large tertiary hospital in Ghana.METHODS: This was a case-control study conducted among pre-eclampsia and healthy pregnant women in Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital over a four-month period. Thirty (30) pre-eclamptic and 30 healthy pregnant women aged 18-35 years with over 30 weeks’ gestation were consecutively recruited into the study after obtaining informed consent. Plasma nitric oxide levels were determined using the Griess Reagent system. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20.0 and results were compar...

Research paper thumbnail of Serum nitric oxide levels in healthy pregnant women: a case- control study in a tertiary facility in Ghana

Maternal Health, Neonatology and Perinatology

Background: Pregnancy is associated with significant changes in maternal cardiovascular system wh... more Background: Pregnancy is associated with significant changes in maternal cardiovascular system which regulates oxygen and nutrient supply to the growing foetus. Nitric oxide, a physiologic vascular smooth muscle relaxant regulates blood flow and therefore may play a role in the cardiovascular changes in pregnancy. The study aimed to determine the levels and changes in maternal serum nitric oxide levels during healthy pregnancy. Methods: A case-control study was conducted among 32 healthy non-pregnant women as controls and 100 healthy pregnant women (consisting of 33 first trimester, 37 s trimester, and 30 third trimester) as cases. Subjects were consecutively recruited into the study after obtaining an informed consent and meeting the inclusion criteria. Griess Reagent method was used to determine serum nitric oxide levels. Results: There were no statistically significant difference in the ages and parity of recruited cases and controls. Mean arterial blood pressures were significantly lower (p = 0.009) and serum nitric oxide levels were significantly higher (p < 0.001) in healthy pregnant women compared to healthy non-pregnant women. There was a non-significant progressive increase in serum nitric oxide levels during healthy normal pregnancy. Conclusions: The finding of a significantly reduced blood pressures and a significant increase in serum nitric oxide levels in healthy pregnancy may suggest a role of nitric oxide in vascular adaptation in pregnancy.

Research paper thumbnail of Serum Calcium and Magnesium Levels in Normal Ghanaian Pregnant Women: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is described as a normal physiologic state associated with various biochemi... more BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is described as a normal physiologic state associated with various biochemical changes. Magnesium and calcium are essential macronutrients required for foetal growth. Complications associated with their deficiency during normal pregnancy include; low neonatal birth weight, pre-eclampsia, eclampsia and preterm labour. Changes in serum levels of magnesium and calcium in normal pregnancy have not been extensively studied among Ghanaian women. AIM: To determine the variation in serum magnesium and calcium levels with gestational age in normal pregnancy in Ghanaian women. METHODS: A hospital-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 32 normal non-pregnant women (Group A) and 100 normal pregnant women (Group B) attending the clinic at the Korle-Bu Teaching hospital. The group B pregnant women were further divided into Group B1 (n = 33), Group B2 (n = 37) and Group B3 (n = 30) based on their pregnancy gestation as first, second and third trimester re...

Research paper thumbnail of Knowledge of Anaesthesia Providers on Exposure to Inhalational Anaesthetic Agents in Ghana

Journal of Biosciences and Medicines

Background: Chronic exposure to inhaled anaesthetic agents poses an occupational hazard related t... more Background: Chronic exposure to inhaled anaesthetic agents poses an occupational hazard related to the practice of anaesthesia. Therefore, this study sought to find out the perception of anaesthesia providers on exposure to inhalational anaesthetics, evaluate their knowledge on the effects of chronic exposure and strategies to reduce chronic exposure to operating room inhalational anaesthetic agents. Method: This cross-sectional survey was conducted by administering a self-administered questionnaire to 71 anaesthesia providers in Ghana who attended the annual refresher course of the faculty of Anaesthesia, West African College of Surgeons, in 2016. Data collected were analysed and presented as frequencies and percentages. Results: Halothane and isoflurane were the most frequently used inhalational agents by the respondents. Majority (90.1%) of the respondents perceived they are exposed to inhalational anaesthetics in their working environment. Majority of the anaesthetic providers cited poorly functioning scavenging systems (28.2%) and use of paediatric Ayre's T-piece (28.2%) as sources of exposure to inhalational anaesthetics. All respondents admitted making attempts to reduce their exposure to inhalational anaesthetics. Majority of the respondents mentioned teratogenicity (77.5%) and hepatotoxicity (67.6%) as effects of chronic exposure to inhaled anaesthetic agents. Conclusion: Anaesthesia providers in Ghana perceived they are chronically exposed to inhalational anaesthetic agents in their work environment. They are aware of the sources of inhalational anaesthetic agent exposure, associated health risks and strategies required to reduce chronic exposure to inhaled anaesthetic agents.