REVIEW ARTICLE | June 11, 2021
Researching Into Medical Law and the Surge in Medical Negligence in Ghana: Proposition for a Specialized Healthcare Court to Deal with Such Cases
Prof. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu
Page no 379-388 |
10.36348/sijlcj.2021.v04i06.007
Medical law and health law are the subject matter of this study. Medical negligence is a branch of medical law and covers all medical activity on the view of carelessness and rashness. In Frimpong V Nyarko [1998-99] SC GLR 734, where the Supreme Court was confronted with a problem whereby applying the law would have severe consequences on the party, Wiredu JSC(as he then was) said at page 742: “ The justice to be dispensed is justice within the law and not one of sympathy. Judicial sympathy, however plausible can never be elevated to become a principle of law. The appellants are out of court, and their case would deservedly be put out of court in accordance with law”. Again taking a cue, in my respectful opinion, no matter how strong the sympathies I may feel for the Plaintiffs that cannot override the principles of law that I have applied. Is the principle of law as applied in medical negligence against patients? Maybe, Prof. Justice Date-Bah has the answer, “Medicine and the Law is a battle area and we need to bring the rule of law into that area. In Ghana, it is said that health professionals never testify against themselves and therefore there is a real hurdle to litigation of medical malpractice cases. It is important that health professionals should put the public interest first. On the other hand, we do not want to go the other way such as in America where doctors may fear to touch patients for fear of malpractice. There has to be a middle way somewhere”. In recent times, there has been a surge in allegations of medical negligence cases against medical professionals in Ghana in the media. This has become worrisome, resulting in some media houses waging a war on medical negligence. This paper therefore aims to conduct extensive review on medical negligence and the legal principles applied. It also aims to create awareness on medical negligence, provides futuristic policies in medical law direction in Ghana. The author recommends a specialized healthcare court and legislative instrument for a clear legal pathway for patients to curb the cases of alleged medical negligence.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | June 11, 2021
Factors Influencing Young People's Fitness Consumption under the COVID-19
Wei Sun, Hoyoung Shin, Kisu Kim, Weizhen Li
Page no 187-192 |
10.36348/sjhss.2021.v06i06.003
Fitness has become one of the most popular projects of many people in modern times, and people are willing to spend time and money on fitness. Physical fitness can not only develop good living habits it can also be used as an active leisure way to enrich entertainment and cultural activities. This article takes college student behavior as the object to carry out research on promoting the development of fitness economy. College students are the mainstay and important consumer group in the society, and it is of great significance to study their fitness consumption status and attitudes. Smart-PLS 3.0 is used as the main statistics analyzing tool. The results indicate that self-demand, social influence, facilitating conditions, performance expectancy and effort expectancy are drivers for young people to adopt fitness.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | June 11, 2021
Electronic Service Quality (E-SQ) and Perceived Value: Moderating Role of Demographics
Dr. SubbarayuduYellaturu, Dr. Ramanjaneyulu Gagggutara
Page no 176-181 |
10.36348/sjbms.2021.v06i06.002
The aim of the paper is to measure the moderating role of gender, age and Family Income between e-SQ of e-shops and Perceived value using e-SQ scale in online shopping. Data were collected from 412e-shoppersfrom all over the India. Statistical techniques such as PROCESS Procedure for SPSS Version 3.4 Macro by Andrew F. Hayes-2018 for moderation bootstrapping test was used to analyze the data. It is resulted from the research findings that the interaction effect of gender, age and income between the relationships of e-SQ and Perceived Value was significant and positive. Examination of all the interaction plots such as gender, age and Family Income also showed an enhancing effect of e-SQ on perceived value with the moderation of demographics of the customer.
REVIEW ARTICLE | June 11, 2021
Proliferation of Alternative Medicines Practice in Ghana: Justification for Expedited Passage of the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Bill, 2018 towards improvement in the regulation of the Practice
Raphael Nyarkotey Obu
Page no 348-369 |
10.36348/sijlcj.2021.v04i06.005
The practice of traditional and alternative medicine in Ghana cannot be underestimated as many people have embraced the services of practitioners partly due to the minimum side effects involved. Practitioners of alternative medicines have also helped in educating the public on preventative issues and ultimately curative as well. However, a section of the public has raised concerns concerning activities of some practitioners, level of medical training, titles they use, the quality of schools run by some practitioners and the kinds of certificates they issue to trainees. As a practitioner, a staunch advocate of naturopathic medicine and a law student, I am now particular about policies and the legal framework for this industry to help streamline the sector to save the many vulnerable patients and ultimately complement conventional healthcare. This is because no industry is supreme. I believe this would also help to do away with the quack or unqualified practitioners in the system. This paper seeks to address these issues. The author will, as a Student of Law, seek to research into these areas by discussing relevant judicial decisions in other Common Law jurisdictions. This is because, to the best of my knowledge, no case relating to alternative medicine has been adjudicated in our courts in Ghana.
REVIEW ARTICLE | June 11, 2021
Laboratory Diagnosis of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 Infection [SARS-CoV-2, (COVID-19)]
D. M. Bolarin, Kasimu Saidu
Page no 218-225 |
10.36348/sjpm.2021.v06i06.006
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the third life-threatening pandemic disease. It started in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection may be asymptomatic or have a range of symptoms with the most common being fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Correct clinical laboratory analyses which give results in a well-timed or prompt manner are critical for the clinical and public health administration of COVID-19. The clinical presentation and stage of the COVID-19 disease determine the option as to which laboratory analysis to apply for the diagnosis. The application of the real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR), for nucleic acid analyses, is the most correct method for diagnosing acute SARS CoV-2 infection. The ideal specimen types are combined deep nasal or nasopharyngeal and throat swabs. Application of serology can be performed for the diagnosis of a previous infection that is more than 14 days after the beginning of clinical features. Antigen analyses are also carried out in most developed countries. The analytical results interpretation must take into consideration the pre-test likelihood or possibility of the patient having COVID-19 disease.
REVIEW ARTICLE | June 11, 2021
Maxillary Alveolar Bone Dimensional Changes of Post – Extraction Sockets in Humans
Dr. Mohammad Naffizuddin, Dr. Bharani Krishna.T, Dr. D. Lokanathan Balaji, Dr. Ch.Ram Sunil, Dr. V.Sujana, Dr. K.Madhu Kiran Naik, Dr. V.Shivakumar
Page no 246-250 |
10.36348/sjodr.2021.v06i06.004
Dentistry has remarkable advancements in dental restorative materials, techniques and strategies that are remarkable in many ways. Scientifically proven approaches have proved that implants were esthetically and functionally excellent options for tooth replacement. Restoration of dental implant is considered to be a highly evolved procedure for oral health care considering reserved specialists and requires training beyond the regular dental school curriculum. Considering these important facts, a thorough knowledge of maxillary sinus anatomy in the edentulous patient is very much required for placement of successful maxillary sinus implants and the changes occurring in it periodically due course with no replacement. Treatment planning is very crucial considering the events occurring in dimensional changes in the maxillary sinus for successful implant placements and prognosis. The current study focuses on physical and physiological events occurring in the maxillary sinus due to a lack of prosthesis.
REVIEW ARTICLE | June 11, 2021
Chemical Reactors with Exothermic Reactions on the Plug Flow and Study it by New Approach Strategy ASM
M.R.Akbari, Sara.Akbari, Esmaeil.Kalantari
Page no 89-91 |
10.36348/sijcms.2021.v04i05.006
In this paper, our aims are accuracy, capabilities and power at solving set of the complex non-linear differential at the reaction chemical. As all experts know most of engineering actual systems behavior in practical are nonlinear process and analytical scrutiny these nonlinear problems are difficult or sometimes impossible. Our purpose is to enhance the ability of solving the mentioned nonlinear differential equations at chemical engineering and similar issues with a simple and innovative approach which entitled.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | June 11, 2021
Ethnobotanical Studies of Plants with Antihypertensive Properties in the City of Nkongsamba, Cameroon
TANKEU Séverin Elisée, ETAME-LOE Gisèle Marie Marguerite, FANNANG Simone Véronique, LADOH YEMEDA Christelle Flora, NGOUONDJOU FOZE Teclaire, BAMAL Hans Denis, NDONGO DIN
Page no 251-261 |
10.36348/sjmps.2021.v07i06.005
The use of plants to treat chronic diseases such as high blood pressure is part of ancient African traditions. Many authors have placed an emphasis on the study of plants through the ethnobotanical approach and the results obtained in different regions have shown that the use of plants to treat chronic diseases is very widespread. Ethnobotanical surveys aiming at identifying plants with antihypertensive properties were carried out in the city of Nkongsamba, Littoral Region, Cameroon, with traditional health practitioners in markets and associations. The data analysis focused on determining, for each species, the frequency of citation (CF), the confirmation or consensus index of informants (ICs), the frequency of use (FU) and contribution to the constitution of revenue (Cpr). A total of 35 people were interviewed as part of this survey: 24 men and 11 women. The distribution of respondents by age group showed that the group [41-60] is the most represented. People from the Cameroon West Region were the most represented among respondents. The distribution of respondents according to profession showed that traditional healers were more represented. The distribution of respondents according to religion showed that Christians were more represented. The distribution of respondents by level of study showed that respondents who dropped out of secondary school were more represented. The floristic inventory identified 55 species divided into 50 genera and 33 families. The most cited species was Alium sativum. The flora of Nkongsamba therefore contains an important diversity of plants with antihypertensive properties widely used by traditional therapists.
REVIEW ARTICLE | June 11, 2021
Ghana Healthcare System and Practising Medicine Without Authority: Is Cross System Medical Practice Acceptable?
Prof. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu
Page no 370-378 |
10.36348/sijlcj.2021.v04i06.006
Interestingly, while some hospitals and clinics are now putting out banners for integrative medicine and offering herbal medicines, naturopathy, acupuncture, massage, nutrition, and other treatments, they are doing so without being taught about them in medical schools as part of an integrative model for medicine. In the book, Criminal Law in Ghana by P. K Twumasi, P. 585, he tackles practising medicine without authority: It reads: “A person commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding C1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or both if he willfully and falsely takes or uses any name, title, addition or description evidently implying a qualification to practice medicine or dentistry, or without being registered under N.R.C.D. 91: (a) practises or professes to practise or publishes his name as practising medicine or dentistry or b) receives any payment for practising medicine or dentistry. This offence is created under section 48(1) of the Medical and Dental Decree (N.R.C.D. 91), and is a wholesale reproduction of section 20 of the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Ordinance, Cap. 69 of the Gold Coast. Mens rea is an essential element of the offence and therefore where a person accused honestly believed that he was entitled to use or assume any name or title, etc., he does not commit an offence under the decree: Commissioner of Police v. Wonkyi [13] 2 W.A.L.R. 196[16]”. In view of this, where integrative medicine is also being promoted, there is the need to assess the legal implications. The question for discussion and research is whether cross-system medical practice is permitted by law in Ghana?
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | June 11, 2021
Acute Toxicity and Phytochemical analysis of CP Men Capsules in Spraque-Dawleys Rats
Raphael Nyarkotey Obu, Lawrencia Aggrey –Bluwey
Page no 98-102 |
10.36348/sijtcm.2021.v04i06.004
This study was design to examine the acute toxicity of the 80% -ethanolic extract of CP Men capsules in healthy male and female Sprague-Dawley rats and phytochemical screening of the product. Six samples of the product were submitted to the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, College of Heath Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra for the analysis and others. The investigators at the University declared in their research report that the study was conducted at the Animal Experimentation Unit of the School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences (SBAHS). College of Health Sciences, university of Ghana. On clinical Observation, the study conducted reports that the animals treated by the ethanolic extract of CP Men capsules (5000 mg/kg) did not show any observable abnormality in movement, salivation, sleep, lethargy, there was no signs of piloerection and mortality in comparison to the control group within the first 48 hours, and daily during the 14 days of the study. With regards to Lethal Dose Fifty (LD50), the study found that per monitoring the animals for 24, 48 hours and throughout the remaining 12 days, the group of rats treated by the ethanolic extract of CP Men capsules did not record any deaths. Hence, the LD50 of the ethanolic extract of CP Men capsules, when administered orally, is greater than 5000mg/kg. In conclusion, further studies involving long term administration of aqueous extract of CP Men capsules in different experimental rodents, including mice, will be needed to assess its safety for trial and use in humans. More renal function markers such as creatinine should be analyzed. The phytochemical screening also demonstrates that the herbal drug is of plant origin.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | June 11, 2021
Trace Metal Concentrations of Surface Sediments and Total Organic Carbon of Sediment Core Recovered From Lagos Coastal Waters, Southwestern Nigeria
Shelle Rafiu Olaniyi, Samuel Olatunde Popoola
Page no 92-102 |
10.36348/sijcms.2021.v04i05.007
Recent residential and industrial effluents had triggered the need to continually monitor and assess the hydrochemistry and pollution index of Lagos coastal waters and sediments in Southwest Nigeria. To assess environmental contamination in the Lagos coast, twenty stations (with a recent report of anthropogenic activities) were selected, to determine the concentrations and distributions of hydro-chemical characteristics, heavy metals and total organic content (TOC). The hydro-chemical characteristics (pH; temperature; dissolved oxygen; electrical conductivity; salinity; total dissolved solids; sulphate, chloride, phosphate, nitrate, ammonia, sodium and potassium) of water samples from all the stations studied are within desirable levels for healthy marine ecosystems (except for low (<6) pH at station 8 (Ikorodu Port); station 10 and 11 (Mid Lagoon); station 16 (Badore) and station 19 (Ikosi). The concentrations of heavy metals present in the studied area followed the sequence: Fe > Mn > Cr > Zn > Pb > Cu > Cd. The increased TOC concentrations of the representative short sediment core with depth at station 4 (Iddo) and station 15 (Ikota) suggest record of anthropogenic organic pollutions at the stations. The calculated contamination factor (CF) showed extremely severe contamination (CF > 6) of cadmium (Cd) at station 3 (Ijora), station 4, station 5 (Okobaba), station 6 (Unilag), station 7 (Agboyin) and station 12 (Egbin). The pollution load index (PLI) pointed out high pollution risk (PLI > 1) to the marine ecosystems at Ijora; Iddo and Okobaba, which necessitate regular and continuous monitoring of the coastal waters and estuaries of the Southwestern Nigeria to ensure food security and the safety of the marine ecosystems. The outcome of this study will sound alarm on the increasing levels of inorganic and organic pollutants in the Lagos coastal waters. Southwest Nigeria.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | June 11, 2021
A Study on Factors Affecting the Perinatal Outcome in Eclampsia of the South Indian Population
Hakeem Sayeda Bee Bee Hajira, Hussain shaik Imrana
Page no 250-253 |
10.36348/sijog.2021.v04i06.003
Background: The common perinatal complications associated with eclampsia are intrauterine death, intrapartum death, neonatal death, neonatal seizures, and prematurity. Aim: To study the factors affecting perinatal outcome in eclampsia of the south Indian population. Materials and Methods: 50 eclampsia patients (>32 weeks of gestational age) utilized, and the patients with medical complications like anaemia, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, vascular or renal disease, multiple gestations, and polyhydramnios excluded from the study. The patient history followed by physical examination and systemic examination recorded. Results: In 50 cases of eclampsia, 12 perinatal deaths occurred, of which five neonatal deaths (41.6%) and the most common cause for the death are prematurity (60%) in the present study. The majority of perinatal deaths observed in the middle socio-economic group population. The perinatal deaths were significantly higher in unbooked cases. Perinatal mortality increases with parity and found statistically significant. Perinatal mortality was significantly higher in < 36 weeks of gestational ages. Perinatal mortality was considerably higher in patients with the blood pressure of more than 160/100 mm of Hg. Perinatal mortality increases with the number of convulsions and found statistically significant. The perinatal mortality was very high in convulsion delivery interval in more than 24 hours, with an incidence of 30%. Perinatal mortality increases with the duration of labour. The perinatal mortality was more in vaginal delivery (34.4%) in the present study. Conclusion: The better health care facilities, improving socioeconomic status, adequate antenatal supervision will improve perinatal outcome in eclampsia.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | June 11, 2021
Non-High-Density-Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Morocco Hemodialysis Patients
A. Marou, A. Laraqui, L. Balouche, Y. Bamou, F. El Boukhrissi
Page no 52-56 |
10.36348/sijb.2021.v04i05.001
Introduction: Disturbances in lipid profile are very common in hemodialysis patients. Non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-c) has been proposed as a good predictor of atherogenic potential in the general population, but there is little data on this parameter in hemodialysis patients. The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of lipid abnormalities in a series of hemodialysis patients and to appreciate the contribution of non-HDL-c in the identification of non-traditional risk factors related to lipoprotein subclasses. Materials and methods: we performed a case-control study which included 100 chronic hemodialysis patients, from October 2014 to February 2015. We evaluated anthropometric markers and lipids parameters in HD patients and control patients, and the correlation between them was investigated. Results: One hundred chronic hemodialysis patients with a mean age of 48 ± 17 years participated in this study. The most common lipid abnormality was a decrease in HDL-c (47%), followed by an increase in HDL-c (27%) and hypertriglyceridemia (20%). Total cholesterol (TC), LDL-c, and CT/HDL-C ratio are significantly higher in the group of patients with high non-HDL-c compared to the low non-HDL-c group. In addition, a significant correlation was demonstrated between the levels of non-HDL-c and either LDL-C (r = 0.917, p = 0.000) or TC (r = 0.941, p = 0.000). Conclusion: Our study suggests that non-HDL cholesterol is an indicator valuable in the diagnosis, monitoring of dyslipidemia and assessment of cardiovascular risk in hemodialysis patients. It amply deserves to be included in the parameters of the lipid balance within the framework of the follow-up of hemodialysis patients.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | June 9, 2021
Medicinal Potency of Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) Juice and Ogogoro (Local gin) Mixture on Ascariasis and its Assessment on Hepato-Renal and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Ikotun Egbe Lagos State Nigeria
Egoro Emmanuel. Tonbra, Ikhide Godwin Ilegbedion, Ogiogwa Joseph Iruobe
Page no 163-167 |
10.36348/sjbr.2021.v06i06.002
Ascariasis is an infection of the small intestine caused by Ascaris lumbricoides. The aim of this study was to evaluate the medicinal potency of lime (Citrus aurantifolia) juice and ogogoro (Local gin) mixture on ascariasis as well as assessing its effects on hepato-renal and inflammatory biomarkers. Thirty primary school children whose stool samples upon microscopical examination at x40 were found to have 2+ ova of Ascaris lumbricoides (experimental group) and another thirty whose stool samples had no ova of Ascaris lumbricoides (control group) were recruited for this study. Each of the subjects in the experimental group was administered orally with ten milliliters of the mixture twice daily for five consecutive days. Two weeks after the completion of this oral administration, their stool samples were re-examined microscopically using x40 objective and it revealed 70% significant therapeutic response to Ascaris lumbricoides i.e. zero ova. Thereafter, five milliliters of blood specimens were collected into lithium heparin anti-coagulated bottles from each subject in the control and experimental groups respectively. These specimens were spun and the obtained plasma used for the quantitative measurement of hepato-renal and inflammatory biomarkers which revealed no statistically significant differences (p>0.05) when compared. In conclusion, this study has given an insight on the medicinal potency of this mixture in the treatment of ascariasis and its use is therefore recommended.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | June 9, 2021
Assessment of Different Sourced Water Quality to be Suitable for Human Uses
Mohammed Abdalla Hussein, Esraa Salama Khalifa, Samah Saeed Abdel-Azeem, Sara Hamdy Hussein, Fatma Elzahraa Yasser Hassan, Lamis Amin Fahmy, Wessam Khaled El-sayed, Wael Mahmoud Aboulthana, Yasser Hagag Mohamed, Ali AbdelAziz Ali
Page no 79-88 |
10.36348/sijcms.2021.v04i05.005
There were two new water sources were identified in Greater Cairo. Ain Alhaya is one of the most common springs that are subjected to continuous increase in the ground water level. Ain El-Khiala is a greenish brown spring located to the south of Ain El-Sira. During the present study, samples were collected from these regions and compared to quality of water collected from River Nile, Ismailia Canal and tap water (chlorinated treated water). The physicochemical parameters, disinfection by-products (DBPs) were measured in the collected samples in addition to microbiological examination. It was showed that quality of water was the same in River Nile and Ismailia Canal. The disinfection by chlorination is effective in water treatment and enhanced the water quality as compared to the other different sourced water although it gives various by-products. As regard to the springs, it was noticed that water quality is highly better in Ain Alhaya than Ain El-Khiala. The study concluded that there were statistical correlations among the physico-chemical, microbiological and organic measurements in different sourced water as compared to river nile and the most significant correlations were noticed among microbiological and organic measurements.