Search

Background: Severity of orofacial infections is dependent on a balance between host immunity and causative microbe related factors. Severe orofacial infections (SOI), if not controlled, could lead to serious complications. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the conditions associated with severe orofacial infections seen at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH). Materials and Methods: This was a 2-year retrospective study of all cases of orofacial infections admitted to the oral and maxillofacial surgery ward of KATH from January 2017 to December 2018. A specially designed form was used to collect relevant information from patients' records. Data was entered into Excel and later transported to SPSS for analysis. Ethical approval was obtained. Results: A total of one hundred and twenty (120) patients were seen during the period comprising 75 males and 45 females, giving a male to female ratio of 1.6:1. Eighty-one (67.5%) of the patients had low haemoglobin levels at the time of admission and 11.7% were known hypertensives on medication while 10.3% were newly diagnosed cases of hypertension. 17.0% were known diabetes mellitus (DM) patients and were on oral hypoglycemic agents but only 56.8% of them took their medication regularly. An additional 23.7% were newly diagnosed with DM. Sixty-four (64) has liver impairment, 79 had renal impairment. Conclusion: Anemia was the major condition associated with the SOI. This meant that in the management of SOI, correction of anaemia should be prioritized. DM, uncontrolled hypertension, renal and liver diseases were also seen to be associated with SOI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Millard method of unilateral cleft lip repair has been associated with a short lip and a flattened nose on the cleft side. The aim of this study was to determine the need for revision surgery following repair of unilateral cleft lip repair at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Method: Satisfaction with facial appearance (upper lip, nose and general facial appearance) was assessed quantitatively by means of a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), where 0cm indicates totally unsatisfied or "highly unattractive" and 1 0cm indicates totally satisfied or "highly attractive". Three assessors - parents, surgeon and layperson - were purposively selected to score their level of satisfaction with repair of complete and incomplete unilateral cleft lip. The assessors also indicated the need for any revision. Results: The total sample size was 120, of which 40.0% were male and 60.0% were female. There were 79 cases of repaired complete unilateral cleft lip and 41 incomplete unilateral cleft lip. Average scores of satisfaction of parents were 6.6, 6.8 and 7.2 for nose, lip and general facial appearance (GFA) respectively. Satisfaction scores for surgeon were 6.1 (nose), 6.0 (lip) and 6.5 (GFA), while those of the lay-assessor were 5.2 (nose), 5.4 (lip) and 6.0 (GFA). Concerning the need for revision, parents indicated 30.2% as needing revision, surgeon 33%; and lay-assessor 40%. Of the cases that needed revision, 33.3% were complete cleft lip and 0.1% were incomplete cleft lip. Conclusion: Parents were more satisfied with unilateral cleft lip repair using the Millard procedure than either the surgeon or lay assessor. Those who needed revision were mostly children who presented with complete unilateral cleft lip. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]