Abstrakti
The African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences has made tremendous contributions to publishing of scientific research in Nigeria and Africa since inception in 1970. I took over as the 9th Editor-in-Chief in January 2009 and my colleagues and I on the Editorial Board are determined to ensure that the Journal continues to advance the frontiers of knowledge.
Plan are underway to improve the content of the Journal. The Journal has been on the PubMed for years and it is our hope that we shall soon obtain an impact factor.
The Journal publishes papers of general medical interest ranging from Basic Sciences to Epidemiology, Public Health and Clinical Sciences. On a general observation, most papers from clinical sciences are cross-sectional studies or case reports. A good number are retrospective studies but there are interesting prospective studies also. However, interventional and outcome studies are lacking. Here lies a problem as good interventional and outcome studies will require funding which is hard to come by in Nigeria. That notwithstanding, there are good studies from Nigeria either locally or externally funded, but such reports are not often published at home. It is important to encourage colleagues to publish excellent materials locally as well as continue to improve the quality of this Journal. This is an important task for the present editorial team.
The present edition parades a list of 15 original articles, three from basic sciences. These are: The Effect of nicotine on glucose uptake in rabbit small intestine, Anti-hypyglycemic activities of Musa Sapientum roots and Efficacy of local herb in the management of dermatopohytosis in school children. An interesting paper on problem of contamination water supply came from Guinea Bissau. Clinical papers include Benign childhood tumours in Benin, Tobacco smoking in HIV patients, Prevalence of bronchial asthma in adult in Ilorin, Nonhospital consultations of patients coming to Ophthalmology clinic, Balance and prospect of fall in hospitalized middle aged patients on discharge from hospital and Evaluation of blood transfusion reaction in a Teaching Hospital. Others are on Congenital club foot, Ocular trauma in school pupils and Effect of electrical muscles stimulation on hand recovery in stroke patients.
Finally, a very important albeit potentially controversial paper on perception on operation room resources allocation points out the need for auditing in all aspects of clinical services. The paper highlights some deficiencies that could have effect on patient care. It would be interesting to know what deficiencies exist in the laboratories and other aspects of clinical services. The important thing here is that this is essentially due to human factors.
O. Baiyewu.
Editor-in-Chief.