Trends in Neonatal and Post-Neonatal Tetanus Admissions at a Nigerian Teaching Hospital

Introduction: Tetanus accounts for high morbidity and case fatality rates in developing countries. This study therefore aimed to identify reasons for the persistence of this disease. Methodology: Paediatric admissions at Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2008 diagnosed with tetanus were studied. Data was analyzed with SPSS 18 and statistical significance was set at p 0.05. Results: Of the total 1;681 paediatric admissions; 30 (1.8) had tetanus. Of the 878 neonatal admissions; 8 (0.9) had tetanus; while 22 (2.7) of the total 803 post-neonatal admissions had tetanus. Neonatal tetanus admissions were significantly higher in 2006 compared to 2007 and 2008 (7 [2.3] versus 1 [0.2] [?2