Intrauterine fetal death of one of the twins; coexisting with hydranencephaly in the surviving co-twin: A case report

Hydranencephaly; a relatively rare malformation of the brain; is characterised by absence of the cerebral hemispheres and their replacement by sacs filled with cerebrospinal fluid. It is one of the recognised forms of intracranial malformations associated with intrauterine fetal demise of one of twins in monochorionic twin gestation. This report illustrates the development of hydranencephaly in a surviving twin sequel to intrauterine fetal demise of the co-twin

Profile of chloroquine - induced pruritus in Nigerian children resident in Ibadan, Nigeria

Chloroquine is still the first-line drug in the treatment of malaria in Nigeria and West- Africa sub-region. A major drawback to the use of chloroquine is pruritus. We studied a total of 175 children aged 1­15 years with a view to assessing some factors that may influence chloroquine induced pruritus and the possible impact on therapy with this drug. The mean age was 5.2+4.0 and there were 87 females and 88 males. Chloroquine-induced pruritus was found in 43/175 (24.6%). All the subjects experienced the itching within 24 hours of ingestion of the drug and median duration of the itching was 2 days. Majority of those who itched still used chloroquine to treat malaria for various reasons. There was positive family history in 34/43 (79%) of those who itched and 57/132 (43%) of those who did not itch to chloroquine. Those who had chloroquine-induced pruritus were relatively older (mean age 6.90+3.68 years versus 4.64+4.00; p< 0.05) and mean age onset of chloroquine-induced pruritus was positively associated with mean age of the children r = 0.91; 95% confidence limits: 0.71< r < 0.91. We concluded that chloroquine-induced pruritus in this group of children evolved with increasing age and was associated with positive family history