Caregivers' perception and determinants of delayed presentation of children with severe malaria in an emergency room in Benin City, Nigeria

Introduction: Severe malaria is a leading cause of mortality due to late presentation to health facilities. Hence, there is a need to identify and mitigate factors promoting delayed presentation with severe malaria. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate determinants of delayed presentation of children with severe malaria in a tertiary referral hospital. Methods: This study adopted a descriptive, cross-sectional design. The participants were children with a diagnosis of severe malaria, based on WHO diagnostic criteria. Delayed presentation was defined as presentation at the referral centre at >3 days of illness. Inferential analyses were done to identify factors associated with delayed presentation. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 126 children with severe malaria participated in the study; their mean (standard deviation) age was 4.2 (5.3) years. The prevalence of delayed presentation in this study is 37.3%. Socio-economic class (P = 0.003); marital status (P = 0.015) and the number of health facilities visited before admission in the referral centre (P = 0.008) were significantly associated with delayed presentation. Children from upper socio-economic class were thrice more likely to present late, compared to those from lower social class (odds ratio [OR] = 3.728, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.694­8.208; P = 0.001). Likewise, the Yorubas were more delayed than the Binis (OR = 0.408, 95% CI: 0.180­0.928; P = 0.033). There was a negative correlation between caregivers' perception of treatment (r = −0.113, P = 0.21) of convulsion in severe malaria and timing of presentation. Conclusions: Delayed presentation is common with multifactorial determinants in the setting. Health education of caregivers on the consequences of delayed presentation in severe malaria is desirable.

Prevalence, risk factors and short-term outcome of babies with Neonatal Jaundice in a secondary facility with free-health services in South-West, Nigeria

Background: Neonatal Jaundice (NNJ) is a common occurrence in about 60% of term infants and 80% of preterm infants worldwide and a leading cause of hospitalization during the first week of life. Available evidence suggests that low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) bear the greatest burden of severe neonatal jaundice characterized by very high rates of morbidity, mortality and long-term sequel compared to high-income countries (HICs). Aims: To document the prevalence, risk factors and short-term outcome of babies with neonatal jaundice in a secondary health facility with free health services in South-West Nigeria. Method: Babies were recruited from both in-born and out-born arms of the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU). It was a prospective study of all babies admitted for neonatal jaundice from January to December 2014; the babies were followed up till discharge. Patients' information including socio-demographic characteristics, risk factors, treatment modalities and outcomes were collected and entered directly into an Excel sheet. Results: There were a total of 1,309 admissions: 734 males and 575 females giving a M: F ratio of 1.3:1. NNJ was present in 125 (9.5%) of them. Thirty-five (28%) of the affected babies were preterm babies while 90 (72%) were term babies. Ten (8%) of them presented within the first 24 hours of life, 103 babies (82.4%) presented between 1st and 7th day of life while 12 (9.6%) presented after the 7th day of life. Neonatal sepsis, prematurity, perinatal asphyxia and prolonged rupture of membrane (PROM) were the leading causes and risk factors for NNJ in our setting. One hundred and seven (85.6%) of them had only phototherapy as treatment modality while 18 (14.4%) had exchange blood transfusion (EBT). One hundred and twenty babies (96%) were discharged alive, 5 (4%) had bilirubin encephalopathy and 2 babies (1.6%) died. Conclusion: Neonatal Jaundice is common in our setting with possible dire consequences. Health education of the public on its associated modifiable risk factors is desirable

Growth patterns of preterm infants: a prospective study in an indigenous African population

Background: Optimal growth of preterm infants reflects their overall health status; however, indigenous growth charts are rarely available to monitor them adequately in infancy. Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe growth patterns of preterm infants and to generate percentile charts as well as relevant predictive equations for expected weight­for­age in their various birth weight categories.Materials and Methods: This was a prospective, analytic study. Anthropometric measurements of eligible consecutive preterm babies were monitored biweekly/monthly in infancy. Temporal changes in body weights and occipitofrontal circumferences (OFCs)were presented graphically. The Pearson's correlation coefficient was done toderivepredictiveequations. LMS chartmaker light version 2.54 (Medical Research Council, UK) generated percentile charts. P <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results:A total of 154 preterm infants were recruited during the study period, with a male­to­female ratio of 1:1.5. Their mean gestational age (GA) was 31.3 ± 2.4 weeks, and mean birth weight was 1510.8 ± 347.5 g. Average daily weight gains were 9.4, 17.4, and 20.0 for extremely low birth weight (ELBW), very LBW (VLBW), and LBW, respectively, in the 1st month (F = 1.733, P = 0.183). The peak weight gain period occurred at the 4th month for ELBW (28.3 g/day), 5th month for VLBW (38.3 g/day), and 7th month for LBW (38.3 g/day).There was a strong positive correlation of their body weight with their postnatal age (y = 505.6x + 1511.5; R2 = 0.92) as well as OFC with age (y = 1.33x + 29.94; R2 = 0.94). Growth charts for weights and OFCs were generated showing 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles. Conclusion: The preterm infants gained weight with increasing postnatal age following an initial weight loss in the early neonatal period. Their relative growth velocities were similar in all birth weight categories

Current Practice of adolescent preventive services among paediatric residents in Nigeria

Background. There has been a growing recognition of the challenge of Nigerian adolescents' health issues and the need to address it. Adolescent preventive services (APS) constitute an effective mechanism to reduce adolescent morbidities. Objective. To evaluate the current practice of APS among Nigerian paediatric residents. Methods. For this cross-sectional survey, we designed an anonymous questionnaire based on Guidelines of APS of the American Medical Association to elicit information on residents' current practice regarding screening adolescents for specific morbidities. Results. A total of 103 residents participated in the study; nearly 60% were from federal teaching hospitals. The majority (78.6%) attended to adolescents at least once a week. In the last month, the adolescent medicine service most commonly provided by respondents was general health guidance (66.7%). Altogether, less than one-fifth of the residents have recently asked at least two specific questions to screen adolescents for eating disorders, violence, safety issues, depression, substance or sexual abuse. Senior registrars were more likely than registrars to screen adolescents for hypertension (75.0% v. 29.1%, p=0.032), depression (50.0% v. 16.5%, p=0.043) and abuse (62.5% v. 22.1%, p=0.023). Also, residents with <5 years in practice were more likely to screen for relationship issues (p=0.045).Conclusion. The current level of practice of APS is low among paediatric residents in Nigeria. There is a need to restructure their ongoing practice and training to emphasise preventive paediatrics and other issues pertinent to adolescent care