ABSTRACT
Background: Measles is still a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in Nigeria despite the availability of safe and effective vaccines. The burden of measles using length of hospital stay as a result of complications in hospitalised children with measles is reported. Methods: We carried out a two year retrospective study of children admitted with measles into the department of Paediatrics; University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. Results: Three hundred and nine children (11.2of Paediatric admission) aged 6-90 months (median 13 months) with a male: female ratio of 1.6: 1 were admitted with measles. Forty three (14) patients were aged less than 9-months. Seventy two per cent (223) of the subjects were not immunised against measles. Length of stay ranged between 4 and 32 days (mean; 8.7 days; median; 16 days) and total bed days were 3561 days. Forty per cent (124) of the measles admissions were for more than 14 days (prolonged hospitalisation). Infants and unvaccinated from low socio-economic class were more likely to have prolonged hospitalization. The most frequent complication associated with prolonged length of stay was bronchopneumonia (70.2). Two of the children suffered acute measles encephalopathy. Conclusions: Therapy for measles and its complications may be a major drain on medical care resources in this part of Nigeria; especially among young children who are unvaccinated and from low socio-economic class