ABSTRACT
Background: Poliovirus is an enterovirus in the family of Picornaviridae and consists of three antigenic types; 1; 2; and 3. All three types cause paralysis. It is a major cause of musculoskeletal deformity in many African communities including Nigeria. The deformities include muscle weakness; contractures; grotesque foot deformities and angular deformities around the knee; amongst others. Aim: To highlight 20 children with musculoskeletal deformities due to poliomyelitis treated in a private hospital in Port Harcourt. Methods: Twenty children with musculoskeletal deformities due to poliomyelitis were retrospectively studied. Results: The patients' ages ranged from1 to 16 years; with 95of them under 15 years of age. More than 50of the study group had poor immunisation status as 6 of them were unimmunised (30) and 5 (25) of them were incompletely immunised. Even though all school strata were represented; most of them were not schooling. The commonest deformity was contracture of the knees (100) and muscle wasting in the affected limbs. All of them had loss of muscle power in the lower limbs. Surgical correction was achieved by soft tissue release in 95of them and osteotomy in 5. The outcome was good; as acceptable extension of the knee was achieved post operatively. Conclusion: The musculoskeletal abnormalities of poliomyelitis contribute highly to physical disability. All patients affected by paralytic poliomyelitis become disabled to some extent and this increases the disease burden in Nigeria