Paediatric Endocrine Disorders at the University College Hospital; Ibadan: 2002 - 2009

Background: Until recently; most published research focus more on infectious diseases and malnutrition giving the impression that endocrine disorders are uncommon. Reports on endocrine disorders in children in developing countries are few compared to developed countries reflecting the different level of prevalence in the different geographical locations and or level of awareness and availability of facilities for proper diagnosis. Objective: This study aims at defining the burden of paediatric endocrine disorders in Ibadan. Subjects/Methods: A review of records of children who presented at University College Hospital; Ibadan with paediatric endocrine disorders from 2002 to 2009 was carried out. Results: During the eight-year period; a total of 110 children presented with various endocrine disorders but only 94 had complete data for this study. There were 47(50) males and 37(39.4) females; and in 10(10.6) of them; had genital ambiguity at presentation. Patients' ages ranged from 2 weeks to 15 years with a median of 3 years. Many (35) patients were malnourished with weight less than 80 of the expected weight for age and only 9 were overweight. Yearly distribution of cases showed a steady increase in number of cases from 2005. Rickets and metabolic disorders constituted 56.4 of patients; Diabetes mellitus was diagnosed in 12.8; adrenal disoders in 10.6; pubertal disorders in 5.3 and growth disorders in 4.3 of the patients. Thyroid disorders were present in 6.4; obesity in 3.2 while the least common disorder was Diabetes insipidus (1). About 58 of the children had parents in the low socioeconomic status and the management of the cases were severely hampered by lack of funds. About 60.6 of these patients were lost to follow up; during the period. Conclusions: Paediatric endocrine disorders are associated with a high incidence of malnutrition. Most patients presented with rickets which is a preventable condition

Pattern of endocrine diseases in children at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital

Background: Endocrine disorders (ED) vary greatly in their prevalence according to age and gender. Although most of these disorders are uncommon; they usually run a chronic course; contributing to long term morbidity and ultimately mortality if not recognized and treated early. Aim: To determine; the pattern of ED in children seen at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH). Methods: We reviewed the case files of patients seen in the Paediatric Endocrinology clinic of the UPTH from July 2001 to July 2007.The information obtained were patients' characteristics; diagnosis; management and outcome. Diagnosis of each disorder was based on clinical features; relevant laboratory investigations and imaging studies. Results: Thirty patients were seen with various endocrine disorders. They comprised 13 (43.3) males and 17 (56.7) females with a M: F ratio of 1:1.3. Their ages ranged from 10 months to 16 years. Diabetes mellitus (DM) was the commonest disorder seen in 14 (46.7) patients. This was followed by disorders of puberty and thyroid gland in 12 (40) and 4 (13.3) patients respectively. Delayed puberty was the commonest disorder of puberty seen in 4(33.3) of the patients. This was followed by premature thelarche and gynaecomastia in 3(25) patients each. One female (8.3) had precocious puberty. The patients with diabetes had Type 1 DM and all except for one patient received insulin injection. There was delay in the diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism and lack of drugs for the treatment of some pubertal disorders in our environment. Conclusion: This study shows that endocrine disorders do occur in children in our environment. A high index of suspicion is therefore required for early diagnosis. There is also need for provision of hormone therapy (HT) for children with pubertal disorders in Nigeria