Childhood Hearing Impairment: How do Parents Feel about it?

"Hearing impairment or deafness is a major disabling condition worldwide. The etiology of hearing loss range from congenital to acquired; and includes common and preventable childhood infections like otitis media and meningoencephalitis. The morbidity and burden of hearing impairment on the children and their parents is enormous. This is because affected children have developmental delay in many domains including speech; cognition as well as behavioural and other aspects of psychosocial development. Early identification and effective treatment of hearing loss improves language; other forms of communication; and cognitive skills. This study was carried out to evaluate and ascertain the perception and attitude of parents of children with hearing impairment.Material and Method: This was a questionnaire based study of parents' perception and attitude about children with hearing impairment in the Port-Harcourt metropolis from 1st June 2011 to 31st May 2012.Results: Thirty seven parents of children with hearing impairment were studied. The parents demonstrated different attitudes towards the children. Majority; 34(94.59) of them felt sad; others expressed anger. Twenty seven (72.97) felt hearing loss was due to punishment from the ""gods"" for an evil deed by a family member. The attitude and feelings of parents included sadness; self-blame and anger. Parents also believe that immediate cause is spiritual.Conclusion: The public should be enlightened about common preventable causes so as to correct all negative attitudes about hearing loss/ impairment."

Parents' Perception on Use of Insecticide-Treated Bed Net in Port Harcourt

Background: Insecticide treated bed nets (ITN) are protective against malaria; but they are poorly utilized. The utilization of the nets; especially by the under fives; will depend on their caregivers' awareness of the net and their perception of its usefulness. The study therefore aims to evaluate awareness and utilization of ITN . Methods: This was a descriptive hospital-based study. It involved the distribution of 15-itemed questionnaires to 212 parents (with at least one under five aged child); who brought their children to the Paediatrics outpatient clinic of University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Questions asked covered: the awareness of ITN; the number of ITN owned by each participant and the number of under fives who slept under ITN the night preceding the interview. Results: A total of 212 parents participated in this study. Male to female ratio was 1:4. One hundred and eighty nine (89.2) participants had heard of ITN. The two most common advantages opined by the participants were that it prevents malaria (42.0) and mosquito bite (38.2). The commonest identified side effects was that it causes heat (45.8) and 113(53.3) participants owned at least one ITN. Only 45 (21.2) participants said their under fives slept under ITN on the night preceding the interview. Conclusion: There is a fair awareness of the use of ITNs for malaria control; however there is poor utilization of the nets by the under five aged children in Port Harcourt

Neurofibromatosis in Children as Seen in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital

Background: Neurofibromatosis (NF) is transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait but 50of new cases appear because of mutation. The disease can be confounded by a broad spectrum of complications; such as various kinds of osseous lesions; stenosis of the renal arteries; optic glioma; and learning disabilities and disfigurement. Aim : To determine the prevalence; pattern of presentation and outcome of neurofibromatosis in children in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Method: This was a prospective study done from 1st June 2004 to 30th May 2009. All the children who presented with neurofibromatosis over the 5- year period were studied. Data collected included age; sex; and reasons for presentation. Definitive diagnosis was made using the National Institute of Health Diagnostic Criteria. Data was entered into excel and analyzed using SPSS. Simple statistics; frequency and percentages were used. Results: The total number of children seen over the period of study was 12;443 children. Out of these; 18(0.19) had neurofibromatosis. All (100) had the type 1 variety. None had type 2 variety. The patients' ages ranged between 5 and 16 years. There was a positive family history in 13 (72.2) of them. All the patients had cafe au- lait spots. Clinically the predominant forms of the neurofibromas were cutaneous 15(83.3); subcutaneous 10(55.6); and plexiform 5(27.8). None of the patients died. Five cases with huge masses causing pain and disfigurement had surgical intervention. Conclusion: Neurofibromatosis is not rare in this environment. This neurocutaneous inherited genetic disorder is a common cause of morbidity. Multidisciplinary management reduces the disease burden borne by affected individuals

Sexual Lifestyle of Long-Distance Drivers in Port Harcourt Metropolis

Background: Long-distance drivers are away from home for days and often times they visit roadside hotels for food; rest; leisure; alcohol; and become prey for commercial sex workers. Aim: To determine the current sexual life style of long distance drivers from Port Harcourt to western and northern parts of Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross- sectional survey of long distance drivers to western and northern parts of Nigeria in five motor parks in Port Harcourt metropolis was conducted. The drivers were involved in questionnaire-based interview from 1st February to 31st July 2007. Results: Ninety-four long journey drivers were studied. Sixty-one (64.9) were married with children while 33(35.1) were single. The respondents all had multiple sexual partners ranging from 2-5; with an average of three during the past one year. Twenty-six (27.7) admitted use of condom. Most [81(86.2)] of the sexual practices were vaginal. Forty-three (45.7) of the respondents drank alcohol when on long distance journey while 28(29.8) admitted having sexually transmitted diseases during the past one year. Eighty-one (86.2) of the respondents had knowledge of HIV/AIDS. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that long-journey drivers are important in spreading sexually transmitted and HIV infections in this country. There is therefore; need to find effective strategies to persuade long journey drivers to change their risky sexual behaviour

Poliomyelitis: Pattern and Treatment Outcome in Niger Delta; Nigeria

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

Prevalence of skin diseases in Nigerian Children: - (The University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital) Experience

Background: Skin diseases are frequently encountered in the tropics and are a serious cause of morbidity, disfigurement and distress in all age groups. The aim of this study is to determine prevalence and common dermatological conditions encountered in UPTH. Methods: Children aged 0-16 years attending the dermatology clinic in UPTH from June 2005 to November 2007 were prospectively studied. Results: A total of 1,226 skin disorders were seen, 247 (20.1%) were children aged 0-16 years. Skin disorder was commoner in females 139(56.3%) than males 108(43.7%). Papular urticaria 36(14.6%), atopic dermatitis 34(13.8%) and tinea 31(12.6%) were the most commonly observed childhood skin diseases. Conclusions: Skin diseases such as papular urticaria and atopic dermatitis are important dermatological problems in our environment. Implementation of public health policies and improvement in personal hygiene would reduce the prevalence of skin diseases in Nigerian children