Facility-Based Treatment of Under Five Diarrhoea in Cross River State: A Clinical Audit

Introduction: Diarrhoea is the second leading cause of under-five mortality globally and ranks second among the top 10 priority child health problems in Nigeria. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended some cost-effective; evidence- based interventions for diarrhoea case management. It is needful to evaluate the current practice in the treatment of diarrhoea in under-fives in health facilities in the country.Objective: To determine the extent to which current treatment practice for diarrhoea in underfives conforms to the WHO recommendation.Method: A clinical audit was conducted between May and June 2013 in 32 health facilities in the Southern Senatorial district of Cross River State; Nigeria. Trained field workers extracted information from patients' case records using a validated audit tool. Treatment was checked as appropriate; inappropriate; wrong or none; based on prescription on patients' case records.Result: Of the 370 case records audited; prescription for diarrhoea was appropriate in 40 (10.8%); inappropriate in 231 (62.4%); wrong in 82 (22.2%) and no prescription was made in 17 (4.6%).Conclusion: Treatment of diarrhoea in under-fives in health facilities in the State is suboptimum. Retraining of health workers on the current WHO and UNICEF treatment guidelines is highly recommended

Relationship between parental socio-economic status and casual blood pressure in coastal nigerian adolescents

BACKGROUND: Emerging data suggest that essential or primary hypertension occurs in the young. Parental socioeconomic status may play a role but the exact mechanisms still remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed at determining the relationship between parental socioeconomic status and casual blood pressure in adolescents. METHODS: One thousand and eight adolescents attending two secondary schools in Calabar; Nigeria were selected by stratified random sampling. Their blood pressure; weights and heights were taken using standard methods and sociodemographic data were obtained using a pretested semistructured questionnaire. RESULTS: Blood pressure was increased with age with males having higher values. The other major determinants of blood pressure were weight; height; body mass index; level of physical activity and parental socioeconomic status (p 0.05). Female adolescents with parents in the lower socioeconomic classes had significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p 0.05). In contrast; parental socioeconomic status showed no significant relationship with systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure in males (p 0.05).The prevalence of elevated blood pressure was higher in females than in males. CONCLUSION: Low parental socioeconomic status appear to be associated with higher casual blood pressure especially in female coastal Nigerian adolescents. Traditional determinants did not appear to play a significant role. Psychological stress arising from environmental and economic stressors may be responsible