Bowel resection in Nigerian children

Background : Although bowel resections are commonly done for congenital malformations in children in developed countries; they usually follow neglected and preventable acquired diseases of the intestine in developing countries. Objectives : To determine the indications and outcome of bowel resections in children of a developing country in a university teaching hospital. Materials and Methods: Data of the patients operated (from birth to 15 years) was retrospectively collected over eight years (January 1999 to December 2006). The biodata of children included the following: Indications for operation; type of operations; duration of admission; and outcome of treatment including complications. Patients with Hirschsprung's disease were excluded from the study because bowel resection forms part of their definitive surgical management. Results : There were 70 patients (38 boys and 32 girls). The age ranged between four hours to 15 years (median; five months). There were 16 (22.9) neonates; 26 (37.1) infants; and 28 (40) grown children. The indications were congenital anomalies in the 16 neonates. Also; 23 (88.5) infants had intussusception; 2 (7.7) had midgut vovulusm and 1 (3.8) had congenital small intestine band. Among the grown children; typhoid ileal perforation (TIP) was seen in 14 (50.0); intussusception in 5 (17.9); and other causes in nine patients. Overall; intussusception was the most common indication for bowel resection; followed by TIP. A total of 24 patients developed 33 complications. Complications included wound infection in 47.8and anastomotic leak in 42.8. The duration of admission ranged between 4-35 days (median; 15 days). The overall mortality was 17.1-; which was highest among neonates (56.3); followed by the infants (26.9-). Conclusion : Bowel resections are mainly done for intussusception and complications of TIP at our centre. Late presentation; preexisting malnutrition; and nonavailability of parenteral nutrition contributed to unacceptable morbidity and mortality

Pediatric day case surgery: Experience from a tertiary health institution in Nigeria

Background : The general observation that children achieve better convalescence in the home environment supports the need for adoption of day case surgery, which is gaining considerable acceptance in developing countries. Pediatric surgical service is in great demand in developing countries, and in-patient beds and surgical supplies are insufficient. Method : A prospective collection of data on all pediatric day surgeries (PDSs) by the pediatric surgical unit University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH, Ilorin, was done. Parents had pre-operative outpatient briefing and postoperative interviews on the second and ninth days for consultation regarding post-operative complications and events at home. Study period was between April 2005 and September 2007 (2½ years). Results : Of the 660 elective cases, 449 (68.02%) children were recruited as day cases. The male-to-female ratio was 14.3:1. Age ranged between 20 days and 15 years with a mean of 37.6 months and standard deviation (SD) of 34.4 months. Congenital hernias/ hydroceles were the highest indications (71.2%), followed by lump/ masses (12.9%), undescended testes (8.7%), umbilical hernias (4.8%) and thyroglossal duct cyst (2.5%). In 98.9% of cases, the parents resided within 20 km radius of the hospital, and 91.5% of them could reach the hospital within 1 hour. Fathers and mothers of 80.1% and 77.1% of children, respectively, had above-primary education. More than half of the fathers (55%) were civil servants, while 30% were self-employed. The mothers were civil servants in 37.3% of cases, and 34% were self-employed. The average number of outpatient clinic visits before surgery was 2-3 visits (41.2%) with mean interval to surgery of 4-5 weeks (60.3%). Logistics (investigations and availability of operation list) and patient's fitness for surgery were statistically significant delay factors (P= 0.001). Conclusion : Parents reported 14 children to be irritable at home due to pain, while the others reported satisfactory day case experience. No unplanned admission or mortality was recorded, and only 3 (0.8%) parents would not recommend day case surgery to other people. Conclusion: Pediatric day case surgery is feasible for well-selected and monitored cases in our environment. Term neonates with informed parents are suitable for pediatric day case surgery. There is a need for a day case center to reduce waiting list at UITH