ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Height measurement is one of the common essential anthropometric measurements in clinical pediatrics. The most accurate method of determining a child's height is to measure the height. However, in emergency situations and some resource limited settings, obtaining the actual height of a child may not be feasible hence the need to estimate. The most common age-based formulae for height estimation in children is the Nelson-Wheech formula, 6n + 77 where n = age in years. The accuracy of this height estimation formulae has not been assessed in a developing setting like ours with high prevalence of malnutrition. This study therefore sought to evaluate the accuracy of the height estimation formula in children in communities across Enugu southeast Nigeria. METHOD: Children 2-12 years old who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled over 12 months from three of the 17 Local Government Area of Enugu State. Height was measured using a standard stadiometer and estimated height was calculated 6n + 77. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS. RESULT: Of the 4046 children enrolled, majority (86.1%) were of normal height. The formula underestimated height of children in the two, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 years old categories by a factor of 1.2%-10.0% while overestimating height in 8-year old children by 5.1%, 11-year old by 0.2% and 12-year by 2.9%. Overall, the estimated height using the formula was within ± 10% agreement of the actual height of surveyed children in 77.0% of children surveyed. CONCLUSION: The 6n + 77 formula is a reasonable but not entirely accurate for height estimation for children in our setting.
Subject(s)
Anthropometry/methods , Body Height , Child , Child, Preschool , Cross-Sectional Studies , Humans , NigeriaABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Determination of weight in children is an important aspect of their assessment. It has a wide range of usefulness including assessing their nutritional status and drug dose calculation. Despite its usefulness, weight estimation in children in certain conditions can be challenging particularly in emergency situations or in children who are severely ill or cannot stand on standard scales. The Broselow Tape which is a validated tape that is used to estimate weight based on length was developed using height/weight correlations from Western data. However, considering the variations in anthropometric measurements of children from different geographic locations, there is need to ascertain how accurate it is to estimate weight using the Broselow tape among children in Nigeria. AIM: The study was carried out to determine the accuracy in the use of the Broselow Tape in weight estimation among Nigerian children. METHOD: A total 1456 children aged 1-12 years who satisfied the inclusion criteria were enrolled over a 2½ year period from two tertiary health facilities in Enugu state Nigeria. Weight was taken using standard weighing scale and Broselow tape. Data collected was analysed using SPSS. RESULT: Of the 1456 children studied, majority (84.2%) had normal Body-Mass-Index (BMI) while about 4.6% had a low BMI percentile for age. The mean weight difference between the two methods was not significantly different between the 1 to 6 years old category. Significant differences were observed from 7 up to 12 years. The Broselow Tape overestimated weights in 1 year old by 3.88%, 2 years 1.58%, 3 years by 2.13%, 4 years (1.94%) and 5 year (0.07%). After 5 years, the degree of overestimation rises sharply to 4.25% in 6, 9.25% in 7, 7.29% in 8 and 9.29%. 9.18, 11.61% & 6.75% in 9, 10, 11 and 12 years old respectively. The proportion of estimated weights that was within 10- 20% of the actual weight was higher in the 1-6 years age categories compared to weight estimates in older age categories. CONCLUSION: Weight estimates obtained using the Broselow tape correlated better in children that are 6 years or younger compared to those in the older age categories. There is need for re-validation and/or adjustments of the Broselow tape especially in children over 6 years old.
Subject(s)
Anthropometry , Body Height , Body Weight , Body Mass Index , Child , Child, Preschool , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Nigeria , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: A number of factors influence sexual maturation in adolescents, including chronic illnesses like HIV. Marshall and Tanner devised a method of classifying the adolescent based on the level of sexual maturation into five stages. This study compared the Tanner staging of HIV-infected and uninfected girls. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 100 HIV-infected girls aged 8-18 years and 100 uninfected counterparts matched for age and social class. Using standard photographs as a guide, stages of sexual maturation were determined according to the method proposed by Marshall and Tanner. Data analysis was done with SPSS version 20. p-values <0.05 were regarded as significant. RESULTS: The study participants were aged 8-17 years. Fifty-five subjects compared to 39 controls were still in pre-pubertal breast developmental stages while 45 subjects (45%) compared to 61 controls (61%) have commenced breast development (p=0.024). Similarly, 52 subjects compared to 31 controls were in the pre-pubertal pubic hair developmental stages, while 48 subjects (48%) compared to 69 controls (69%) had commenced pubic hair development (p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Perinatal HIV infection affected the onset of pubic hair and breast development but did not significantly affect the attainment of sexual maturation.
Subject(s)
Breast/growth & development , HIV Infections/physiopathology , Puberty , Sexual Maturation , Adolescent , Case-Control Studies , Child , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Follow-Up Studies , HIV Infections/virology , HIV-1/isolation & purification , Hospitals, Teaching , Humans , Nigeria , Prognosis , Sex CharacteristicsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Evidence has shown neurocognitive problems often exist among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children. There are limited data for children in Nigeria. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 100 school-aged perinatally HIV-infected children seen in the paediatric HIV clinic and age/sex-matched controls from the general paediatric clinic. Neuro-cognitive functioning was assessed using the Raven's progressive matrices (RPM) that has been adapted for the Nigerian population. RESULTS: The mean RPM score of subjects was 22.97 ± 11.35 compared with 32.93 ± 15.71 among controls (p < 0.001). Twenty-two percent of subjects in the HIV-infected group vs. 56% of controls were in the above-average intelligence group on the RPM. Thirty-four percent had average scores, while 22% were in the below-average scoring range. Neuro-cognitive functioning of the subjects was significantly affected by immunologic staging and socio-economic status. CONCLUSIONS: Neurocognitive functioning of the HIV-infected children was significantly lower than those of their un-infected counterparts. Neurodevelopmental evaluation should be part of standard care in HIV-infected children in Nigerian setting.
