ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is a common respiratory problem in Nigeria and spans a spectrum of infections, from the common cold to pneumonia. ARI is the leading cause of mortality in children under 5 years of age, with the majority of deaths occurring in developing countries. OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge of and the home-based practices used by caregivers of under-fives during episodes of ARI. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among an urban community in Edo State, Nigeria. Participants were selected using a multistage sampling technique. A pretested researcher-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. RESULTS: Of the 346 participating caregivers, the majority had poor knowledge of ARI-related aspects and only some respondents showed good or fair knowledge. Specifically, only 12 respondents (3.5%) showed good knowledge of ARI symptoms and only nine (2.6%) showed good knowledge of the danger signs associated with ARIs. The majority of respondents (n=163; 81.1%) used shea butter oil (orioyo) as a home remedy. CONCLUSION: Despite a high level of awareness of ARI among caregivers in the sampled community, a poor level of knowledge of the symptoms, causes and danger signs of ARI was observed. Various homemade preparations and remedies were used to treat ARIs.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is a common cause of childhood morbidity and mortality globally. Some congenital heart disease (CHD) may predispose their sufferer to bronchopneumonia. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the contribution of CHD to pneumonia in children seen in a tertiary hospital. METHODS: Over a year, consecutive children diagnosed radiologically with pneumonia were evaluated echocardiographically for CHD. Certain characteristics in children with pneumonia and CHD were compared to those without CHD. RESULTS: There were 121 children with pneumonia of which 61(50.40%) were males and their mean age was 10.2 ± 10.93 months. The prevalence of CHD was 14(11.57%), the commonest CHD was ventricular septal defect (VSD) in 7(50.00%). Most of the CHD with septal defect had moderate to large defects. Children with CHD were 3 and 256 times more likely to have heart failure and murmur respectively compared to those without CHD, p = 0.084 and <0.0001. Children with CHD stayed longer in the hospital 11.50 ± 7.03 days than those without CHD 7.38 ± 5.34 days, p = 0.012. CONCLUSION: The children with CHD were more likely to have heart failure and murmur compared to those without CHD. Prevalence of CHD in children with pneumonia in this study is high, evaluation of children with pneumonia for CHD is therefore recommended.
Subject(s)
Heart Defects, Congenital/complications , Pneumonia/etiology , Child, Preschool , Female , Heart Defects, Congenital/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Infant , Male , Nigeria , Tertiary Care Centers , UltrasonographyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Asthma imposes heavy health burden on children and families worldwide. It is a chronic inflammatory airway disease and as such, treatment of the asthmatics is aimed at relieve of bronchoconstriction and inflammation. Until about a decade ago, emphasis was on the bronchoconstriction rather than the inflammation. OBJECTIVE: To determine the trend in severity of asthma in steroid naive children, in an era when steroid use in the treatment of asthma was uncommon. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Case notes of patients managed for asthma from 1985 to 1995 and age 5 - 16 years were retrieved and reviewed (these case notes are usually stored in Prof. O. Oviawe's office). Information extracted included age of onset of asthma, severity of asthma and drug medication at presentation and at 1 year. The GINA Guideline (2006) was used in classifying the asthma severity. RESULTS: A total of 77 patients satisfied the criteria for the study. Of these, 53 were males and 24 females. Males: Female ratio was 2.3:1; age range 5 - 16 years; mean age ± SD (8.5 ± 3.13 years). At presentation, 48 (62.3%) patient had intermittent, 29 (37.7%) had persistent asthma, of these, 25 (86.2%) had mild persistent and 4 (13.8%) had moderate persistent. None had severe persistent asthma. At 1 year follow-up, 29 (37.7%) now had intermittent asthma, while 44 (57.1%) had persistent asthma, of these, 23 (52.3%) had mild persistent, 20 (45.5%) had moderate persistent, while 1 (2.3%) had severe persistent. Medication therapy was ß2-agonist in 72 (93.5%) patients. CONCLUSION: The study supports progressive pathologic process possibly inflammatory in origin. It is opined that steroid naivity led to the trend seen in this study and judicious use of corticosteroids would have arrested the trend.
Subject(s)
Adrenal Cortex Hormones/therapeutic use , Asthma/drug therapy , Asthma/pathology , Adolescent , Age of Onset , Asthma/epidemiology , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Nigeria/epidemiology , Severity of Illness Index , Urban PopulationABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate heart failure in patients with pneumonia. SETTING: The paediatric wards of a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. SUBJECTS: One hundred and four patients were studied. RESULTS: The mean age was 10.3 ± 11.0 months and 53(51.0%) were males. Of the 104, 41(39.4%) also had Congestive Cardiac Failure (CCF). All 41(100%) patients with CCF compared to 38 of 63 (60.3%) with pneumonia only had cardiomegaly (p = 0.0001). Ten of 61(16.4%) patients with chest X ray had a cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) > 60%. Ten children had dilated ventricular chambers, eight (80.0%) had dilated inferior vena cavae and seven (70%) had myocarditis. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of CCF complicating pneumonia was high. Tender hepatomegaly, increased CTR and myocarditis were pointers to CCF complicating pneumonia.
