Home management of childhood diarrhoea: Need to intensify campaign

A review of home management of childhood diarrhea in under-five children among 203 Nigerian mothers was carried out over a period of 3 months in order to ascertain how effectively they manage their children with diarrhea outside a hospital setup (infrastructural health facility). Mothers whose children had diarrhea, with or without other symptoms, and presented at the Children’s Out Patient unit (CHOP), of the UNTH over the study period were consecutively interviewed through a questionnaire designed for the study. The questionnaires were designed and administered by the authors. There were 30 mothers in social class 1; 59 in social class 2; 52 in social class 3; 13 in social class 4, and 7 mothers in social class 5. Information was obtained on the method of detection, causes of diarrhea, and treatment including their knowledge and use of oral rehydration salts with or without anti diarrheal and antibacterial agents. Out of the 203 mothers interviewed, 140 (71%) correctly defined diarrhea. 112 (55.2%) could identify correct causes of childhood diarrhea. Only 80 (39.4%) could correctly manage diarrhea at home. About 76% (154 mothers) knew that they should use an oral rehydration salt; of this number, 56 (27.6%) could correctly prepare SSS, while 29 (14.3%) could do the same for the UNICEF ORS. In addition, anti bacterial, anti-diarrheal, and/or herbal preparations were used by 38 (18.7%) of the mothers. The level of knowledge of oral rehydration therapy has dropped in our locality since its inception in the early 1990s. There is need to intensify maternal education in this area since we now have a new generation of mothers who were not there during the inception of the program

Mothers’ perception and management of abdominal colic in infants in Enugu, Nigeria

Background: Abdominal colic is common in infants but generally harmless. The exact aetiology is unknown but it has been associated with vicious cycle of crying and swallowing of air by the infant. The excessive crying associated with it can result in a lot of distress for family members creating unnecessary panics. We sought to find the perception and management of abdominal colic by mothers in Enugu.Objective: Objective of this study is to determine the perception and ‘home management’ of abdominal colic in infants by mothers in Enugu, south-east Nigeria and the factors associated with them.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey involving 177 mothers that presented with their infants at the pediatric outpatient clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku Ozalla, Enugu between June and November 2011. A pretested questionnaire was used after obtaining their consent.Results: A total of one hundred and seventy-seven mothers participated in this study. They were aged 20 to 60 years with mean age of 34 ± 7.3 years. Most of them (99.4%) believed that babies can have abdominal colic. While 41.3% attributed no problems to colic, the rest believed that it causes loose/greenish stools (12.4%), fever (16.4%) and vomiting (9.6%) etc. Most of the mothers (87.7%) do apply medications for colic which range from paracetamol (33.1%), Gbomoro (16.2%), teething powder (15.4%), salt water (13.2%), Buscopan (7.7%) and gripe water (4.6%).Conclusions: Mothers attribute symptoms of childhood illnesses to abdominal colic. This may have led to unnecessary and sometimes harmful management. There is need for health education of mothers and potential mothers.Key words: Abdominal colics, enugu, infant

Perception of child adoption among parents/care‑givers of children attending pediatric outpatients’ clinics in Enugu, South East, Nigeria

Background: There has been an increasing interest by couples in child adoption due to its acceptability in recent times in our locale. The enactment of the Child’s Right Act in Nigeria has harmonized child adoption process across the nation. With the rising demand for babies from child care institutions by many Nigerian couples, there is need to ascertain their perception of child adoption.Objectives: To evaluate the perception of child adoption among parents/care‑givers of children attending Pediatric Clinics in Enugu.Materials and Methods: The parents and care‑givers of children attending pediatrics out‑patients clinics in Enugu, Enugu State, South East, Nigeria  served as the respondents. Two hundred and fifty nine of them were selected by convenience sampling method after obtaining their informed written consent. The data were obtained using semi ‑ structured questionnaire that was administered by an interviewer and subsequently analyzed using SPSS Version 15.0.Results: Many caregivers (respondents) (94.2.7%) had heard of child adoption and 79.2% of them understood the actual meaning of the term child adoption. About 1.9% of them had adopted previously. Majority of the respondents (73.87%) prefers to adopt a child during its neonatal age with a slight preference for adoption of male babies. 15.1% and 8.9% of the respondents gave private hospitals and middle men, respectively, as sources of child adoption. Knowledge of the Government adoption laws and process was generally below average (49.2%) among the respondents.Conclusion: Continued advocacy and public enlightenment campaigns should be strengthened in order to harmonize adoption process in our setting.Key words: Child adoption, parents/care‑givers, perceptio

Perinatal mortality in University of Nigeria Teaching Hospitan (UNTH) Enugu at the end of the last millenium

Objective: This study was designed to determine the Perinatal Mortality Rate at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Nigeria at the end of the last millennium. There had been no comprehensive study on this since the inception of the institution in the early seventies. Methods: A five-year retrospective, hospital based study of the births and deaths of infants under one week of age was carried out. This was done using the birth records in the Labour Ward (LW), and the New Born Special Care Unit (NBSCU) of the hospital. The UNTH is a referral centre in Enugu covering five states in Eastern Nigeria. However, for the purpose of this study, all babies referred from other hospitals, maternity homes etc (BBA's), were not included. All births and deaths from twenty two weeks gestational age to one week after birth were included in the study. The data were collected by the doctors involved in the study from January 1995 to December 1999 inclusive. Result: 6376 babies were recruited into the study. Out of this number, 5942 were live births, 434 were still births while 411 were early neonatal deaths. 74 babies were dropped from the study (1.16%), due to insufficient information and mutilation of some parts of the records. The total perinatal deaths was 845 giving a perinatal mortality rate (PMR) of 133.94/1000, a high PMR when compared with similar centers in and outside Nigeria. Keywords: Perinatal mortality; Nigeria (Date accepted 15 June 2006) Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice Vol.10 (1) 2007: pp.19-2

Osteogenesis Imperfecta: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a group of rare inherited disorders of connective tissue with the common feature of excessive fragility of bones caused by mutations in collagen. Diagnosis is mainly based on the clinical features of the disorder. We report, the case of a male neonate delivered to a 33‑year‑old para 2 female at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu with no family history suggestive of OI. He had clinical features of a type II OI and severe birth asphyxia. Multidisciplinary management was instituted, but he died on the 7th day of life.Keywords: Brittle bone disease and fragile bone disease, Fragilitas ossium, Osteogenesis imperfecta, Osteopetrosis idiopathic

Congenital hypothroidism - A delayed diagnosis in a neonate. A case reoport

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Birth Weights Of Full Term Newborn Babies Among The Igbos Of Eastern Nigeria

Aims and Objective: The birth weights of all full term newborn infants have not been studied in the Igbo ethnic area of Eastern Nigeria. Nigeria study is aimed at establishing reference figures for this part of the country Materials and Methods: A five – year (1991 – 1996) retrospective, Multicenter study of birth weights of full term newborn infants was carried out in four hospitals located four different states in Eastern Nigeria. All the state in the Igbo ethnic area of the country, The hospital included the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, St. Charles Borromoeo hospital, Onitsha , mater Miseri Cordiae Hospital, Afikpo and federal and Federal Medical Center, Umuahia A total number of 20, 805 babies was enrolled in the study, made up of 10,. 618 males and 10, 187 female. Result: The mean birth weight of all the full term babies was 3.17 (+ /- 0.074) kg, the difference was not statistically significant (p. 0.05) the 3rd centile was 2.0004, 50th centile 3.2253 and 97th centile 4.1505. The low Birth Weight rate was 9.533% Conclusion: The mean birth weight of the full term newborn infants in the Igbo ethnic areas of Eastern Nigeria is 3.17kg Key Words: birth weight, Full term babies, Eastern Nigeria Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice Vol.7(1) 2004: 33-3

Influence of Biosocial Factors on the Incidence of Low Birth Weight Babies in Enugu

Summary: A retrospective review of 2,216 deliveries at the labour ward of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu was carried out for the period January 1, 1995 to December 31, 1996. The relationship between various maternal and neonatal biosocial factors and low birth weight incidence was examined. The incidence of LBW for the period was 12.64 percent with female preponderance [male: female ratio 1:1.33 (p <0.01)). Maternal ages <20 years and 235 years were associated with relatively high incidences of LBW. Other factors identified as risk factors for the delivery of LBW infants, included lack of antenatal care (p<0.001), female gender, grand multiparity and multiple gestation