Prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among children attending the outpatient clinic of a tertiary health centre in Southwest Nigeria.

Introduction: hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global health disease. One-third of the world´s population is reportedly infected with the virus. Infections in children are mostly perinatal and therefore acquired early in life, with a propensity to evolve into chronic diseases and their attendant life-threatening complications.

Cluster-randomized controlled trial of intermittent preventive treatment in infancy using sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP-IPTi): a pilot study in Nigeria.

Background: Malaria kills a child in sub-Saharan Africa every 2 min despite widely available interventions including intermittent preventive treatment in infants (IPTi). Since 2010, when World Health Organization (WHO) recommended IPTi, no country has implemented it. To our knowledge, no IPTi study has been conducted in Nigeria.

Neonatal Jaundice: Knowledge and Practices of Healthcare Providers and Trainees in Southwest Nigeria.

Severe neonatal jaundice (SNNJ) is a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Risk mitigation and management modalities for SNNJ have led to marked reduction in complications in high-income countries but not in LMICs likely in part due to knowledge gaps among healthcare providers. This study, a cross-sectional study conducted in Ogbomosho, Nigeria, aimed to identify SNNJ knowledge and practices among Nigerian healthcare providers/trainees.

Efficacy and safety of dual intravenous artesunate plus quinine compared to intravenous artesunate for cerebral malaria in a triple blinded parallel multisite randomized controlled trial in Nigerian children: DUAL PAQ TRIAL Protocol.

Background: Evidence exists as to the criticality of the first 24 h in the management of cerebral malaria. The morbidity and the mortality rate (35%) with the current intravenous monotherapy for the initial treatment of cerebral malaria are unacceptably high. Combination therapy and a shorter course of effective medication have been shown to improve outcomes in human participants in the treatment of other diseases.

Determinants of Exclusive Breastfeeding Practices Among Mothers of Infants Less Than Six Months Attending an Immunization Clinic in Southwestern Nigeria.

Background Despite being a cost-effective means of improving the childhood health indices, exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) remains low in the low middle-income countries. Hence, we evaluated the determinants of EBF among mothers of infants less than six months in Southwestern Nigeria. Methods This was a cross-sectional descriptive study that involved 271 mothers of infants aged less than six months attending the immunization clinic of the Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, Nigeria.

Treatment outcomes of Nigerian patients with tuberculosis: A retrospective 25-year review in a regional medical center.

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health challenge and leading infectious killer worldwide. The need for continuous evaluation of TB treatment outcomes becomes more imperative in the midst of a global economic meltdown substantially impacting resource-limited-settings.

Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed 25-years of treatment outcomes in 3,384 patients who were managed for TB at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.

Filtered sunlight versus intensive electric powered phototherapy in moderate-to-severe neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia: a randomised controlled non-inferiority trial.

Background: Kernicterus resulting from severe neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia is a leading cause of preventable deaths and disabilities in low-income and middle-income countries, partly because high-quality intensive phototherapy is unavailable. Previously, we showed that filtered-sunlight phototherapy (FSPT) was efficacious and safe for treatment of mild-to-moderate neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia. We aimed to extend these studies to infants with moderate-to-severe hyperbilirubinaemia.

Pediatric Trauma Care in Low Resource Settings: Challenges, Opportunities, and Solutions.

Trauma constitutes a significant cause of death and disability globally. The vast majority -about 95%, of the 5.8 million deaths each year, occur in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) 3-6.

Case Presentation of Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis in a 4-Year-Old Boy.

We report a case of a 4-year-old boy from Oyo, Nigeria, presenting with prolonged seizures and coma with the subsequent development of oro-lingual-facial dyskinesia with frequent tongue thrusting, dysconjugate gaze and choreoathetoid movements of the limbs because of autoimmune encephalitis consistent with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis.

A randomized two-way crossover bioequivalence study in healthy adult volunteers of paediatric zidovudine/lamivudine/nevirapine fast-disintegrating fixed-dose combination tablet.

Objective: The bioequivalence study was conducted to compare the developed paediatric fixed-dose combination (FDC) zidovudine/lamivudine/nevirapine (60/30/50 mg) tablet - the test formulation - with the combined mixture of single-entity innovator products (reference product).

Methods: A single-dose open-label randomized two-way crossover study was conducted in healthy adult African volunteers after an informed consent was obtained. The 24 volunteers, divided into two groups, were administered the products after an overnight fast on two treatment days with 14 days of washout period.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in Nigerian children.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most common human enzymopathy and in Sub-Saharan Africa, is a significant cause of infection- and drug-induced hemolysis and neonatal jaundice. Our goals were to determine the prevalence of G6PD deficiency among Nigerian children of different ethnic backgrounds and to identify predictors of G6PD deficiency by analyzing vital signs and hematocrit and by asking screening questions about symptoms of hemolysis. We studied 1,122 children (561 males and 561 females) aged 1 month to 15 years.

A randomized pahse I bioequivalence clinincal trial of a paediatric fixed-dose combination antiretroviral reconstitutable suspension in healthy adult volunteers.

Background: This study aimed to test the hypothesis that the paediatric fixed-dose combination granule for reconstitution (comprising lamivudine/zidovudine/nevirapine 30/60/50 mg per 5 ml) as a test product is bioequivalent to the coadministered single entities of the referenced products. Fixed-dose combination anti-retroviral therapy provides adequate suppression of HIV-1 replication, provides barrier to the development of resistance, simplifies dosage regimen and improves adherence.

Methods: An open label, randomized, two-way crossover study was conducted on 24 health adults under fasted conditions, with a washout period of 14 days between treatments.

Cost comparison of microscopy vs. empiric treatment for malaria in Southwestern Nigeria: a prospective study.

Background: Presumptive treatment for malaria is common in resource-limited settings, yet controversial given the imprecision of clinical diagnosis. The researchers compared costs of diagnosis and drugs for two strategies: (1) empirical treatment of malaria via clinical diagnosis; and (2) empirical diagnosis followed by treatment only with Giemsa smear confirmation.

Methods: Patients with a diagnosis of clinical malaria were recruited from a mission/university teaching hospital in southwestern Nigeria.

Etiologic agents and outcome determinants of community-acquired pneumonia in urban children: a hospital-based study.

Etiologic clues and prognostic indicators of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) were sought in a 30-month study of under-5 admissions for acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs). Investigative tools included blood culture, hemogram, immunofluorescence and serology. Associations of variables were tested using standard statistical tools.