Stroke in Nigerian children with sickle cell disease.

We reviewed our records over a 15-year period to determine whether or not the impression that stroke complicating sickle cell disease was less common than reported in North America. Records of children aged 16 years and below with a diagnosis of stroke seen at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria between 1988 and 2002 were examined. Thirty-nine such patients were identified but only 31 had detailed records available for study.

HIV-assocated lymphoma: a case report.

We report the case of a 3(1/2) year old boy who presented with sudden onset of headache. Fever and swelling of the left eye. He had complete opthalmoplegia of the left eye and 6th cranial nerve paralysis in the right eye.

A comparison of visual function scores in hydrocephalic infants with and without lumbosacral myelomeningocoele.

Purpose: The cerebrum is frequently malformed in children with myelomeningocoele. This anomaly renders them potentially susceptible to cerebral visual impairment. In these patients, hydrocephalus is an important and frequent complicating lesion which compromises intellectual function and may also cause cerebral visual impairment.

Deficiencies in tetanus prophylaxis in wound management in Ibadan, Nigeria.

In a review of 94 paediatric patients treated for post-neonatal tetanus over a period of 11 years at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, reliable data regarding the care received for wounds that eventually resulted in tetanus was available in 58 patients. Seventeen of these patients had orthodox medical care for their wounds before developing tetanus. While some of the patients had received antibiotics and/or tetanus toxoid, no patient received antitetanus serum despite the fact that most of them had no previous immunization against tetanus.

Injection-induced sciatic nerve injury in Nigerian children.

Objectives: A retrospective study of all children with a diagnosis of sciatic nerve injury managed at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria over a 12 year period was carried out in order to determine predisposing factors to the nerve injury and highlighting practical preventive measures.

Design: The necessary data was collected from the case files of children seen at the hospital with a diagnosis of sciatic nerve injury, from 1988 to 1999.

Results: There were 27 children aged five months to 12 years with a diagnosis of sciatic nerve injury.

Hyperventilation-precipitated cerebrovascular accident in a patient with sickle cell anaemia.

Hyperventilation exercise during electroencephalography precipitated a recurrence of right hemiplegia and aphasia in a patient with Hb SS disease. Although recovery of function started within hours of the event, full recovery has not occurred six months after. Hyperventilation provocative test during electroencephalography should be discouraged in patients with sickle cell anaemia.

Atypical presentations in children with post-neonatal tetanus in Ibadan, Nigeria.

In a retrospective review of 73 children with post-neonatal tetanus seen over an 11-year period at University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, atypical portals of entry of the causative agent were recorded in nine and five developed unusual complications during the course of treatment for tetanus. Localized tetanus was encountered in seven children; this involved the cephalic region in one and one lower limb in each of the remaining six. Among these six children, the portal of entry of the organism included intramuscular injections into the buttock in five and an infected insect bite on the buttock in one case.

The relationship between ventricular size and visual function in children with hydrocephalus.

We examined the relationship between ventricular size and visual function in 50 children (36 males and 14 females) with hydrocephalus. The third and lateral ventricular sizes and the visual function scores did not significantly differ between the sexes. Ventricular enlargement was most pronounced at the trigones and least at the level of the foraminae of Monro.

Electroencephalographic photosensitivity among Zimbabwean youths.

To clarify the factors associated with electroencephalographic (EEG) photosensitivity, the records of patients who had EEG examinations in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe between 1968 and 1996 were studied. EEG photosensitivity was confirmed in 107 of a total of 9082 youths (aged 0-25 years), giving an overall photosensitivity prevalence of 1.17% in the study population.

The influence of racial and environmental factors on EEG photoparoxysmal responses in Zimbabwe.

Objective: This study examined the influences of environmental and racial factors on the incidence of EEG photoparoxysmal responses (PPRs) to intermittent photic stimulation (IPS) in a multi-racial population exposed to seasonal variations in sunshine intensity.

Materials And Methods: The records of patients referred for EEG examination in Harare, Zimbabwe were screened for the presence of PPRs to IPS. The age, sex and racial classification of patients manifesting PPRs were studied.

Low birth weight and its correlates among Nigerian twins.

The incidence and correlates of low birth weight (LBW) among an index population of 525 newborn Nigerian twins and a control population of 363 singletons were studied. The incidence of LBW among the twins (53.9%) was significantly higher than the incidence of 11.

Neonatal jaundice, aflatoxins and naphthols: report of a study in Ibadan, Nigeria.

This study set out to investigate the prevalence of naphthols and aflatoxins in the sera of babies with neonatal jaundice and their mothers in order to determine whether they contribute to the occurrence of unexplained neonatal jaundice in Ibadan. Blood was obtained from 327 jaundiced neonates and 80 of their mothers, and 60 non-jaundiced controls and seven of their mothers admitted to hospital between April 1989 and April 1991. Blood group, bilirubin concentration, erythrocyte G6PD status, aflatoxin and naphthol concentrations in blood were measured.

Placental transfer of tetanus toxoid antibodies in Nigerian mothers.

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of the tetanus toxoid immunization programme in Nigeria, specifically the placental transfer of antibody to newborn Nigerian babies. Tetanus toxoid antibody levels were measured in 39 mother-baby pairs in Ibadan, Nigeria and compared with 78 British mother-baby pairs. Geometric means of the ratios of cord/mother (sequestration index SI) were 0.

Detection of naphthols and aflatoxins in Nigerian cord blood.

Widespread use of napthol-containing compounds and frequent contamination of foods by aflatoxins occurs in Nigeria. Napthols cause haemolysis and aflatoxins are hepatotoxic. A study was carried out to determine the extent of fetal exposure to these compounds and their influence on birthweight.

Pediatrics inpatients at the King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 1985-1989.

A review of admissions into the pediatric wards of the King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, over a four-year period (1985-1989) indentified perinatal problems, acute respiratory infections, congenital anomalies and diseases of the central nervous system, as the major disorders. With the notable exception of nutritional rickets, manlnutrition was rare. The age distribution showed a preponderance of neonates and infants who represented 42.

Antecedents and outcome of simple and complex febrile convulsions among Saudi children.

Of 215 Saudi children seen with their first febrile convulsion (FC) at the King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, between January 1984 and December 1988, the index FC was simple for 133 children and complex for the remaining 82. History of adverse antecedent factors, particularly perinatal asphyxia, birth injuries and pre-existing neurological deficits, were significantly more associated with complex FC, as was occurrence of first FC before the age of 12 months. Recurrence of FCs and development of epilepsy were also more common among the group of children with complex FC.

Childhood bacterial meningitis in Al-Baha province, Saudi Arabia.

A retrospective review of 71 paediatric patients admitted with bacterial meningitis to the King Fahad Hospital at Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia, during an 8-year period revealed a preponderance of males (67.6%) and young subjects with 88.7% being below 24 months of age.

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The clinical features and outcome of disease in 14 cases of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) diagnosed at the King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh during an 8-year period are similar to those described elsewhere. Therapy was associated with arrest of deterioration for 2.5 years in one patient, and with survival after diagnosis for 2-7 years in four others.

Septicaemia in febrile neutropenic children with cancer in Saudi Arabia.

The pattern of sepsis among 56 children admitted for various forms of cancer to the King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during a 6-year period, was retrospectively reviewed. A total of 148 febrile neutropenic episodes occurred and 55 of these, in 40 patients, were associated with positive blood cultures. The isolates were Gram-positive bacteria in 54% of instances, Gram-negative bacteria in 39.

Mortality pattern at a children's emergency ward, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

A retrospective study of the pattern of paediatric deaths at the children's emergency room (CHER) of the University College Hospital, Ibadan revealed a steady decline from 208 per 1000 admissions in 1978 to 179 per 1000 admissions in 1986. The study, however, showed that one in every five children admitted to the CHER died over the study period 1978, and 1981-1986. Measles has the highest proportionate death rate of 13.

Morbidity trends at the children's emergency room, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

The paper describes the pattern of diseases of the 17,033 emergency admissions at the children's emergency room of the University College Hospital, Ibadan. Neonates and infants constitute 60% of admissions into the children's emergency room although the facilities provided are heavily weighted in favour of older children. The study also shows a high prevalence of infectious diseases the commonest of which include measles and meningitis.

Intradural lipoma in a child.

We report the case of a 5-year-old Nigerian boy in whom conus medullaris and cauda enquina compression was due to an intradural lipoma, a rare tumour of the spinal canal in the tropics. The literature on the subject is briefly reviewed and the differential diagnoses are discussed. The occurrence of the lesion in this child, without other features of spinal dysraphism, is noteworthy.

Observations on the age and spatial distribution of paralytic poliomyelitis in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Poliomyelitis (polio) still remains a great public health problem in developing countries. A study of the distribution of 2205 cases of paralytic poliomyelitis seen in Ibadan City, Nigeria over a 15-year period shows that the incidence of polio is much higher in the central core area of the city where sanitary conditions are poor, whereas in the peripheral parts of the city, where environmental sanitation is better, the incidence of polio is lower. A total of 88.

A survey of neonatal jaundice in association with household drugs and chemicals in Nigeria.

A survey was conducted to determine the extent of exposure of women of child-bearing age and their families to household chemicals and medicaments, and the prevalence of neonatal jaundice in the exposed and unexposed families compared. Significant exposures to naphthalene, insecticides, mentholated balms, mentholated powders, and traditional herbs occurred in 45-87% of the families studied. The overall incidence of jaundice did not differ significantly in neonates from households with or without positive history of drugs/chemical exposures.