A 7-Month Review of Clinical and Demographic Predictors of Childhood Mortality in a Tertiary Children Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Background: Sierra Leone ranks among nations with unacceptably high infant and under-5 mortality rates. Understanding the clinical and demographic dynamics that underpin paediatric mortalities is not only essential but fundamental to the formulation and implementation of effective healthcare interventions that would enhance child survival.

Subjects And Material: This was a 7-month review of all mortalities from May 24th 2021 to December 31st 2021 at Ola During Children's Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Outcome of Emergency Blood Transfusion in Children Seen at a Tertiary Children's Hospital in Freetown: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Objective: This study sought to describe the prevalence and clinical outcome after emergency blood transfusion among children presenting with severe anemia in a tertiary children's hospital in Sierra Leone.

Method: This was a retrospective study of 395 children who received emergency blood transfusion at the Ola During Children's Hospital in Freetown. Association between mortality and sociodemographic and clinical factors was assessed using χ 2 test.

A modified Bilirubin-induced neurologic dysfunction (BIND-M) algorithm is useful in evaluating severity of jaundice in a resource-limited setting.

Background: Severe neonatal jaundice with associated acute bilirubin encephalopathy occurs frequently in low- and middle-income countries, where advanced diagnostic technology is in short supply. In an effort to facilitate the physical diagnosis of acute bilirubin encephalopathy, we pilot-tested a modified bilirubin induced neurologic dysfunction scoring algorithm in a group of pediatric trainees (residents) and their mentors (consultants) in a resource-constrained setting.

Methods: Jaundiced Nigerian infants were examined by consultant and resident pediatricians.

Phototherapy device effectiveness in Nigeria: irradiance assessment and potential for improvement.

This study investigated the effectiveness of simple-to-implement adjustments of phototherapy devices on irradiance levels in a cross-section of Nigerian hospitals. A total of 76 phototherapy devices were evaluated in 16 hospitals while adjustments were implemented for a subset of 25 devices for which consent was obtained. The mean irradiance level was 7.

Intestinal helminthiasis in children with chronic neurological disorders in Benin City, Nigeria: intensity and behavioral risk factors.

Background: Behavioral aberrations such as nail biting, finger sucking, and pica have been postulated as risk factors that enhance helminths ova transmission. These aberrations may present commonly in children with chronic neurological disorders and predispose them to heavy intensity of intestinal helminthiasis. This comparative cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence, intensity, and behavioral risk factors for intestinal helminthiasis in children with chronic neurological disorders and apparently healthy controls.