Transient-evoked otoacoustic emission findings in children (1-12 years) with cerebral palsy in Kano, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) suffer from multiple problems and potential disabilities. These range from musculoskeletal problems, mental retardation, epilepsy, ophthalmologic and hearing impairment among others. Consequences of hearing loss include problems with speech and language development. Early detection in this difficult-to-test population may prevent these consequences of hearing loss. An otoacoustic emission assessment is useful in this regard. This study assessed transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) in children with CP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study population were children with CP who presented at the paediatric neurology clinic during the study period. An equal number of control population matched for age and sex were also recruited using simple random sampling. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain relevant clinical information. All participants selected underwent a detailed ear, nose and throat examination and TEOAE testing. RESULTS: There were 330 participants in this study, categorised into CP cases (165) and non-CP controls (165). The age range of the participants was 1-12 years, with a mean age of 4.44 ± 2.92 among CP patients and 4.47 ± 2.90 among the controls. The male-to-female ratio was 2:1. TEOAEs were 'failed' in 83.6% of the CP patients and in 28.5% of the controls. This study found a statistically significant difference in 'failed' TEOAE result between the CP patients and the controls (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: This study found a high prevalence of 'failed' TEOAEs in children with CP in Kano.

A Rare Case of Low-grade Nasopharyngeal Papillary Adenocarcinoma in a Young Adult Woman: A Case Report from a Tertiary Hospital in Northwestern Nigeria.

Low-grade nasopharyngeal papillary adenocarcinoma (NPAC) is a rare nasopharyngeal malignancy that runs an indolent course. It presents with a variety of symptoms including but not limited to nasal obstruction, runny nose, postnasal drip, and nasal bleeding. The main stay of treatment is surgery, but other adjuvant treatments including radiotherapy and photodynamic therapy have been used with varying degrees of successes. Due to its low grade nature and absence of distant metastases, its prognosis is excellent. Here, we report the case of a 22-year-old young woman with low-grade NPAC who was treated in our hospital by simple surgical excision.

Comparison of Flexible Nasopharyngoscopy with Plain Radiograph in the Assessment of Children with Adenoid Hypertrophy.

Background: Obstructive adenoid hypertrophy is one of the commonest disorder seen in paediatric otorhinolaryngology clinics. It has a wide range of complications that can lead to cardiopulmonary and developmental problems; hence, early diagnosis and treatment are paramount in preventing the complications. Several modalities for the assessment of adenoid hypertrophy have been described in the literature, of which plain radiograph and flexible nasopharyngoscopy are the most popular. In this study, traditional method of evaluating adenoid hypertrophy (plain radiograph) has been compared with newer flexible nasopharyngoscopy. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of randomly selected children with clinical diagnosis of obstructive adenoid disease. All eligible participants underwent clinical examinations, flexible nasopharyngoscopy and postnasal space X-ray. The findings were compared using the chi-square test and Pearson's correlation test. Results: The age of the participants ranged between 2 and 10 years with mean of 4.5 ± 2.5 years. There were 79 (56.4%) males and 61 (43.6%) females. The adenoid hypertrophy observed using flexible nasopharyngoscopy among the participants ranged between 20 and 90% with mean of 67.4 ± 15.4%. The adenoid enlargement measured using adenoidal-nasopharyngeal ratio on plain radiograph ranged between 0.40 and 0.96 with mean of 0.7 ± 0.09. The Pearson's correlation test revealed strong correlation between flexible nasopharyngoscopy and plain radiograph (r = 0.858, P = .000), and there was statistically significant association between the two methods (χ 2 = 148.8, P = .000). Conclusion: There was a strong correlation between flexible nasopharyngoscopy and plain radiograph of the postnasal space in the assessment of obstructive adenoid disease in children.

Extending otology services to rural settings: Value of endoscopic ear surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Few centers, mainly located in urban settings offer otological surgical services, yet majority of patients requiring these services are rural based and are generally unable to access these centers with resulting disease chronicity and complications. This paper aims to describe the access of otological surgical services by a rural population. METHODOLOGY: This is a retrospective study of patients who accessed otological services at three secondary health institutions and one tertiary referral institution. All patients requiring ear surgery over a 4-year period were studied. The initial 2 years without ear endoscopic surgery was compared with the 2 years when ear endoscopic surgery was introduced. Hospital records were studied and relevant data were extracted. RESULTS: Six hundred and nine ears required surgery over 4 years. Age ranged from 3 to 62 years, with a ratio of 1.4 males: 1 female. During the initial 2 years, all patients were referred from the three secondary health institutions to the urban-based tertiary institution for microscopic ear surgery, 94% failed to proceed on the referral. In the second 2 years, 34% were considered suitable for endoscopic ear surgery, of which 78% accepted and had surgery within the locality. Of the 66% referred, only 5% proceeded on the referral. CONCLUSION: With operator training and investment in portable ear endoscopy set, bulk of ear surgery needing magnification can be treated in the rural setting. This represents a most feasible means of extending the service to the targeted population.