Methylated spirit versus chlorhexidine gel: A randomized non-inferiority trial for prevention of neonatal umbilical cord infection in Jos, North-Central Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Omphalitis is an important cause of neonatal sepsis (NNS) and mortality. Quantitative estimates of risk of omphalitis-related neonatal death is about 10%-19%. Topical applications of antiseptics have been shown to reduce this risk burden but has not been well investigated. AIM: To demonstrate non-inferiority of methylated spirit to chlorhexidine (CHX) gel for prevention of omphalitis, NNS and mortality at day 28. METHODS: This was a randomized, non-inferiority trial of methylated spirit versus CHX gel with 161 and 162 mother-baby pairs, respectively, conducted between July 2017 and May 2018. SPSS version 23.0 was used for data analysis to examine for incidence of omphalitis, time-to-cord separation, NNS and mortality. Relative risk and 95% confidence interval were used as point and interval estimates, respectively, with a non-inferiority margin of 10% set for CHX gel while a P values <0.05 was statistically significant. RESULTS: The median age of newborns was 18 h; (IQR: 8-24) h with the risk of omphalitis being 2% higher with CHX gel compared to methylated spirit (RR = 1.020; 95% CI; 0.988-1.053; P = 0.053). The median times-to-cord separation were 7.0 days (IQR: 2-17) and 7.0 days (IQR: 2-18) for methylated spirit and CHX gel, respectively (mean difference: ‒0.2145; 95% CI = ‒0.9085-0.4759; P = 0.544). There was no difference in the risks of NNS and mortality among those treated with methylated spirit compared to those exposed to CHX gel (RR: 1.0; 95% CI = 0.984-1.017; P = 1.000) and (RR: 1.0; 95% CI = 0.994-1.018; P = 0.986) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There is no evidence that 96% methylated spirit is inferior to 4% CHX gel in preventing neonatal omphalitis; hence, it may be considered a safe and effective alternative where CHX gel is unavailable.

Lassa fever outbreak in adolescents in North Central Nigeria: report of cases.

BACKGROUND: Lassa fever (LF) is a viral haemorrhagic fever endemic to West Africa. The clinical presentation and course is variable, making diagnosis difficult. AIM: To report the outbreak and identify the common clinical presentations of LF in paediatric patients in Jos, Plateau State, North Central, Nigeria. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of patients managed for LF during the June-August 2017 outbreak. LF was suspected in cases with: fever of less than 3 weeks' duration that had not responded to antimalarials or antibiotics, myalgia, abdominal pain, prostration and history of contact with any person diagnosed with LF. LF was confirmed by a positive reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test (RT-PCR). RESULTS: Ten adolescents were studied. The common presenting complaints were fever (100%), prostration (90%) and headache (70%) while the commonest clinical signs were pyrexia (temperature >38.0oC; 90%), prostration (80%) and abdominal tenderness (80%). Leukocytes were present in urine in 60%. Eight individuals recovered fully, one adolescent died and one developed intestinal perforation necessitating laparotomy. CONCLUSION: In settings such as North Central Nigeria, LF should be suspected in any patient with fever that is unresponsive to antimalarials and antibiotics, especially in the presence of prostration, tachypnoea, tachycardia or abdominal tenderness. Early diagnosis and treatment is needed to reduce mortality from the disease and protect against transmission to health personnel.

Pattern of hospital admissions of children with poisoning in the Sudano-Sahelian North eastern Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: Poisoning is a major problem in the paediatric population. In view of the paucity of literature on the subject matter in the northeastern part of Nigeria, this retrospective study was undertaken to describe the epidemiological features of accidental poisoning in children less than 13 years old who were admitted to the Emergency Paediatrics Unit (EPU) of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Maiduguri. The specific objectives included the determination of the age range most vulnerable, the principal agents of poisoning, the annual pattern of occurrence, the commonly administered home remedy and the examination of the need for preventive strategies in this part of the country. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were extracted from the medical records of 113 patients with accidental poisoning during the period January 1984 to December 2003. RESULTS: One hundred and thirteen (0.74%) out of 15,196 children were admitted for accidental poisoning. Their ages ranged from 6 months to 12 years. Children aged 0 to 2 years accounted for 80 (70%) cases. There were 69 males and 44 females with a male: female ratio of 1.6:1. Fifty-nine (98.3%) out of 60 children were from low social background. Kerosene and food poisoning (Manihot esculenta) accounted for 89 (78.8%) and 19 (16.8%) of all cases of poisoning respectively. Respiratory symptoms dominated the clinical presentation in 71 (62.8%) cases. Seven patients had severely low bicarbonate levels. Home remedies were administered to 50 (44.3%) out of 113 patients. These remedies consisted of milk in 49 (92.5%) and palm oil (oil from Elais guineensis) in 17 (32.1%) cases. The mean duration of hospital stay was 0.66 (1.67) days. Severe neurological sequelae was recorded in one patient. There was no death. The highest frequency of admission was recorded during the hot and dry months of March to June. CONCLUSION: Kerosene is the commonest cause of childhood poisoning in Northeastern Nigeria and children aged 0 to 2 years are the most vulnerable age group. The highest frequency of admission coincides with the period of the hot and dry months of March to June. Education and improvement in the standards of living of the people are the key challenges for the regional governments of Northeastern Nigeria towards achieving poison control.

Low plasma bicarbonate predicts poor outcome of cerebral malaria in Nigerian children.

Malaria remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in many sub Saharan countries and cerebral malaria is widely recognised as one of its most fatal forms. We studied the predictive value of routine biochemical laboratory indices in predicting the outcome of cerebral malaria in 50 Nigerian children ages 9 months to 6 years with cerebral malaria at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Of the 50 children studied, 43 (68%) made a full recovery, 5 (105) developed neurological sequelae while 11(22%) died. Biochemical derangements observed among the children included azotaemia (29%), elevated plasma creatinine (20%), metabolic acidiosis (22%) and hyponatraemia (16%). Metabolic acidosis and elevated plasma creatinine on admission were significantly associated with a poor outcome (p < 0.05). Hyponatraemia and hypokalaemia were not significantly associated with outcome. On multivariated analysis, metabolic acidosis and elevated plasma creatinine on admission to hospital remained independent predictors of poor outcome after adjusting for other known risk factors. Patients with these findings require prompt referral for adequate treatment in centres equipped to manage such critically ill patients.

Seasonal variation of malaria parasite density in paediatric population of Northeastern Nigeria.

Malaria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children and adults in the Sudano Sahel of Northeastern Nigeria with the highest prevalence of malaria in pregnancy of 64.5 in Nigeria recorded in this region. This study was carried out in 2003 and 2004 to provide parasitological baseline data for the development of Malaria Early Warning System (MEWS) for the surveillance of type I epidemic caused by meteorological conditions and to provide data for timing malaria key vector control measures such as Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) for maximum effect. Clinical information about malaria cases were used in this study. In all 692 children aged 6 to 96 months were screened for Plasmodium infection and used for the analysis. The results showed that the majority of infected children (68.06%) were aged 12-60 months and their asexual parasite density (ap/ u1) was between 100-500 ap/u1 of the whole blood. The month of September recorded the highest Geometric Mean Asexual-Densities (GMPD) of 13,655 while the lowest parasite densities were observed at the peak of the dry season, especially during the months of March and April. Significance difference (p<0.05) was observed between the sexes in infection rate. It is obvious that male children have higher infection rate (about 67.5%), than while female children (32.5%) regardless of climate seasonality. Designing a malaria early warning system and providing baseline parasitological data for timing of spraying cycles for key malaria vector control measures such as Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) should be encouraged to complement other effective malaria control strategies .Hence the need for this investigation.

The value of highly active antiretroviral therapy in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Over 90% of the children infected with HIV globally were as a result of mother-to-child transmission. With a high prevalence of HIV among women of reproductive age and a high fertility rate in Nigeria, the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is an important strategy to curb the menace of HIV. This paper examines the value of highly active antiretroviral treatment in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital were offered voluntary counselling and testing for HIV. Seropositive women who fulfilled the criteria for administration of antiretroviral drugs were offered a triple combination of nevirapine, stavudine and lamivudine in pregnancy. Women who did not fulfil the criteria were offered single dose nevirapine in labour. The newborn of all HIV-positive women were offered nevirapine suspension within 72 h of delivery. Overall transmission rate for women who had combination treatment was 9.1% which was lowered to zero level among those that had elective caesarean section and infant formula in addition to the drugs. Those who had single dose nevirapine in labour had a transmission rate of 33.3%. It is recommended that the single dose nevirapine be abandoned in favour of combination treatment.

Efficacies of chloroquine, pyrimethamine/sulphadoxine and pyrimethamine/sulphalene against P. falciparum in northeastern Nigeria.

The clinical and parasitologic efficacies of oral chloroquine phosphate, pyrimethamine/sulphadoxine and pyrimethamine/sulphalene in treating Plasmodium falciparum malaria were assessed in selected sites of northeastern Nigeria (Zone D of the Primary Health Care (PHC) Programme) using a 14-day standard in-vivo protocol during 1988-1990. Of a total of 2056 children under 5 years screened for infection, for chloroquine trials, 1189 (57.8%) were positive for Plasmodium infection. One hundred and seventy (14.3%) of these positive children were enrolled into the study. Clinically, the drug demonstrated high performance in clearing symptoms of infection. However, varying degrees of parasitologic failure, ranging from delayed clearance through recrudescence to asymptomatic Type-II resistance, were encountered. For tests with pyrimethamine/sulphadoxine and pyrimethamine/sulphalene, 517 and 253 children, respectively, were screened. The corresponding infection rates were 71.6% (370 children) and 71.5% (181 children), with 59 and 34 enrollments. Both drugs were highly effective, clinically and parasitologically. These findings and their implications for the success of the PHC programme for malaria control are discussed.

Amodiaquine treatment of uncomplicated malaria in children, in an area of chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum in north-central Nigeria.

The efficacy of amodiaquine against Plasmodium falciparum malaria was assessed in an area of confirmed chloroquine resistance in the cool, north-central plateau of Nigeria, using a 14-day protocol. The patients were all children aged <5 years of age. The drug proved highly efficacious, giving a cure 'rate' of 100% on day 14 and mean fever- and parasite-clearance times of 1.11 and 3.11 days, respectively. It was also well tolerated. Following treatment, packed-cell volumes (PCV) generally increased (65% of patients) but remained constant (12%) or even decreased (23%) in some patients; the overall improvement in PCV was not statistically significant (P >0.05). The results justify the use of amodiaquine to treat P. falciparum malaria in those who have failed treatment with chloroquine and the second-line drugs (e.g. sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine) currently used in Nigeria. As the amodiaquine would be better employed as one part of a combination than on its own, there is a need to identify suitable partner compounds.