Clinical features and types of paediatric orofacial malignant neoplasms at two hospitals in Nairobi, Kenya.

AIM: To evaluate the clinical features and histopathological types of orofacial malignant neoplasms in children. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study involved patients aged 15 years and below diagnosed with malignancy at two main referral hospitals in Kenya during the period from July, 2008 to December, 2008. A questionnaire and clinical examination chart were used to document data. Data analysis was done using SPSS 12.0 programme. RESULTS: 65 children (44 males, 21 females) with ages ranging from 0.25 to 14 years were evaluated. The main complaints were swelling 61 (94%) and visual disturbance 29 (45%). The mean duration of symptoms was 0.17-36 months. The commonest signs were leucocoria (white reflection from the retina) 23 (35%), proptosis 19 (29%) and loss of vision 15 (23%). The commonest sites were orbit 30 (46%) and maxilla 11 (17%). Most neoplasms were retinoblastoma 26 (40%), followed by 14 (21%) cases of Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) and occurred in patients under 5 years of age (40 cases) followed by 19 cases in children aged 5-10 years. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, malignancies were more common in males than females with most having been diagnosed in children aged less than 10 years. Retinoblastoma and BL were the most common neoplasms.

Effect of health education on oral hygiene and gingival status of persons living with HIV attending comprehensive care centres in Nairobi, Kenya.

The study aimed to describe the effect of an oral health education intervention on oral hygiene status and gingival inflammation among persons with HIV attending two comprehensive healthcare centres in Nairobi, Kenya. This was a quasi-experimental study of 195 participants (with 102 in the intervention group, and 93 serving as the control group) who were selected using stratified random sampling. The data were collected at baseline, at three months (review 1), and at six months (review 2) using an interviewer-administered World Health Organization clinical examination form. The prevalence of plaque among the participants in the intervention decreased from 70.6% to 18.6%, with a significant decrease in their mean plaque score, from 0.89 to 0.15. The prevalence of gingival inflammation in the intervention group decreased from 58.2% to 12.7%, with a significant decrease in the mean gingival score, from 0.66 to 0.11. No significant change in degree of oral hygiene and gingival inflammation was observed among the non-intervention group. There was a strong association between the change in the mean gingival score and the change in the mean plaque score between baseline and at six months for the intervention group. The regression analysis yielded a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.76; therefore, 76% of the variation in change in gingival score was explained by the variables in the equation. Only the change in mean plaque score was a significant predictor of the change in gingival score.