Childhood cancer is a leading cause of childhood mortality in developed countries though ranks lower than infections in developing countries. Most patients with malignancies present late to hospital with consequent adverse outcome. Early diagnosis, therefore, is an important requirement in pediatric oncology as delayed diagnosis is associated with poor prognosis and huge economic cost. The study aims to identify factors associated with delay in the diagnosis of childhood cancer at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu.Children aged 0-17 years with admitting diagnosis of cancer which was histologically confirmed were reviewed prospectively over a 3-year period. An interviewer structured questionnaire was administered to patients or parents/caregivers to obtain information on patients' biodata, their symptoms as well as visit to health professionals or alternative health care providers before presentation at this hospital.Ninety patients were confirmed to have cancer. Overall median lag time (LT) was 15.7 weeks. Major contributors to delay were parents and the type of cancer patients presented with. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) had the shortest median LT of 4.2 weeks while Hodgkin's disease had the longest median LT of 53.6 weeks (p = 0.01, Mann-Whitney test, 2-tailed). The median parent's delay was 12.3 weeks and health system delay was 3.6 weeks showing a significant difference in the two categories of delay (p < 0.0001, Mann-Whitney test, 2-tailed). The median treatment delay was 5 days.Public awareness and health system reform is imperative in reducing the delay in diagnosis of childhood cancer in our environment.

BackgroundUrinary tract infection (UTI) is a common cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in the tropics. Children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) may have compromised kidney function arising from repeated vaso-occlusive episodes and recurrent symptomatic or asymptomatic UTI.ObjectivesThis study aims at determining the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria and sensitivity pattern in children with homozygous sickle haemoglobin compared to children with normal haemoglobin.MethodsOne hundred children with SCA in stable state and 100 children with normal haemoglobin aged 2-12 years were screened for asymptomatic bacteriuria using midstream urine samples. The samples were incubated aerobically at 37°C for 24 hours within one hour of collection. Children whose urine samples yielded significant bacteriuria (≥105cfu/ml) on two consecutive cultures were regarded as having asymptomatic bacteriuria.ResultsAsymptomatic bacteriuria was noted in 6% of children with SCA and occurred more in females than males (F: M = 5:1) when compared to 2% in children with normal haemoglobin. Escherichia coli was the commonest organism isolated (33.3%). All the organisms were resistant to co-trimoxazole and ampicillin while most were sensitive to gentamicin, ceftriaxone and the quinolones.ConclusionThe risk of asymptomatic bacteriuria is three times more common in children with sickle cell anemia than in children with normal haemoglobin. It is therefore important to screen SCA patients, especially the females for UTI and should be treated according to the sensitivity result of the cultured organisms.

BackgroundSome factors are known to influence the academic performance of children with Sickle Cell Anaemia (SCA). Information on their effects in these children is limited in Nigeria. The factors which influence academic performance of children with SCA in Enugu, Nigeria are determined in this study.MethodsConsecutive children with SCA aged 5–11 years were recruited at the weekly sickle cell clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu, Nigeria. Their age- and sex- matched normal classmates were recruited as controls. The total number of days of school absence for 2009/2010 academic session was obtained for each pair of pupils from the class attendance register. Academic performance was assessed using the average of the overall scores in the three term examinations of same session. Intelligence ability was determined with Draw-A-Person Quotient (DAPQ) using the Draw-A-Person Test while socio-economic status was determined using the occupational status and educational attainment of each parent.ResultsAcademic performance of children with SCA showed statistically significant association with their socio-economic status (χ2 = 9.626, p = 0.047), and significant correlation with DAPQ (r = 0.394, p = 0.000) and age (r = -0.412, p = 0.000). However, no significant relationship existed between academic performance and school absence in children with SCA (r = -0.080, p = 0.453).ConclusionsAcademic performance of children with SCA is influenced by their intelligence ability, age and socio-economic status but not negatively affected by their increased school absenteeism.

Background: Regional variations in size and parenchyma echo-texture of the spleen among sickle cell disease (SCD) patients have been documented in various publications. The objectives of this study were to assess the size and parenchyma echo-texture of the spleen of SCD patients and ascertain the relationship of age, height and weight with the spleen sizes. Methods: This was a cross sectional study involving 103 each of SCD and age matched control subjects. Aloka ST-550 -3500 ultrasound machine with 3.5 and 5 MHz convex transducers was used to scan the subjects over a 15 months period (September, 2012 to November, 2013. The age, height and weight of each subject were recorded. Results: The spleen sizes of SCD patients were generally larger than those of the controls (p < 0.05). Abnormal spleen parenchyma of varied appearances was found among the SCD subjects. There were negative correlations between mean spleen sizes and height, weight and age in SCD patients but positive correlations were found between them in the controls. Conclusion: Routine sonographic assessment of spleen size and echo-texture is useful in the management of SCD patients. Sci. 2015;15(3):949-58. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v15i3.32

Child abuse is a notable problem among secondary school students and adolescents, though this is highly underreported as seen in this study.