Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection threatens the health of populations across the globe. It is an important occupational risk for health care workers (HCWs); they are known to be at high risk of the infection following needle stick injuries and accidental exposure to infected blood and other body fluids. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, risk perception and hepatitis B vaccination status of HCWs in Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional study among 124 HCWs selected by multistage sampling technique was conducted in the months of February to April 2013. Informed consent was taken and information was collected by a pre-designed questionnaire, data analysis was done using computer software, SPSS version 20. Majority of respondents (86.3%) demonstrated good knowledge of HBV infection. Most of the respondents (92.7%) perceived themselves to be more at risk of HBV infection as compared to the general population by virtue of their profession. Only 50 (40.3%) of the 124 respondents have been vaccinated against HBV infection. In addition, only 28 (56.0%) of the 50 respondents that have been vaccinated against HBV infection had the recommended three doses of the vaccine. This study demonstrated poor uptake of hepatitis B vaccination among HCWs in UDUTH, Sokoto, Nigeria, despite good knowledge and high risk perception. Periodic education of staff on prevention of transmission of blood and other body fluids borne pathogens in the hospital setting, and promotion of accessibility to vaccines against relevant vaccine preventable diseases in the healthcare facilities are hereby suggested.

The mean age at menarche for the school girls is 15.26 years. There was no difference in menarcheal age between the rural and urban school girls. Further longitudinal studies to compare rural school girls and urban school girls in private schools are required.

Objective To investigate life-threatening maternal complications related to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) in Nigerian public tertiary hospitals.Design Secondary analysis of a nationwide cross-sectional study.Setting Forty-two tertiary hospitals.Population Women admitted for pregnancy, childbirth or puerperal complications. Method All cases of severe maternal outcome (SMO: maternal near-miss or maternal death) due to HDP were prospectively identified using the WHO criteria over a 1-year period.Main outcome measures Incidence of SMO, health service events, case fatality rate, and mortality index (% of maternal death/ SMO).Results Out of 100 107 admissions for maternal complications, 6753 (6.8%) women had HDP. Pre-eclampsia (PE) (54.5%) and eclampsia (E) (30.4%) were the most common HDP recorded. SMO occurred in 587 women with HDP: 298 maternal nearmisses and 289 maternal deaths. The majority (93%) of the women with SMO due to HDP were admitted in a critical condition. The median diagnosis-definitive intervention interval was over 4 hours in a quarter of women who died from HDP. For PE and E, case fatality rates were 1.9 and 10.4%, respectively, although both conditions had a similar mortality index of 49.3%. Lack of antenatal care and place of residence further than 5 km from the hospital were associated with maternal death.Conclusions Severe maternal outcomes from HDP were due to late presentations and health system challenges. To reduce maternal deaths from HDP, health system strengthening that would engender early hospital presentation and prompt treatment is recommended.Tweetable abstract Eclampsia is the leading cause of maternal death in Nigerian hospitals.Please cite this paper as: Adamu AN, Okusanya BO, Tukur J, Ashimi AO, Oguntayo OA, Tunau KA, Ekele BA, Oladapo OT. Maternal near-miss and death among women with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy: a secondary analysis of the Nigeria Near-miss and Maternal Death Survey. BJOG 2019; 126 (S3): 12-18.

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Introduction: Eclampsia is a major cause of maternal mortality especially in low resource setting. Limited data exists on the perception of the cause of this condition among relations of patients who suffered from it. The information may be relevant in reducing the overall burden of eclampsia and any measure or investigation that would assist in reducing the incidence would be worthwhile. Objectives: To determine what the relations of patients with eclampsia perceived as the cause of the disease and to 00 the 'first aid' treatment given to patients with eclampsia at home before hospital care. Method: A prospective study conducted at the eclampsia ward of a tertiary hospital. Relations of patients admitted with eclampsia were interviewed within 24-48 hours of arrival using a semi-structured interview guide. Analysis was by the EPI INFO computer package. Results: One hundred and fifty nine (159) relations of 56 patients with eclampsia were interviewed, mean age was 43 years. Most of the relations had no formal education (80%; 127), 59% (N=75) attributed eclampsia to 'iskoki' (evil spirit) while 20% (N=32) had no idea of the cause of eclampsia. Only 6% correctly related eclampsia to elevated blood pressure. Of the 56 patients with eclampsia, 71% of (N=40 received 'first aid' treatment in the form of 'rubutu' holy water; 'hayaki' and herbs orally. The case fatality in this study was 23%. There was no association between the use of home first aid treatment and maternal deaths (p>0.05). Conclusion: Poor understanding of the aetiology of eclampsia exists among patients' relations and this may have implication on the immediate care given to the patient. Public enlightenment campaigns to educate people on the cause and complications of eclampsia are necessary.