Background/Objective: Fluid, electrolytes and acid base disturbances are responsible for most deaths due to acute diarrhoea. The aim of this study is to describe the point-of-admission serum electrolyte profile of children with dehydration due to acute diarrhoea. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the serum electrolyte levels of 185 children with dehydration due to acute diarrhoea were assessed at the point of admission at the Diarrhoea Treatment and Training Unit of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. The age of the study population ranged from 29 days to 59 months. Results: Out of a total of 185 subjects, 30 (16.2%), 114 (61.6%), and 41 (22.2%) had severe, moderate and mild dehydration, respectively. In addition, hyponatraemic dehydration was the most common type of dehydration, accounting for 60.5% of cases. Metabolic acidosis and hypokalaemia occurred in 59.5% and 44.3% of cases, respectively. Only the serum bicarbonate level was significantly affected by degree of dehydration (p = 0.001). Age of more than 12 months and presence of vomiting were significantly associated with hyponatraemia (p = 0.005 & p = 0.02), while age of less than or equal 12 months and absence of vomiting were associated with metabolic acidosis (p = 0.04 & p = 0.03). Conclusion: The degree of dehydration appears to be a good predictor of the occurrence of metabolic acidosis while age is a risk factor for hyponatraemia and metabolic acidosis.

Introduction: In Nigeria's public hospitals, facilities for specialized neonatal care are few and available only in tertiary hospitals. However a greater number of neonates are delivered in the primary and secondary health care centres where these facilities are lacking. Thus, sick newborns are managed in the general paediatric ward along with other children and there is a likelihood of increased mortality in this group of neonates compared to those managed in standard neonatal units. Objective:To determine morbidity and mortality pattern among neonates admitted to a general paediatric ward of a secondary health care facility.Method: This was a prospective cross sectional study of neonatal admissions and mortalities from January 2012 to December 2013. Result:A total of 655 neonates were admitted during the study period of which 68 were excluded. Of the 587 neonates analysed. 360 were males. The leading causes of admissions were neonatal sepsis, prematurity, perinatal asphyxia, haemorrhagic disease of the newborn and neonatal jaundice. There were 122 (20.3%) deaths with a male: female ratio of 1.7:1. Neonatal jaundice, prematurity and birth asphyxia had the highest case fatality rate.Conclusions: There were 20.3% deaths. The leading causes of admissions were neonatal sepsis, prematurity, perinatal asphyxia, haemorrhagic disease of the newborn and neonatal jaundice.

No abstract

292 Original articleEvaluation of knowledge and perception of newborn jaundice among parturient mothers in a sec-ondary health care centre in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria Okposio MM 1 , Adebanjo EO 2 IntroductionNewborn jaundice is the yellowish discolouration of the skin, and mucous membrane occurring in a newborn as a result of increase in the level of serum bilirubin. 1 Worldwide, newborn jaundice occurs in about 60% of term newborns and 80% of preterm newborns, the majority of which resolves without any treatment. 2 However, in about 8-10% of newborns, neonatal jaundice can be severe, and is generally diagnosed when total serum bilirubin levels are > 95 percentile for age in hours. 3 The dangers of elevated levels of bilirubin in the newborn have been well documented, and these include amongst others cerebral palsy, mental retardation, dental dysplasia, upward gaze paralysis and hearing loss. 4 For these reasons, newborns that develop jaundice need to be closely observed while those with severe newborn jaundice should have immediate medical intervention.Newborn jaundice has remained one of the leading causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality in our environment. This is essentially because of delay in seeking appropriate treatment and/or improper treatment often instituted at home. 5,6 These actions or inactions are often borne out of the level of knowledge and perception of newborn jaundice by Abstract:Background: Newborn jaundice has remained one of the leading causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. It is believed that delays in detection and/or inappropriate treatment may largely be responsible for this. Given that most mothers are now discharged home 24 hours after a normal delivery, the responsibility to detect jaundice in the new-born and take appropriate decision now rest with the mothers. This study therefore sought to evaluate the knowledge and perception of newborn jaundice among parturient mothers. Method: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among 255 parturient mothers at the lying-in ward of Mariere Memorial Central Hospital. A structured, pre-tested, interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain information from the mothers. SPSS version 16 was employed in the analysis of the data. Results: Of the 255 parturient mothers interviewed, only 156 (61.2%) affirmed their awareness of newborn jaundice and only these mothers were further analysed. Their mean age was 30.2±5.4 and a median parity of 2. Thirty-seven (23.7%) of the mothers had tertiary education and just about half (50.6%) of the mothers knew that newborn jaundice presents with yellowish discoloration of the body and sclera. Three (1.9%) of the mothers knew that haemolysis is an underlying cause of jaundice and four (2.6%) mothers each correctly mentioned phototherapy and exchange blood transfusion as treatment modalities. Health talk given at the antenatal clinic was the source of information by 81 (51.9%) of the mothers. Conclusion:This study showed that the knowledg...

Febrile convulsion is one of the most common childhood neurological disorders. The underlying mechanism remains unclear; however, some reports have suggested that low serum zinc levels may be implicated in its pathogenesis. This case-control study was carried out to determine the serum zinc levels in Nigerian children with febrile convulsions in comparison with matched febrile controls without convulsions. Ninety children with febrile convulsions and 90 matched febrile children without convulsions were recruited. Serum zinc was measured using Atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Perkin-Elmer 306 USA). The data was analyzed with SPSS version 16 statistical package and student t-test was employed to compare mean serum zinc between the two groups. The mean serum zinc level of children with febrile convulsion (58.7 ? 25.4 ?g/dL) was significantly lower than that of febrile controls (90.3 ? 33.0 ?g/dL), (P < 0.0001). Hypozincemia may indeed play a role in the occurrence of febrile convulsion.