Introduction: Tetanus accounts for high morbidity and case fatality rates in developing countries. This study therefore aimed to identify reasons for the persistence of this disease.

Background: Many clinical, pathological, biochemical and metabolic changes occur as a result of perinatal asphyxia. These changes affect many organ and systems like central nervous system, cardiovascular system, pulmonary, renal, adrenal, gastrointestinal tract, skin and haemopoetic systems. The aim of the study was to identify various clinical and biochemical determinants of outcome in perinatal asphyxia so as to institute proactive the management of such babies. Methods: All newborn infants with birth asphyxia over 5 year period (2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013) were retrospectively studied. The data studied included place of birth, gestational age, Apgar score, mode of resuscitation, details of complete physical examination especially as regard each of the system. Results of investigations like haematocrit, serum electrolytes and urea, blood glucose done in the first 24 hours of life and also other investigations like lumbar puncture, full blood count, cultures were noted. The outcome studied was survival and death of the babies. Results: One thousand, six hundred and seven babies were admitted into special care baby"s unit over the 5 year period, between 2009 and 2013. Nine hundred and seventy nine (60.9%) of them were males while 628 (39.1%) were females, M:F ratio was 1.6:1. Of the 1607 babies, 563 (35.0%) were asphyxiated. Of 1607 admitted during the period of study, 304 (18.9%) died while 128 (22.7%) of 563 babies with perinatal asphyxia died. Therefore, perinatal asphyxia accounted for 42.1% of the total mortality. 22 (7.8%) of the 280 babies who suffered moderate asphyxia compared with 106 (37.9%) of 283 babies who suffered severe asphyxia died. (χ2 = 72.4, p=0.000). Many of the asphyxiated babies had multisystemic adverse features. Significantly more babies who were out born, low birth weight, macrosomic and hypothermic than otherwise died. Also more babies with cyanosis, respiratory distress, apnoea, abdominal distension, feed intolerance, oliguria/anuria, bleeding disorder, abnormal muscle tone, seizures, bulging frontannel, and coma died, p ≥ 0.001. Also, mean haematocrit, plasma potassium and urea was significantly lower while plasma sodium was significantly higher among the babies who survived (p ≥0.001). Conclusions: Our findings have highlighted the major role of asphyxia in neonatal mortality and multisystemic morbidities or complications which contributed to death. It is therefore, likely that efforts at preventing perinatal asphyxia will be more rewarding. Such efforts include free and compulsory antenatal care, training of more skilled labour attendants and women empowerment.

INTRODUCTIONRespiratory distress is one of the commonest presentations necessitating hospital admission of newborns.1 About 15% of term infants and 29% of late preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit develop have significant respiratory symptoms; this is even higher for infants born before 34 weeks' gestation.2,3 The clinical presentations of respiratory distress in the newborn include difficulty with breathing (nasal flaring, recessions or retractions in the intercostal, subcostal, or supracostal spaces, grunting, head nodding); too fast breathing (tachypnoea -respiratory rate more than 60 breaths per minute); too slow or shallow breathing (bradypnoea -respiratory rate less than 30 per minute, apnea); noisy breathing (stertor, expiratory ABSTRACT Background: Respiratory distress is one of the commonest presentations necessitating hospital admission in newborn unit. Regardless of the cause, if not recognized and managed quickly, respiratory distress can escalate to apnoea, respiratory failure, cardiopulmonary arrest and death. Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive study of newborns with respiratory distress admitted into the SCBU of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Nigeria. Respiratory distress was diagnosed by grunting, inspiratory stridor, nasal flaring and tachypnea (more than 60 breaths per minute), retractions in the intercostal, subcostal, or supracostal spaces and cyanosis. At admission, every neonate had a complete physical examination. Results: Of 625 babies admitted, 384 (61.4%) were males while 241 (38.6%) were females and 164 (26.2%) had respiratory distress. Respiratory distress was commoner among the preterms than term newborns.  2 = 44.7, p = 0.001. Leading causes of respiratory distress among the preterms were hyaline membrane disease, septicaemia, while among the term babies were perinatal asphyxia, transient tachypnoea of newborn and meconium aspiration. Sixty (36.6%) of the 164 babies with respiratory distress died. While 40.2% of the preterms died mainly from causes like hyaline membrane disease and septicaemia, 31.3% of term babies died from causes like perinatal asphyxia and meconium aspiration. Mortality from hyaline membrane disease was 46.9%, while perinatal asphyxia and meconium aspiration accounted for 38.9% and 40.0% respectively. Conclusions: Respiratory distress is therefore, a very common neonatal problem and it causes death of more than third of those affected. Emphasis should be geared towards reduction of preterm delivery, control of asphyxia and neonatal sepsis in order to reduce neonatal mortality in our environment.

The levels of awareness and uptake of measures for preventing CNS birth defects among mothers of affected children in this sub-Saharan African women cohort are low. Interestingly, many of the mothers were very favorably disposed to receiving, and acting on, the information about the screen detected CNS birth defects in their fetuses.