Assessing Oral Health Knowledge and Practices: A Study of Mothers and Children in Northwestern Nigeria

Purpose – To explore the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding oral and dental health for mothers of children aged 6 months to 8 years and older children aged above 8 years to 15 years seeking healthcare in a tertiary health facility in the Sokoto metropolis. Design/methods/approach – A cross-sectional study was conducted between February and April 2022. Subjects included mothers of 6 months to < 8 years and children aged 8 to 15 years presenting with minor illnesses to the General outpatient clinic. A structured questionnaire and focus group discussion guide were used to collect the information. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 25. Findings – Out of 238 participants, 128 children were 6 months to <8 years, while 110 were above 8 to 15 years old. Less than half of mothers, 46.9%, had inadequate knowledge, while 20.3% had adequate practices. Among the older children in this study, the proportion of those with good knowledge, attitude, and practice level of oral health was 60%, 61.8%, and 32.7%. There was a significant moderate positive correlation between knowledge and attitude scores but not practice for the 2 groups. Mothers’ education and fathers’ occupation were significantly related to good scores (p=<0.05). Mothers of children with primary teeth and older children with permanent teeth in this study all had poor oral and dental health practices. More awareness programs should be conducted in the community to target those with poor practices. Increasing female education and empowerment is also essential in this regard. Research implications/limitations – This research implies that from an early age, it is necessary to check oral and dental health to prevent infectious diseases. Originality/value – Oral and dental health is an essential aspect of primary health care and is a situation in which the mouth, teeth, and gums are healthy and free from any diseases. Parents, especially mothers, are responsible for maintaining good oral hygiene practices and inculcating good oral hygiene habits in children. Paper Type Research paper

Eumycotic mycetoma in a young girl from Sokoto, Nigeria: a rare and unusual presentation

Introduction: A typical presentation of Mycetoma is not uncommon although clinical manifestations might be misleading leading to delay in diagnosis, treatment and consequently leading to poor prognosis. Mycetoma can have a fungal or bacterial etiology and manifestation is usually that of a disfiguring subcutaneous infection that can affect any part of the exposed body. We are reporting a case of Mycetoma in an eleven years old girl that occurred in parts of the lower abdomen, perineum and gluteal region that was initially thought to be a soft tissue sarcoma or disseminated tuberculosis.Case Presentation: An eleven years old girl presented to Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto with lower abdominal mass and multiple nodular masses with discharging sinuses on the upper part of the right thigh, perineum and gluteal region of six months duration. Swellings started as multiple small boils that subsequently started discharging from various points. Patient usually fetches firewood in the forest for her parents as her routine house chores and she remembered an incident where she had pricks from thorns in the bush around her lower thigh and perineum. On examination she was chronically ill looking, in painful distress, with bilateral inguinal lymphadenopathy. She had nodular lesions of varying sizes ranging from 1x1cm to 4x4cm, tender, involving the upper part of the thigh bilaterally, but more on the right, lower abdomen, labia and gluteal region. Some of the lesions had hyper-pigmented sinuses discharging mucopurulent fluid, with areas of soft tissue swelling around the lower abdomen and upper right thigh extending to the leg. Patient was observed to walk with a limp gait.Management and Outcome: An initial diagnosis of soft tissue infection to rule out soft tissue sarcoma and disseminated tuberculosis (abdomen and lymph nodes) and deep tissue mycosis was made. However, with further investigations and reviews by the medical microbiologist and anatomic pathologist, along with bacteriologic, and mycologic studies of swab samples and aspirate and tissue biopsy for Histology revealed an eumycotic mycetoma. She received Ketoconazole and Trimetoprim-sulphametoxazole. She responded significantly as lesions reduced in sizes, abdominal swelling and leg swelling reduced with closure of discharging sinuses. Patient could walk with some resolution of the limp. Repeat abdominal ultrasound scan showed resolution of initial findings. She spent four weeks in the hospital and was discharged. On subsequent follow-up; she was walking without any limp and lesions were healed with some scar and few areas left to dry up. Further follow-up visits after one month and three month showed progressive healing and complete resolution of lesion respectively. However. Patient was however lost to further follow-up which would have enabled monitoring as to any reoccurrence or not.Conclusion: We presented a case of a young girl with an abnormal presentation of eumycotic mycetoma. Patient achieved near cure on medications without the need of surgery due to an excellent multidisciplinary approach between pediatricians, clinicians, clinical microbiologists and anatomic pathologists.Keywords: Mycetoma, Eumycetoma, Paediatric