Observed Causes of Severe Respiratory Distress among Children with Congenital Heart Disease

Background: Severe respiratory distress is a clinical feature commonly observed among children with congenital heart disease (CHD), butthe underlying cause is often misdiagnosed. Objectives: This study is aimed at determining the common causes of severe respiratory distress observed among children with CHD. Methods: This study was a retrospective study on children who had severe respiratory distress with underlying CHD seen between June 2017 and June 2018, and were consecutively recruited from two teaching hospitals. Results: Forty‑seven children aged 2 months to 15 years were admitted for severe respiratory distress secondary to CHD at our center between June 2017 and June 2018. The most common CHD was isolated ventricular septal defect (VSD), which made up 36.2%, followed by tetralogy of Fallot with 23.4%. Identifiable causes of respiratory distress in these children were restrictive airway disease (36.2%) as the most common cause, followed by pulmonary edema from congestive cardiac failure (27.7%). Among children with heart failure, 57.1%, 47.4%, 0%, and 50% of infants, children aged 1–5, 6–10, and above 10 years, respectively, were affected. Conclusion: Restrictive airway disease was noted as the most common cause of severe respiratory distress among children with CHD. Keywords: Children, congenital heart disease, restrictive airway disease, severe respiratory distres

Prevalence and socioeconomic correlates of autism among children attending primary and secondary schools in south east Nigeria

Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence and socio-economic determinants of autism among children attending primary and secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that assessed the prevalence and socio-economic pattern of childhood autism among children attending primary and secondary schools in Enugu and Ebonyi states, South East Nigeria. The questionnaire was adapted from American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR, 2000). The study was carried out between June and October, 2014. The schools were selected by listing all the mixed schools in the urban and semi- urban areas by simple random sampling. Results: A total of 721 subjects completed the questionnaire. The age of respondents ranged between 3 and 18 years, with mean age of 12.71 and standard deviation of 3.03 years. Twenty one children fulfilled the criteria for autism giving a prevalence of 2.9%. There is a significant association between age in categories (fishers exact test, p = 0.013) and social class (p=0.033). Conclusion: The prevalence of autism was 2.9%; and the socio-economic characteristics of childhood autism in South East Nigeria are similar to those in other parts of the world

Compendium of cardiac diseases among children presenting in tertiary institutions in southern Nigeria: A rising trend

The burden of children with cardiovascular disease is on a rising trend. These rising trends are enhanced by the development of new technology in the diagnosis of cardiac lesions.This article is aimed at documenting the current trends in the occurrence of cardiac disease among children attending tertiary hospitals in Sothern Nigeria. This is a descriptive study which involved four hundred and thirty-nine (439) children who had cardiac disease confirmed with echocardiography from four health institutions, namely; Niger Delta University, Bayelsa, Nigeria; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria; Triple care hospital, Enugu, Nigeria and; Blessed children hospital, Enugu, Nigeria over a five-year period from July 2016 - July 2020.The prevalence of congenital heart disease was 83.6% and only 16.4% being acquired heart disease. Many of the children with congenital cardiac defects have associated features of Down syndrome (trisomy 21) and the frequency was related to the type of defect; 6.4% (28/439). These features of Down syndrome are seen mainly in children with AV canal defect 33.3% (14/42) and least in children with TOF 2.0% (1/51). Zero-point two nine percent (1/439) had dextro-cardia and 0.2% (1/340) had VACTERAL (ano-rectal malformation) association, 0.2 % (1/439) had cleft lip, 1.8% (8/439) had dysmorphism other than down syndrome. Five 62.5% (5/8) of such dysmorphic features were associated with VSD. The majority of the children with cardiac disease were from the middle class 63.6% followed by the higher class 21.9% and the least is from the lower class 14.5%. The prevalence values of heart disease were quite higher than that documented in previous studies. The is a rising prevalence of congenital heart disease (83.6%) and acquired heart disease (16.4%) among children with cardiac disease in southern Nigeria. Extracardiac anomalies were also associated with these trends

Maternal perception of masking in children as a preventive strategy for COVID-19 in Nigeria: A multicentre study.

BackgroundThe use of face masks by children for the prevention of COVID 19 is still controversial, especially with regards to who should wear the face mask and at what age.ObjectivesThe study aimed to ascertain the perception of mothers on masking in children as a preventive strategy for COVID-19.MethodologyThis was a cross-sectional study carried out in two health institutions among 387 mothers who presented with their children for the first time in the hospital during the COVID 19 pandemic. A pretested, semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire which was designed by the researchers was used for data collection.ResultsMinority (44.7%) of the mothers perceived masking in children as an appropriate measure for the prevention of COVID-19. The frequent reasons given by majority (55.3%) of the mothers for the inappropriateness of face mask in children included perceived difficulty in breathing (38.5%) and the child's readiness to pull it off (29.3%). A significantly higher proportion of the children whose mothers were 35 years and above, 64.2% would wear face masks when compared with 31.7% of those whose mothers were ConclusionMaternal perception of masking in children as an appropriate strategy for preventing COVID-19 is adjudged low in this study. Right perception is significantly enhanced by maternal educational status, employment and marital status

Maternal level of awareness and predictors of willingness to vaccinate children against COVID 19; A multi-center study

Background Several controversies surround mothers’ willingness to vaccinate against the COVID-19 pandemic especially when mortality is not frequently reported in children. Objectives: This study aimed to ascertain the willingness of mothers of children attending two institutions in Southeast Nigeria to accept the COVID-19 vaccine and factors that may be associated with their choices. Methodology This was a cross-sectional study carried out among 577 mothers who presented with their children in two tertiary health institutions in southeast Nigeria. Results Majority of the respondents (93.9%) were aware of the COVID-19 vaccine. Majority of the respondents, 89.4%, noted that children were not in high priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria. Only 6.9% of the respondents intend to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. Also, a minor proportion of the respondents (4.9%) were willing to vaccinate their children with the COVID-19 vaccine. The odds of receiving the Covid-19 vaccine were four times greater in those who believed that they could be infected than in those who believed that they could not be infected (AOR = 4.0. 95% CI:1.8–8.7). The odds of receiving the Covid-19 vaccine were six times greater in those who were aware of someone that died from COVID-19 than in those who did not know anyone who died from COVID-19 (AOR = 5.7, 95% CI: 2.1–15.8). Conclusion A high level of awareness but low acceptance level for COVID-19 vaccination for mothers and their children was noted. Socioeconomic class, maternal age, and level of education did not influence the willingness of the mother to receive COVID vaccination. Having a belief of possibility of infection with the COVID-19 as well as being aware of someone who died from the disease were important positive variables that could predict vaccine acceptance from this study