Factors Influencing Non-Adherence of the Affirmative Action on Employment by Tertiary Institutions in South- East Zone of Nigeria

This study was undertaken in tertiary institutions in South-East Zone of Nigeria to find out the factors influencing non-adherence to the affirmative action in employment. The descriptive survey design was used for the study. Out of six thousand and eighty-eight academic staff that made up the population, two thousand and thirteen were selected as the sample for the study. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire that contained twenty-four factors/items. Two experts validated the instrument. Analyses of data collected were done using arithmetic mean scores (x). The findings show among others that five out of eight non-education of women base factors were identified as being part of the reasons for the non-adherence to the affirmative action on employment by tertiary institutions in South-East Zone of Nigeria. Based on the findings, recommendations were made

Nephrotic syndrome among children in Kano: A clinicopathological study

Objective: To evaluate the clinicopathological features of children with nephrotic syndrome seen in a pediatric nephrology unit in northern Nigeria.Materials and Methods: All children less than 15 years of age who had nephrotic syndrome and who had been subjected to renal biopsy at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, were studied. Their histologic diagnoses were evaluated alongside clinical and other laboratory parameters.Results: Twenty children, 17 males and three females, were studied. These represented 55% of all children with nephrotic syndrome seen in the pediatric nephrology unit during the study period, the rest of which have never had renal biopsies. Peak age was 7-8 years (range 2.5-13 years). Fourteen of the 20 children (70%) had previously been on steroid treatment. Of these, 11 (55%) were classified to be steroid resistant and three (15%) were frequent relapsers. Six (30%) children were newly diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome and had not commenced steroid  treatment. Hypertension was found in seven (35%) children. Sixteen  children (80%) had microscopic hematuria on presentation. The most common histopathological diagnosis was focal glomerulosclerosis in nine (45%) children (segmental = 8; global = 1). Minimal change disease was found in four children (20%), membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis inthree children (15%), membranous nephropathy in three children (15%), and diffuse mesangial hypercellularity in one child (5%). Of the six children who had renal biopsy before commencement of steroid treatment, three (50%) were found to have glomerulosclerosis.Conclusion: Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis was the most common histological subtype diagnosed in Kano among children with nephrotic syndrome in this study.Key words: Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, Kano, nephrotic  syndrome, pediatric

Pediatric HIV in Kano, Nigeria

Background: Pediatric human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is still an important public health issue despite a decrease in global, national, and local seroprevalence rates. Design: A prospective, hospital‑based study was conducted.Materials and Methods: One‑hundred and sixty children presenting for the first time to the hospital were studied. Each child had a detailed physical examination and initial double rapid HIV antibody tests. A virological confirmatory test was done for those aged less than 18 months of age with positive results. Mothers of HIV‑infected children also had HIV testing. HIV‑infected children were enrolled into HIV care and followed up for 6 months. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 16.0 for Windows.Results: Twenty‑two (13.8%) children were confirmed HIV‑infected. The mean age was 26.9 ± 30.8 months. Male to female ratio was 1.1:1. Probable modes of transmission were mother‑to‑child in 63.6%, group circumcision in 22.7%, sexual transmission in 9.1% and unscreened blood transfusion in 4.5%. The most frequent symptoms on presentation were fever in 95.4% of patients, cough and weight loss in 77.3% and diarrhoea in 59.1%. The most common signs were hepatomegaly in 77.3%, pyrexia and crepitations in 72.7%, and pallor in 40.9%. Commonly diagnosed conditions were undernutrition, diarrheal disease, oral thrush, and pneumonia. Tuberculosis co‑infection was diagnosed in 18.2% of children. Fourteen (63.6%) children had advanced and severe immunodeficiency. Mortality rate over 6 months was 18.2%.Conclusion: Early diagnosis of pediatric HIV and prompt institution of treatment in children would go a long way in reducing the scourge of the disease.Keywords: Clinical features, human immunodefi ciency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, mortality, pediatrics, prevalenceNigerian Journal of Clinical Practice • Oct-Dec 2013 • Vol 16 • Issue

Knowledge, attitude and practice of blood culture: A cross sectional study among medical doctors in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital

Background: Blood culture is one of the most important investigations done in clinical microbiology laboratories. Not only has it been long recognized as the ggold standardh for diagnosis of Blood Stream Infections (BSIs), very important decisions regarding septicaemic patientsf management are based on it. Being a user-dependent diagnostic test, quality of results often depends on the performer.Aim: To study the knowledge, attitude and practice of blood culture among doctors in a Nigerian tertiary hospital.Materials and Methods: A pre-tested self-administered semi- structured questionnaire developed by the research team was used to access the biodata, knowledge, attitude and practice of blood culture among doctors in our institution.Results: Forty-eight (54.5%) out of the 88 doctors studied had good knowledge regarding blood culture, 34 (38.6%) moderate knowledge and 6 (6.8%) poor knowledge. Majority of the senior registrars (75.0%),  registrars (64.3%) and house officers (65.9%) studied had good  knowledge while majority of the consultants (75.0%) had moderate knowledge. Doctors from paediatrics (62.5%) and internal medicine (60.0%) departments had higher proportions with good knowledge  compared to those from surgery (57.9%) and obstetrics and gynaecology (45.0%) (p = 0.240). Majority of the doctors with <10 years experience as doctors (57.0%) had good knowledge compared to 33.3% recorded among those .10 years. Attitude and practice was generally positive.Conclusion: Through this study areas of unsatisfactory knowledge, attitude and practice of blood culture were identified.This will help in designing an educational intervention programme for the purpose of addressing identified problems areas in blood culture.KEYWORDS: Blood culture, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, Doctor

Human rights enforcement by people living in poverty: access to justice in Nigeria

This article analyses the challenges facing those living in poverty in Nigeria in accessing justice for the enforcement of their rights, despite those rights being constitutionally protected and despite the existence of a specific procedure for their enforcement. People living in poverty are generally most likely to see their human rights violated, and least likely to enforce their rights. The article posits that the judiciary in developing countries has a crucial role to play in fighting human rights violations specifically affecting people living in poverty, and notes the great challenge for the Nigerian legislator and judiciary towards making justice accessible in practical terms to the needy in Nigeria. The example of public interest litigation in India can serve as a source of inspiration in this respect

Salvageability of renal function following renal revascularisation in children with Takayasu’s arteritis-induced renal artery stenosis

Background. Renal artery revascularisation procedures are usually carried out on children with renal artery stenosis from varied causes, including Takayasu’s   arteritis. Reports on the outcome of such procedures in children usually refer to the improvement in blood pressure, with only minimal mention of effects on renal  function.Objective. Salvageability renal function in children who underw ent renal  revascularisation for Takayasu’s arteritis-induced renal artery stenosis (TARAS) was the focus of this study.Methods. We undertook a retrospective analysis of children aged ≤16 years with angiographically confirmed TARAS who underwent renal artery revascularisation procedures between 1990 and 2010. Outcomes of renal function were studied over a period of 2 years and were defined as: (i) improvement: >20% increase in estimated glomerular filtration rate (e-GFR) from presurgery value; (ii) stabilisation: e-GFR within 20% of presurgery value; and (iii) failure: >20% deterioration in e-GFR from presurgery value. The GFR was estimated using the Schwartz formula.Results. Twenty children (9 males and 11 females, age range 2 - 14 years) had 27 renal artery revascularisation procedures. Thirteen of the patients (65.0%) had bilateral renal artery stenosis. The baseline mean e-GFR was 88.6 (standard deviation (SD) 25.4) mL/min/1.73 m2 and the mean duration of follow-up was 28.80 (SD 25.62) months. All the patients had stable or improved renal function until the 2-year follow-up, when the proportion decreased to 92.3% (12/13), as failure was recorded in one child. Bilateral revascularisation was found to be significantly associated with improvement in renal function in the early postoperative period  (p=0.04).Conclusion. Renal artery revascularisation procedures are successful in salvaging renal function in children with TARA

Police violence targeting LGBTIQ+ people in Nigeria: Advancing solutions for a 21st century challenge

The Government of Nigeria passed the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (SSMPA) in 2014, emboldening the human rights violations of LGBT Nigerians by state and nonstate actors. Nigerian police enforce morality laws that criminalize same-sex relations, but their role as perpetrators of violence has not been well studied. Using six-year (2014 to 2019) administrative data, this article investigates the severity, prevalence, and typology of police violence and abuse of LGBT Nigerians. Since SSMPA, violence against LGBT Nigerians has risen by 214 percent. Survivors frequently report arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention, invasion of privacy, physical assault and battery, and blackmail/extortion. This study is the first to present serial, cross-sectional findings of LGBT Nigerians’ experience with the police. Available administrative reports and data were synthesized to produce a general picture of the situation on the ground. Findings point to actionable social and policy recommendations that can be taken to promote police accountability and improve police-LGBT community relations

Parental Knowledge and Attitude of Adolescent Sexuality Education in Rural and Urban Communities of Ekiti State, Nigeria

Background: Parents play a key role in shaping the attitudes and behaviour of adolescents, thereby reducing risky sexual behaviour and promoting healthy sexual development. This study assessed and compared parental knowledge and attitude towards adolescent sexuality education (ASE) in rural and urban communities of Ekiti State, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study of 800 parents (or guardians) of adolescents in selected rural and urban communities, recruited through a multi-stage sampling technique. An interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.Result: A significantly higher proportion of parents from the urban communities had a good knowledge of ASE (72.5% versus 66.0%, p-value 0.046). However, knowledge of safe sex and dating was low in both communities. About three-quarters of the respondents had a positive attitude towards ASE with no statistically significant difference in both rural and urban communities (p-value: 0.363).Conclusion: Parental knowledge of ASE is high in Ekiti State, and it is higher in the urban compared to the rural communities. Attitude towards ASE is high in both communities but not significantly different. However, the knowledge of the various components of ASE varies significantly amongst the communities. While it is recommended that government should create a supportive environment to assist parents in their roles as sexuality educators, parents should see sexuality education as their responsibility and also start the discussion early

Salvageability of renal function following renal revascularisation in children with Takayasu’s arteritis-induced renal artery stenosis

Background. Renal artery revascularisation procedures are usually carried out on children with renal artery stenosis from varied causes, including Takayasu’s arteritis. Reports on the outcome of such procedures in children usually refer to the improvement in blood pressure, with only minimal mention of effects on renal function.Objective. Salvageability of renal function in children who underwent renal revascularisation for Takayasu’s arteritis-induced renal artery stenosis (TARAS) was the focus of this study.Methods. We undertook a retrospective analysis of children aged ≤16 years with angiographically confirmed TARAS who underwent renal artery revascularisation procedures between 1990 and 2010. Outcomes of renal function were studied over a period of 2 years and were defined as: (i) improvement: >20% increase in estimated glomerular filtration rate (e-GFR) from presurgery value; (ii) stabilisation: e-GFR within 20% of presurgery value; and (iii) failure: >20% deterioration in e-GFR from presurgery value. The GFR was estimated using the Schwartz formula.Results. Twenty children (9 males and 11 females, age range 2 - 14 years) had 27 renal artery revascularisation procedures. Thirteen of the patients (65.0%) had bilateral renal artery stenosis. The baseline mean e-GFR was 88.6 (standard deviation (SD) 25.4) mL/min/1.73 m2 and the mean duration of follow-up was 28.80 (SD 25.62) months. All the patients had stable or improved renal function until the 2-year follow-up, when the proportion decreased to 92.3% (12/13), as failure was recorded in one child. Bilateral revascularisation was found to be significantly associated with improvement in renal function in the early postoperative period (p=0.04).Conclusion. Renal artery revascularisation procedures are successful in salvaging renal function in children with TARAS

Improvised Peritoneal Dialysis in an 18-month-old Child with Severe Acute Malnutrition (kwashiorkor) and Acute kidney Injury: A Case Report.

Severe acute malnutrition is common in developing countries. Children with severe acute malnutrition are prone to complications, including electrolyte imbalance and infections. Our patient was an 18-month-old boy who had severe acute malnutrition (kwashiorkor) and developed acute kidney injury, which was managed with peritoneal dialysis using improvised equipment. This case report illustrates the importance of improvisation in resource-limited settings in providing lifesaving treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report on peritoneal dialysis in a child with severe acute malnutrition (kwashiorkor). We report a case of an 18-month-old Bantu-African Tanzanian boy who had severe malnutrition and developed anuric acute kidney injury. He had severe renal dysfunction and was managed with peritoneal dialysis using an improvised catheter and bedside constituted fluids (from intravenous fluids) and was diuretic after 7 days of peritoneal dialysis, with complete recovery of renal functions after 2 weeks. Children with severe acute malnutrition who develop acute kidney injury should be offered peritoneal dialysis, which may be provided using improvised equipment in resource-limited settings, as illustrated in this case report