UNDERSTANDING AND PREVENTION OF CHILDREN'S ACCIDENTS

Accidents are preventable but some say that they are bound to happen. With some extra care or caution, most accidents can be prevented, and even when they do occur, the consequences can be minimal. Children are very vulnerable and do not have the ability to judge between what may or may not be dangerous. They are therefore, more at risk to various forms of accidents both at home and outside. This short review reports two cases and highlights some factors that can be helpful in preventing accidents especially among children

Acute kidney injury from Paraquat poisoning: a case report.

Paraquat is a salt widely used as a herbicide. Although paraquat poisoning is rare in the general population, it may be considered as one of the most toxic poisons frequently used for suicide attempts, and is associated with serious complications including: acute kidney injury,pneumonitis and death. We report a fatal case of a16 year old girl who presented with dysphagia, cough and dyspnoea following ingestion of paraquat. She subsequently developed acute kidney injury (AKI) that resolved but she succumbed to respiratory complications despite use of antibiotics, corticosteroids and haemodialysis.Key words: Paraquat poisoning, Acute Kidney Injury, Haemodialysis, Pneumonitis

An isolated cleft of the anterior leaflet of mitral valve in an infant: a case report

ABSTRACT Background: Isolated cleft of the anterior leaflet of the mitral valve is the occurrence of mitral cleft without ostium primum or ostium secundum defect and it is rare. It results from different degrees of failure of fusion of early embroyonic atrioventricular endocardial cushions and occurs more in children with trisomy 21. It commonly presents with mitral incompetence which worsens as the child grows. Aim: To document a case of congenital isolated cleft of the anterior leaflet of the mitrial valve in an infant. Findings: A nine month old boy presented in our clinic with a two month history of fast breathing, cough, and loss of weight. He was found not to be cyanosed but pale, tachypnoeic, dyspnoeic with basal crepitations. Cadiovascular system examination revealed he had a precordial bulge with tachycardia, cardiomegaly and a holosystolic murmur maximum at the apex. There was tender hepatomegaly. He was diagnosed as having congestive cardiac failure with broncho-pneumonia secondary to an acyanotic congenital heart disease. Plain chest X-ray confirmed the cardiomegaly and bronchopneumonia while an electrocardiography showed bilateral atrial enlargement with right ventricular hypertrophy. The cardiac failure was treated but he represented with recurrent heart failure upto three times within six months. An echocardiogram done on the third admission showed an isolated cleft of the anterior leaflet of the mitral valve and he has been referred for surgery. Conclusion: Isolated cleft of the mitral valve commonly presents with mitral incompetence and eventual heart failure as in our patient. Early surgical intervention is adviced as the width of the cleft tend to increase as the child grows leading to worsening of the mitral insufficiency. The definitive treatment is direct closure of the cleft. The presentation also highlights the challenges of medical practice in resource-poor countries

Childhood poisoning in Warri, Niger Delta, Nigeria: A ten year retrospective study

Background: Childhood poisoning is a common but avoidable problem in developingcountries such as Nigeria.Objectives: To determine the pattern of childhood poisoning in the Warri Niger Delta Regionof Nigeria.Method: The case notes of all the children seen at Central Hospital Warri, the reference basefor the region and GN Children Clinic the pioneer children’s hospital in the region. This isa review of cases over a ten year period, from 2000 to 2009. The information obtained wasanalysed.Results: A total of 156 children aged 0–16 years diagnosed with poisoning were seen at thecentral hospital in Warri and at the GN Children’s Clinic which is also in Warri over a 10year period from 2000 to 2009 under review. The male to female ratio is 2:1, and 75% of thechildren were aged 5 years or less. Most of the patients were from the low socio-economicclass. Most of the poisoning was unintentional and occurred through ingestion (97.6%).Kerosene was the major substance leading to poisoning (56.6%). Alcohol ranked second inthe study. Poisoning from drugs was the third most common source of poisoning and inthat category most of the indices were in the highest income group. Most of the patientspresented with mild symptoms and the mortality rate was 7%.Conclusion: Kerosine was found to be the most common source of poisoning. Most of thepoisoning was unintensional and deaths cause by this form of poisoning can be preventedwith proper health education and effective enactment of laws that will reduce the incidenceof childhood poisoning

Childhood poisoning in Warri, Niger Delta, Nigeria: A ten year retrospective study

Background: Childhood poisoning is a common but avoidable problem in developing countries such as Nigeria. Objectives: To determine the pattern of childhood poisoning in the Warri Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Method: The case notes of all the children seen at Central Hospital Warri, the reference base for the region and GN Children Clinic the pioneer children’s hospital in the region. This is a review of cases over a ten year period, from 2000 to 2009. The information obtained was analysed. Results: A total of 156 children aged 0–16 years diagnosed with poisoning were seen at the central hospital in Warri and at the GN Children’s Clinic which is also in Warri over a 10 year period from 2000 to 2009 under review. The male to female ratio is 2:1, and 75% of the children were aged 5 years or less. Most of the patients were from the low socio-economic class. Most of the poisoning was unintentional and occurred through ingestion (97.6%). Kerosene was the major substance leading to poisoning (56.6%). Alcohol ranked second in the study. Poisoning from drugs was the third most common source of poisoning and in that category most of the indices were in the highest income group. Most of the patients presented with mild symptoms and the mortality rate was 7%. Conclusion: Kerosine was found to be the most common source of poisoning. Most of the poisoning was unintensional and deaths cause by this form of poisoning can be prevented with proper health education and effective enactment of laws that will reduce the incidence of childhood poisoning