Evaluation of Physician Burnout Syndrome Among Pediatric Resident Doctors in Nigeria

Background: Medical practice and education are known to lead to emotional and mental exhaustion as well as physical tiredness among healthcare workers. This study analyzed the prevalence and factors associated with physician burnout syndrome (PBS) among resident doctors in paediatric across Nigeria. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted among paediatric resident doctors across Nigeria using the public welfare questionnaire of the American Welfare Association comprising 28 questions related to sleep affectation, energy levels, personal relationships, professional relationships, quality of job environment, and work satisfaction. Results: 117 residents were enrolled with varying degrees of burnout. The mean PBS score was 75.3 ± 19.1 with minimum and  maximum scores of 32 and 125, respectively. The prevalence of Grades 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 PBSs was 3.7%, 4.9%, 28.1%, 42.7%, and 18.3%, respectively, while 63.4% of respondents exhibited signs of symptomatic PBS. The residents’ rank (P = 0.05) was significantly associated with the prevalence of symptomatic PBS, while age (P = 0.567), gender (P = 0.755), number of years in training (P = 0.411), marital status (P = 0.173), number of children (P = 0.974), religion (P = 0.09), and prior knowledge of PBS (P = 0.719) had no association with the development of symptomatic PBS among surveyed resident doctors. Conclusion: The prevalence of PBS is high among paediatric resident doctors. There is an urgent need for the postgraduate medical colleges in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to formulate programmes that will help to balance social and professional livesamong paediatric resident doctors in Nigeria. Keywords: Burnout, Nigeria, paediatric, physician

A Comparison of the Performance of the Midarm Circumference and the Nelson Weight Estimation Formulas in Nigerian Children

Background: In emergencies, two commonly used weight estimation methods are Nelson and mid‑arm circumference (MAC)‑based formulae. Nelson’s method requires the child’s age while the MAC formula offers weight estimation without any prior details of the child, which is useful in our environment due to the lack of proper vital statistics documentation. Methodology: We measured the weight, height, and MAC of 1390 children aged 1–12 years. Values got from the measurements were substituted in MAC and Nelson formulae for weight estimation. The estimated weights were compared to the actual weights of the children. Results: Atotal of 1390 children were enrolled. The mean of enrolled children’s actual weight was significantly higher than the mean weight estimated using MAC and Nelson formula. MAC method overestimated weight in children 1–7 years and underestimated weight in those 8–12 years old. On the other hand, the Nelson formula underestimated weights in children 2–11 years and overestimated weight in 1 and 12-year olds. Conclusions: Both the MAC and Nelson method have their deficiencies in weight estimation. Though the Nelson formula  appears slightly more accurate than the MAC, weight estimates from both methods were mostly within the actual weight agreement limits. Keywords: Actual weight, children, comparison, formulae, mid‑arm circumference, nelso

Validation of Pediatric Height Estimation Formulae in Suburban Communities in South-east Nigeria: A Cross-sectional Study.: Validation of Pediatric Height Estimation Formulae

Background: Height measurement is one of the common essential anthropometric measurements in clinical pediatrics. The most accurate method of determining a child  height is to  measure the height. However, in emergency situations and some resource limited settings, obtaining the actual height of a child may not be feasible hence the need to estimate. The most common age-based formulae for height estimation in children is 6n + 77 where n = age in years. The accuracy of this height estimation formulae has not been assessed in developing setting like ours with high prevalence of malnutrition. This study therefore sought to evaluate the accuracy of the height estimation formula in children in communities across Enugu southeast Nigeria. Method: Children 2-12 years old who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled over 12 months from three of the 17 Local Government Area of Enugu State. Height was measured using a standard stadiometer and estimated height was calculated 6n + 77. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS. Result: Of the 4046 children enrolled, majority (86.1%) were of normal height for age while 2.6% were stunted. The formula underestimated height of children in younger age bracket and overestimated height in older children. Overall, the estimated height using the formula was within ±10% agreement of the actual height of surveyed children in 77.0% of children surveyed. Conclusion: The 6n + 77 formula is a reasonable but not entirely accurate for height estimation for children in our setting. Keywords: Children, Height, Estimation, Accurac