Injection-induced sciatic nerve injury in Nigerian children

A CAJM journal article.Objectives: A retrospective study of all children with a diagnosis of sciatic nerve injury managed at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria over a 12 year period was carried out in order to determine predisposing factors to the nerve injury and highlighting practical preventive measures. Design: The necessary data was collected from the case files of children seen at the hospital with a diagnosis of sciatic nerve injury, from 1988 to 1999. Results: There were 27 children aged five months to 12 years with a diagnosis of sciatic nerve injury. Twenty (74%) of the children were aged five years or less. While seven patients (26%) presented within two weeks of development of foot drop consequent on intramuscular (IM) injection given on the buttock, 20 patients (74%) presented much later. Fever was the most common complaint for which the injection had been given. The identity of the drugs given was not known in 10 patients. In the remaining 17 patients drugs administered were specified and included Chloroquine,Novalgin, Paraldehyde, Procaine penicillin, and Sulfadoxine- Pyrimethamine. Most of the patients had received the injections in privately owned medical facilities where staff with minimal training are often allowed to administer IM injections. Conclusion: It is suggested that the IM route for injection be strongly discouraged when a drug can be given by other routes. Only trained staff should be allowed to administer IM injections. Giving IM injections at sites other than the buttock maybe advantageous in children particularly those aged five years and below

Injection-induced sciatic nerve injury in Nigerian children

Objectives: A retrospective study of all children with a diagnosis of sciatic nerve injury managed at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria over a 12 year period was carried out in order to determine predisposing factors to the nerve injury and highlighting practical preventive measures. Design: The necessary data was collected from the case files of children seen at the hospital with a diagnosis of sciatic nerve injury, from 1988 to 1999. Results: There were 27 children aged five months to 12 years with a diagnosis of sciatic nerve injury. Twenty (74%) of the children were aged five years or less. While seven patients (26%) presented within two weeks of development of foot drop consequent on intramuscular (IM) injection given on the buttock, 20 patients (74%) presented much later. Fever was the most common complaint for which the injection had been given. The identity of the drugs given was not known in 10 patients. In the remaining 17 patients drugs administered were specified and included Chloroquine,Novalgin, Paraldehyde, Procaine penicillin, and Sulfadoxine- Pyrimethamine. Most of the patients had received the injections in privately owned medical facilities where staff with minimal training are often allowed to administer IM injections. Conclusion: It is suggested that the IM route for injection be strongly discouraged when a drug can be given by other routes. Only trained staff should be allowed to administer IM injections. Giving IM injections at sites other than the buttock maybe advantageous in children particularly those aged five years and below

Prevalence of bacteraemia amongst children with febrile seizures at the University College Hospital, Ibadan

Background: Febrile seizures are common among children and these are known to result from the diverse aetiological factors, known to cause fever in children.Objectives: To determine the prevalence of bacteraemia amongst children with febrile seizures at the children’s emergency room of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.Methods: This was a prospective study involving 147 children who were presented with febrile seizures over a period of 13 months at the University College Hospital Ibadan. They all had their blood cultures sample taken under aseptic conditions. Other investigations performed on them included a packed cell volume, full blood count and blood film for malaria parasite.Results: A total of 83 males and 64 females with febrile seizures were studied. Their ages ranged from 4 to 60 months with a mean age of 26.35 + 13.76 months. Bacteraemia was diagnosed in 32(21.8%) of the cases. The predominant organism isolated from the blood of these patients was Staphylococcus aureus.Conclusion: Bacteraemia is a frequent finding in children with febrile seizures hence, it may be beneficial to carry out blood culture in such children on the suspicion of a probable bacterial infection.Keywords: Seizures, Febrile, Bacteraemi