Na Akani

Weight status of adolescents in secondary schools in port Harcourt using Body Mass Index (BMI)

BackgroundAdolescent weight status is a cumulative effect of health and nutritional problems. Adolescent weight problems often go unnoticed as weight assessment is not considered a priority in adolescents.ObjectivesTo determine the weight status of adolescents using BMI and to identify the contributing factors to adolescent weight problems.MethodsIn April 2010, 960 adolescents aged 10–19 years in secondary schools in Port Harcourt were selected for the study using a stratified multi-staged sampling method. Structured questionnaires were filled by the investigators while weight and height were measured. BMI was calculated using the formula weight/height2 (kg/m2).ResultsThe prevalence of underweight, overweight, obesity and stunting were 6.4%, 6.3%, 1.8% and 5.4% respectively. Factors which were commoner in overweight adolescents were high socioeconomic class, higher maternal education, spending > 3 hours a day watching television and frequent ingestion of snacks.ConclusionThere is a need for periodic weight assessment of adolescents and health education to promote healthy eating habits and regular physical exercise as part of the School Health Programme.

Outcome of childhood malignancies at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital: a call for implementation of palliative care

BACKGROUND Cancers in children are yet to be recognised as an important cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in developing countries where more than 70% of the world annual cases occur. Despite the limited resources and whatever the projected outcome, children with cancer need treatment, be it curative or palliative. OBJECTIVES To determine outcome of cancers in children at the UPTH; identify factors that influence outcome, highlight the need for palliative care. METHOD A retrospective study of cases of childhood malignancies admitted into Paediatric Oncology unit of UPTH over a two year period. Clinical profile of patients and outcome were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. RESULTS Sixty cases were analysed: 35(58.3%) males, 25(41.7%) females giving a M:F ratio of 1.4:1. Under-fives constituted 55%. Twenty-seven (45%) patients presented within 4 weeks of onset of symptoms. Median duration of symptoms before presentation was 8 weeks while 36 (60%) had metastatic disease at diagnosis. Twenty patients (33.3%) defaulted with or without specific treatment. Mortality was recorded in 26(43.4%) of cases. CONCLUSION There were more cases of cancer amongst under-fives with male preponderance. Late presentation, financial constraints and high default rate were contributory factors to poor outcome in most cases. Lack of palliative care left many families to face their sufferings.

Normative Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Values for Healthy Nigerian Newborns.

Background: Congenital hypothyroidism is a common congenital endocrine disorder prevailing all over the world. No nationwide screening exists for any sub-Saharan country. We present normative cord and capillary thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) values for healthy Nigerian newborns. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 6 university hospitals in Nigeria between January 1 and December 31, 2013. Cord and heel blood placed on 4 concentric circles on a Whartman filter paper were analysed for TSH within 1 week of collection using AutoDelfia 1235 immunoassay (Perkin Elmer Wallace, Boston, Mass., USA) at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany. The mean TSH levels of the newborns were determined, considering their sex, birthweight, socioeconomic status, and birth city. The association between the mean TSH level and other parameters was determined by analysis of variance. Results: A total of 2,014 subjects were recruited during the study period. The mean TSH value for the subjects was 1.86 μIU/ml, and 98.1% of the newborns were within the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (range: 0.09-7.90 μIU/ml) of the TSH levels. We collected 247 cord and 1,767 heel samples, respectively, and the range was slightly higher in samples from cord blood. Conclusion: The study highlights the normal reference values for capillary/cord TSH levels in term Nigerian newborns. TSH was higher in one region, attributable to earlier sampling, but was not influenced by gender, socioeconomic status, or birthweight.