Journal of tropical pediatrics
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Congestive cardiac failure (CCF) is a common paediatric emergency with diverse aetiologies. The objective of this study is to define the current prevalence rate and common causes of CCF among children hospitalized in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital. The study was prospectively done over a 1-year period in the Paediatric Wards of the hospital. ⋯ The prevalence obtained from this study was higher than rates obtained from some previous studies in the country. Severe anaemia is the commonest cause of CCF probably from the effects of severe malaria and increasing poverty. Stringent attention to poverty alleviation and malaria control may reduce the burden of CCF among Nigerian children.
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Bloodstream infections (BSI) are the commonest cause of nosocomial infections (NI) in PICU. Knowledge about their magnitude, risk factors and outcome are important in devising appropriate prevention and control measures. Our objective was to study the incidence, etiology, risk factors and outcome of primary BSI in PICU. ⋯ Just over half the cases of BSI in our PICU were caused by Gram-negative bacteria. Lower hemoglobin, pre-existing infection and prolonged duration of urinary catheter were independent risk factors identified on multivariate analysis. BSI was associated with significantly higher mortality and longer stay in our PICU.
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Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) respiratory infections are very common during infancy and account for the majority of hospitalizations during the fall and winter seasons. Patients vary in the severity of their illnesses, with most hospitalized patients needing oxygen and intravenous fluids. The objective of this study was to assess in hospitalized patients the severity of the disease in relation to age. ⋯ RSV respiratory infections affect infants <3 months old in a more severe form than older infants. Even though overall duration of stay was similar for both groups, young infants who in fact did require oxygen had a more protracted and severe illness compared with the older infants. This was evidenced by their longer duration of oxygen and more frequent need to be managed in the intensive care unit.
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We investigated the role of bilirubin as an antioxidant in neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (NNH) by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, a marker of oxidative stress and key antioxidant enzymes viz., superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in otherwise healthy 70 term newborns with NNH and 20 control newborns without jaundice. Jaundiced newborns had significantly lower MDA but higher SOD, catalase and GPx levels. Furthermore, plasma bilirubin showed significant negative correlation with MDA but positive correlation with antioxidant enzyme activities. It is concluded that NNH is associated with lower oxidative stress.