Pediatrics Commons^™

Ceftriaxone Or Hiv Associated Angio-Oedema? Case Report, William Macharia, C. Mbaabu, L. Wachira, S.O.M. Muhudhia, G. Moniz

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Angio-oedema may be hereditary or acquired and is characterised by episodes of potentially life threatening localised tissue oedema and swelling resulting from deficiency of compliment pathway C1 esterase inhibitor. Acquired angio-oedema is about ten times less frequent than the hereditary type and has been associated with immune-deficiency disorders, malignancies and exposure to specific medications and food substances. We present a case of seven year old, human immune-deficiency virus positive girl, who developed gross swelling of the tongue and neck while on treatment for pneumococcal meningitis with ceftriaxone. Difficulties in arriving at a definitive diagnosis of angio-oedema in a resource poor …

A Systematic Review Of Existing National Priorities For Child Health Research In Sub-Saharan Africa, George Swingler, James Irlam, William Macharia, Felix Tietche, Martin Meremikwu

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Background: We systematically reviewed existing national child health research priorities in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the processes used to determine them.

Methods: Collaborators from a purposive sample of 20 WHO-AFRO Region countries, assisted by key informants from a range of governmental, non-governmental, research and funding organisations and universities, identified and located potentially eligible prioritisation documents. Included documents were those published between 1990 and 2002 from national or nationally accredited institutions describing national health research priorities for child health, alone or as part of a broader report in which children were a clearly identifiable group. Laboratory, clinical, public health and policy research …

Attitudes Of Developing World Physicians To Where Medical Research Is Performed And Reported, John Page, Richard F. Heller, Scott Kinlay, Lynette Lim, Wang Qian, Zheng Suping, Supornchai Kongpatanakul, Murtaza Akhtar, Salah Khedr, William Macharia

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Background: Little is known about the influence of the site of research or publication on the impact of the research findings on clinical practice, particularly in developing countries. The International Clinical Epidemiology Network (INCLEN) is dedicated to improving the quality of health research in the Developing World through institutional capacity building for evidence based medicine, and provided the opportunity to examine the likely impact of research location and journal location on physicians' practice in a number of the participating countries.

Methods: Physicians from secondary and tertiary hospitals in six cities located in China, Thailand, India, Egypt and Kenya were enrolled …

Morbidity And Outcome Of Low Birthweight Babies Of Adolescent Mothers At Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, A. Wasunna, K. Mohammed

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Objective: To compare the morbidity and outcome of low birthweight babies (birthweight < 2000gm) of adolescent (age < 20 years) and older mothers.

Design: Cross sectional descriptive study.

Setting: The newborn Unit of the Kenyatta National Hospital. Main outcome measures: All babies weighing less than 2000gm at birth whose mothers consented to the study had their gestational age verified using the Dubowitz scoring system. They were then followed up by daily clinical assessment untill discharge, death or up to one month in the ward. The babies were divided into two groups according to their mother's age and then compared with respect to episodes of illness, duration of hospital stay, and overall …

Low Birthweight Babies: Socio-Demographic And Obstetric Characteristics Of Adolescent Mothers At Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, A. Wasunna, K. Mohammed

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Objective: To compare some socio-demographic and obstetric factors between adolescent mothers (aged below 20 years) and older mothers of low birthweight (birthweight <2000gm) babies.

Design: Cross sectional descriptive study.

Setting: The Newborn Unit of the Kenyatta National Hospital.

Results: Sixty nine adolescent mothers and 73 older mothers were studied. Adolescent mothers were more likely to be unmarried (p 0.0001) have less formal education (p

Clinical Presentation And Treatment Outcome In Children With Nephroblastoma In Kenya, F.K. Abdallah, William Macharia

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Objective: To review the clinical presentation and management of children with nephroplastoma and the factors influencing the outcome at Kenyatta National Referral and Teaching Hospital (KNH).

Design: This was a retrospective case series study based on secondary data accumulated between 1990 and 1996.

Setting: The relevant data were extracted from records of all children aged 12 years and below, admitted for cancer at KNH, Nairobi.

Results: Out of 803 children with cancer, 71 (8.8% ) had histologically proven nephroblastoma. At presentation, 1.5% were in stage I, 13.2% stage II, 36.8% stage III, 41.2% stage IV and 7.4% stage V. Eighty …

Chrimcy: A Proposed Institute For Research On Reproduction, Development, And Mother, Child And Youth Health, Harvey Guyda, Robert Armstrong, Ken Milne, Alex Mackenzie, Victor Han, Robert Bortolussi, Elaine Orrbine

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

The establishment of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is one of the most significant and far-sighted plans to address the health of Canadians. The success of the CIHR will be determined by the degree to which Canada is able to provide focus and the resources to tackle the critical health issues affecting Canadians.

A Randomized Clinical Trial To Compare Selective Posterior Rhizotomy Plus Physiotherapy With Physiotherapy Alone In Children With Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy, Paul Steinbok, Ann M. Reiner, Richard Beauchamp, Robert Armstrong, Douglas Cochrane

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

A randomized controlled single-blind trial was performed to compare lumbo-sacral selective posterior rhizotomy (SPR) followed by intensive physiotherapy, with intensive physiotherapy alone in improving motor function in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. Fifteen patients were randomly assigned to each treatment modality. Patients in the SPR group had rhizotomy within 1 month, followed by intensive outpatient physiotherapy for 9 months. Patients assigned to physiotherapy alone had identical intensive physiotherapy. There was a statistically significant and clinically important difference in improvement in motor function in favor of the SPR group, with a mean increase in total Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) …