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Objectives: The objective of this study is to document and compare plasma electrolytes of asphyxiated newborns of different degree within 48 hours of life., Study Disign: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in the newborn special care unit at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, South-East Nigeria. Sodium, potassium, bicarbonate and ionized calcium levels were estimated in the plasma samples of neonates with perinatal asphyxia of different degree and healthy newborns (control group) within 48 hours of birth., Main Outcome Measures: The plasma sodium, potassium, bicarbonate and ionized calcium levels were estimated in both, the study subjects and controls., Results: Mean plasma sodium level was significantly lower (134.93±5.24 mmol/l vs 141.90±3.36 mmol/l; P < 0.05), mean plasma bicarbonate level was significantly lower (16.98±3.99 mmol/l vs 18.54±2.36 mmol/l; P < 0.05), and mean plasma ionized calcium level was significantly lower (1.10±0.14 mmol/l vs 1.25 0.11 mmol/l; P < 0.05) in subjects compared to controls while mean plasma potassium was significantly higher (5.07±0.93 mmol/l vs 4.65±0.51 mmol/l P < 0.05) in subjects compare to controls., Conclusion: The tendency to have hyponatremia, hyperkalemia, acidosis and hypocalcemia is very high among the study subjects which underscores the need for great vigilance in electrolyte monitoring when managing an asphyxiated baby.

Background: Testicular volume (TV) in neonates has some predictive values of clinical importance. Establishing the normal values of TV among term newborn males of every population is important as differences exist among different populations. Much is not known on TV among Igbo newborns., Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the normative values of TV in apparently healthy term Igbo newborn males in Enugu, South-Eastern Nigeria and its relationship with gestational age (GA), birth weight (BW), and birth length (BL)., Subjects and Methods: This was a hospital-based, cross-sectional and descriptive study. Eight hundred and eleven apparently healthy term Igbo male neonates within the first 3 days of life were studied. The TV was measured with Prader Orchidometer (ZKL-135-H), ESP Model. Smoothed centiles (3-97th percentile values) for TV by GA were determined. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0 (Chicago). P < 0.05 were regarded as statistically significant., Results: The mean TV was 1.74 ± 0.62 ml ranging from 1 to 3 ml. The TV increased with increasing GA (P = 0.00). Pearson's correlation test between TV and birth length (r = 0.301, P = 0.001), as well as with BW (r = 0.247, P = 0.001) were significant. A linear regression demonstrated correlation between TV and birth length (P = 0.0001, r2 = 0.091)., Conclusion: The mean TV among male Igbo newborn is 1.74 ± 0.62 ml. Also, the first smoothed percentile values for TV by GA for Nigerian Igbo babies is created.

Background: There has been an increasing interest by couples in child adoption due to its acceptability in recent times in our locale. The enactment of the Child's Right Act in Nigeria has harmonized child adoption process across the nation. With the rising demand for babies from child care institutions by many Nigerian couples, there is need to ascertain their perception of child adoption., Objectives: To evaluate the perception of child adoption among parents/care-givers of children attending Pediatric Clinics in Enugu., Materials and Methods: The parents and care-givers of children attending pediatrics out-patients clinics in Enugu, Enugu State, South East, Nigeria served as the respondents. Two hundred and fifty nine of them were selected by convenience sampling method after obtaining their informed written consent. The data were obtained using semi - structured questionnaire that was administered by an interviewer and subsequently analyzed using SPSS Version 15.0., Results: Many caregivers (respondents) (94.2.7%) had heard of child adoption and 79.2% of them understood the actual meaning of the term child adoption. About 1.9% of them had adopted previously. Majority of the respondents (73.87%) prefers to adopt a child during its neonatal age with a slight preference for adoption of male babies. 15.1% and 8.9% of the respondents gave private hospitals and middle men, respectively, as sources of child adoption. Knowledge of the Government adoption laws and process was generally below average (49.2%) among the respondents., Conclusion: Continued advocacy and public enlightenment campaigns should be strengthened in order to harmonize adoption process in our setting.

Background: Abdominal colic is common in infants but generally harmless. The exact aetiology is unknown but it has been associated with vicious cycle of crying and swallowing of air by the infant. The excessive crying associated with it can result in a lot of distress for family members creating unnecessary panics. We sought to find the perception and management of abdominal colic by mothers in Enugu., Objective: Objective of this study is to determine the perception and 'home management' of abdominal colic in infants by mothers in Enugu, south-east Nigeria and the factors associated with them., Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey involving 177 mothers that presented with their infants at the pediatric outpatient clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku Ozalla, Enugu between June and November 2011. A pretested questionnaire was used after obtaining their consent., Results: A total of one hundred and seventy-seven mothers participated in this study. They were aged 20 to 60 years with mean age of 34 ± 7.3 years. Most of them (99.4%) believed that babies can have abdominal colic. While 41.3% attributed no problems to colic, the rest believed that it causes loose/greenish stools (12.4%), fever (16.4%) and vomiting (9.6%) etc. Most of the mothers (87.7%) do apply medications for colic which range from paracetamol (33.1%), Gbomoro (16.2%), teething powder (15.4%), salt water (13.2%), Buscopan (7.7%) and gripe water (4.6%)., Conclusions: Mothers attribute symptoms of childhood illnesses to abdominal colic. This may have led to unnecessary and sometimes harmful management. There is need for health education of mothers and potential mothers.

A review of home management of childhood diarrhea in under-five children among 203 Nigerian mothers was carried out over a period of 3 months in order to ascertain how effectively they manage their children with diarrhea outside a hospital setup (infrastructural health facility). Mothers whose children had diarrhea, with or without other symptoms, and presented at the Children's Out Patient unit (CHOP), of the UNTH over the study period were consecutively interviewed through a questionnaire designed for the study. The questionnaires were designed and administered by the authors. There were 30 mothers in social class 1; 59 in social class 2; 52 in social class 3; 13 in social class 4, and 7 mothers in social class 5. Information was obtained on the method of detection, causes of diarrhea, and treatment including their knowledge and use of oral rehydration salts with or without anti diarrheal and antibacterial agents. Out of the 203 mothers interviewed, 140 (71%) correctly defined diarrhea. 112 (55.2%) could identify correct causes of childhood diarrhea. Only 80 (39.4%) could correctly manage diarrhea at home. About 76% (154 mothers) knew that they should use an oral rehydration salt; of this number, 56 (27.6%) could correctly prepare SSS, while 29 (14.3%) could do the same for the UNICEF ORS. In addition, anti bacterial, anti-diarrheal, and/or herbal preparations were used by 38 (18.7%) of the mothers. The level of knowledge of oral rehydration therapy has dropped in our locality since its inception in the early 1990s. There is need to intensify maternal education in this area since we now have a new generation of mothers who were not there during the inception of the program.

Aim: This study evaluated the knowledge, beliefs, and attitude of rural Nigerian men to exclusive breastfeeding., Subjects and Methods: A sample of 200 men drawn from a rural community in Enugu, Nigeria was studied., Results: One hundred fifty-four (82.4%) respondents had heard of exclusive breastfeeding. Only 29.9% knew the correct time for initiation of exclusive breastfeeding, while 30.5% believed that breastmilk alone was sufficient for the first 6 months of life of an infant. One hundred six (56.7%) accept the practice of exclusive breastfeeding, while 38.5% accepted that colostrum is safe for a child. Reasons for rejecting colostrum were chiefly because it is perceived as poisonous, dirty milk and culturally unacceptable. Educational status and age significantly affected knowledge and acceptance of exclusive breastfeeding among the respondents., Conclusion: There is a critical need to target men for intensive breastfeeding education.

Background: The promotion of insecticide-treated net (ITN) can be a key approach towards the reduction of morbidity and mortality from malaria., Objective: To determine the proportion of mothers using insecticide treated nets for their children and reasons for nonuse., Study Design: Prospective hospital-based study., Method: Consecutive mothers attending the children's out patient clinic of UNTH, Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu, whose children presented with fever without localizing focus were interviewed with the aid of an open-ended structured questionnaire., Results: Awareness of ITN was found in 184 (80%) of the 230 mothers interviewed, while only 48 (26.1%) use it for their children. There was statistically significant difference in terms of ITN awareness between the highly educated mothers and those with lower educational qualification (p = 0.000) but, in terms of ITN usage, there was no significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.40). Socio economic class did not influence the use of ITN (p = 0.153). A greater number; 56 (41.2%) have no reason for non-use. Reasons for nonuse include use of windows and door nets 22 (16.2%) and not convenient to spread 18 (13.2%)., Conclusion: There was a high awareness of ITN, which did not influence usage.

A ruptured omphalocele is a very rare complication in conjoined twins. Some cases have prompted emergency neonatal separation of the twins with varying results. We report a case of ruptured omphalocele in a thoraco-omphalopagus twin managed by primary repair of the defect at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu. The twins later had a successful elective separation. Challenges of managing this case in our setting and the advantages of avoiding emergency neonatal separation are highlighted.

Unlabelled: The need to maintain a neutral thermal environment is critical to newborn care., Aim: To investigate reasons for the insufficiency of functional incubators and develop a cost-effective technique for using electronic digital components to recycle obsolete incubators in Nigeria., Methods: Following interview of 84 clinicians and administrators in Nigerian hospitals, it was identified that inadequate funding was the main reason for lack of functional incubators. Two groups of incubator units were then created and their performance compared. Sixteen units of modern (group A) and 19 units of obsolete (group B) incubators were obtained from six hospitals. An assembly design applying independent generic components for recycling systems was specified and produced. These were sourced through the internet at competitive cost and fitted into the reconstructed panels of the obsolete systems. The functional performance of each recycled system was rigorously monitored for 6 months and graded using ten performance indices. The same indices were used to quantify group A systems., Results: The performance of the recycled incubators (group B) was found to be similar to those of modern incubators. Group B's cost index was found to be 25% of that of group A's., Conclusion: Appropriate incubator recycling is a cost-effective method of re-equipping hospitals in low-income countries.

Objective: This study was designed to determine the Perinatal Mortality Rate at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Nigeria at the end of the last millennium. There had been no comprehensive study on this since the inception of the institution in the early seventies., Methods: A five-year retrospective, hospital based study of the births and deaths of infants under one week of age was carried out. This was done using the birth records in the Labour Ward (LW), and the New Born Special Care Unit (NBSCU) of the hospital. The UNTH is a referral centre in Enugu covering five states in Eastern Nigeria. However, for the purpose of this study, all babies referred from other hospitals, maternity homes etc (BBA's), were not included. All births and deaths from twenty two weeks gestational age to one week after birth were included in the study. The data were collected by the doctors involved in the study from January 1995 to December 1999 inclusive., Result: Six thousand, three hundred and seventy-six babies were recruited into the study. Out of this number, 5942 were live births, 434 were still births while 411 were early neonatal deaths. Seventy-four babies were dropped from the study (1.16%), due to insufficient information and mutilation of some parts of the records. The total perinatal deaths was 845 giving a perinatal mortality rate (PMR) of 133.94/1000, a high PMR when compared with similar centers in and outside Nigeria.

A case of natal teeth in a four-day-old female brought by a forty four year old mother is presented. These natal teeth were present in the upper and lower jaws. Of special interest was the shape and positions of these especially the upper tooth in the left canine region and the fact that these teeth were present in a child with Down's syndrome features. The anxiety of the mother and the desire to get them removed immediately underlines the superstition and misconceptions with which natal teeth are viewed. The multidisciplinary approach to management is also highlighted.