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Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a causative agent of COVID-19 is a leading cause of ill-health and deaths worldwide. Currently, COVID-19 has no known widely approved therapeutics. Thus, the need for effective treatment., Objectives: We investigated the safety and efficacy of two (2) therapeutic agents; chloroquine phosphate (CQ), 2- hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and a control (standard supportive therapy) among hospitalized adults with COVID-19., Methods: The clinical trial was done in accordance to the World Health Organization master protocol for investigational therapeutics for COVID-19. Atotal of 40 participants with laboratory-confirmed positive COVID-19 were enrolled. Blood samples and oropharyngeal (OP) swabs were obtained on days 1,3,15 and 29 for safety and efficacy assessments., Results: The baseline demographics showed that the median ages in years (range) were 45 (31-57) in CQ, 45 (36.5-60.5) in HCQ, 43 (39.5-67.0) and 44.5 (25.3-51.3) in the control (P<0.042).At randomization, seven (7) participants were asymptomatic, thirty-three (33) had mild symptoms, eight (8) had moderate symptoms while three (3) had severe symptoms. The average day of conversion to negative COVID-19 was 15.5 days for CQ, 16 days for HCQ and 18 days for the control(P=0.036)., Conclusion: The safety assessment revealed no adverse effect of the drugs in COVID-19 patients after treatment. These findings proved that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are effective for the treatment of COVID-19 among hospitalized adults. It also confirmed that they are safe., Competing Interests: The Authors declare that no competing interest exists, (Copyright © 2023 by West African Journal of Medicine.)

Background: Dialysis provides relief of complications of renal failure. However, the availability, distribution and challenges facing paediatric dialysis service (PDS) in Nigeria are presently unknown., Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to federal government-funded tertiary hospitals in all 36 states in Nigeria including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The characteristics of hospitals providing PDS were compared to those not providing PDS., Results: Thirty-four (34) tertiary hospitals in 31 States and the FCT participated in the study: 28 (82.4%), 22 (64.7%) and 12 (35.3%) had >1000 paediatric admissions per year, >50 paediatric beds and >10 paediatricians respectively. Sixteen (47.1%) provided at least one form of PDS; 2 (12.5%), 5 (31.3%) and 9 (56.3%) hospitals provided peritoneal dialysis (PD), haemodialysis (HD) and both forms, respectively. Centres providing PDS were more likely to be teaching hospitals (p value=0.000), had >10 paediatricians (p value=0.016) and provided dialysis to adults (p value=0.000). Lack of consumables, skilled manpower and high cost were common challenges identified., Conclusion: PDS is unavailable in about half of Nigeria. HD is the commonest modality available and most of the hospitals providing PDS are the large hospitals. Common challenges to PDS were lack of dialysis consumables, skilled manpower and high cost.