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Background: Wheezing is common in early life, but most children stop wheezing by school age. However, the prediction of course of wheezing through childhood is difficult. Objective: To investigate whether urinary EPX (a marker of eosinophil activation) in children at age 3 years may be useful for the prediction of wheeze persistence and future asthma diagnosis. Methods: U‐EPX was measured at age 3 years (radioimmunoassay) in 906 participants in the population‐based birth cohort. Children attended follow‐ups to age 16 years. We investigate the discriminative ability of u‐EPX and other factors in predicting asthma diagnosis at age 16 using receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curves. Results: Of 613 children with follow‐up information at age 16, 511 had data on u‐EPX at age 3 and asthma diagnosis at age 16 years; of those; 133 (21.7%) had asthma. Based on longitudinal data, children were assigned to wheeze clusters: No wheeze (NWZ), early transient (ETW), late‐onset (LOW), intermittent (INT) and persistent wheeze (PEW). U‐EPX levels differed significantly between different wheeze clusters (p =.003), with clusters characterised with persistent symptoms having higher u‐EPX. In the whole cohort, the best performing classification model for asthma diagnosis at age 16 years included sex, u‐EPX, sensitisation and wheeze (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.76–0.88). u‐EPX and allergic sensitisation alone had similar predictive power (AUC [95%CI]: 0.64 [0.58–0.71] and 0.65 [0.60–0.71]). The best performing classification model for asthma prediction among children with doctor‐confirmed wheeze in the first 3 years included child's u‐EPX and sensitisation at age 3 years, sex, gestational age and maternal atopy (AUC: 0.76, 95%CI: 0.67–0.85). Conclusions: Early‐life u‐EPX may be a useful non‐invasive marker for asthma prediction in adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the huge burden of sickle cell disease (SCD) among Nigerian children, the burden and outcome of respiratory illnesses remain undocumented. Thus, we aimed to describe the spectrum and outcome of respiratory illnesses among SCD childrenand adolescentadmissions in ten Nigerian tertiary hospitals. Method: A retrospective review of the SCD admission records of children and adolescents with a confirmed diagnosis of respiratory illnesses from 2012 to 2021 in ten tertiary health facilities across five geopolitical zones in Nigeria was conducted. The data, collectedbetween March and June 2023, included the age, sex, diagnosis, complications, duration and outcome of hospitalization. Results: Of the 72,333 paediatric admissions, 7,256 (10.0%) had SCD; the proportion of SCD from the total admission ranged from 2.1 to 16.3% in the facilities. Of the 7,256 children and adolescents with SCD, 1,213 (16.7%) had respiratory morbidities. Lower respiratory disease was the most common (70.0%) respiratory entity and the majority were pneumonia (40.1.0%), followed by acute chest syndrome (26.7%). Seventeen (1.4%) patients died; all had lower respiratory diseases [(acute chest syndrome ACS (11, 64.7%), pneumonia; 5, 29.4%, and asthma (1, 5.9%). Based on the proportion of deaths among overall SCD, the 17 death cases contributed 9.4% (95% CI 5.9 to 14.5). Factors associated with deaths included duration of hospitalization less than 72 hours and lower respiratory tract diseases. Conclusion: Sickle cell disease is a major contributor to hospitalization among Nigerian children and adolescents, with high respiratory morbidity and mortality. Pneumonia and acute chest syndrome were associated with mortality, andthe highest risk of death within the first 72 hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The risk of stroke in individuals with Sickle Cell Anaemia (SCA) can be assessed by routine noninvasive measurement of their cerebral blood flow using a Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound scan. This study aimed to determine the difference in blood flow velocity parameters in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) of children with sickle cell anaemia compared to a normal age-matched population. Methodology: This was a hospital-based comparative cross-sectional study among 40 SCA patients aged 3-16 years, in steady state and 40 age and sex-matched HbAA healthy subjects. This study lasted from June to October 2019. Medical history was retrieved using a structured questionnaire. The time-averaged mean of maximum velocity (TAMMV) of the right and left MCA was measured using non-imaging TCD. Results: The mean age ± SD of the SCA patients was 9.1 ± 4.4 years. The SCA patients and sex and age-matched HbAA group consisted of 23 (57.5%) males and 17 (42.5%) females respectively. SCA patients had a significantly lower mean ± SD haemoglobin (Hb) than the controls (7.1 ± 1.1g/dl vs 11.1 ± 1.4g/dl; p<0.001). The right MCA of the patients with SCA had a significantly higher mean flow velocity compared to the controls (94.1 ± 23.1 vs 55.0 ± 8.8cm/sec, p<0.001). Conclusion: The mean TAMMV recorded in the SCA subjects were significantly higher than that of the non-SCA subjects. There is a need to ensure that TCD ultrasound is employed as a routine screening tool for stroke risk among SCA patients in Nigerian tertiary health institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Most neonatal deaths occur in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). These deaths can be prevented through universal access to basic high-quality in-patient health services. Prematurity, neonatal sepsis, and perinatal asphyxia have been reported as the leading causes of in-patient neonatal deaths. This study aimed to assess the trend of neonatal mortality in our hospital, determine the pattern and causes of neonatal mortality, and evaluate the factors associated with neonatal mortality in our facility. Methodology: This was a retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in the Special Care Babies Unit (SCBU) and Sick Babies Unit (SBU) of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, over seven years (2015-2021). Demographic, clinical, and mortality data was extracted from the case record files of patients into a structured proforma and analysed. Results: There was a total of 228 deaths comprising 130 males (57.02%) and 98 (42.98%) females. The median age at demise was 4.00 (IQR = 1.00 - 12.00) days for both genders. The majority (71.50%) of deaths occurred in the Sick Babies Unit. More males died than females (57% vs 43%). The three leading causes of death were: prematurity (38.60%), neonatal sepsis (38.16%), and birth asphyxia (13.60%). Conclusion: The leading causes of neonatal mortality in our environment are prematurity and neonatal sepsis. There is a need for increased community education on antenatal care, training of traditional birth attendants, improved newborn transportation facilities, and provision of neonatal intensive care facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over the past three decades, double burden of malnutrition (DBM), a situation where high levels of undernutrition (stunting, thinness, or micronutrient deficiency) coexist with overnutrition (overweight and obesity), continues to rise in sub-Saharan Africa. Compared to other countries in the region, the evidence on DBM is limited in Nigeria., Objective: This paper aimed to determine the comparative prevalence of population-level and individual-level DBM among adolescents in two emerging cities in northern and southern Nigeria., Methods: This was a comparative cross-sectional study among apparently healthy secondary school adolescents aged 10-18 years in Gombe (northern Nigeria) and Uyo (southern Nigeria) between January 2015 and June 2017. A multistage random sampling technique was implemented to recruit adolescents from 24 secondary schools in both cities. Measures of general obesity (body mass index) and stature (height-for-age) were classified and Z-scores generated using the WHO AnthroPlus software, which is based on the WHO 2006 growth reference. Population-level DBM was defined as the occurrence of thinness and overweight/obesity within the population. Individual-level DBM was defined as the proportion of individuals who were concurrently stunted and had truncal obesity or stunted and were overweight/obese., Findings: Overall, at the population-level in both settings, 6.8% of adolescents had thinness, while 12.4% were overweight/obese signifying a high burden of population-level DBM. Comparatively, the population-level DBM was higher in Gombe compared to Uyo (thinness: 11.98% vs 5.3% and overweight/obesity: 16.08% vs 11.27% in Gombe vs Uyo respectively). Overall, at the individual level, 6.42% of stunted adolescents had coexisting truncal obesity, while 8.02% were stunted and had coexisting general overweight/obesity. Like the trend with population-level DBM, individual-level DBM was higher in Gombe (northern Nigeria) compared to Uyo (southern Nigeria)., Conclusion: High levels of population-level and individual-level DBM exist in Gombe and Uyo. However, the level of DBM (under- and over-nutrition) is higher in Gombe located in northern Nigeria compared to Uyo in southern Nigeria., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s).)