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Background: Malaria is a major cause of mortality among children. Objective: This study determines the clinical profile, outcome (discharge and death), and factors associated with poor outcome in children with severe malaria in a tertiary health facility in Northern Nigeria. Methods: We conducted a descriptive retrospective study of all children (≤14 years) admitted with severe malaria based on positive malaria parasite on thick film and or rapid diagnostic test and the World Health Organization guideline for severe malaria. We extracted relevant data from patients’ case files and departmental records and analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows, version 20.0. (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). Results: A total of 483 children with severe malaria were admitted with median age interquartile range of 4.0 (2.5–8.0) years. Males were 261 (54.0%). Underfives were 258 (53.4%). Common forms of presentation were cerebral malaria 169 (35.0%), prostration (102; 21.1%), and multiple convulsion (86; 17.8%). Cerebral malaria and prostration were significantly higher among children aged 5 years and older. The mortality rate was 4.3% (21). Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that impaired consciousness (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 8.5, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.345, 30.484), hypoglycemia (aOR: 21.4, 95% CI: 2.766, 165.410), presence of two or more components (aOR: 4.5, 95% CI: 1.630, 12.522), and duration of hospitalization of 24 h or less (aOR: 4.6, 95% CI: 1.621, 12.782) were independent predictors of poor outcome. Conclusion: Our study showed that cerebral malaria was the most common form of severe malaria with a significant burden in children above 5 years. The presence of impaired consciousness, hypoglycemia, multiple components, and duration of

Background: The impact of antimicrobial resistance on children living in resource-limited countries has been underreported, despite its established global threat., Objective: This retrospective study aimed to describe the trend of antibiotic susceptibility in the paediatric age group., Methods: Sensitivity test report data consisting of 300 paediatric patients aged 18 hours to 192 months were retrieved from the microbiology laboratory records at a state-owned children's hospital in Nigeria over a period of 4 months starting from December 2021 to March 2022. Five genera ( Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus spp.) were cultured as recommended by the Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute, using the Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out on isolates using 15 different antibiotics., Results: Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequent pathogen isolated 32.1% (50/156) and Pseudomonas spp. was the least frequent pathogen isolated 7.1% (11/156) in all samples. The isolates with the highest rate of resistance to the tested antibiotics were S. aureus 32.1% (50/156), E. coli 28.2% (44/156) and Klebsiella spp. 20.5% (32/156). Isolates in all age groups were more resistant to ampicillin, amoxicillin + clavulanic acid, cefuroxime and cefepime., Conclusion: Antibiotic resistance is high, especially the younger Nigerian children. Strict antibiotic protocols should be adhered to especially in the use of empirical antibiotic therapy in hospitals., What This Study Adds: Our study reveals a higher trend of antibiotic resistance, especially in younger children. It further shows that the pathogens are most resistant to the most available empirical antibiotics in Nigeria., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article., (© 2024. The Authors.)

Frequent detection of sulfonamides (SAs) pharmaceuticals in wastewater has necessitated the discovery of suitable technology for their sustainable remediation. Adsorption has been widely investigated due to its effectiveness, simplicity, and availability of various adsorbent materials from natural and artificial sources. This review highlighted the potentials of carbon-based adsorbents derived from agricultural wastes such as lignocellulose, biochar, activated carbon, carbon nanotubes graphene materials as well as organic polymers such as chitosan, molecularly imprinted polymers, metal, and covalent frameworks for SAs removal from wastewater. The promising features of these materials including higher porosity, rich carbon-content, robustness, good stability as well as ease of modification have been emphasized. Thus, the materials have demonstrated excellent performance towards the SAs removal, attributed to their porous nature that provided sufficient active sites for the adsorption of SAs molecules. The modification of physico-chemical features of the materials have been discussed as efficient means for enhancing their adsorption and reusable performance. The article also proposed various interactive mechanisms for the SAs adsorption. Lastly, the prospects and challenges have been highlighted to expand the knowledge gap on the application of the materials for the sustainable removal of the SAs., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

The widespread consumption of pharmaceutical drugs and their incomplete breakdown in organisms has led to their extensive presence in aquatic environments. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics, such as sulfonamides, has contributed to the development of drug-resistant bacteria and the persistent pollution of water bodies, posing a threat to human health and the safety of the environment. Thus, it is paramount to explore remediation technologies aimed at decomposing and complete elimination of the toxic contaminants from pharmaceutical wastewater. The review aims to explore the utilization of metal-oxide nanoparticles (MONPs) and graphitic carbon nitrides (g-C 3 N 4 ) in photocatalytic degradation of sulfonamides from wastewater. Recent advances in oxidation techniques such as photocatalytic degradation are being exploited in the elimination of the sulfonamides from wastewater. MONP and g-C 3 N 4 are commonly evolved nano substances with intrinsic properties. They possessed nano-scale structure, considerable porosity semi-conducting properties, responsible for decomposing wide range of water pollutants. They are widely applied for photocatalytic degradation of organic and inorganic substances which continue to evolve due to the low-cost, efficiency, less toxicity, and more environmentally friendliness of the materials. The review focuses on the current advances in the application of these materials, their efficiencies, degradation mechanisms, and recyclability in the context of sulfonamides photocatalytic degradation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Gustilo IIIB open tibial fractures are associated with significant risks of complications particularly nonunion and fracture-related infections (FRI) due to the severity of the injuries. The commonly adopted viewpoint is that a Gustilo IIIB open tibial fracture is a relative contraindication for internal fixation. However, this study aims to assess the veracity of this viewpoint. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the definitive fixation technique on fracture nonunion and FRI rates in Gustilo IIIB open tibial fractures. In this study, we compared the rates of nonunion and FRI rates in grade IIIB open tibial fractures managed definitively with either mono-lateral external fixation or internal fixation., Methods: The study was a multicenter retrospective comparative study undertaken in seven Nigerian tertiary hospitals. Following ethical approval, medical records of patients diagnosed with Gustilo IIIB open tibial fractures (between 2019 and 2021) were retrieved, patients who had a minimum of nine months of follow-up period and were found eligible had their relevant data entered into an online data collection form. Data obtained was analysed with SPSS version 23, and chi-square test was used to determine the statistical significance of differences observed between the two groups with regard to nonunion and FRI rates. P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant., Results: Out of a total of 47 eligible patients, 25 patients were managed definitively with mono-lateral external fixation whilst 22 patients were managed with internal fixation. Five of the 25 patients (20%) managed with external fixation had nonunion whilst two cases of nonunion were recorded amongst the 22 patients (9.1%) treated with internal fixation. The difference between the two techniques with regard to nonunion rates was not statistically significant (P = 0.295). 12 out of 25 patients (48%) in the external fixation group had FRIs whilst 6 out of 22 patients (27.3%) in the internal fixation group had FRIs. The rates of FRIs of the two groups were not significantly different (P = 0.145)., Conclusion: Our findings suggest that mono-lateral external fixation and internal fixation do not differ significantly with respect to rates of nonunion and fracture-related infections in Gustilo IIIB open tibial fractures., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.)

The Monkeypox virus, commonly abbreviated as mpox, is a viral zoonosis that is experiencing a resurgence in prevalence. It is endemic to regions of West and Central Africa that are characterized by dense forested areas. Various measures pertaining to animals, humans, and the environment have been recognized as potential factors and catalysts for the spread of the disease throughout the impacted regions of Africa. This study examines the various factors contributing to the transmission of the virus in Nigeria, with a particular focus on the animal-human and inter-human modes of transmission in rural communities and healthcare facilities. The One Health approach was emphasized as crucial in the prevention and management of this issue. Literature suggests that preventing repeated zoonotic introductions could potentially halt the transmission of the mpox virus from animal to human hosts, leading to a potential decrease in human infections., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Ogunleye, Akinsulie, Aborode, Olorunshola, Gbore, Oladoye, Adesola, Gbadegoye, Olatoye, Lawal, Bakare, Adekanye, and Chinyere.)