Background: The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide with attendant chronic complications. The outcome of HIV/AIDS and its treatment is worse in individuals with coexisting overweight or obesity and its complications. Aim: To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among of HIV infected patients at enrolment for treatment of HIV/AIDS as well as the associated risk factors. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Special Treatment Clinic (STC), National Hospital, Abuja. A total of 300 adult patients with HIV/AIDS were recruited by purposive sampling. An intervieweradministered questionnaire was used to obtain data on socioeconomic and clinical characteristics. The body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure of the respondents were measured. Results: A total of 189 females and 111 males were studied. The mean age was 37.1 years ± 8.6 years. The mean BMI was 25.5kg/m 2 ± 4.8kg/m 2. Overweight respondents made up 32.7% of the study population while 15% of them were obese. The mean blood pressure was 117/75 ± 19/11mmHg and 55% of the respondents had normal blood pressure measurements. Amongst those with abnormal blood pressure measurements, 63% were overweight/obese. There was a significant relationship between BMI and sex (p<0.001), marital status (p<0.001), area of residence (p<0.001) alcohol use (p<0.001) and blood pressure (p<0.001). Conclusion: Overweight and obesity occur frequently among patients infected with HIV/AIDS. It is recommended that weight management and other lifestyle modification practices should be integrated into every aspect of their care.

A BSTRACT Four children aged between 15 months and two years presented in several different out-patient emergency departments with a history of recent ingestion of kerosene. Majority of the patients lived in crowded domestic settings, and they all presented with varying degrees of respiratory distress, different presentations of respiratory clinical symptoms and signs, after being subjected to various potentially dangerous home remedies to counter the effect of the kerosene. Majority of the children presented late, but all recovered following appropriate management. The presented cases demonstrate the vital importance of prompt emergency management in primary care settings, family counseling on childcare and domestic safety, and community enlightenment on reducing the complications and frequency of childhood poisoning in increasingly overcrowded and less affluent communities.

Background and aim: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global problem. Family dysfunction is an integral characteristic of IPV homes. However, not much has been done regarding restoration of these families. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of counselling on the family function of pregnant IPV victims, with a view to recommending an appropriate interventional strategy.Methods: The study was a single-blinded randomised controlled trial of pregnant IPV victims. The Abuse Assessment Scale (AAS) was used to recruit 72 IPV victims who were randomised into the control and intervention arms of 36 each. Their sociodemographic data were collected. The family function of the victims was assessed using the SCORE-15 index of family function at the beginning the study. The intervention arm had three sessions of counselling lasting one to two hours fortnightly using the SOS DoC protocol. The family function was repeated post intervention. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20 and a p-value of 0.05 was considered significant.Results: The majority (82%) of the IPV victims had dysfunctional families. Baseline mean family function score across the groups showed no statistically significant difference. Post intervention, the mean family function score improved from 2.92 ± 0.92 to 2.16 ± 0.63 and this change was statistically significant (p 0.0001). In the control arm, the change from 2.48 ± 0.73 to 2.29 ± 0.82 was not statistically significant (p = 0.116). Conclusion: Short-term counselling significantly improved the family function of IPV victims.