Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common cause of disability worldwide. Healthcare workers are particularly prone to it because of the physical and emotional factors associated with their profession.Objectives: To determine the prevalence, perception and correlates of LBP among healthcare workers in tertiary health institutions in Sokoto, Nigeria.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 320 healthcare workers selected by multistage sampling technique from July to September 2016. Anthropometry was done for the participants in addition to questionnaire administration.Results: The mean age of the study participants was 36.99 +/- 8.23 years. The lifetime, annual, and point prevalence of LBP among the participants were 56.2%, 39.1% and 17.2% respectively. Most, 151 (83.9%) of the 180 participants that have ever experienced LBP reported that it commenced after starting work, and they perceived it to be due to standing for long hours (57.2%), awkward postures (22.2%) and carrying heavy objects/patients at work (20.6%). Older age, female sex, longer duration of practice, overweight/obesity, and lifting heavy objects/patients at work were significantly associated with LBP among the participants.Conclusion: The prevalence of LBP is high among healthcare workers in Sokoto, Nigeria; although it was also associated with older age and female sex, being in practice for 10 years and above, overweight/obesity, and lifting heavy objects/patients at work were the predictors identified. Management of the respective hospitals should prevent workplace exposures to heavy weight/objects by establishing “lift teams” as a temporary measure, and also implement “zero lift programs” in their facilities.Funding: NilKeywords: Prevalence, perception, correlates, low back pain, healthcare workers.

Objective This was to assess the quality of life and clinical symptoms before and after treatment of patients with symptomatic lumbar degenerative disc disease (LDDD). It was also to determine the superior treatment for well-selected patients: conservative versus surgical treatment. Study Design Prospective interventional analytical study. Methods We studied 160 adult symptomatic patients aged 31-60 years with diagnosis of LDDD who were enrolled between May 2016 and November 2017. Their pre-and post-treatment clinical symptoms and signs and quality of life were studied using the Oswestry disability index (ODI). The data was analysed using SPSS version 24. Results One hundred fifty-three adult patients aged 31 to 60 years completed the study. The male-to-female ratio was 1:1.5 while the symptom duration ranged between one and 14 years. The treatment modalities were medical (46%), epidural steroid injection (26%) and operative treatment (28%). The responses to the treatment were worsened symptoms (10.5%), no improvement (13.1%), moderate/ slight improvement (27.5%) and significant improvement (49%). There were statistically significant improvements (p value < 0.05) in clinical symptoms, sign and ODI at six months after treatment. Surgical treatment was superior to all other form of care. Conclusion This study showed significant improvement in outcome among the participants in different treatment modalities with surgical treatment being the superior. We recommend surgical treatment for well-selected adult patients with symptomatic LDDD and assessment of quality of life and clinical symptoms before and after treatment.Keywords Symptomatic lumbar degenerative disc disease . Quality of life and clinical symptoms * Lukman Olalekan Ajiboye

Road traffic accidents and domestic injuries as common causes of paediatric trauma need to be 'addressed by the authorities' so as to reduce the burden of trauma on the vulnerable children in our society.

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