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Background: Congenital malformations account for a significant cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity. Understanding the burden and pattern of congenital malformation is key in monitoring the trend and improving the health care of neonates especially those in low-income countries.Objective: This was a prospective cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence and characteristics of congenital malformations among neonates admitted to the neonatal unit.Method: All newborns with congenital malformation admitted into the neonatal unit of Federal Medical Center, Asaba whose parents gave consent were recruited for the study for a 1-year period from January 2020 to December 2020. Appropriately indicated laboratory and radio-diagnostic investigations were done to confirm internal anomalies. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed with a statistical package for social sciences version 26.0. Results:The total admission for the period was 752 with 46 of the neonates (6.1%) having congenital malformation. The predominant system affected was the cardiovascular system (57%), central nervous system (33%), and digestive system (30%). Atrioventricular septal defect (31%) and patent ductus arteriosus (31%) were the commonest types of cardiovascular malformation. A significant number of newborns with congenital anomalies died (43.5%). Conclusion:Congenital malformation was seen among one in 18 neonates affecting mostly the cardiovascular and central nervous system. A high index of suspicion, early complete physical examination, and radio-diagnostic investigations are relevant for the complete evaluation of CM in neonates. Advanced maternal age was associated with the presence of multiple organ anomalies.

Background: Systemic hypertension in children is one of the rising public health problems because of its attendant significant morbidity and mortality. Despite the rising prevalence of this problem, it is often under-reported as most of the attention has been focused on hypertension in adults with not much concerted effort made in tackling this problem in children. Aim: This study is aimed at determining the prevalence of hypertension and possible risk factors for its development and their relationship to hypertension among healthy primary school children in Asaba, Delta State. Subjects and Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study involving 400 primary school students in Asaba. Variables such as weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI), and blood pressure were measured using standard methods and the children categorized for hypertension and obesity using the Fourth Task Force Report and WHO BMI chart respectively. Result: The overall prevalence of hypertension was 3.5% and pre-hypertension 12.5%. The prevalence of hypertension increased from 2.4% in childhood to 12.5% in mid adolescents. Of the 14 subjects with hypertension, 12.5% were obese while 14.3% were overweight. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure of subjects in public schools was higher than their counterparts in private schools. Prevalence of hypertension in children was independent of the socioeconomic status and the type of school attended by the children unlike obesity and presence of proteinuria which appeared to be influenced by these variables. Conclusion: Hypertension was observed to be common in the study subjects.

INTRODUCTIONOral rehydration therapy (ORT) is one of the child's survival strategy initiated in 1978 by the World Health Organization to reduce child mortality and morbidity due to diarrhoeal disease. 1 In Asaba, diarrheal disease is the second most common cause of morbidity (20%) and mortality (18%) in children.2 The ORT strategy becomes even more indispensable in this era of 0 by 25; a human right initiative by the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) which aims to eliminate preventable deaths from AKI by year 2025.3 One of the common preventable causes of AKI in paediatric emergency room in Nigeria is dehydration following gastrointestinal losses. 4,5 In our locality only 47% of caregivers knew about ORT and only 23.5% administered properly reconstituted ORS to their ward at home before presentation to the hospital. 2This interventional study assessed the knowledge and the practice of ORT. It incorporated education, training on ABSTRACT Background: Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) is a core component of the childhood survival strategies to reduce child mortality and morbidity due to diarrhoeal disease with its fatal dehydrating complication of acute kidney injury. This strategy is indispensable to the attainment of the International Society of Nephrology's (ISN) aim to eliminate preventable deaths from acute kidney injury (AKI) by year 2025. Diarrheal disease is the second most common cause of morbidity and mortality in children at our centre. This interventional study assessed the knowledge and the practice of ORT among caregivers, educated and trained them on the management of diarrhoeal diseases and practice of ORT. Oral rehydration salt (ORS) and zinc tablets were also distributed. Methods: An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used following informed consent. Consented care givers of wards attendees of FMC Asaba were assessed on their knowledge and their practice of ORT, educated on childhood diarrheal diseases, trained on practice of ORT and had ORS and zinc tablets distributed to them. These assessments were done on the spot and 6 weeks after the health talk, from July 2015 to December 2015. Results: There were 266 respondents and 231 were mothers. The immediate impact of the health talk on the knowledge and the practice of ORT was laudable, p≤0.0001 and educational attainment of the respondent influenced the immediate post health talk knowledge of ORT, p=0.009. The age of the respondent predicted the long term impact of health talk on practice of ORT, p=0.020. Conclusions: Knowledge and practice of ORT are not optimal but can be improved by regular education.

Background: Raised body mass index (obesity and overweight), is abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat that may impair health.The prevalence of obesity in Nigerian adolescents ranges between 1 and 10%.In children, raised body mass index is complicated with the development of cardiovascular diseases,which are consequences of arterial stiffness. The hallmark of arterial stiffness is wide pulse pressure which precedes isolated elevation of systolic blood pressure. Other manifestations of arterial stiffness are elevated diastolic blood pressure and increased mean arterial pressure. This study educated the students on healthy lifestyle and checked their cardiovascular indices.Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of students. Their weight, height and blood pressure were measured and cardiovascular indices were calculated.Results: There were 248 students, age between 8 and 16 years, 135 (54.4%) were males with adolescents comprising 96.8%. The prevalence rate of wide pulse pressure, raised body mass index, elevated blood pressure and increased mean arterial pressure was 26.6%, 16.1%, 8.5% and 4.0% respectively. More females and early adolescents comparably had raised body mass index.Conclusions: The mean values for cardiovascular indices were comparably higher in those with raised body mass index.