BackgroundIn the Sub Saharan Africa Rickets has now been established to be due primarily to calcium deficiency and sometimes in combination with vitamin D deficiency. The main thrust of management is calcium supplementation with or without vitamin D. An observation was made that some children with nutritional rickets do not respond to this management modality. The recently reported high prevalence of Incomplete Distal Renal Tubular Acidosis (idRTA) in adults with osteoporosis as brought to fore the possibility of this being a possible cause of calcium wastage and therefore the poor response in these group of children with rickets.AimTo determine the prevalence of idRTA amongst a cohort of subjects with ricketsTo show a relationship between rickets and incomplete distal renal acidosisTo determine the response of children with rickets and idRTA to addition of Shohl's solution to therapyMethodologyTwo separate cohorts of children with rickets performed the ammonium chloride loading test to detect those with incomplete renal tubular acidosis. Following identification for idRTA, Shohl's solution was added to therapy of calcium and vitamin D supplementation and their response compared to those without idRTA on calcium and vitamin D supplementation solely.Results50 children with rickets aged from two to six years of age and composed of 29 females and 21males were investigated. Incomplete renal tubular acidosis was found in 38% of them. Prevalence of idRTA was highest amongst those aged 3-6 years of age. Those with idRTA had worse limb deformities, biochemical and radiological parameters than those who hadn't. Rate of response on those with idRTA treated with Shohl's solution was at par with those without idRTA.ConclusionIncomplete idRTA exist amongst children with rickets and should be looked out for in severe rickets and older children. Treatment of idRTA will lead to optimal response and healing of rickets.

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Context: COVID-19 came suddenly, bringing to the fore the challenges inherent in the health system. In a developing country, such as Nigeria, which already had myriad problems with funds and equipment in the health sector. Aims: This study aims to examine the challenges encountered by the staff in Radiology facilities and how they combated the challenges. Settings and Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study of radiology facilities in Nigeria. Subjects and Methods: Radiologists from nine government and four private facilities who attended to COVID-19 patients were asked to fill questionnaires on challenges faced and their coping strategies. Responses were sent through E-mail. Statistical Analysis Used: Data from the responses were analyzed using Microsoft excel for Mac 2011 and presented as figures and tables. Results: Majority of the government 7 (77.8%) and private facilities 4 (100%) had no equipment dedicated only to COVID-19 patients. Seven (77.8%) government facilities complained of inadequate staff, poor availability of personal protective equipment (PPEs) 8 (88.9%), and lack of technology for remote viewing 7 (77.8%). Fear of cross-infection was a challenge in one of the facilities 1 (11.1%). Coping strategies adopted include ensuring less traffic in the department by discouraging walk-in patients and canceling non-emergent cases, booking suspected/confirmed cases for lighter times, using old film for face shields and cloth for facemasks, staff education on COVID-19 and preventive measures, and sending reports to physicians through E-mail. Conclusions: There were a lot of challenges during the COVID-19 crisis, with government hospitals experiencing more challenges than private facilities. The challenges included among others inadequate staff strength and lack of technology for remote viewing. Some were overcome using education and by production of facemasks/shields production using recycled materials.