Asymptomatic proteinuria in children in Calabar

Abstract

The urine samples of pupils from 4 Primary schools in Calabar were studied for asymptomatic proteinuria. The aim was to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic proteinuria in children in calabar. For each pupil, two urine samples were tested for proteinuria using the dipstick. The first urine sample was collected at school and the second was an early morning urine sample brought from home. A total of one thousand two hundred and seventy five children (1,275) were screened. Two hundred and thirty eight (18.6%) children had varying degrees of proteinuria ranging from trace to 500gm/dl in the daytime. Of these, only twenty (1.6%) had significant proteinuria of 30mg/dl to 500mg/dl. A repeat testing with early morning urine still showed significant proteinuria in 1.6% of these children. The prevalence of asymptomatic proteinuria was more in girls (65%) than in boys (35%), giving a male to female ratio of 1:1.9. The study identifies the need to always screen all children for proteinuria before admission into schools, as this will facilitate early detection of nephropathies in them and permit early investigation, treatment and follow-up.

Urinary abnormalities in asymptomatic secondary school children in Calabar, Nigeria

“…1,2 Prevalence of urinary abnormalities in asymptomatic Nigerian children ranges from 3.8 to 29.8%. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Majority of these Nigerian studies were done among primary school children aged 5 to 12 years. 3,6,7,[9][10][11][12] There were very few studies on urinary abnormalities among secondary school children, who are mainly adolescents, aged 13-18years.…”

“…[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Majority of these Nigerian studies were done among primary school children aged 5 to 12 years. 3,6,7,[9][10][11][12] There were very few studies on urinary abnormalities among secondary school children, who are mainly adolescents, aged 13-18years. 4,5,8 In addition, these studies 9,11 in our immediate environment Calabar, concentrated on proteinuria and did not look at other urinary abnormalities.…”

“…3,6,7,[9][10][11][12] There were very few studies on urinary abnormalities among secondary school children, who are mainly adolescents, aged 13-18years. 4,5,8 In addition, these studies 9,11 in our immediate environment Calabar, concentrated on proteinuria and did not look at other urinary abnormalities. This work will help in knowing the burden of these urinary abnormalities in our environment.…”