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Biomedical subjects

J O Lawson

Publications and source records attributed to J O Lawson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

A five year appraisal of caesarean section in a northern Nigeria university teaching hospital.

A retrospective analysis of cases of caesarean section performed in Jos University Teaching Hospital between January 1994 and December 1998 was undertaken to determine the incidence, indications, perinatal and maternal outcome. There were 11,571 deliveries with 2083 caesarean sections done giving an incidence of 18%. 62.2% of the patients who had caesarean section were booked for antenatal care and delivered in the hospital, while 37.8% were unbooked seen as emergency. 90% of the operations were done as an emergency while only 10% was electively performed. There was a high caesarean section rate in all the age groups as well as the various parity distributions. The main indications for the elective section were repeat caesarean section, placenta praevia, precious baby, severe pregnancy induced hypertension and bad obstetric history while those for emergency section were cephalo-pelvic disproportion foetal distress, repeat caesarean section, antepartum haemorrhage, severe pregnancy induced hypertension/eclampsia, obstructed labour and breech presentation. The maternal mortality rate was 624.1/100,000 due mainly to haemorrhage, eclampsia and sepsis and there was one anaesthetic death amongst the booked patients. The perinatal mortality rate was 81.6/1000. The clinical causes of deaths were birth asphyxia, ante-partum haemorrhage, obstructed labour and prematurity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Case-control study of factors associated with nutritional rickets in Nigerian children.

OBJECTIVE: Because the causes of nutritional rickets in tropical countries are poorly understood, we conducted a case-control study to determine factors associated with rickets in Nigerian children. STUDY DESIGN: We compared 123 Nigerian children who had rickets with matched control subjects. Dietary, demographic, anthropometric, and biochemical data were collected to assess factors related to calcium and vitamin D status, which might predispose children to rickets. RESULTS: Mean (+/- SD) daily dietary calcium intake was low in both children with rickets and control children (217 +/- 88 mg and 214 +/- 77 mg, respectively; P =.64). Children with rickets had a greater proportion of first-degree relatives with a history of rickets (14.6% vs 3.1%; P <.001), a shorter mean duration of breast-feeding (16.0 vs 17.3 months; P =.041), and a delayed age of walking (14 vs 12 months; P <.001). Among children with rickets, biochemical features suggestive of calcium deficiency included hypocalcemia, extremely low calcium excretion, and elevated 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D and parathyroid hormone values. Median 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were 32 and 50 nmol/L (13 and 20 ng/mL) in children with rickets and control children, respectively (P <.0001). Only 46 subjects with rickets (37%) had 25-hydroxyvitamin D values <30 nmol/L (12 ng/mL). CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D deficiency appears unlikely to be the primary etiologic factor of rickets in African children. Moreover, low dietary calcium intake alone does not account for rickets. Insufficient dietary calcium probably interacts with genetic, hormonal, and other nutritional factors to cause rickets in susceptible children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Radiographic scoring method for the assessment of the severity of nutritional rickets.

Radiographic changes of rickets are well characterized, but no method of grading the severity of these changes has been in general use. Consequently, it is difficult to compare objectively or follow radiographic improvement. We prospectively evaluated the utility and reproducibility of a scoring method for measuring the severity of rickets. A 10-point score for radiographs of wrists and knees was devised to assess the degree of metaphyseal fraying and cupping and the proportion of the growth plate affected. The score progresses in half point increments from zero (normal) to 10 points (severe). Four trained physicians independently scored radiographs on two separate occasions from 67 children with active rickets. A broad representation of mean radiographic scores was moderately correlated with alkaline phosphatase (r = 0.58). Interobserver correlation of radiographic scores was 0.84 or greater for all observer pairs and intraobserver correlation was 0.89 or greater for each observer. Researchers and clinicians should find the score useful to assess objectively the severity of rickets.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1999

A comparison of calcium, vitamin D, or both for nutritional rickets in Nigerian children.

BACKGROUND: Nutritional rickets remains prevalent in many tropical countries despite the fact that such countries have ample sunlight. Some postulate that a deficiency of dietary calcium, rather than vitamin D, is often responsible for rickets after infancy. METHODS: We enrolled 123 Nigerian children (median age, 46 months) with rickets in a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial of 24 weeks of treatment with vitamin D (600,000 U intramuscularly at enrollment and at 12 weeks), calcium (1000 mg daily), or a combination of vitamin D and calcium. We compared the calcium intake of the children at enrollment with that of control children without rickets who were matched for sex, age, and weight. We measured serum calcium and alkaline phosphatase and used a 10-point radiographic score to assess the response to treatment at 24 weeks. RESULTS: The daily dietary calcium intake was low in the children with rickets and the control children (median, 203 mg and 196 mg, respectively; P=0.64). Treatment produced a smaller increase in the mean (+/-SD) serum calcium concentration in the vitamin D group (from 7.8+/-0.8 mg per deciliter [2.0+/-0.2 mmol per liter] at base line to 8.3+/-0.7 mg per deciliter [2.1+/-0.2 mmol per liter] at 24 weeks) than in the calcium group (from 7.5+/-0.8 [1.9+/-0.2 mmol per liter] to 9.0+/-0.6 mg per deciliter [2.2+/-0.2 mmol per liter], P<0.001) or the combination-therapy group (from 7.7+/-1.0 [1.9+/-0.25 mmol per liter] to 9.1+/-0.6 mg per deciliter [2.3+/-0.2 mmol per liter], P<0.001). A greater proportion of children in the calcium and combination-therapy groups than in the vitamin D group reached the combined end point of a serum alkaline phosphatase concentration of 350 U per liter or less and radiographic evidence of nearly complete healing of rickets (61 percent, 58 percent, and 19 percent, respectively; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Nigerian children with rickets have a low intake of calcium and have a better response to treatment with calcium alone or in combination with vitamin D than to treatment with vitamin D alone.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1999

Rickets in Nigerian children: response to calcium supplementation.

In a previous study of rachitic children in Jos, Nigeria we concluded that inadequate dietary intake of calcium was the primary contributing factor to the development of their rickets. The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of calcium supplementation in 10 children with radiographically and biochemically proven rickets from the same geographical area. Rachitic children were provided with calcium supplements of 1000 mg/day for a period of 3 months. Serum and urine samples were obtained at baseline and at 24 hours, 1 week, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks after initiation of supplementation. Serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, intact parathyroid hormone, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D were measured at each time point. Dietary recalls obtained at two separate times were used to estimate usual daily intakes of calcium and phosphorus. Ten non-rachitic age-matched controls from the same geographical area were recruited for comparison. Nine of 10 rachitic subjects had radiographic evidence of healing after 3 months of calcium therapy. Although serum calcium concentrations returned to control levels, other biochemical data indicated that the rickets of these subjects may have been multifactorial in aetiology, pointing to a possible defect in the synthesis of 25-hydroxyvitamin D.

Anthropometry↗
PubMed1998

Absence of vitamin D deficiency in young Nigerian children.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in young Nigerian children residing in an area where nutritional rickets is common. STUDY DESIGN: A randomized cluster sample of children aged 6 to 35 months in Jos, Nigeria. RESULTS: Of 218 children evaluated, no child in the study had a 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) concentration <10 ng/mL (the generally held definition of vitamin D deficiency). Children spent an average of 8.3 hours per day outside of the home. Twenty children (9.2%) had clinical findings of rickets. Children with clinical signs of rickets were more likely to be not currently breast fed and have significantly lower serum calcium concentrations than those without signs of rickets (9.1 vs 9.4 mg/dL, respectively, P =.01). Yet, 25-OHD levels were not significantly different between those children with clinical signs of rickets and those without such clinical signs. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D deficiency was not found in this population of young children in whom clinical rickets is common. This is consistent with the hypothesis that dietary calcium insufficiency, without preexisting vitamin D deficiency, accounts for the development of clinical rickets in Nigerian children.

Breast Feeding↗
PubMed1992

Diethylene glycol poisoning in Nigerian children.

Between June and September 1990, 47 children died at Jos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria from ingestion of paracetamol syrup adulterated with diethylene glycol. Most of the children presented with anuria, fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and convulsions. Signs on admission were tachycardia, acidotic breathing, pallor, oedema and hepatomegaly. Laboratory findings included hyperkalaemia, acidosis, elevated creatinine level and hypoglycaemia. Management consisted of correction of dehydration and acidosis plus administration of antibiotics when indicated. None of the children had dialysis. All died within 2 weeks of admission. Proper government supervision of pharmaceutical companies and their agencies is urgently needed in order to prevent any future occurrence of such tragic deaths.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1989

Neonatal hydrometrocolpos.

A neonate with persistence of the urogenital sinus, double vaginae and hydrometrocolpos, in association with an anterior perineal anus, ambiguous genitalia and a ventricular septal defect, is described. Abdominal ultrasound led to an early diagnosis which prevented morbidity and mortality from renal failure and unnecessary laparotomy. Drainage was achieved by a perineal procedure.

Female↗
PubMed1986

Suction biopsy in Hirschsprung's disease.

Seventy two children with symptoms and signs consistent with Hirschsprung's disease had full thickness and suction rectal biopsies performed. Results were identical with both methods, except for one case of total aganglionosis of the colon. Full thickness biopsy no longer has a place as a screening method.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Clinical evaluation of the histochemical diagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease.

The histochemical staining of suction rectal biopsies for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity is a safe and accurate diagnostic tool in the management of patients with symptoms and signs of Hirschsprung's disease. In this study 101 patients who have undergone AChE analysis of suction rectal biopsies are presented in order to correlate histochemical findings with subsequent clinical course after a minimum of 18 months follow up. There were no false positive results, but the limitations and problems associated with the technique which we have encountered are discussed. Equivocal, atypical, or negative results when contradicting clinical features are indications for repeat biopsy or full thickness biopsy, and awareness of the situations in which false negative results may occur is essential.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1984

The effect of ketamine anesthesia on anorectal manometry.

Two hundred and twenty-five patients aged from neonate to 15 years presenting with chronic constipation and soiling had anorectal manometry without sedation, and 142 patients in the same age range and with a similar range of presenting complaints had anorectal manometry using ketamine as an anesthetic. There were no significant differences between the groups in the resting pressures recorded in the anal canal, in the amount of inhibition with rectal distension, or in the frequency or amplitude of rhythmical activity of the internal anal sphincter. Classical inhibitory troughs were seen when expected in both groups as were signs of external sphincter activity. Ketamine anaesthesia is a suitable sedative which enables anorectal manometry to be performed on young or nervous patients and does not alter the qualitative or quantitative responses.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Investigation and management of long-standing chronic constipation in childhood.

The anorectal physiology of 106 children with long-standing chronic constipation, who had failed to response to a trial of medical treatment, was assessed. 10 (9%) were shown to have ultrashort-segment Hischsprung's disease, later confirmed on histology, The remainder showed evidence of hypertrophy of the internal sphicter on anorectal manometry and had a vigorous anal dilatation (to accept 4 fingers) under general anesthesia. After this, 38% were able to be weaned off all medication and most of the remainder improved. Further anal dilatation and internal sphincterotomy allowed a further 10 children to stop laxative, bringing the total to 48%.

Adolescent↗