Prevalence of Anaemia among Children Attending Paediatrics Department of UDUTH, Sokoto, North-Western Nigeria

Introduction: Anaemia is a global public health problem. It affects more than 56 million people globally, two thirds of them being from developing countries. This study was designed to investigate the prevalence and types of anaemia among the children attending the Paediatrics Department of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH),Sokoto North-Western Nigeria.

Method: Four hundred children between the ages of newborn to 15 years were recruited for this study. Haematological parameters tested include red cell indices, white cell total and differential, platelet counts and morphologies were studied with a MythicTM 5-part autoanalyzer and manual techniques while morphological features were examined on blood film stained with Leishman’s stain. Other investigations include serum iron, serum ferritin, serum transferrin, total iron binding capacity and haemoglobin electrophoresis using an alkaline pH 8.4.

Result: Out of the four hundred children tested, 139 (34.8%) were anaemic, revealing five aetiological types of anaemia among the children: Iron deficiency 62 (44.6%), sickle cell 43 (31.0%), normocytic normochromic 19 (13.7%), anaemia of chronic diseases 10 (7.1%), and megaloblastic 5 (3.6%) and three morphologic classification (i.e., normocytic anaemia 48 (34.5%), macrocytic anaemia 18 (13.0%), and microcytic anaemia 73 (52.5%)).

Conclusion: This cross-sectional non-interventional study found approximately one-third of a child cohort with anaemia in a single hospital in a North-Western Nigeria. These findings lead to the potential for the targeted provision of iron and other micro nutrients supplementation for anaemic children.