A Consultant Paediatrician, Dr Ayodele Faleye, says inadequate data on Paediatric Rheumatic Diseases in Nigeria has contributed to making it an underreported medical condition in Nigeria.
The expert, who is Nigeria’s first paediatric rheumatologist said between March 2024 and February 2022, over 100 cases of rheumatic diseases were recorded across the country.
Children’s Health Queensland, a health website, described paediatric rheumatic diseases as a musculoskeletal, arthritic, and connective tissue disorder that can develop in childhood.
It noted that these diseases can affect a child’s eyes, joints, skin, muscles, and gastrointestinal tract.
While noting that these autoimmune and inflammatory conditions share some common symptoms such as pain, heat, and swelling, each also has specific symptoms.
It, however, noted that rheumatic diseases can affect children of any age and ethnic background.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television on Sunday, the paediatrician said that the rise in cases reported across the country can be attributed to the presence of specialists and a higher index of suspicion for the diseases in the hospital now than in the past.
Faleye said, “We don’t have data, but it has been reported in a tertiary centre, the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital to be precise that 57 cases were seen in over five years. Then if that is the situation. We have case reports from other centres in Nigeria.
“With my practice in Lagos for the past two years, between February 2022 and now, we have had more than 100 cases of rheumatic diseases. This is probably because we now have a specialist and within the hospital, there is now a high index of suspicion for these diseases compared to what we had in the past
