Pediatric Rheumatic Diseases Are Underdiagnosed And Underrecognized In Nigeria — Dr. Faleye

Dr. Ayodele Faleye

Pediatric rheumatic diseases (PRDs) are underrecognized, underdiagnosed, and underreported in Nigeria, according to Dr. Ayodele Faleye, Nigeria's first paediatric rheumatologist and consultant pediatrician.

PRDs are immune-mediated musculoskeletal and connective tissue illnesses that affect children under the age of eighteen that last a lifetime. They have an autoimmunity.

During her appearance on Channels Television's Health Matters program, Dr. Faleye connected this to the dearth of statistics in the nation.

“We do not have data, but it has been reported in a tertiary center in Lagos, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to be precise that 57 cases were seen over five years, then we have other case reports from other centers 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.”

“In the United States, it has been reported in a study that they diagnosed 294,000 children yearly with PRDs between 2001 and 2004 but what is happening in Nigeria, we don't know like now, I am giving you figures just about Lagos, I don't know what is happening in the other 35 states in Nigeria,” Dr Faleye said.

The paediatric rheumatologist also decried the fact that paediatric rheumatology is not yet included in the medical school curriculum as health workers have to find out about children with PRDs in the course of practice.

“Before we even talk about reporting. underrecognition, underdiagnosis, you know you have to diagnose before you start reporting.

“There is underdiagnosis and underrecognition of these diseases not only in society alone but even among health workers. This is because paediatric rheumatology is yet to be part of the medical school curriculum which means we were not taught in medical school but in the course of practice, we found out that these children exist here in Nigeria, and from there, we started seeing many of them in the clinic and ward. We still have a lot to do when it comes to data.”

She also discussed the most prevalent PRDs in Nigeria, as well as their known causes, diagnosis, and effects on a child's overall health.

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