Diphtheria mortality at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria: a review of 98 consecutive cases
BMC Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12879-026-14298-z
- PMID
- —
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W7204229401
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The data emphasize the importance of maintaining high childhood vaccination rates and ensuring rapid antitoxin distribution to mitigate severe disease burden in under-resourced regions.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The investigation sought to characterize clinical presentations, therapeutic interventions, and survival rates among pediatric patients evaluated for suspected diphtheria at a Nigerian medical center.
Study design
A retrospective analysis of sequential patient records spanning approximately seven and a half years.
Population and setting
Pediatric patients ranging from infancy to fifteen years old who presented with suspected diphtheria at a tertiary care facility in Sokoto, Nigeria.
Main findings
Approximately half of the evaluated patients yielded positive bacterial cultures. The overall fatality rate reached 75.5 percent, with notably higher death rates observed in unvaccinated individuals and those who did not receive antitoxin therapy. Fatal outcomes consistently coincided with documented internal organ complications, particularly affecting the heart and kidneys.
Public-health relevance
The data emphasize the importance of maintaining high childhood vaccination rates and ensuring rapid antitoxin distribution to mitigate severe disease burden in under-resourced regions.
Important limitations
The investigation depends on historical medical documentation, which may result in incomplete laboratory verification or missing clinical details. The authors did not explicitly outline additional methodological constraints.
GIDS interpretation
This report supplies historical clinical outcome metrics from a defined healthcare setting, providing background context for regional disease severity and care infrastructure without reflecting current epidemiological activity.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 9 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.