Urinary schistosomiasis in Maiduguri, north east Nigeria

From January to December 1983, 12,207 specimens of urine were examined for ova of Schistosoma haematobium and 753 (6.17%) were positive. From this group, 44 adult patients were investigated for urinary tract abnormalities. Haematuria was the commonest presenting symptom (81.8%) followed by lower abdominal pain (77.3%) and dysuria (68.2%). Urinalysis revealed proteinuria in 55.5%, leucocyturia in 90.9% and microhaematuria in 88.6% of patients. Twenty-four hour protein excretion ranged from 230 mg to 2.2 g (mean 960 mg). Serum creatinine was raised in one patient (2.2 mg dl-1), Urological abnormalities included calcification of the bladder in 36.4%, ureteric strictures and dilatations in 65.9%, hydronephrosis in 9.1%, squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder in 4.5%, vesicle calculus in 2.3%, and multiple granulomatas in the bladder in 2.3% of the patients. The results of the study suggest that a sizeable population of this area is at risk of developing urological complications and consequently chronic renal insufficiency.