Indian Journal of Pediatrics

Mortality prediction is important for cautious monitoring and optimal management of critically ill children. The serum cytokine levels are elevated early in critical illness before the physiological parameters are deranged. This cross-sectional descriptive study included the critically ill children admitted in intensive care unit. Serial serum levels of IL-6, NF-κB and PELOD 2 scoring were measured and compared in 45 children (40 survivors, 5 non-survivors). The median IL-6 levels at 24 h and 72 h were significantly high in non-survivors when compared to survivors [median (IQR) = 1122 (1305) pg/ml vs...

Schools provide a crucial platform for health and well-being interventions targeting children and adolescents. Early promotive and preventive initiatives are vital for enabling children and adolescents to reach their optimal potential, thereby adding to the country's social return-on-investment, creating a favourable demographic dividend. This review analyses the evolution of school health initiatives in India, including the current curriculum proposed under the Ayushman Bharat program. The manuscript highlights the challenges, and gaps in implementation of the current school health programs and proposes potential pathways for bridging these gaps for promotion of adolescent well-being...

OBJECTIVES: To find out the diagnostic accuracy of stool Cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) as an alternate method as compared to CBNAAT in gastric aspirate (GA) samples in pediatric tuberculosis (TB). METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed at Department of Pediatrics of a tertiary care hospital. Children aged 0-18 y diagnosed as presumptive tuberculosis were consecutively enrolled. Gastric aspirate and corresponding stool sample was subjected to CBNAAT and its performance was compared in both samples using appropriate statistical tests...

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OBJECTIVES: To compare the growth of preterm neonates with fetal growth restriction (FGR) and preterm neonates born appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) from birth to 12-18 mo of corrected age (CA). METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, 85 preterm neonates with FGR and 85 gestation- and gender-matched AGA neonates were followed up from birth till 12-18 mo corrected age. Anthropometric indices were compared at specific time points and the risk factors for underweight status were analyzed...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Chronic liver disease (CLD) is a persistent public health burden, with over one billion cases reported worldwide. In most cases, the progression of CLD is slow and undulating with end-stage liver disease developing at variable time points depending on the underlying etiology of the disease. The concept of reversibility or halting progression to end stage liver disease is recent and various medications are in the pipeline which influence the progression of CLD. Non-invasive tests for monitoring of CLD may have the potential to avoid the morbidity and mortality related to invasive procedures...

Just under a decade ago, most children with genetic disorders received a phenotypic diagnosis, often by atlas matching. With advances in genomics (decoding of human genome, easy availability of genetic testing, and reduction in cost of tests), genotypic diagnosis is now a reality. Genetic diseases can lead to non-inflammatory arthritis that can mimic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). A small but growing number (as newer genes are discovered) of genetic diseases are being diagnosed in children with a seemingly inflammatory musculoskeletal diseases or connective tissue diseases...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a tool to assess pre-writing skills of 2-5 y old children in India. METHODS: The tool development process followed the recommendations by Fitzpatrick et al. and the Consensus based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN), and included 4 phases. In Phase I, an initial 35-item draft tool was developed by an expert panel for the tool-development. In Phase II, the 35-item draft tool was prevalidated through peer and expert reviews, pilot-study to assess the tool-comprehensibility, and assessment of test-retest and inter-rater reliability...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), the biochemical indicator of adrenarche and pubarche, is of paramount importance in the evaluation of puberty-related disorders. The reference range of DHEAS should be ethnicity, age, sex, pubarche and Tanner stage specific. Anthropometry, puberty assessment and hormonal parameters were estimated using electrochemiluminescence assay. Bone age was estimated using the BoneXpert software. Of 2191 healthy Indian children aged 5-18 y screened at Chandigarh, 1919 were included in the final analysis (994 boys)...

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease, that mainly affects skin, joints and kidneys but can affect any organ in the body. It is characterized by presence of multiple autoantibodies like ANA, antibodies to dsDNA and RNA associated proteins. The major mechanism leading to tissue damage includes immune complex mediated complement activation, interferon alpha release by plasmacytoid dendritic cells, NETosis by neutrophils as well as defects in monocytes leading to poor clearance of cellular debris and direct cellular dysfunction mediated by antibodies...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.