Indian Pediatrics

OBJECTIVES: To describe the clinical presentation, phenotype and outcome of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) from a tertiary care center in southern India. METHODS: 257 children fulfilling the inclusion criteria of MIS-C were prospectively enrolled from June, 2020 to March, 2022. RESULTS: Median (range) age at presentation was 6 year (35 day to 12 years). Presenting features were fever (98%), vomiting (75...

OBJECTIVES: Identifying clinical and laboratory indicators that differentiate multisystem inflam-matory syndrome in children (MIS-C) apart from other febrile diseases in a tropical hospital setting. METHODS: Review of hospital records done in a tertiary care exclusive children's hospital for children admitted from April, 2020 till June, 2021. Laboratory values, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) serological status, and clinical signs and symptoms of patients with MIS-C, and those with similar presentations were analyzed...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence and pattern of cardiac involvement in children post-COVID (coronavirus disease) infection in a tertiary care referral hospital in India. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted including all consecutive children with suspected MIS-C referred to the cardiology services. RESULTS: Of the 111 children with mean (SD) age was 3.5 (3.6) years, 95.4% had cardiac involvement. Abnormalities detected were coronary vasculopathy, pericardial effusion, valvular regurgitation, ventricular dysfunction, diastolic flow reversal in aorta, pulmonary hypertension, bradycardia and intra-cardiac thrombus...

Medical education research (MER) aims to improve the practice of medical education by applying the theory of educational research. Internationally, medical education research has grown exponentially and has established itself as a distinct field. In contrast, in India, the medical faculty is either bogged down by clinical responsibilities, or is busy with biomedical research. The recent initiatives such as implementation of competency-based medical education (CBME) for medical undergraduates, and push coming from regulatory agencies besides National Education Policy have become game changers...

The incidence of polio has decreased by more than 99% and currently, only two countries are endemic for wild poliovirus. However, increasing outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus globally in the last few years, with the latest ones in high-income, exclusive inactivated polio vaccine (IPV)-using countries have brought out a new dimension to the end game of polio eradication. The inability of the current IPV to induce efficient mucosal immunity in the intestine is likely to be one of the key reasons behind the silent transmission of the polio virus in these countries...

BACKGROUND: Ingested foreign materials are a common cause for hospital emergency department visit. Foreign objects such as magnets found in the gastrointestinal tract can cause serious problem because magnets attract to each other across the intestinal wall, often resulting in severe damage. We aimed to review the magnitude of the problem, the clinical characteristics and the interventions related to this problem. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the retrospective studies published in PUBMED, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane was conducted...

JUSTIFICATION: The diagnosis of Down syndrome (DS) is easily made clinically but the management is multi-disciplinary and life-long. There is no standard protocol available for its management in India. PROCESS: A committee was formed under the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) chapter of Neuro developmental pediatrics consisting of 20 experts working in the related field. The various aspects of the condition were discussed and allotted to the concerned experts related for preparing the guidelines...

Trauma is a global challenge and India has one of the highest trauma deaths in the world. Despite United Nations target to halve the global number of deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes by 2030, death tolls from Road Traffic Injuries (RTI) rising in India. In pediatric age groups, falls from height add to the burden of trauma. Uncontrolled bleeding from exsanguination on scene is estimated to account for nearly 40% of RTI trauma related mortality. Stopping the bleeding in the first few minutes is crucial for meaningful survival and hence the role of training lay public who can reach the scene in minutes...

OBJECTIVES: This prospective observational study aimed to identify the current trend of the circulating viral strains responsible for HFMD outbreak in four tertiary care centers in Rajasthan, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic (April-October 2022). METHODS: Cases with suspected HFMD, presenting to our skin outpatient department were assessed clinically and serologically (IgM antibodies against coxsackie virus (CV) A6, A16 and enterovirus 71) for evidence of the disease...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

CONTEXT: Early intervention, and parent-mediated intervention are effective in achieving early childhood development goals for children with autism spectrum disorder. There is a surge in mHealth technologies delivering such interventions. This review aims to explore the concept, context and methodology of implementation of such mHealth apps. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A search was conducted using NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) healthcare database, including keyword 'early intervention,' 'mHealth,' 'parent support,' 'apps,' and 'autism...

The clinician-performed point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a useful tool, and its scope includes bedside assessment of pulmonary (e.g., pneumothorax, pleural effusion), cardiac (e.g., pulmonary hypertension, ductus arteriosus), gastrointestinal (e.g., necrotising enterocolitis), and intracranial (e.g., intraventricular hemorrhage, cerebral blood flow velocities) pathologies, procedural guidance and rapid assessment of etiologies of acute clinical deterioration (e.g., pneumothorax, poor cardiac contractility, intraventricular hemorrhage)...

The extent, purpose, and model of performance assessment should be guided by our understanding of clinical competence. We have come a long way from believing that competence is generic, fixed, and transferable across contents; to viewing competence as dynamic, incremental, contextual, and non-transferable. However, our pattern of assessment largely remains what it was many years ago. Contemporary educationists view competency assessment as different from traditional format. They place more emphasis on the role of expert subjective judgment, especially for performance and domain-independent competencies...

OBJECTIVES: Using data from a hospital-based cancer registry (HBCR) in the private sector in Northern India, we provide overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) for childhood cancer patients. METHODS: All newly diagnosed childhood (age <18 years) cancer patients in our HBCR registered between March 1, 2013 till July 31, 2021 were eligible. 3-year and 5-year OS (death was an event), EFSc (death, progression/relapse was an event), and EFSa (death, progression/relapse, abandonment of treatment was an event) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method...

OBJECTIVES: To compare the entrance skin doses (ESD) before and after implementation of a radiation safety policy in neonates (RSN), which focused on clinician-directed technical specifications on the digital X-ray machine. METHODS: Prospective observations included two sets of X-rays: Before (BRSN) and after (ARSN) implementation of RSN (documented indication for X-ray/expected posttest findings, settings of 40 kVP, 0.5 mAs, film-focus distance 100 cm, gonadal-shield, optimal collimation, and post-shoot image-enhancement)...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of Bacillus clausii in the treatment of pediatric constipation. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted from January, 2021 to January, 2022 in children aged 1-5 years diagnosed with functional constipation according to Rome IV criteria. They were assigned to receive either B. clausii or placebo, once daily for four weeks. The primary out-come was treatment success (defined as ≥3 spontaneous stools per week and stool consistency grade ³3 on Bristol stool chart)...

BACKGROUND: Transport of neonates is often neglected, which results in high mortality of neonates during transport. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of kangaroo mother care (KMC) in terms of hypothermia prevention during transport from hospital to home for low birth weight neonates. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 152 low birth weight neonates being discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit of our hospital between March, 2021 and August, 2022...

OBJECTIVES: To develop and validate a bedside dengue severity score in children less than 12 years for predicting severe dengue disease. METHODS: We carried out an analysis of data on the clinical and laboratory parameters of patients with confirmed dengue, hospitalized in October, 2019 at our center. A comprehensive patient's score was developed. Predictive models for severity were built using a forward step-wise method. This model was validated on the data of 312 children with dengue admitted during September- October, 2021...

OBJECTIVES: This observational cohort study aims to provide data on pediatric patients with neurological manifestations associated with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with coronavirus disease (Covid-19). METHODS: Patients aged <18 with neurologic symptoms and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection from January, 2021 to January, 2022 at the Dr. Sardjito Hospital in Yogyakarta, Indonesia were evaluated...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the proportion of children, symptomatic for urinary tract infection (UTI), with urine culture showing single bacterial species >104 CFU/mL, and to compare patient and disease characteristics between children having low counts (from >104-105 CFU/mL) and those with counts >105 CFU/mL. METHODS: Prospective observational study, enrolling symptomatic children aged 1 month to 12 years. Mid-stream clean-void or catheter collected urine were cultured...