ABSTRACT
Background: The aim is to study the association between cord blood albumin level and subsequent development of significant neonatal jaundice (NNJ) in healthy term newborns.Methods: A prospective study was conducted on 106 term healthy neonates. Genders, gestational age, mode of delivery were taken into consideration. It was ascertained that there was no other risk factor for hyperbilirubinemia amongst the neonates. The neonates were divided into two groups based on cord blood albumin level of <3.2gm/dl and >3.2gm/dl.Results: Out of the 106 babies included in the study, 44 babies were under group A (<3.2mg/dl) and 62 babies were under group B(>3.2mg/dl). 24 babies (55%) in group A and 16 babies (26%) in group B developed clinical icterus of which 16(66.6%) in group A and 4(25%) in group B required phototherapy. There was no significant difference between the cases who did and who did not develop significant neonatal jaundice with respect to various factor such as type of delivery, gender and meconium stain liquor.Conclusions: Cord albumin levels help to determine and predict the possibility of hyperbilirubinemia among neonates. Hence this can help to identify the at-risk neonates. So routine determination of cord albumin can be advocated to keep a track on at risk neonates.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Severe acute malnutrition is widely prevalent problem in developing countries and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in India. nutritional rehabilitation of such patients is very important aspects of management and often inadequate. This study was planned to understand catch up growth in severe acute malnourished patients admitted to rehabilitation ward for providing nutrition. Objectives: (1) To study the weight gain pattern of the patients with severe acute malnutrition admitted to hospital based nutritional rehabilitation center. (2) To study the factors associated with good or poor weight gain in the patients with severe acute malnutrition admitted to nutrition rehabilitation centre. Materials and methods: In this case record based retrospective study; records of severe acute malnourished patients admitted to nutritional. rehabilitation ward during the period of February 2012 to December 2012 were included. Results: A total of 98 patients were admitted during this period for nutrition rehabilitation. Mean baseline weight/ height z score (WHZ), Weight/age z score (HAZ) was - 1.67 (2.48), -4.19 (0.98) and -4.90 (2.50) respectively. 76 patients who stayed for more than 7 completed days were analysed for comparative statistics. Mean WHZ score of this 76 patients was-1.70 (2.25). Mean weight gain of these patients was 5.56 gm/kg/day. Patients age (p=0.03, OR=1.12, 95% CI: 1.040-1.211), educated mother (p=00.048, OR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.320-2.478) and recommended dietary intake of at least 80% (p=0.001, OR=7.94, 95%CI: 2.247-28.79) were the only statistically significant factors associated with good weight gain. Conclusion: Our study highlighted important role of nutritional rehabilitation of the severe acute malnourished children in hospital for early catct-up of the growth.