Head circumference reference data for Egyptian children and adolescents

Data from a cross-sectional study of 27 826 healthy children in Cairo, Egypt, were used to construct standard growth charts of head circumference and reference values of relative head circumference to length/height for each sex. The sample was collected during the Egyptian Growth Curve Project for children and adolescents in 2002. Values were obtained for each month cohort for children aged 1-24 months, then for each year cohort until age 18 years. The values were compared with those of other populations. The constructed growth standards are suitable for growth monitoring programmes throughout Egypt

Waist circumference and central fatness of Egyptian primary-school children

This cross-sectional study of 1283 healthy children [681 boys, 602 girls] aged 6-11 years tested the degree of correlation between waist circumference measurements and adiposity. The children were classified as normal, overweight or obese according to their body mass index [BMI]. For both sexes a highly positive correlation was found between waist circumference and BMI, percentage of body fat, subscapular and suprailiac skinfold thicknesses, and the sum of skinfold measures. Central overweight and obesity were indicators for central fatness for both overweight boys and girls and for obese girls except in age group 6.5 +/- 1 years. Waist circumference was a good indicator of central fatness [overweight and obesity] in children aged 8.5 +/- years and 10.5 +/- 1 years

Comparison of different techniques for the diagnosis of parasitic infections among leukemic children

Acute lymphocytic leukemia [ALL] is a worldwide problem, and it is more prevalent in children. As the chemotherapy is taken, the host defenses are altered and the patient becomes more liable to infection. This study aimed at determining the frequency of parasitic infections among children with ALL in relation to controls, and to evaluate the different techniques used in the diagnosis of these infections. The study was carried out in Alexandria University Children's Hospital at El-Shatby during one year. The study included 117 children with ALL, and same number of immunocompetent children as a control group. Stool, urine, cerebrospinal fluid [CSF], and blood samples were collected and prepared to be examined by different techniques. The overall percentages of parasitic infections were 90.6% and 58.1% among leukemic children and controls, respectively. Microsporidiosis was the most prevalent infection, and Cryptosporidium parvum was the most common coccidial infection. Microsporidium was the only parasite detected in the CSF of leukemic children. The best technique was modified Ziehl Neelsen to detect coccidia, Trichrome stain for protozoa and Quick-Hot Gram-chromotrope stain for microsporidial infection. There was a high percentage of parasitic infections among Jeukemic children, and the results indicate that the combination of many techniques is more likely to be effective in the diagnosis of these infections

association between extended breast feeding and growth of Egyptian infants

The objective of the study was to investigate the association between extended breast feeding [EBF] and the nutritional status of Egyptian infants assessed by some selected anthropometric measurements. A cross-sectional sample of 985 infants of both sexes, attending different vaccination centres in Cairo area was examined. All infants were breastfed and their ages ranged between 1 and 24 months. SDS of the different anthropometric measurements were compared between infants who were breastfed shorter or longer than certain pre-determined cut-off points [6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 and 18 months of breast feeding]. The comparison revealed an apparent trend in soft tissue growth, namely body weight, left mid upper-arm circumference, biceps, triceps, sub scapular, and suprailiac skinfold thicknesses. The trend was that at the cut off point of 6 months duration of breast feeding the differences between the SDS of infants who were breastfed longer than, and those who were breastfed shorter than the cut-off, were minimal. The negative deviation from the normal for infants who were breastfed longer than the cut off points of 7, 8 or 9 months of breast feeding was more than the negative deviation for infants who were breastfed shorter than these cut-off points. When cut-off points of 10, 11, 12, 15 or 18 months of breast feeding were considered; the negative deviation for infants who were breastfed longer than the cut-off points got lesser [biceps skinfold thickness], disappeared [body weight] or reversed showing positive deviation from the normal [Suprailiac, subscapular and triceps skinfold thickness; as well as arm circumference]. The other anthropometric measurements namely: body length, trunk length and chest circumferences showed no specific differences between the SDS of the two groups at the different cut off points. The study concluded that EBF improves infant's nutritional status, particularly if prolonged until the end of the first year of life to gain the maximum benefits of breast milk on infant's growth