A study on prevalence of minor physical anomalies in mentally retarded children in a tertiary care centre of India

Background: Paucity of studies in world literature and lack of any Indian study assessing the frequency, prevalence and severity of minor physical anomalies (MPAs) in children with mental retardation (MR) as well as their importance for prediction and timely recognition of mental insufficiency, if any.Methods: A cross-sectional observational study involving 273 mentally retarded children aged 5-18 years was conducted over a period of one year and were compared with their age and sex matched controls. Waldrop and Halverson (1971) physical anomaly scale was used to assess those MPAs.Results: In the study group, higher percentage (79.85% vs. 40.29%) of children had MPAs with a predominance of multiple MPAs in comparison to healthy children (40.29% and 0%, respectively). Higher average frequency of MPAs per child was noted in the study group (1.42) than control group (0.40). Mean Waldrop weighting score was significantly higher among mentally retarded children than their controls (3.7'0.8 versus 0.8'0.2, P<0.0001). Authors noticed a gradual and significant decrease in Waldrop score with increase in intelligence quotient (IQ) [F=175.72, P<0.001]. A significant strong negative correlation between Waldrop score and IQ level (r=-0.89, P<0.001) was also observed. Out of eighteen variables of Waldrop score, seven were found as significant in binary logistic regression model for MR. Our model can explain 37.6% to 50.1% variability of the MR.Conclusions: MPAs are more prevalent in mentally retarded children than healthy children.' A clear-cut demarcation between these two groups is possible by the frequency of anomalies and the increased strength of their expression (i.e. their weighting scores).

Serum Electrolyte Level As A Marker Of Morbidity In Critically Sick Children: A Study From A Rural Tertiary Care Hospital

Objectives- To nd out the association between dyselectrolytemia and morbidity in critically ill children and also to evaluate the association between degree of hyponatremia and morbidity. Material And Methods- Children aged 1 month–12 yrs, admitted in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) were included in the study. This was a hospital based, observational, cross sectional study. Morbidity was dened as PICU stay > 5 days. Results-Total 200 children aged 1 mo-12 yrs were included in the study. Abnormal serum sodium level and abnormal serum potassium levels were signicantly associated with increased hospital stay (p value 0.000). Association between degree of hyponatremia and hospital stay was also signicant. (p value 0.003). Conclusion-Electrolyte abnormalities are common in critically ill children and contribute to signicant morbidity

Poland Syndrome With Some Rare Associations, And Brief Literature Review

Poland syndrome (PS) is a rare congenital condition with predominant unilateral chest wall deformity due to hypoplasia of the pectoralis muscles. However, its clinical features are highly variable as all the features may not be present in one individual or it may present with some rare associations or complications as being reported here. A 6-year-old boy was diagnosed, for the first time, as a case of PS but, detailed examination and work up revealed two rare associations and/or incidental findings of this disorder, namely, Dandy-Walker variant and partial anomalous pulmonary venous return. Hence, a detailed clinical examination and a through workup are mandatory to quantify the disease spectrum of this rare disorder