ABSTRACT
Background: Febrile seizures occur commonly in the under 5 age group and is associated with few risk factors causing its recurrence like very high fever, family history of seizures, low sodium levels and younger age of onset which are subject to seasonal and wide geographical variations. This study aimed at detecting the major risk factors associated with recurrent febrile seizures in an Indian population.Methods: A retrospective hospital-based study was conducted among a total of 300 cases aged 6 months to 5 years attending to the paediatric OPD with history of fever followed by febrile seizures. Information regarding socio-demographic and clinical variables associated with febrile seizure was collected and analyzed.Results: The mean age of the study participants was 25.6'2.2 months and majority (60%) were males. Family history of seizures was present in 25.3% (n=76) of the children with febrile seizures. Respiratory infections (73.3%) and gastroenteritis (17%) were the major infective reasons associated with the occurrence of febrile seizures followed by pneumonia (6.3%) and urinary tract infections (5%). Recurrence of FS was significantly higher among the children with family history of FS (p=0.009), age at onset lesser (p<0.001) and simple FS seizures.Conclusions: Younger age at onset and positive family history of seizures were important socio-demographic risk factors associated with recurrent febrile seizures.
ABSTRACT
Background: Anemia has been widely studied as an important factor in the immunity composition of under five children. The incidence of infections in children can be attributed to some extend to the prevalence of anemia among them. Hence this study aimed at exploring the association between anemia and lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) among the 6 months to 5 years old children as an effort to establish anemia as an independent risk factor for LRTI.Methods: A case-control study was conducted among 200 children in the age group of 6 months'5 years who attended the out-patient and in-patient unit of the department of paediatrics during July to September 2019. Accordingly 100 cases of LRTI and 100 normal controls were age and gender matched and their parents were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Blood investigations were done and documented in a proforma. The association between anemia and LRTI was studied statistically.Results: Anemia was associated strongly with LRTI [odds ratio=4.96 (2.72, 9.1)] with 68% of the cases with LRTI manifesting anemia. The highest level of anemia was recorded among those with LRTI in the 25-42 months age group (80.8%) which was significantly (p<0.001) higher than controls. The mean hemoglobin level was 9.6'0.8 gm% among the cases which was significantly lower (p<0.001) than that of the controls (11.7'1.1 gm%). The mean iron level was 40'7.3 ?g/dL among cases and 72'12.1?g/dL among the non-LRTI group (p<0.001).Conclusions: Anemia was significantly associated with LRTI group compared to the control group proving it to be an independent risk factor for LRTI.
ABSTRACT
Background: Oligohydramnios is the term coined for a condition where the amount of liquor amnii is less than 200 ml at term. Using an ultrasonogram, oligohydramnios can be deliberated when the vertical pocket of liquor is less than 2 cm or when amniotic fluid index (AFI) is less than 5 cm. Oligohydramnios is reported to occur in 1 to 5% of total pregnancies. It has been associated with adverse maternal and foetal outcomes.Methods: This hospital-based follow-up study was conducted among 540 pregnant women at 37 weeks attending to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology for a period of 1 year from January to December 2018. All included pregnant women were subjected to routine ultrasound examination and assessment of amniotic fluid volume using Amniotic fluid index.Results: The incidence of oligohydramnios was 17.04% (n=92) among the included women and 62% (n=57) among them were primigravida. Among those women diagnosed with Oligohydramnios, the caesarean section rate was 56.5% (n=52), the common indications for LSCS being fetal distress 44. 2% (n=23) and IUGR 34.6% (n=18). The oligohydramnios pregnancies had more associated post-dated deliveries (28.3%), pregnancy induced hypertension (10.9%) and gestational diabetes (8.7%). It was also associated with higher incidence of low birth weight (27.2%), NICU admissions (32.6%), congenital anomalies (3.3%) and fetal deaths (5.4%).Conclusions: The study showed that an amniotic fluid index of less than 5 at term was associated with adverse maternal and perinatal pregnancy outcomes emphasizing the importance of amniotic fluid volume surveillance during the antenatal period.
ABSTRACT
Background: Atherosclerosis has been described as a lipid driven inflammatory disorder of the arterial wall. Smoking is one of the most common modifiable risk factors for atherosclerosis and is the major epidemiological factor in increasing morbidity and mortality of chronic heart diseases (CHD). The objectives of this study were based on to estimate the status of lipid profile in both smokers and non-smokers and compare with each other, to predict the 10 years risk of cardiovascular risk based on Framingham score in smokers and non-smokers.Methods: This retrospective, case-control study was conducted among 50 smokers (cases) and 50 normal individuals (controls) attending to the department of medicine during the period between December 2016 and May 2018. The socio-demographic data and clinical history was obtained using a semi-structured questionnaire and then patients were subjected to blood investigations including estimation of lipid profile by CHOD/PAP method.Results: The mean age of the study participants was 34.7±2.9 years. The duration of smoking among the smokers was 5.4±2.9 years on an average. There was a significant increase in serum cholesterol levels (245.6±39.8 versus 155.8±15.2 mg/dl), serum triglycerides (217.3±42.2mg/dl versus 127.4±10.6), LDL (171.1±35.2 versus 85.7±15.1 mg/dl) and VLDL (43.5±10.5 versus 15.3±5.5mg/dl) among the smokers versus non-smokers. There was a significant (p<0.001) decrease in HDL levels among the smokers (30.8±3.4 mg/dl) when compared with the non-smokers (44.8±5.3 mg/dl). There was a highly significant difference between Framingham risk scores of smokers and non-smokers.Conclusions: The study established that the lipid profile was deranged towards atherogenesis among the smokers when compared to the non-smokers which was reflected in the significant increase in risk as calculated by Framingham risk score.