ABSTRACT
Background: Most unconjugated bilirubin formed by the fetus is cleared by the placenta into the maternal circulation. Albumin constitutes 70 - 75% of Plasma oncotic pressure. Another important function of albumin is its antioxidant property. Bilirubin binds to albumin in an equimolar ratio. Free bilirubin is anticipated when the molar bilirubin- to- albumin (B: A) ratio is >0.8 Objective of the study was to predict the proportion of newborn requiring intervention for NH (phototherapy or exchange transfusion) based on cord serum albumin level at birth.Methods: The present prospective study was conducted at Navodaya Medical College, Raichur from October 2018 to November 2019. A total of 180 babies which were born during the study period were included in the study. INCLUSION CRITERIA' Term babies both genders' Mode of delivery (normal and C-section)' Birth weight ?2.5kg.' APGAR ?7/10 at 1 min. Cord Serum Albumin level was estimated at birth. Total Serum Bilirubin (TSB) estimation was done at 72-96 hours of age. All the babies were followed up daily for first 4 postnatal days and babies were daily assessed for NH and its severity.Results: In our study nearly 54.4% of them had Cord Serum Albumin levels of less than 2.8 gm/dl, 27.3% of them had albumin levels of 2.9 to 3.3 gm/dl, 18.3% of them had Serum Albumin of 3.4 gm/dl. Out of 180 study subjects, 13.9% of them required phototherapy to treat neonatal hyper bilirubinemia and 2.8% of the study subjects required exchange transfusion.Conclusions: From the present study, cord serum albumin level of ?2.8g/dl has a correlation with incidence of significant hyperbilirubinemia in term newborns. So, this ?2.8g/dl of cord serum albumin level can be used as risk indicator to predict the development of significant hyperbilirubinemia.
ABSTRACT
Background: Infants and children are more prone to have seizures than adults. This reflects the greater neuronal excitability at certain ages as the excitatory glutamate system and inhibitory GABA system do not always balance each other. Febrile seizures are the most common type of seizures observed in pediatric age group. Febrile seizures occur in young children at a time in their development when seizure threshold is low. Objective of the study was to determine the levels of zinc in children with febrile seizures when compared to children with fever without seizures.Methods: To determine the levels of zinc in children with febrile seizures when compared to children with fever without seizures. A total of 50 Study subjects were selected into each group. Group 1: Children with Febrile Seizures. Group 2: Children with Fever and Without Febrile Seizures.Results: Among the cases with fever and convulsion Zinc level was found to be low among 72% of the subjects, 22 % of them had normal zinc levels and only 6% had high zinc levels. Among the subjects with Fever and no convulsions nearly 80% of them had normal zinc levels, 16 % had low levels of zinc and 4% had high zinc levels. The association of levels of Zinc between both the groups was found to be statistically significant.Conclusions: This study shows that serum zinc levels are decreased in children with febrile convulsions when compared to children with fever alone without convulsions, thus indicating that zinc deprivation plays significant role in the pathogenesis of febrile convulsions.