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Justification: The emerging literature on prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in India, prevention and treatment strategies of rickets, and extra-skeletal benefits of vitamin D suggest the need for revising the existing guidelines for prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency in India. Objectives: To review the emerging literature on vitamin D prevalence and need for universal vitamin D supplementation. To suggest optimum vitamin D therapy for treatment of asymptomatic and symptomatic vitamin D deficiency, and rickets. To evaluate the extra-skeletal health benefits of vitamin D in children. Process: A National consultative committee was formed that comprised of clinicians, epidemiologists, endocrinologists, and nutritionists. The Committee conducted deliberations on different aspects of vitamin D deficiency and rickets through ten online meetings between March and September, 2021. A draft guideline was formulated, which was reviewed and approved by all Committee members. Recommendations: The group reiterates the serum 25- hydroxy vitamin D cutoffs proposed for vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and sufficiency as <12 ng/mL, 12-20 ng/mL and >20 ng/mL, respectively. Vitamin D toxicity is defined as serum 25OHD >100 ng/mL with hypercalcemia and/or hypercalciuria. Vitamin D supplementation in doses of 400 IU/day is recommended during infancy; however, the estimated average requirement in older children and adolescents (400-600 IU/day) should be met from diet and natural sources like sunlight. Rickets and vitamin D deficiency should be treated with oral cholecalciferol, preferably in a daily dosing schedule (2000 IU below 1 year of age and 3000 IU in older children) for 12 weeks. If compliance to daily dosing cannot be ensured, intermittent regimens may be prescribed for children above 6 months of age. Universal vitamin D supplementation is not recommended in childhood pneumonia, diarrhea, tuberculosis, HIV and non-infectious conditions like asthma, atopic dermatitis, and developmental disorders. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D level of >20 ng/mL should be maintained in children with conditions at high-risk for vitamin deficiency, like nephrotic syndrome, chronic liver disease, chronic renal failure, and intake of anticonvulsants or glucocorticoids.
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Objective To detail clinical profle and outcome in children infected with SARS-CoV-2. Methods This retrospective study was undertaken at a tertiary care pediatric teaching hospital in Northern India. The data on clinical characteristics and outcome of children (<18 y) with COVID-19 illness from April 2020–October 2020 were reviewed and analyzed. Results A total of 2919 children with suspected severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) illness were tested for novel COVID-19 virus in the fu emergency (n=1744), severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) ward (n=825), and non-COVID area (n=350) of the hospital. 8.73% (255/2919) children tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of the 255 positive cases, 144 (56.47%) were managed on an outpatient basis and 100 (59 boys) required admission in COVID ward. The mortality rate of patients with SARS-CoV-2 was 11.4% (29/255). Majority of children admitted with COVID-19 had severe to critical illness due to the presence of malnutrition and underlying comorbidities. Conclusions Children of all age groups were susceptible to COVID-19 illness with a slight male preponderance. Amongst infected, two-third were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms that required outpatient management and home isolation. The adverse outcomes were more commonly seen in infants and children>10 y of age with malnutrition and comorbid illness.
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Treatment of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) requires lifelong replacement of glucocorticoids with regular follow up to manageassociated morbidities. The current review focuses on follow-up and management of infants diagnosed with classical CAH pertinent toIndian context. Early initiation of oral hydrocortisone in divided doses is recommended after diagnosis in newborn period, infancy andchildhood. Fludrocortisone is recommended for all infants with classical CAH. All infants should be monitored as per protocol fordisease and treatment related complications. The role of prenatal steroids to pregnant women with previous history of CAH affectedinfant for prevention of virilization of female fetus is controversial.
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Objective: To compare the effect of the application of threegrowth references (Agarwal, 1992; Indian Academy ofPaediatrics (IAP), 2015; and World Health Organisation (WHO),2007) on interpretation of anthropometric parameters inschoolchildren.Setting: Cross-sectional school-based study.Participants: Children 8-15 years studying in one governmentschool and one private school of Delhi.Procedure: The age- and gender-specific standard deviationscores of height-for-age and BMI-for-age were estimated foreach student enrolled, using the three growth referencesindependently.Main outcome measure: The proportion of children withshort stature, thinness and overweight/ obesity determined byeach growth reference were compared.Results: A total of 1237 students participated in the study. Asignificantly higher proportion of children (both sexes) wereclassified to have short stature using WHO 2007 reference(8.8%) as compared to the Agarwal (3.3%) charts and IAP, 2015references (3.6%). The combined prevalence of overweight andobesity was highest (34.8%) by the IAP, 2015 reference asagainst 32% by Agarwal charts and 29.1% by WHO, 2007reference. Good agreement existed between the IAP, 2015reference and Agarwal charts in classifying subjects intodifferent BMI categories (Kappa=0.82) and short stature(Kappa=0.99).Conclusions: In view of differences noted, use of nationalpopulation derived reference data is suggested to correctlydefine growth trajectories in children.
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Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is an autosomal recessive endocrine disorder which can manifest after birth with ambiguousgenitalia and salt-wasting crisis. However, genital ambiguity is not seen in male babies and may be mild in female babies, leading to amissed diagnosis of classical CAH at birth. In this review, we provide a standard operating protocol for routine newborn screening forCAH in Indian settings. A standardization of first tier screening tests with a single consistent set of cut-off values stratified by gestationalage is also suggested. The protocol also recommends a two-tier protocol of initial immunoassay/time resolved fluoroimmunoassayfollowed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for confirmation of screen positive babies, wherever feasible. Routinemolecular and genetic testing is not essential for establishing the diagnosis in all screen positive babies, but has significant utility inprenatal diagnosis and genetic counseling for future pregnancy.
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Objective: To assess HIV-free survival and nutritional status of HIV-exposed infants.Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted on infants born to woman with HIVinfection born at our Institute between January 2011 to March 2016, and followed usingcurrent National guidelines. HIV transmission rate, HIV-free survival, and nutritional statuswere assessed 18 months age. Results: Of the 155 infants, 10 (6.5%) died before 18 monthsof age. Two of 145 surviving infants were confirmed HIV-positive, the remaining were HIV-negative at 18 months (HIV-free survival 92.3%). Of the 10 infants who died, one wasconfirmed HIV-positive and three negative; the rest died before their HIV status could beascertained. HIV infection rate among the 149 infants for whom the test reports were availablewas 2%. At 18 months age, 14% HIV-uninfected infants were wasted, 28% stunted, and 3%had microcephaly. Conclusions: Infants born to mothers with HIV managed as per thecurrent National guidelines have a good outcome at 18 months of age.
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Objectives: To compare development/cognition, adaptive function and maladaptive behaviorof HIV-infected and HIV-exposed uninfected children between 2 to 9 years with HIV-uninfected controls. Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study was conductedfrom November, 2013 to March, 2015. 50 seropositive HIV-infected, 25 HIV-exposeduninfected and 25 HIV-uninfected children between 2 to 9 years were administeredDevelopmental Profile 3, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale 2, and Child Behavior Checklistfor assessing development, adaptive function and maladaptive behaviour, respectively.Additional data were obtained by history, examination and review of records. Results:Significant developmental/cognitive impairment was observed in 38 (76%), 16 (64%) and 6(24%) HIV-infected, HIV-exposed uninfected, and HIV-uninfected children, respectively.Significant impairment in adaptive function was found in 12 (24%) and 2 (8%) HIV-infectedand HIV-exposed uninfected children, respectively. Maladaptive behavior was not seen in anygroup. Conclusions: High magnitude of impaired development/cognition and adaptivefunction in HIV-exposed and HIV-infected children warrants assessment of these domainsduring follow-up of these children, and incorporation of interventions for these deficits instandard care for this group.
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Objectives: To compare growth, anemia prevalence, and sickness frequency in HIV-exposed uninfected infants on different feeding modes. Methods: In this retrospectivecohort study, 109 HIV-exposed uninfected infants registered atour center were categorizedintothree groups as per their feeding mode during first 6 months viz. exclusively breast fed(n=50), animal milk fed (n=40) and commercial infant formula fed (n=19). Theiranthropometric parameters, hemoglobin and frequency of sickness at the age of 6 monthswere compared. Results: There were no significant inter-group differences in the weightfor age, weight for length, length for age z-scores (P=0.16, 0.37 and 0.12, respectively);proportion of infants with underweight (P=0.63), wasting (P=0.82), or stunting (P=0.82),and mean hemoglobin levels among the 3 groups at 6 month of age. Animal milk fed andformula fed infant had increased risk of sickness compared to exclusively breastfed infants(OR 2.5 and 2.49, respectively; P<0.01). Conclusions: In circumstances wherebreastfeeding is not feasible or preferred, animal milk feeding offers a viable alternative tocommercial infant feeding formula in HIV exposed infants.
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Objectives: To develop and assess Pediatric AppropriatenessEvaluation Protocol for India (PAEP-India) for inter-rater reliabilityand appropriateness of hospitalization.Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: The available PAEP tools were reviewed and adaptedfor Indian context by ten experienced pediatricians followingsemi-Delphi process. Two PAEP-India tools; newborn (?28 days)and children (>28 days-18 years) were developed. These PAEP-India tools were applied to cases to assess appropriateness ofadmission and inter-rater reliability between assessors.Participants: Two sets of case records were used: (i) 274cases from five medical colleges in Delhi-NCR [?28 days (n=51);>28 days to 18 years (n=223)]; (ii) 622 infants who werehospitalized in 146 health facilities and were part of a cohort (n=30688) from two southern Indian states.Interventions: Each case-record was evaluated by twopediatricians in a blinded manner using the appropriate PAEP-India tools, and ‘admission criteria’ were categorized asappropriate, inappropriate or indeterminate.Main outcome measures: The proportion of appropriatehospitalizations and inter-rater reliability between assessors(using kappa statistic) were estimated for the cases.Results: 97.8% hospitalized cases from medical colleges werelabelled as appropriate by both reviewers with inter-rateragreement of 98.9% (k=0.66). In the southerm Indian set ofinfants, both reviewers labelled 80.5% admissions as appropriatewith inter-rater agreement of 96.1% (k= 0.89).Conclusions: PAEP-India (newborn and child) tools are simple,objective and applicable in diverse settings and highly reliable.These tools can potentially be used for deciding admissionappropriateness and hospital stay and may be evaluated later forusefulness for cost reimbursements for insurance proposes.
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Objectives: To study the magnitude and pattern of injuries in children with epilepsy. Methods: This prospective cohort study enrolled children with epilepsy (CWE) aged 2-16 years on treatment with anti-epileptics for a minimum duration of one-month and compared them with their own siblings (controls). A semi-structured questionnaire was used to enquire about epilepsy and type and frequency of injuries sustained at monthly follow-up visits. Participants were followed up for 12-months for occurrence of injuries. Results: 208 cases and 212 controls were analyzed. 21 cases (10.1%) and 10 controls (4.7%) had sustained injuries (P=0.03) (RR 2.1; 95% CI, 1.0 - 4.4). Seizure-related injuries were present in 4.3% of cases. Conclusion: Children with epilepsy are at an increased risk of injuries and hence need supervision.