Indian Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines on Screen Time and Digital Wellness in Infants, Children and Adolescents

Justification: Screen-based media have become an important part of human lifestyle. In view of their easy availability and increasing use in Indian children, and their excessive use being linked to physical, developmental and emotional problems, there is a need to develop guidelines related to ensure digital wellness and regulate screen time in infants, children, and adolescents. Objectives: To review the evidence related to effects of screen-based media and excessive screen time on children’s health; and to formulate recommendations for limiting screen time and ensuring digital wellness in Indian infants, children and adolescents. Process: An Expert Committee constituted by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP), consisting of various stakeholders in private and public sector, reviewed the literature and existing guidelines. A detailed review document was circulated to the members, and the National consultative meet was held online on 26th March 2021 for a day-long deliberation on framing the guidelines. The consensus review and recommendations formulated by the Group were circulated to the participants and the guidelines were finalized. Conclusions: Very early exposure to screen-based media and excessive screen time (>1-2h/d) seems to be widely prevalent in Indian children. The Group recommends that children below 2 years age should not be exposed to any type of screen, whereas exposure should be limited to a maximum of one hour of supervised screen time per day for children 24-59 months age, and less than two hours per day for children 5-10 years age. Screen time must not replace other activities such as outdoor physical activities, sleep, family and peer interaction, studies, and skill development, which are necessary for overall health and development of the children and adolescents. Families should ensure a warm, nurturing, supportive, fun filled and secure environment at home, and monitor their children’s screen use to ensure that the content being watched is educational, ageappropriate and non-violent. Families, schools and pediatricians should be educated regarding the importance of recording screen exposure and digital wellness as a part of routine child health assessment, and detect any signs of cyberbullying or media addiction; and tackle it timely with expert consultation if needed.

An Atypical Case of Parotid Gland Swelling and Arthritis in a Child.

Background: Early onset sarcoidosis is a rarely reported disease in children. Case characteristics: 2½-year-old girl with chronic enlargement of bilateral parotid glands and polyarthritis. Observation: Biopsy of salivary gland revealed non-caseating granuloma. Outcome: Polyarthritis and salivary gland swelling resolved completely after starting oral corticosteroids. Message: Sarcoidosis is an important differential diagnosis in young children with joint and salivary gland involvement.

Modifiable Factors for Prevention of Childhood Mortality.

Objective: To know the disease-related causes of child mortality and identify socially modifiable factors affecting child mortality among hospitalized children aged >1 month-18 years in a referral hospital of North India. Methods: Causes of death (ICD-10 based) were extracted retrospectively from hospital files (n=487) from 17 March 2003 to 30 June 2012. Modifiable factors were prospectively studied in 107 consecutive deaths from 6 October 2011 to 30 June 2012. Results: Pneumonia, CNS infections and diarrhea were the most common disease-related causes of child mortality. Conclusions: Amongst modifiable factors, administrative issues were most common followed by family-related reasons and medical-personnel related problems.

Locked-in Syndrome as a Presentation of Snakebite.

Snake bite is a common condition in tropical countries. Neurotoxic features of snake bite vary from early morning neuroparalytic syndrome to various cranial nerve palsies. Locked in syndrome (LIS) is a rare presentation. We present four children that had LIS; three patients had total and one had incomplete LIS. All patients made successful recovery with polyvalent anti-snake venom and supportive management. This case series highlights the importance of early diagnosis of LIS in snake bite.

Decade Long Unexplained Anemia: Alert to ANCA Associated Vasculitis.

A 13-year old girl presented with a decade long anemia, diffuse alveolar hemorrhage and interstistial lung disease; was eventually diagnosed as ANCA associated vasculitis. High index of suspicion is thus warranted for alternative diagnosis in chronic anemia, despite increased prevalence of infectious diseases and nutritional anemia.

Ringer’s Lactate vs Normal Saline for Children with Acute Diarrhea and Severe Dehydration: A Double Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: WHO recommends Ringer’s lactate (RL) and Normal Saline (NS) for rapid intravenous rehydration in childhood diarrhea and severe dehydration. We compared these two fluids for improvement in pH over baseline during rapid intravenous rehydration in children with acute diarrhea. Design: Double-blind randomized controlled trial Setting: Pediatric emergency facilities at a tertiary-care referral hospital. Intervention: Children with acute diarrhea and severe dehydration received either RL (RL-group) or NS (NS-group), 100 mL/kg over three or six hours. Children were reassessed after three or six hours. Rapid rehydration was repeated if severe dehydration persisted. Blood gas was done at baseline and repeated after signs of severe dehydration disappeared. Outcome Measures: Primary outcome was change in pH from baseline. Secondary outcomes included changes in serum R E S E A R C H P A P E R INDIAN PEDIATRICS 963 VOLUME 49__DECEMBER 16, 2012 electrolytes, bicarbonate levels, and base-deficit from baseline; mortality, duration of hospital stay, and fluids requirement. Results: Twenty two children, 11 each were randomized to the two study groups. At primary end point (disappearance of signs of severe dehydration), the improvement in pH from baseline was not significant in RL-group [from 7.17 (0.11) to 7.28 (0.09)] as compared to NS-group [7.09 (0.11) to 7.21 (0.09)], P=0.17 (after adjusting for baseline serum Na/ Cl). Among this limited sample size, children in RL group required less fluids [median 310 vs 530 mL/kg, P=0.01] and had shorter median hospital stay [38 vs 51 hours, P=0.03]. Conclusions: There was no difference in improvement in pH over baseline between RL and NS among children with acute diarrhea and severe dehydration.

Vallecular cyst-revisited.

We report a 3 months-old-male infant presented with recurrent cough, noisy breathing and regurgitation of feeds since 15 days of life. Examination revealed inspiratory stridor. CECT showed cystic lesion in base of tongue. After excision it was proved a case of vallecular cyst on histopathology. Although rare, vallecular cyst should be included in the differential diagnosis of congenital laryngeal stridor in neonates. The literature of vallecular cyst is being reviewed in the current article.