Salmonella senftenberg: ear infection. A case report.

A case of Otitis media, a rare complication of Salmonella senftenberg infection is reported.

Routine antibiotic cover for newborns intubated for aspirating meconium: is it necessary?

A retrospective analysis was performed on 215 babies to evaluate the incidence of septicemia in babies intubated at birth for aspirating meconium from the trachea. Only term, appropriate for gestational age babies were included. Babies with any known perinatal risk factor for infection were excluded from the study and none of the babies had been put on "prophylactic antibiotics." There were 88 babies in the intubated group in a one year period from January 1991 to December 1991. One hundred and twenty seven babies were taken as controls. There was no significant difference in the incidence of early septicemia in the two groups. There were no deaths in either group. It is concluded that well term babies who are intubated for aspirating meconium need not be put on routine antibiotic cover.

Anesthesia for caesarean section and immediate neonatal outcome.

Seventy-eight parturient mothers undergoing elective caesarean section were studied with regard to the immediate neonatal outcome in those receiving general and spinal anesthesia. All mothers were of grade I anesthesia risk, were term and had singleton appropriate for gestational age babies. There was no difference in fetal acid base chemistry in the two groups. Babies delivered after general anesthesia appeared relatively depressed requiring more free flow oxygen and bag and mask ventilation though one minute Apgar scores showed no significant difference in either group. Induction delivery intervals were longer in the spinal group but it was not associated with more morbidity. Uterine incision delivery intervals were very small in both groups and no meaningful conclusion could be drawn as regards effect on the newborn. A plea is made for more frequent use of spinal anesthesia considering its many postnatal advantages.

Neonatal effects of anesthesia for caesarean section.

Seventy eight parturient mothers undergoing elective caesarean section were studied with regard to the immediate neonatal outcome in those receiving general and spinal anesthesia. All mothers were of grade I anesthesia risk, were term and had singleton appropriate for gestational age fetuses. There was no difference in fetal acid base chemistry in the two groups. Babies delivered after general anesthesia appeared relatively depressed requiring more free flow oxygen and bag and mask ventilation, though one minute Apgar scores showed no significant difference in either group. Induction delivery intervals were longer in the spinal group but it was not associated with more morbidity. Uterine incision delivery intervals were very small in both groups and no meaningful conclusion could be drawn as regards effect on the newborn. A plea is made for more frequent use of spinal anesthesia considering its many postnatal advantages.

Assisted ventilation in neonates: the Manipal experience.

Case records of 68 newborns who required assisted ventilation over a 24 month period were reviewed. Fortyfour (64.7%) received intermittent mandatory ventilation, 10 (14.7%) received nasal CPAP and the remaining 14 (20.58%) received a combination of the above. Some of the indications for ventilation were infections (21), hyaline membrane disease (16), problems related to asphyxia (11), apnea of prematurity (10) and persistent pulmonary hypertension of newborn (5). The overall survival rate was 41.17%. In the CPAP group 90% (9/10) survived, while in the remaining survival was 32.7% (19/58). The best outcome was observed in persistent pulmonary hypertension of newborn (80%) followed by apnea of prematurity (70%) and hyaline membrane disease (43.75). Outcome was poor in conditions related to birth asphyxia (27.2%) and infections (19.05%). Survival rates were higher (44.4%) in babies weighing > 1500g at birth as compared to 40.9% in babies < 1500g. Babies less than 32 weeks gestation had a survival rate of 32% as compared to 46.5% in those over 32 weeks. This difference was not statistically significant. Complications were seen in 12/68 patients (17.6%). Pneumothorax was the commonest followed by sepsis, intraventricular hemorrhage and blocked endotracheal tubes. Babies with hyaline membrane disease had the highest incidence of complications. Analysis of the data with regard to the indications, outcome and complications is presented.

Quantitation of proteinuria using protein-creatinine ratio in random urine samples.

Estimation of proteinuria in children is cumbersome when a 24 h urine collection is needed. In the presence of a stable glomerular filtration rate, the ratio of urinary protein and creatinine should reflect the protein excretion. One hundred samples of urine (24 h and random samples) were collected from 50 children with nephrotic syndrome, 25 with nephrotic syndrome in remission and 25 normal children. The 24 h urine total protein and random urine protein-creatinine ratio were assessed on these samples. Linear regression analysis of the results showed excellent correlation between the values (r = 0.81, p less than 0.001). A random urine protein-creatinine ratio of greater than 3.5 correlated with massive proteinuria, while a ratio less than 0.2 was suggestive of physiological values. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the protein-creatinine ratio in massive proteinuria were very high. We conclude that the random urine protein-creatinine ratio can be used reliably to assess the degree of proteinuria in children.