Demographic and Clinical Profile of Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition – An Experience from Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre in Jammu

Background: Childhood undernutrition remains a key public health challenge in India and is a significant contributor of Under-5mortality as these children have significantly higher risk of mortality and morbidity. Nutritional rehabilitation centres have beenset up by Government of India at facility level to provide medical and nutritional care to Severe Acute Malnourshied childrenunder the age of 5 years who have medical complications.Materials and Methods: Retrospective record based observational study conducted in NRC located at SMGS Hospital, GMCJammu. All the children upto 60 months of age, admitted in NRC during the study period, from September2018 to February2019 were included in the study.Aims and Objectives: To know the demographic details and clinical profile of comorbidities in children with Severe AcuteMalnutrition and to assess the outcome of these children.Results: A total of 118 children were admitted in the Nutritional Rehablitation Center during the study period 60% werefemales. 60% of the children were less than 12 months of age 20 % were between 13 and 24 months of life.Children belongedto all the districts, 22% from Jammu, 18% Reasi, 16% Udhampur, 15% Rajouri, 8% Kathua, 7% Poonch and 6% Samba.Bronchopneumonia (39.8%), Diarrhoea (30.5% ) and skin infections(11%) were the commonest morbidities. 73.5% of thechildren had associated anemia. Other comorbidities were septicemia (10.1%), CSOM (5.9%), UTI (5%), measles (5%) andtuberculosis (2.5%).Conclusion: Early diagnosis and standardized protocol based treatment in the NRCs has been very effective in reducing themorbidity and mortality in SAM patients.

Clinical Profile of Patients with Cerebral Palsy – A Hospital-based Study

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the leading causes of childhood disability worldwide with the greatest burdenfound in developing countries. Motor impairments are the hallmarks of CP, but in many individuals, other impairments suchas vision, hearing, speech, cognition, behavior, and epilepsy may at times produce even greater activity limitation in daily life.Early diagnosis and comprehensive management with a multidisciplinary approach are required for satisfactory managementof a child with CP. In low- and middle-income countries, there are gaps in knowledge especially in spheres of epidemiologicalresearch, intervention, and service utilization.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted among the children coming to the inpatientand outpatient Department of Paediatrics SMGS Hospital, Government Medical College Jammu.Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to study the clinical pattern and etiological factors of CP and to determine the prevalenceof associated disabilities or handicaps in CP. Our study population included 100 cases of diagnosed CP up to 18 years of age.Results: A total of 100 children of CP were evaluated of which 59% were boys and 41% were girls. CP patients belonged tovarious age groups as, <2 years (46%), 2–4 years (30%), 4–6 years (12%), 6–12 years (10%), and 12–18 years (2%). CP patientscoming to our hospital belonged to various districts such as Jammu (27%), Rajouri (20%), Doda (17%), Reasi (11%), Udhampur(8%), Kathua (7%), Poonch (5%), and Samba (5%). The most common etiological factors were birth asphyxia (48%). The spastictype was the most common (65%), followed by ataxic (15%), dyskinetic (10%), and mixed (10%). Among the spastic quadriplegic,subtype was seen in 69%, diplegia in 23%, and hemiplegia in 8%. Speech delay was the most common associated problem(80%), followed by seizures (56%), feeding difficulty (46%), and contractures and deformities (20%). Formal vision assessmenthad been done in only 48% of the patients, among them, 30% had normal vision, 9% had refractive error, 7% were havingstrabismus, and 2% were blind. Spectacles were being used by only three patients. A mere 30% of the patients had undergonehearing assessment; among them, 6% were having moderate to profound hearing loss. Hearing aid was being used by twopatients. Physiotherapy services were being availed by 47% of patients. Early intervention and appropriate rehabilitation servicesshould be provided to such children to limit the disability. Medical college hospitals of India, where a number of these childrenreport with their various problems, can play an important role as nodal centers for evaluation and registration of such patients.

Acute bilirubin encephalopathy in term neonates: a hospital-based study

Background: Acute Bilirubin Encephalopathy and kernicterus is an important cause of cerebral palsy, developmental delay and hearing impairment in low-middle income countries. Interventions such as universal screening for neonatal jaundice, Rhesus immunoglobulins, intensive phototherapy and exchange transfusion have made kernicterus rare in high income countries, but in our set up such cases continue to be reported.  Methods: Retrospective observational study where case records of term neonates brought to the neonatal ICU with signs and symptoms of acute bilirubin encephalopathy during the years 2016 and 2017 were sought and analysed.Results: A total of ten term babies reported to the neonatal unit with severe hyperbilirubinemia along with signs and symptoms of bilirubin encephalopathy of which 60% were females. 90% had a birth weight of more than 2.5 kg and mean birth weight was 2.7±0.25 kgs. All the babies were out born. A 4 babies were born at home of which 3 pregnancies were completely unsupervised during the antenatal period. 90% of the babies were from the rural areas, 6 of the cases were from the districts Rajouri, Poonch and Reasi where the terrain is hilly, 2 from rural areas of Jammu and 1 from Kathua. Only 1 was from the Jammu city. The age at admission ranged from 3-9 days and serum bilirubin from 24 to 43.3 mg %. A 5 babies had ABO incompatibility, 1 Rh incompatibility, 1 sepsis, while no cause could be found in 3.Conclusions: Neonatal jaundice is often not easily appreciated by mothers and caregivers in the home setting until it becomes severe enough, at which point neurological damage may have already occurred. There is an urgent need to train the primary health care personnel in assessment and early identification of risk factors for severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. They can help the families to seek prompt treatment for this preventable cause of cerebral palsy and mental retardation.

Neurotoxic Snakebite In Jammu Region: Is It Cobra Or Krait

Background: The aim of this study is to analyze the clinical profile and outcome of the neurotoxic envenomation in children inJammu region and to identify the species based on the syndromic approach developed by WHO.Materials and Methods: A retrospective hospital record based descriptive study which analyses the case records of childrenreporting to pediatric emergency with signs and symptoms of neurotoxic envenomation.Results: A total of 22 cases of the neurotoxic envenomation reported between April 15 and October 15. These included 14males and 8 females between the age group of 2.5 years and 16 years. The highest incidence of snakebite was observed inthe age group of 4–8 years. A total of seven cases presented neuroparalytic symptoms and local signs suggesting cobra bite.Bite was reported in the afternoon or evening hours between 12.30 pm and 10.30 pm and 83% bites were outdoors. A total of15 children presented with neuroparalytic symptoms with no local signs suggesting krait bite. 86% of the bites were indoor withonset of symptoms between 12 am and 7 am.Conclusion: Both cobra and krait cause neurotoxic envenomation in children in Jammu region with krait bite accounting for 68%of the total cases. Most of these cases are brought to the pediatric emergency late. Training of the peripheral doctors regardingearly recognition of neurotoxic snakebite, species diagnosis as per the WHO syndromic approach, prompt institution of initialmanagement with neostigmine and after visit summary, endotracheal intubations and AMBU bag ventilation, and quick referralto a center with ventilator facility should help in reducing the morbidity and mortality due to krait and cobra bite in children.

Role of Magnectic Resonance Imaging of Brain in Paediatric Patients with Partial Seizures.

The study was carried out for one year to find out the role of magnetic resonance imaging brain in pediatric patients with partial seizures. Children from age 28 days to 18 years who presented with partial seizures were included and the information obtained from the history, clinical examination and investigations particularly MRI brain were noted down and analyzed.Maximum numbers of patients were in the age group of 5-10 years (48.84%).27.91% had simple seizures and the rest 72.09%had complex partial seizures with none having secondary generalization. The risk factor for seizures were present in 54.19% of cases. Most of the lesions involved parietal region (44.19%) followed by temporal lobe involvement in 13.95%. 55.81% had findings of neurocysticercosis (NCC), 29.91% showed tuberculoma, 8.30% had normal MRI findings and 6.98% had findings suggestive of cerebritis, sturge weber syndrome and porencephalic cyst. 89.74% lesions showed contrast enhancement on MRI. Contrast enhancement MR altered the radiological diagnosis in many patients with partial seizures. It helped to diagnose infections like tuberculoma and NCC in various stages of evolution and also helped to rule out other structural lesions, thus helping in planning modalities of treatment.

Noonan Syndrome

We report a 11 year old boy and his father both Noonan’s. Noonan syndrome occurs in 1 out of 2000 live births. Short stature, webbing of neck, pectus carinatum or pectus excavatum, hypertelorism cubitus valgus, epicanthus, downward slanted palpebral fissures, ptosis, microganthia and ear abnormalities are the common features of Noonan syndrome.