ABSTRACT
Background: The pandemic resulted in increased screen hours in children due to virtual education. The rate of progression of myopia was noticed to be remarkable in the past 2 years. This study is an endeavor to study the effect of increased screen hours during COVID home confinement on the degree of progression of myopia in school children and to evaluate the difference in change of refractive errors with a variation in the screen size of the digital device used. Method(s): This was prospective observational study with a retrospective comparison arm, wherein 70 school children (140 eyes) aged 4-18 years were subjected to a cycloplegic refraction test. The difference in spherical equivalent refraction from the year 2018 to 19 was compared with that of the difference observed in the pandemic year 2019-2020. A statistical analysis was also made regarding the correlation of variation in refraction between the different genders, age groups, and screen sizes. Result(s): Of the 70 children, 29 (41.42%) were girls and 41 (58.58%) were boys. The gadgets being used vary from mobiles to laptops, and the range of screens and sizes varies from 100 cm2 to 500 cm 2. Similarly, the duration of device use varied from 4 to 8 h. For 2018, the mean value of the spherical equivalent was -1.69 +/- 1.42, for 2019 it was -1.92 +/- 1.50 and for 2020 the mean value was -2.61 +/- 1.47 for the right eye. The mean value of the spherical equivalent for the left eye in 2018 was -1.68 +/- 1.51, in 2019 the value was -1.87 +/- 1.58, and in 2020, the mean value was -2.73 +/- 1.78. Conclusion(s): Increased exposure to digital devices during the COVID-19 period has a role to play in the progression of myopia in school-aged children.Copyright © 2023 Authors. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Children with prior coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection display an increased systemic inflammation causing multiorgan dysfunctions in the cardiovascular, respiratory, central nervous system, and gastrointestinal (GI) systems, known as MIS-C, that is, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. Most of the MIS-C cases have GI manifestations like pain abdomen, loose motion, vomiting or nausea, elevated liver enzymes, ileus, and bleeding. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors in the terminal ileum and colon are responsible for the majority of ACE2-induced damage to these tissues. In the pandemic's second wave, a significant number of MIS-C patients with predominantly GI symptoms (around 80%) were reported. Although different molecular inflammatory mechanisms are involved, there is a significant overlap of the children's GI symptoms with those of MIS-C and other conditions of the abdomen caused by infection or inflammation, thus resulting in a diagnostic dilemma. Here, we report two cases of MIS-C with acute appendicular perforation and ileal perforation needing both medical management and surgical intervention. © 2022 Medical Journal of Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth ;Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow.
ABSTRACT
The global outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 a novel strain of coronaviruses, emerged from Wuhan city of China in December 2019 and was later announced as global pandemic by World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. The infection spread globally and infected over 190 million people with a mortality rate of around 2%. Combating the disease is difficult as no specific therapeutics and vaccines are yet available against the novel coronavirus. Hence, early detection and containment of infected individuals are the best possible approaches to reduce the spread of the infection. The chapter summarized the major diagnostic tools used for detection of COVID-19 along with their advantages and disadvantages. Additionally, the potential therapeutic approaches are also discussed with their current developmental status. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected millions of people worldwide. However, the mechanism by which the pathogen affects children is not understood completely. Children so far accounted for only1 to 6.4% of diagnosed cases and the mortality rate is also less. Though clinical findings are similar to adults, with fever and respiratory symptoms being prevalent, fewer numbers of children appear to develop severe pneumonia. Observed attenuated response to the virus may possibly be due to decrease in the expression of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor in lungs, repeated viral exposure, and not having any underlying chronic diseases or immunosuppression. Suggested treatment included oxygen supplementation, mechanical ventilation in severe cases, nutritional support, and maintaining fluids and electrolyte balances. Although, no definitive pharmacological therapy is available, various combination of drugs like hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, remdesivir, tocilizumab, and convalescent serum show promising result to an extent. As there is no specific therapeutic measure for this ailment, aggressive efforts are being made to develop a potential vaccine against the disease. Although few reports on epidemiology of COVID-19 in children have been published, comprehensive reports are lacking. The present article reviews on important issues such as epidemiological characteristics, postulations of milder disease, therapeutic aspect, and recent development of vaccination against COVID-19 in children.