Common childhood poisonings and their outcome in a tertiary care center in Delhi.

Clinical profile of children presenting with poisoning to the Pediatric emergency department of a tertiary care hospital in Delhi from 8.1.2009 to 8.10.09 was studied prospectively. Fifty two cases of accidental poisoning were reported during this period which formed 1.05 % of all pediatric admissions (5094 admissions). No case of homicidal poisoning was reported. There were 80.7 % children between 1-5 y of age with male preponderance. PICA was observed in 57.7 % children. Overall mortality was 7.7 % and 11.3 % children required pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Kerosene oil poisoning remained the commonest accidental poisoning in this study. An interesting trend was concentrated HCL poisoning (now a common household product) as the second commonest poisoning (17.3 %). This was followed by poisoning with various drugs used by adults in the house.

Prevalence of depression in students of a medical college in New Delhi: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Medical education is associated with various pressures and stresses which can lead to depression. This study was undertaken to discover the prevalence of depression in medical students and various factors contributing to depression. METHOD: This is a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study. Using stratified random sampling, 237 students were selected according to year of study. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), based on PRIME-MD Today, was used to make a provisional diagnosis of depression. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of provisionally diagnosed depressive and major depressive disorder using PHQ-9 was 21.5% and 7.6%, respectively. Year of study and academic performance of students had a statistically significant association with depression. Other factors, including gender, self-reported past history of depression, family history of psychiatric disorders, type of social support, family structure, number of siblings and education of parents were not found to have any significant association with prevalence of depression in the study. It was also observed that students were reluctant to seek help for depressive symptoms.

Normative data for anthropometric parameters used in delineation of dysmorphic features in north Indian children.

OBJECTIVE: To provide normative data for a set of anthropometric parameters which are commonly used in delineation of dysmorphic features. METHODS: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital of Delhi. Six hundred infants and children up to 2 years with hundred subjects each in the age group of 0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, 12-18 and 18-24 months were included. Both sexes were represented equally in the sample to avoid bias. Inner and outer intercanthal distance were measured by sliding callipers. Inter pupillary distance was measured directly as the distance between midpoint of two pupils. Ear length was the maximum vertical distance from the superior to the inferior edge of the ear. Internipple distance was the distance between centre of both nipples. Hand length was the distance between distal wrist crease to the tip of middle finger. Middle finger length was the distance between proximal flexion crease and tip of middle finger. The data was analyzed using the LMS method and percentile curves were developed for each age group for all the seven parameters. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences between male and female infants were observed. Significant differences were observed from other south east Asian and Caucasian population stressing the need for generation of regional ethnic data. The percentage of other isolated anomalies noted was 1.16% for polydactyly, 2-4 syndactyly 2-4 toe syndactyly (0.89%), Preauricular tags (0.5%), double whorl pattern of hair (1.55%), 2-4 syndactyly (0.33%) and paraumbilical hernia (2.83%). CONCLUSIONS: Normative data directed towards the ethnic origin are useful in charting dysmorphic traits. Children with parameters less than 3rd percentile or more than 97th percentile should be evaluated for other co-existing anomalies. Percentile charts provided in the present study may also be applicable across India but more studies are required to validate the authors' contention.

Cerebellar atrophy in a child with valproate toxicity.

In the treatment of epilepsy, selecting an appropriate antiepileptic drug for each individual patient requires matching the patient's clinical needs with the agent's specific pharmacological attributes. In many situations, the final choice of an antiepileptic drug may need a change due to the agent's side-effect profile. The authors report a ten-year-old child with Lennox Gastaut syndrome who developed recurrence of seizures, hyperammonemic encephalopathy and cerebellar atrophy on valproate therapy. Valproate was discontinued and lamotrigine was added followed by good control of seizures. Cerebellar atrophy as a serious adverse side effect of valproate therapy, has been infrequently reported.