Neurocognitive Lag in School-Aged Children Living With HIV in India and Its Relevance.

Objective Objective assessment of neurocognitive lags in pediatric HIV patients and its correlation with various clinical, social and familial factors. Methods Ninety-eight school-aged children living with HIV (CLHIV) (age 7-18 years) attending regional pediatric HIV clinic were observed for neurocognitive lag using Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices by the same trained instructor. Sociodemographic data, mode of transmission, clinical staging, CD4 count, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) duration were recorded and analyzed in the well-performing group and under-performing group. Results 29.6% of children had definitive neurocognitive lag. The proportion of older children (11-18 years) in the under-performing group was significantly high (P = 0.007). The mean CD4 counts were low in the under-performing group (P = 0.001). Other socioeconomic factors could not be specifically correlated with neurocognitive lag in either of the groups. Conclusion CLHIV has a significant neurocognitive lag, which is accentuated in the upper age group. Findings point toward declining intellectual gains with increasing age in CLHIV.

An Unsuspected Pharmacological Vitamin D Toxicity in a Child and its Brief Review of Literature.

Inordinate administration of Vitamin D beyond required doses and duration occurs as a sporadic event among frequent empirical therapies of pharmacological Vitamin D. Such instances lead to Vitamin D intoxication. Systemic hypertension is an unsuspected after-effect of Vitamin D toxicity in a child unlike other toxicity effects such as hypercalcemia, neurological deterioration, etc., Here, we report a case of a 1-year-old child who developed acute hypertension and severe hypercalcemia due to Vitamin D toxicity which was masked by initial dehydration such as illness and brief review of literature about clinical entity.