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Low birth weight is a critical indicator of new-born health, particularly in developing countries where it is more prevalent. However, data on low birth weight in these countries is often limited due to home or small health facility deliveries that go unreported. This study aimed to examine the characteristics of mothers and their very low birth weight (VLBW) infants, who are at high risk for morbidity and mortality. Methods: The study included hospitalized mothers and their VLBW neonates. Pre- and perinatal data, including hospitalization complications, were collected from case files using a pre-designed questionnaire and analysed. Results: The mean maternal age in the study group was 24.88 ± 2.92 years, with the majority falling between 21 and 25 years. Gestational hypertension, alone or in combination with other risk factors, was the most significant risk factor (18.36%). The caesarean section (C-section) rate was 58.7%. Among the study group, 49.81% of mothers had one or more risk factors, with gestational hypertension (18.3%), leaking (12.6%), eclampsia (1.3%), and gestational diabetes mellitus (4.8%) being the most prevalent. Out of 7,288 neonates born in SMGS Hospital, 458 (4.3%) were VLBW babies, with a mean gestational age of 32.19 ± 1.5 weeks and a mean birth weight of 1320 ± 0.21 grams. The mortality rate among VLBW neonates was 5.8%. The most common neonatal outcomes were sepsis (21.8%) and respiratory distress syndrome (15.9%). The need for mechanical ventilation and surfactant therapy was 6.5% and 9.1%, respectively. Conclusion: Delivering preterm VLBW babies from mothers with high-risk factors in hospitals equipped with tertiary care neonatal intensive care units is crucial to improving their outcomes and survival. These findings highlight the importance of appropriate healthcare facilities for this vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a postviral complication that has been described among children after 2-6 weeks of exposure to the COVID-19 virus from various parts of the world. Published literature regarding MIS-C in children is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the disease management and clinical outcomes of a larger group of children from North India presenting with features of MIS-C. Materials and Methods: This is an observational study of children with MIS-C, admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) between March 1, 2021, and August 31, 2021, during the second wave of SARS-CoV-2 infection in India. Results: Out of the 37 children presenting with MIS-C, 62% of patients were male and 37% were female patients. Vasoactive medications were required in 14 patients. Eighteen patients required respiratory support, of which 17 received noninvasive ventilation and only one patient required invasive mechanical ventilation. Methylprednisolone and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) were used in the majority of patients. No patient required remdesivir. Thirty-six patients were discharged home with a median duration of 4 days in PICU and a hospital stay of 10 days, only 1 (2.7%) patient died during the treatment. Thirty-five (94.5%) patients received IVIG alone, and five patients (13.5%) received IVIG along with methylprednisolone. Patients who received a combination of steroids and IVIG had greater severity of illness, deranged laboratory parameters, highly raised inflammatory markers, requiring higher inotropes, respiratory support, PICU requirement, and length of stay in hospital. Conclusions: The decision to treat MIS-C patients with IVIG plus methylprednisolone or IVIG alone must be reviewed on an individual basis. IVIG in conjunction with methylprednisolone should be considered for patients with severe MIS-C and hypotension who have been admitted to the PICU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among adolescents attending school in the Jammu region, India. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted between November 2009 and December 2010, among a total of 1160 school-going adolescents of both sexes aged 10-18 years. Relevant metabolic and anthropometric variables were analyzed and criteria suggested by National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel Third (NCEP-ATP III) modified for age was used to define metabolic syndrome. Results: The overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 2.6%. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was higher in males (3.84%) than in females (1.6%) and slightly higher in urban area (2.80%) than in rural area (2.52%), whereas prevalence of metabolic syndrome among centrally obese subjects was as high as 33.33%. High density lipoprotein cholesterol was the most common and high blood pressure was the least common constituent of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome was most prevalent in 16-18 years age group (4.79%). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that metabolic syndrome phenotype exists in substantial number (up to 3%) of adolescent population in the Jammu region, India, and particularly 33% of obese adolescents are at risk to develop metabolic syndrome. These findings pose a serious threat to the current and future health of these young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Familial hypercholesterolema (FH) is an inherited autosomal dominant disorder of lipid metabolism. We report a 3 years old female child who presented with multiple eruptive xanthomatosis of skin since 6 months of age and had deranged lipid profile consistent with FH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the case of 6-year-old male who presented with vomiting for two days and right sided hemiparesis for one day. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography revealed a small atrial septal aneurism (ASA) while a brain CT showed ischemic infarct in the area of the left middle cerebral artery. Warfarin therapy was initiated and the patient improved without neurological deficits. The case suggests that ASA may be a risk factor for ischemic stroke even in children.

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infantile Haemangiomas is one of the commonest childhood tumours. Several modes of treatment are available including observation only. Recently propranolol has been used as first line therapy in various reports. We present here a prospective study of 30 patients of Infantile Heamangiomas in which propranolol was used with an aim to study the dose standarization, efficacy & safety profile of the drug. All the patients had pretreatment cardiovascular, respiratory and investigative work up and then started on oral propranolol therapy at a dosage of 2-3mg/kg/day in two divided doses for a mean duration of 7.8 months (range 6-9 months). All the patients responded to the treatment by showing reduction in size, colour changes in the lesion and resolution of ulceration. In maximum 22 (73.33%) patients there was >50% reduction i size, 6(20%) patients had complete resolution of the lesion and only 2 (6.66%) had <25% reduction in size. All 4(100%) patients with ulceration had complete healing of the ulcer. There was no major side effect of the drug except mild self limiting diarrhoea in 2(6.66%) patients. We conclude that oral propranolol should be used as first line therapy in all infants with Infantile Cutaneous Haemangiomas at an early stage when response is good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]