Indian pediatrics
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One hundred and fifty six babies with birth weight between 1500-2000 g and 103 full term-appropriate for gestational age (FT-AGA) babies delivered at University Hospital, District Hospital and village homes were included for a comparative study of mortality, morbidity and growth pattern. The low birth weight (LBW) babies from the three centres had similar birth weight and gestational age. Neonatal mortality rates for the LBW babies were similar at the three centres. ⋯ However, the differences were statistically significant mostly in the preterm group. The weight gain of all LBW babies was similar up to 3 months of age. The findings of an identical outcome for the LBW babies at village level to those managed at hospitals is an encouraging trend to increasing domiciliary care for LBW babies.
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During the critical period of infancy, breastfeeding and weaning practices play an important role in determining the growth of an infant. The present study investigates the issue by observing 225 infants from Low Socio Economic (LSE) class (n = 150) and High Socio Economic (HSE) class (n = 75) for weight, height, and feeding practices. ⋯ However, the proportion of malnourished children in the LSE class for partially breastfed (BF + AF) group was comparable with exclusively breastfed (BF) group and was significantly lower (p < 0.01) than AF group indicating protective effect of partial breastfeeding against risks of contamination associated with weaning foods in such communities: The real bottleneck thus appears to be the lack of knowledge of handling and giving weaning foods in adequate quantities. Educating mothers appears to be the meaningful solution for improving the nutritional status of infants in poor communities.
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Clinical and hematological data of 9 cases with factor XIII deficiency is highlighted. The age at first bleed ranged from 3 days of life to 1 year. Seven of these 9 cases had bleeding from the umbilicus, 3 had recurrent subcutaneous and muscle hematomas, while 4 cases had CNS bleeds of which 3 expired. ⋯ Patients were treated with plasma transfusion during episodes of bleeding. No patient received plasma transfusion as prophylactic therapy. The cumulative Indian data so far documented, inclusive of this series, shows a very high incidence of CNS bleeds (33%) in patients with this inherited coagulation disorder.
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Assessment of newborn baby's temperature by human touch: a potentially useful primary care strategy.
Fifty healthy term neonates delivered at All India Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital were assessed by three pediatricians for skin temperature to the nearest +/- 0.5 degrees C at the three body sites, i.e., mid-forehead, abdomen and dorsum of right foot by touch. The predicted temperatures at different sites were compared with simultaneously recorded temperatures at the same sites with the help of an electronic thermometer having a sensitivity of +/- 0.1 degree C. Rectal temperature was also recorded in all the babies with a rectal thermister to compare the variations between the core and skin temperatures. ⋯ There was good correlation between core temperature and skin temperature at different sites except forehead. It is amazing that even during the month of May, when ambient temperature was maintained between 26-28 degrees C, nearly one fifth of the healthy term babies were under cold stress as evidenced by greater than 2 degrees C difference between the core and peripheral skin temperatures. It is recommended that health professionals and mothers should be explained the importance of evaluating the core and peripheral skin temperature by touch for early identification of babies under cold stress in order to prevent occurrence of life threatening hypothermia.