Articles: child.
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Bull. World Health Organ. · Jan 1993
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialAntibiotic therapy for bacterial meningitis in children in developing countries.
We carried out a study to investigate the effectiveness of chloramphenicol alone as a treatment for bacterial meningitis. A total of 70 consecutive children aged > 3 months with bacterial meningitis, who had been admitted to the paediatric hospital of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, were randomized to receive chloramphenicol alone or chloramphenicol + penicillin. The two groups were matched with each other. ⋯ The mean duration of intravenous therapy, the number of intravenous cannulae used per patient, and the incidence of thrombophlebitis were significantly higher for the group that received the combination therapy. Also, the cost of using chloramphenicol + penicillin was four times higher than that of chloramphenicol alone. Hence, chloramphenicol alone was as effective as chloramphenicol + penicillin and much cheaper and more convenient to use.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparison of preparation and narcotic-sedative premedication in children undergoing surgery.
A psychological preparation program was developed for use prior to emergency surgery in children. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that provision of specific information prior to an emergency operation would reduce the need for premedication to control anxiety and stress. Children were randomly assigned to either a verbally prepared group given narcotic-sedative premedication (control) or to a psychologically prepared group given only atropine as premedication. ⋯ The children and parents were also assessed by a nurse preoperatively and postoperatively using a similar scale. The children's pulse, blood pressure, and cortisol were also measured. The results showed no significant difference between the psychologically prepared group and the premedicated group, suggesting that psychological preparation compares favorably with narcotic-sedative premedication.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Trial of high-dose Edmonston-Zagreb measles vaccine in Guinea-Bissau: protective efficacy.
In a randomised study of 558 children in an urban African community, the protective effect of the Edmonston-Zagreb (EZ) measles vaccine given in a dose of 40,000 plaque forming units from the age of 4 months was compared with the effects of a standard dose (6000 tissue culture infectious units) of Schwarz measles vaccine given from the age of 9 months. During two years of follow-up, all 14 clinical cases of measles occurred in the Schwarz group; 10 of the children contracted measles before vaccination and 4 after measles vaccination. Thus the EZ vaccine provided significant protection against measles both before and after the usual age of vaccination. Among the children who were exposed to measles at home, those given EZ vaccine were better protected than either unvaccinated children or those given the Schwarz vaccine.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Does oral rehydration therapy alter food consumption and absorption of nutrients in children with cholera?
In order to estimate consumption of food and absorption of nutrients, a metabolic balance study was conducted in 47 children between 1 and 5 years old, suffering from acute cholera. Twenty-two of the children were treated by intravenous solution (IV) only and 25 others by oral rehydration along with intravenous solution (ORS/IV) when necessary. After initial rehydration a nonabsorbable charcoal marker was fed to the patients followed by a typical Bangladeshi home food of known composition offered ad libitum. ⋯ Absorption of nitrogen was significantly lower in the ORS/IV group, but absorption of fat was not significantly impaired. Vomiting was significantly higher in the ORS/IV group. The differences in the consumption and absorption of nutrients between the two groups were transient and came to the same level within 2 weeks after recovery.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Coping skills training for children: effects on distress before, during, and after hospitalization for surgery.
Thirty-three parent-child dyads (children's mean age = 7.2 years, SD = 1.2) were randomly assigned to information, anxiety reduction, or coping skills presurgical preparatory interventions. All groups received the "information" procedure that described typical hospitalization and surgery experiences via a puppetry film viewed 1 week prior to hospital admission. In the anxiety reduction group, parents also learned procedures (e.g., relaxation) to help them reduce their own distress. ⋯ Anxiety reduction and coping skills groups, compared to the information group, reduced children's self-reported fearfulness and parents' reported distress. Furthermore, only the coping skills group, compared to the information group, exhibited fewer maladaptive behaviors during hospitalization (ratings by observers) and less problematic behavior in the preadmission week and second postdischarge week (daily parental diaries). Theoretical explanations for these results are discussed in light of the similar findings obtained by Peterson and Shigetomi (1981).