Articles: child.
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One hundred and three children (1% of seriously ill children referred to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra) were admitted with bacterial meningitis over a 17 month period. 43 of these children had been ill for more than 4 days before arrival at our centre. The main causative organisms were S. pneumoniae (47.9%), Neisseria meningitides (38.4%) and Haemophilus influenzae (9.6%). All bacterial isolates were highly sensitive to ceftriaxone. ⋯ No significant difference was noted among the three treatment regimens of ceftriaxone alone, penicillin plus chloramphenicol, and ceftriaxone alone for 48 hours followed by penicillin/chloramphenicol combination. Our overall outcome would have been better if patients had been started on appropriate antibiotic treatment within the earlier hours of the infection. Furthermore, the latter generation cephalosporins, including ceftriaxone, must be given consideration as antibiotics of first choice world wide.
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Although malnourished children are stunted, their bone maturity is usually retarded to a comparable degree. This is seen in impoverished societies as well as in diseases such as coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel disease and hormonal deficiency. When these children are followed to adulthood they normally have some degree of spontaneous catch-up. ⋯ The most obvious reason why catch-up is not seen regularly is that an appropriate diet is not available over a sufficient period of time. We do not know the optimum ingredients for such a diet. Sulphur has been neglected as an essential nutrient; its economy should be examined in relation to skeletal growth in stunted populations.
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The first section of this paper reviews what is known about the roles of specific nutrients in the general linear growth faltering that occurs in developing countries. Those reviewed are energy, protein, zinc, iron, copper, iodine and vitamin A. For none of these nutrients was there clear, consistent evidence that supplementation with the nutrient benefited linear growth. ⋯ This point is illustrated with data from the Nutrition Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP) and other reports. Most interventions with single nutrients have been tested on children older than the age when linear growth faltering is most rapid, that is, within a few months of birth. Possible reasons why growth stunting begins so early in life are presented, but these are mostly hypothetical because of the paucity of information on this topic.
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There has been a tremendous amount of progress in the perioperative approach to the child since Levy wrote "Psychic trauma of operations in children and a note on combat neurosis" nearly 50 years ago. Recognition of prolonged behavioral derangements following the anesthetic-surgical-hospital experience and the prominent role that the parent and physician play in modifying these have dramatically changed the contemporary pediatric perioperative care. Of paramount importance is the psychological preparation of family and child. With increasing outpatient or same-day admission surgery and free-standing surgical centers, preoperative preparation will, of necessity, increasingly become the responsibility of the pediatrician.
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Even though hypoxia is a major risk factor for death in children with acute respiratory infection in developing countries, oxygen is not part of first line treatment. Because oxygen is not readily available in developing countries it tends to be given to the most seriously ill children, whose outcome is poor. ⋯ A simple oximeter would make detection easier, and oxygen concentrators are more cost effective than bottled oxygen. Ideally oxygen should be given to children in the early stages of clinical pneumonia to prevent deterioration.