Background: Of the 2.8 million neonatal deaths, worldwide, 0.43 million is contributed by sepsis alone. The objective of this study was to determine the levels of umbilical cord C-reactive protein and assess the suitability of this test in diagnosing early onset sepsis in newborns born to mothers with no risk factors for intrapartum infection. To determine the influence of other factors such as parity, birth weight and mode of delivery on the levels of cord CRP.Methods: CRP levels in cord blood were estimated for 103 consecutive newborns delivered at a tertiary care teaching hospital. These babies were monitored for signs of sepsis for 72 hours and were later followed up with serum CRP and blood cultures.Results: A prospective cohort study of 103 consecutive newborns were taken of which 53.4% were male babies. Comparison of cord CRP levels of baseline characteristics revealed significant elevation in babies born to multipara mothers (p = 0.0028) and in low birth weight babies (p = 0.05), while there were no significant changes in different modes of delivery. The mean cord CRP of the study group was 0.694±0.2979. Out of 104 babies, 16 had elevated cord CRP (above 1.1mg/l) of these, 12 babies were later confirmed to have sepsis. The mean cord CRP level in babies with EOS was 1.3±0.255 (p = 0.001). A sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 90.9%, positive predictive value of 75% and negative predictive value of 100% was determined.Conclusions: This study confirms that cord CRP is an effective marker to predict EONS. An optimal concentration of cord CRP > 1.1 mg/L has maximal sensitivity and specificity to predict EONS.

Sir, A normal 2-yr-old girl presented with loose motions and vomiting followed by drowsiness. History revealed that the patient had developed these symptoms within 30 min of consumption of a yellow funnel shaped flower. Examination revealed an irregularly irregular heart rate with ST segment elevation on electrocardiogram with intermittent bradycardia. Blood pressure was 60/42 mm Hg in the right arm in supine position and the respiratory rate was 45/min with acidotic breathing. On central nervous system examination, the child was drowsy but arousable. Pupils were bilaterally equal and reacting to light. There was no cranial nerve palsy or focal neurological deficit. Gastric lavage yielded a yellow colored fluid. Activated charcoal was administered after the lavage in the casualty, which was approximately after 45 min of consumption of the flower. The sensorium rapidly deteriorated and patient became comatose. Intravenous fluids and antibiotic coverage was given. Patient had decreased perfusion and hypotension, for which a dopamine drip was started. Bradycardia was treated with intravenous atropine. Elective endotracheal intubation was undertaken and patient was mechanically ventilated. Serum potassium was 7 mmol/dl and an arterial blood gas revealed compensated metabolic acidosis which were treated as per standard guidelines. Later, the child developed an episode of generalized tonic-clonic convulsion for which she required injection midazolam and injection phenytoin intravenously. As signs of II degree heart block were seen on ECG, temporary pacing was planned, but patient developed asystole and did not respond to resuscitative measures. The flower ingested was confirmed by the father as yellow oleander from the photograph in the textbook of toxicology.

Background: An efficacious, reliable, and non-invasive route of administration for midazolam, a drug used for sedation and pre-anesthetic medication, would have obvious advantages. This study compares the sedation achieved by nebulized route and intravenous route as procedural sedation.Methods: A randomized double-blinded interventional study was designed to compare the effect of nebulized midazolam with intravenous midazolam as a sedative medication in 86 children undergoing imaging procedures like CT scan, MRI scan, EEG. Ramsay sedation scores and parameters of cardiovascular and respiratory function were measured over 20 min and summarized Results: The mean sedation score in both groups was comparable at baseline, 10 minutes and 20 minutes with p values of 0.1, 0.1, 0.09 respectively. Parameters of cardiovascular and respiratory function were comparable in both the groups. Conclusion: Present study showed that nebulized midazolam when given at a higher dose of 1 mg/kg was found to be as potent as intravenous midazolam, opening up a door for a sedative which is easier to administer, has better acceptance with lesser complication.

Background: The prevalence of hearing loss is higher in neonates admitted to NICU compared to the general population. Preterm babies are more vulnerable to the hearing damage due to their immature inner ear exposing them to various high frequency noises in the NICU to which they were not accustomed. Most NICU in India exceed the recommended sound levels. In order to reduce damage to the ears, foam-based earplugs are used to reduce the sound intensity reaching the ears of these premature babies.Methods: Babies admitted to NICU are allocated alternatively to receive earplugs or not. Cases are preterm babies with earplugs and controls are the ones without earplugs. The incidence of hearing loss is found by OAE testing of the ears at the end of NICU stay.Results: Out of 40 in each group, 6 babies in control group failed the OAE compared the 3 in the earplug group. Babies who did wear earplugs had longer period of NICU stay.Conclusions: Use of earplugs in babies admitted to NICU reduced the incidence of hearing loss and also length of NICU stay.

Background Modified Sick Neonatal Score (MSNS) is a modification of the Sick Neonatal Score (SNS) by adding perinatal factors such as birth weight and gestational age to the scoring. A significantly higher sensitivity and specificity were obtained by adding the above parameters to SNS. The parameters in MSNS were simple and easy to score, but the scoring was done only once, and the utility of the score to assess the response to treatment was not analysed. In this study, we aimed to determine the role of MSNS as a prognostic indicator in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and to study the correlation of the change in the MSNS (Delta-MSNS) 24 hours after admission with the outcomes and as a measure of response to treatment. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted for six months on all neonates admitted to the NICU during the study period. All babies were scored using MSNS containing eight basic clinical parameters, namely, respiratory rate, heart rate, axillary temperature, peripheral capillary refill time, random blood sugar, oxygen saturation, gestational age, and birth weight. Scoring by MSNS was done on the following two occasions: first score at admission, and second score 24 hours later. A change in the score during the first 24 hours of NICU stay (Delta-MSNS) was analysed for babies with an initial score of less than or equal to 12. All babies were followed up for analysis of outcomes, and outcomes were documented as discharge from the hospital or death. Length of hospital stay was documented for the babies that were discharged. Statistical analysis was done using the software RStudio v1.1.456. Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test was used to compare individual parameters of the score as well as the mean score between the expired and discharged groups. Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient was used to correlate the scores with length of hospital stay. Results A total of 248 neonates were considered for inclusion in the study. The mean score at admission was 7.94 (SD = 1.89) in the expired group and 14.46 (SD = 1.84) in the discharged group. The p-value for each of these was <0.001. Using MSNS as a test variable, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was generated, and as measured by the area under the curve was 0.98. A cut-off score of 10 was obtained that had a sensitivity of 88.24%, specificity of 95.2%, positive predictive value of 57.69%, and negative predictive value of 99%. A significant negative correlation was observed with a Spearman correlation coefficient of -0.67 when the initial MSNS was correlated with length of hospital stay in patients who were discharged. A significant negative correlation with a coefficient of -0.39 and p-value of 0.017 was determined when delta MSNS score was correlated with the discharged babies who had an initial score of less than 12. Conclusions MSNS is an easy-to-use bedside scoring system that requires minimal training and no invasive procedures. It has shown a h...