Intra-pericardial teratoma, most often a benign tumor, is an extremely rare condition in a newborn. It can be a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge if it presents with massive pericardial effusion. Complete surgical excision of the tumor is necessary because of its association with tissues of malignant potential. A 16-d-old newborn was diagnosed with intra pericardial immature teratoma (IT) and managed successfully with multidisciplinary team approach by prompt referral for complete surgical resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy with carboplatin, etoposide and bleomycin (JEB) to prevent recurrence. The infant is now on close follow up with monitoring of serum alpha fetoprotein (AFP) levels and imaging studies for early diagnosis of recurrence of tumor and chemotherapy related complications.

Maintaining iron homeostasis is of great importance to the growing fetus and neonates. There is no consensus as to whether the neonates iron status is determined by fetal demands or by maternal iron status. There is no conclusive data confirming the likelihood of neonates born to anemic mothers suffering from compromised iron status. Therefore the aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship of iron indices between maternal and cord blood collected from mother and infant pairs and explore the association of maternal anemia on the iron status indicators of the cord blood. This prospective study included 60 mother and newborn pairs. The study population was subdivided as anemic and non-anemic groups based on hemoglobin (Hb) levels. The maternal venous blood samples were collected 1.5 h ± 20 min before the delivery. 5 ml of cord blood was collected soon after child birth. Samples were analyzed for hemoglobin (Hb), serum ferritin and iron. Significantly lower values of Hb, Ferritin, iron (p < 0.05) was observed in neonates born to anemic mothers when compared to the indices of neonates born to non-anemic mothers. On multivariate linear regression analysis , maternal Hb showed positive linear correlation with cord Hb and ferritin (r =0.87, p<0.05). However, correlation between maternal Hb and cord iron was not significant. Maternal anemia can effect neonatal iron stores. Lowered concentration of iron status indicators in cord blood of neonates born to anemic mothers indicates that fetal iron transfer may be dependent on that of the iron stores of the mothers. However, this process may involve complex factors.

BACKGROUND Neonatal hypothermia is increasingly recognized as a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Warmth care is an essential component of newborn interventions to reduce neonatal mortality. The present study deals with the knowledge, attitude and neonatal warmth care practices among postnatal mothers/care givers in the postnatal ward and aims to assess the level of understanding, acceptance and implementation of warmth care practices among mothers/care givers. As ThermoSpot is proven to be useful in detecting hypothermia in newborn babies, mothers were taught to detect hypothermia and take necessary steps by observing the colour changes of ThermoSpot. We wanted to assess the knowledge, attitude and neonatal warmth care practices among postnatal mothers/care givers in the postnatal ward. We also wanted to educate the mothers to detect hypothermia in the newborn with a simple tool like ThermoSpot and to educate them regarding correct neonatal warmth care practices. METHODS This is a hospital based interventional study, conducted among 108 post-natal mothers for a period of 6 months. Sociodemographic details of mothers were collected in a proforma. Neonatal warmth care practices followed by mothers were noted. ThermoSpot was applied to all 108 babies and any change in the colour of ThermoSpot was recorded on day 1, at 48 hours and at 72 hours. All mothers were educated about interpretation of change in colour of the ThermoSpot in detecting hypothermia or fever in the newborn baby. Data was analysed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS (Version 20) software. RESULTS Out of 108 mothers, majority were in 20-24 years age group. Literacy and multiparity of the mothers were found to have statistical significance (p<0.05) regarding the knowledge of drying the baby and wrapping with warm clothes. Mothers of nuclear family, higher socioeconomic status, higher parity, and who had normal vaginal delivery, had shown higher knowledge about skin to skin contact which was statistically significant (p<0.05). Knowledge about rooming in had shown statistical significance among educated mothers, mothers belonging to higher socioeconomic status, higher parity and who had normal vaginal delivery (p <0.05). There was no statistical significance between knowledge of mothers about timing of new-born's first bath and demographic profile of mothers. Out of 108 mothers, 86 (79.6%) had knowledge to initiate breast feeds immediately after delivery where as 20.4% of mothers thought that breast feeds can be fed only when baby cries. Out of 648 ThermoSpot readings, 4 mothers reported PALE GREEN once, and one mother reported RED colour once. Data was analysed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS (Version 20) software. CONCLUSIONS In the present study, lack of maternal education on essential newborn care during antenatal (5%) and postnatal periods (13%) by health personnel was found to be one of the important factors contributing to poor knowledge and implementation of essential newborn warmth care practices. As ThermoSpot is not costly (Rs. 7 p...

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Crouzon's syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by craniofacial malformations.It's the most common syndrome among the craniosynostosis group accounting for about 4.8 % of all of them. Crouzon syndrome is caused by mutation in the fibroblast growth factor receptor-2 (FGFR-2) gene resulting in premature closure of suture lines. Our article describes a case report of a 3 years old girl who displayed characteristic dysmorphic skull and facial features of Crouzon's syndrome.

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Introduction: During early life, the neutrophils as components of the innate immune system help to defend against pathogenic infections. Evaluation of cord blood neutrophil phagocytic index (NPI) has considerable value for understanding innate immune status. Few previous studies have investigated the association of maternal iron levels and neonatal immune status. The association of prenatal factors leading to increased risk of early-onset sepsis (EOS) in neonates is well understood. Neutrophils as components of the innate immune system represent the first line of defense against pathogens and are important especially during early life. Compromised neutrophil phagocytic functions and immune responses have been linked to the development of EOS in neonates. Aims and objectives:(1) To evaluate the phagocytic index of the neutrophils in the cord blood obtained from neonates born to anemic mothers.(2) To evaluate the phagocytic index of the neutrophils in the cord blood obtained from neonates born with risk factors for developing EOS. Materials and methods: To study NPI in neonates born to anemic mothers, 60 mothers and newborn pairs were recruited and subdivided into anemic and nonanemic groups, based on hemoglobin (Hb) levels of maternal blood. To study NPI in cord blood of neonates born with risk factors for EOS, 61 neonates with two or more risk factors for developing sepsis were recruited, along with 48 healthy infants who served as controls. Venous blood samples were collected 1.5 hours ± 20 minutes before the delivery. Five milliliters of cord blood was collected soon after childbirth. Results: The mean NPI values and also the mean gestational age and birth weight were significantly lower (p <0.05) in neonates of anemic mothers. Positive linear correlation (inverse relationship) of r = 0.67 and p <0.05 was observed between maternal Hb and NPI. Neonates with risk of EOS had significantly (p <0.05) lower values of NPI and significantly elevated levels of C-reactive proteins (CRP). Conclusions: There exists a significant association between maternal iron status and lowered phagocytic capacity of neutrophils, suggesting compromised innate immunity in neonates. Lowered NPI in the cord blood of infants born with risk of EOS is suggestive of the compromised immune response, which may add to the risk of developing EOS. Lowered cord blood NPI may mark early neonatal immune deficiency and immune processes in neonates. Further studies on cord blood NPI can lead to identifying NPI as an early predictor of EOS.