Objective: To determine the frequency of common causes of short stature in children presenting to the Children’s Hospital & the Institute of Child Health, Multan. Methodology: This cross sectional study was done in Pediatric Endocrinology department, the Children’s Hospital & the Institute of Child Health, Multan, from March to September, 2011. One hundred and sixty nine children with short stature presenting to the outpatient department meeting inclusion criteria were recruited after taking an informed consent. The detailed history, physical examination including anthropometric measurements and relevant investigations were recorded. Causes of short stature (outcome variable) were recorded on a predesigned proforma for final analysis. Results: The common causes of short stature identified were; familial short stature (FSS) 36 cases (21.3%), hypothyroidism 29(17.2%), growth hormone deficiency (GHD) 18(10.7%), insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) 16(9.5%) and constitutional delayed growth and maturation (CDGM) 11(6.5%) cases. This was followed by primary malnutrition 8(4.7%), celiac disease 6(3.6%),Turner syndrome 5(3%) cases and unknown syndromes 4(2.4%) followed by other rare causes. Conclusion: Common causes of short stature identified in this study were endocrine diseases followed by normal variant short stature (NVSS), while nonendocrine causes were the least.

Objective: To determine the frequency of low serum zinc level in children presenting with febrile seizures at The Children’s Hospital and the Institute of Child Health (CH/ICH) Multan. Methods: This is an observational cross sectional study conducted at the Department of Pediatric Medicine, The Children’s Hospital and the Institute of Child Health, Multan from September 2010 to March 2011. Children (6 months to 6 years of age) presenting with febrile seizures who satisfied inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled for the study. Cause of fever was determined after detailed history, physical examination and relevant investigations. Four milliliters centrifuged blood sample was preserved in acid washed test tube. Separated serum was used to measure serum zinc level by employing Randox kit on auto-analyzer in all cases. The outcome variable (serum zinc level) was recorded on a predesigned proforma. Results: Out of 100 enrolled children, there were 66 (66%) male with male to female ratio of 1:0.52. Mean age of the children was 23.97±14.45 months. Upper respiratory tract infection was the most frequent cause of fever apparent in 24 children (24%) followed by tonsillitis 17 (17%), pneumonia 16 (16%), urinary tract infection 16 (16%), otitis media 15 (15%), and bronchiolitis 12 (12%). Frequency of low serum zinc level was 26% in children with febrile seizures. Conclusion: Zinc deficiency could be a potential risk factor for febrile seizure in children.

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