Study design: Observational study. Setting: Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methods: This observational study was conducted on 84 patients of Cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) due to fall while carrying heavy load on head. They were admitted at the CRP, Dhaka, Bangladesh between January1999 and December 2001. Relevant personal information, neurological status, types of bony injuries and x-ray findings were noted down in pre-structured questionnaire. In addition, each subject was interviewed to find out the cause of accidental fall while carrying heavy load on head. Results: Age of the studied subjects ranged between10 to 50 years. All were male of whom 79 (94%) subjects were farmers and/or low cost daily laborers. In all, 72% percent of the subjects were carrying 60-80 kg weight on their head when fall occurred. A total of 48 (57%) subjects had complete neurological lesion. The most common vertebral levels were C5 and C6. So far the mechanism of injury is concerned hyper flexion of the cervical spine predominated (61%) over hyperextension (36%). Conclusion: Fall while carrying heavy load on head is a common cause of CSCI in Bangladesh. The victims are mostly young farmers or unskilled day laborers who were not habituated to carry heavy load on head.

No abstract

Introduction:Altered zinc homeostasis is an important feature of pediatric sepsis, thus raising the possibility of zinc supplementation as a therapeutic strategy in neonatal sepsis, a major source of morbidity and mortality with few therapeutic options beyond antibiotics. Its objective was to find the role of zinc as adjunct therapy in neonatal sepsis. Materials and Methods: This prospective, randomized double blind placebo controlled trial was conducted in the Department of Paediatrics, Sylhet M A G Osmani Medical College, Sylhet, Bangladesh during January 2013 to December 2014. A total 288 neonates with neonatal sepsis were enrolled. Group allocation to either zinc or placebo group was done by lottery method. Each packet contained 5 mg dispersible zinc sulphate or placebo. One packet dissolved in 2.5 ml expressed breast milk was given orally or through feeding tube. Results: The age of the patients in zinc group and placebo group was 14.40 ± 6.49 days and 15.09 ± 7.18 days respectively. There were 49 (75.6%) male neonates and 16 (24.6%) female neonates in zinc group; while 50 (78.1%) neonates were male and 14 (21.9%) were female in placebo group. Clinical recovery was 61 (93.8%) and failure in 4 (6.2%) patients in zinc group; while clinical recovery was 59 (92.2%) and failure in 5 (7.8%) patients in placebo group. The mean clinical recovery time in zinc group was 104.20 ± 16.61 hours and that of control groups was 111.46 ± 19.43 hours. Conclusion: Oral zinc as adjunct therapy shortens the clinical recovery time. Medicine Today 2020 Vol.32(2): 112-116

Objective. Bronchiolitis is one of the commonest causes of hospitalization of infants and young children in Bangladesh. About 21% of under 5 children attending different hospitals of Bangladesh have bronchiolitis. Fifty percent (50%) men and three percent (3%) women of Bangladesh are smokers. Parental smoking is an important risk factor for both susceptibility and severity of bronchiolitis. The aim of this study was to find out the role of parental smoking in severe bronchiolitis. Design. Case-control study. Place and Duration of Study. The study was conducted in the Department of Paediatrics, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh, from July 2013 to December 2015. Patients and Methods. Sixty-four patients admitted into the ward with severe bronchiolitis were enrolled as cases and sixty-four suitably matched apparently healthy children attending EPI centre and outpatient department presenting with nonrespiratory illness were enrolled as controls. Sample size was calculated using Guilford and Frucher formula. The technique was systematic random sampling. Every second case satisfying the inclusion and exclusion criteria was enrolled in the study. Results. The mean age of the patients was 7.53 (SD ± 4.75) months. Forty (62.5%) patients were male and twenty four (37.5%) patients were female. Male-to-female ratio was 1.7 : 1. Most of the cases (60.95%) came from low socioeconomic background. More than half of the cases (53.13%) were not exclusively breastfed babies. Mean length of hospital stay was 6.41 (SD ± 2.82) days. Thirty eight (59%) cases and twenty six (34%) controls were exposed to parental smoking. Result was highly significant (p = 0.005). Odds ratio was 2.8 (95% CI from 1.36 to 5.72). Conclusion. Exposure to parental smoking causes a statistically significant (p = 0.005, odds ratio = 2.8) increase in the risk of developing severe bronchiolitis in the first year of life.

Objective: This study was carried out to find out the prevalence of CHD and their type among Children attended in the inpatient and out patient department of district tertiary care hospital of Sylhet. Methodology: This prospective cross sectional study was carried out in the department of Paediatrics of 4 medical college hospitals of Sylhet over a period of 1 year from January 2012 to December 2012. All children with the confirmed diagnosis of CHD with the age ranging from 1st day of life to 12 years were analyzed considering the pattern of CHD. Results: A total of 234 cases of CHD were admitted. Maximum cases of CHD were admitted between 29 days to 1year age group and 148 (63.25%) were male and the rest 86 (36.75%) were female. The male-female ration was 1.72:1. Most of the CHD (65.38%) were acyanotic and 34.42% cases were cyanotic. The commonest CHD was found VSD (33.33%) which was followed by ASD (16.24%), TOF (11.54%), Complex CHD (11.54%) and PDA (10.68%). Conclusion: It was concluded from this study that the male children are mostly sufferer from CHD and acyanotic heart disease was commonest type of CHD. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjch.v38i1.20022 Bangladesh J Child Health 2014; VOL 38 (1) : 15-18