Untreated bacteriuria during pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. It is cost effective to screen for bacteriuria if the prevalence rate is 2% or more. The prevalence rate in this study was 3.6%. 67% of the aetiological agents belonged to the coliform group and balance 33% were staphylococci. All isolates were sensitive to nitrofurantoin. There was no association between bacteriuria and risk factors such as gestational diabetes, past urinary tract infection, multiparity, advanced maternal age, lower education level, advanced gestational age and lower socioeconomic status. Screening of pregnant mothers is reported to be cost effective if the prevalence rates are ≥2%. It is recommended to screen pregnant mothers early in their pregnancy and treat those with significant bacteriuria as this could significantly minimize adverse maternal and foetal outcomes.

Background: Critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) constitutes a spectrum of different heart anomalies needing intervention early in life for survival. Pulse oximetry screening (POS) claims to have a sensitivity of 60%, specificity of 99.95%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 75% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 99.98% in detecting CCHD.Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of POS in identifying CCHD in a tertiary care neonatal unit in Sri Lanka.Method: A prospective descriptive study was carried out at Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital (SJGH) from October 2017 to March 2020 including all healthy newborns delivered at SJGH. Babies with a prenatal diagnosis of CHD and those who needed admission to neonatal unit before POS was performed were excluded. Recruited babies underwent POS after 24 hours, but before 48 hours of life, in addition to routine newborn examination.Results: There were 8964 live births during the study period. POS was carried out in 8718 babies and was positive in 19 babies; 18 babies had CHD confirmed by echocardiogram, out of which 14 had CCHD. Hence, the incidence of CCHD, identified by POS was 1.56 per 1000 live births. Furthermore, POS demonstrated a PPV of 73.7%, and a false positive rate of 0.06%.

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Introduction: Institutional care is the commonest solution for children deprived of parental care in Sri Lanka. They have multiple risk factors which can contribute to a worse outcome with regard to growth and development. Data regarding growth of Sri Lankan institutionalised children are lacking.Objective: To assess growth and nutritional status of institutionalised children less than five years of age in the Colombo district. Method:It is a descriptive cross sectional study conducted in 8 randomly selected voluntary foster care institutions in the Colombo District housing children less than five years old. Children with an uncertain date of birth, chronic illnesses and genetic or congenital defects were excluded from the study. Data on growth were compared with information on malnutrition of children below 5 years in Sri Lanka. Results:One hundred and eighty children were enrolled in the study. Among girls, 21% had moderate stunting and 13% severe stunting. In boys, 30% were moderately stunted and 8% severely stunted. In girls, prevalence of moderate and severe underweight was 25% and 18% respectively. In boys, 26% had moderate underweight and 17% had severe underweight. Whilst 20% of girls and 14% of boys were moderately wasted, 7% of girls and 8% of boys were severely wasted. Prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting was significantly higher in the study cohort. (p<0.001 for all three categories of malnutrition Conclusion:Children less than five years of age in foster care institutions in Colombo district have significant growth impairment.