Introduction: Thalassemia patients require regular blood transfusions to maintain haemoglobin level around 10gm/dl, which results in transfusional iron over load which is treated by well-established parenteral desferrioxamine or oral chelators. There are conflicting reports on effectiveness of oral chelators. Only few studies are available on the growth parameters of thalassemic children from this region. The present study was undertaken to assess the growth pattern and its relation with Mean Pre-transfusion Haemoglobin value and Serum ferritin concentration in study population. Materials and Methods: The present study was done at Thalassemia and Sickle CellSociety, Hyderabad. The study group includes Transfusion dependent thalassemia major children on oral Iron Chelation Therapy between 2-10 years of age. Specific inclusion and exclusion criteria were framed and subjects fulfilling the criteria were selected for the study. Anthropometry of the children was measured and necessary data from the medical records of the children was reviewed during the study period September 2012 to May 2013. Results: In Mean pre transfusion haemoglobin <8 g/dl group, all the children are below median weight for age and Height for age Z scores whereas in Mean pre transfusion haemoglobin ≥8g/dl, group, 12.3% of the children are above the median Weight for age Zscore and 6.2% of the children above the median Height for age Z score. Weight for age or Height for age Z scores has no correlation with age. With the increasing age, more thalassemic children had growth retardation, Height being affected more than Weight. Conclusion: Growth of thalassemic children during the first decade largely depends upon the maintenance of fairly normal haemoglobin between 9.5-10gm% with frequent blood transfusions and adequate chelation.
Introduction: Asphyxia is the single most important cause of still-births accounting for 45.1% of all cases. Although many organ systems can be affected by hypoxia, it is the nervous system that bears the brunt of perinatal asphyxia in the long run. Once the cerebral injury has occurred, the management is mainly supportive. Newer cerebro protective therapies are being tried. The present study aims at correlating the Severity of asphyxia with the severity of HIE and also to assess the perinatal factors, clinico laboratory profile and immediate outcome in asphyxiated newborns. Materials and methods: It is a prospective, descriptive clinical study done at NICU, ASRAM medical college Eluru.92 newborn babies who fulfilled the selection criteria for perinatal asphyxia during the study period September 2015 to August 2017 formed the study group. The stage of encephalopathy was assessed according to Sarnat and Sarnat Clinical staging system. Perinatal asphyxia was graded as moderate or severe based on pH and/or Apgarscore. Chi square test and Fisher Exact test has been used to find the significant association of HIE staging and outcome and other study characteristics. Results: Among 92 asphyxiated newborns, Pregnancy was complicated by the presence of PIH in 15 (16.3%), APH in 3 (3.3%), MSAF was present in 51 (55.4%), maternal anemia in 16 (17.4%) and PROM in 9 (9.8%). Labour was complicated by prolonged II stage in 12 (13.0%) of them and cord prolapse was seen in 1 (1.1%). HIE occurred in 59 (64.13%) out of 92 asphyxiated neonates. According to Sarnat and Sarnat clinical HIE staging, 33 (55.93%) newborns had stage I, 18 (30.51%) had stage II and 8 (13.56%) of the newborns had stage III HIE. Renal involvement occurred in 43 (46.7%) of the total asphyxiated neonates and was the most commonly involved system, next to CNS (64.13%). Conclusion: In this study, there is a statistically significant association between severity of perinatal asphyxia and severity of HIE. Apgar score at 1 minute is inversely related to the stages of HIE. Though the neonatal factors like male sex, SGA, LGA and perinatal factors like MSAF, PROM, maternal anemia, LSCS, instrumental delivery and breech presentation are associated with the outcome of HIE (sequelae/death), there is no statistically significant association.
Introduction: Given the limitation of non-specific nature of signs, symptoms and physical examination in diagnosing sepsis; especially in young children, a diagnostic marker that will aid in an early diagnosis is needed. Procalcitonin satisfies most of the criteria for smart biomarker of sepsis. The present study is done to compare procalcitonin (PCT) with C-reactive protein (CRP) as a diagnostic marker of sepsis in children. Materials & Methods: A prospective observational study was done in the Department of Paediatrics, ASRAM Medical College and Hospital, Eluru from July 2015 to June 2016. Children admitted to PICU during the above tenure are included in the study. Specific inclusion and exclusion criteria are formulated with a sample size of 100. Procalcitonin level is analyzed by enzyme linked immunoluminometric assay using Elecsys Brahms PCT kit.CRP analysis is done using immunoturbidometry which is a quantitative method. Results: Out of 100 children 72 have sepsis. The mean procalcitonin level in children with sepsis is 19.09 ± 24.53 ng/ml compared to 0.34 ± 0.49 ng/ml in children without sepsis. In comparing sepsis with asepsis, PCT (Cutoff value of 0.58ng/ml) have a better sensitivity (90.3%) and specificity (92.9%) than CRP (Cut off value of 0.7mg/dl) sensitivity of 87.5% and specificity of 57.1%. Conclusion: PCT offers better sensitivity and specificity than CRP, to differentiate sepsis from asepsis. In febrile children PCT is a better diagnostic marker of sepsis than CRP.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.