Causes of deaths in immigrants to England and Wales from the Indian subcontinent were assessed by ethnic subgroup. Observed and expected deaths for 1975-7 were aggregated to calculate proportional mortality ratios.

CONTEXT: Studies have suggested that human milk feeding decreases the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP); however, conflicting results have been reported. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this meta-analysis was to pool currently available data on incidence of ROP in infants fed human milk versus formula.DATA SOURCES: Medline, PubMed, and EBSCO were searched for articles published through February 2015.STUDY SELECTION: Longitudinal studies comparing the incidence of ROP in infants who were fed human milk and formula were selected. Studies involving donor milk were not included.DATA EXTRACTION: Two independent reviewers conducted the searches and extracted data. Metaanalysis used odds ratios (ORs), and subgroup analyses were performed.RESULTS: Five studies with 2208 preterm infants were included. Searches including various proportions of human milk versus formula, any-stage ROP, and severe ROP were defined to pool data for analyses. LIMITATIONS: Prospective randomized studies being impossible because of ethical issues, we chose observational studies for analysis. A few studies involving subgroup analyses presented high heterogeneity.CONCLUSIONS: Based on current limited evidence, in very preterm newborns, human milk feeding potentially plays a protective role in preventing any-stage ROP and severe ROP.

IMPORTANCEThe overwhelming majority of fetal and neonatal deaths occur in low-and middleincome countries. Fetal and neonatal risk assessment tools may be useful to predict the risk of death. OBJECTIVE To develop risk prediction models for intrapartum stillbirth and neonatal death.

Kangaroo mother care with and without Music therapy (with expressed breast milk) significantly reduces pain on heel-prick as compared to expressed breast milk alone. Kangaroo mother care with expressed breast milk should be the first choice as a method for pain control in preterm neonates.

Objective. Children have limited physiological reserve that deteriorates rapidly. Present study profiled patients admitted to PICU and determined PIM2 score applicability in Indian setting. Patients and Methods. Prospective observational study. Results. In 742 consecutive admissions, male : female ratio was 1.5 : 1, 35.6% patients were ventilated, observed mortality was 7%, and 26.4% were <1 year. The profile included septicemia and septic shock (29.6%), anemia (27.1%), pneumonia (19.6%), and meningitis and encephalitis (17.2%). For the first year, sensitivity of PIM2 was 65.8% and specificity was 71% for cutoff value at 1.9 by ROC curve analysis. The area under the curve was 0.724 (95% CI: 0.69, 0.76). This cutoff was validated for second year data yielding similar sensitivity (70.6%) and specificity (65%). Logistic regression analysis (LRA) over entire data revealed various variables independently associated with mortality along with PIM2 score. Another logistic model with same input variables except PIM2 yielded the same significant variables with Nagelkerke R square of 0.388 and correct classification of 78.5 revealing contribution of PIM2 in predicting mortality is meager. Conclusion. Infectious diseases were the commonest cause of PICU admission and mortality. PIM2 scoring did not explain the outcome adequately, suggesting need for recalibration. Following PALS/GEM guidelines was associated with better outcome.

SSC and Sucrose have comparable efficacy in managing pain in premature neonates.

Vaccination is amongst the best strategies to improve child survival and reduce morbidity. Vaccines represent the most cost effective and simple intervention to protect against distressing epidemics. There are mortality and morbidity related benefits derived from preventing infectious diseases through vaccination; these include financial benefits by avoiding hospitalization, preventing long-term disability and increased productivity. Ever since the invention of the first vaccine against smallpox by Edward Jenner in 1796, vaccination has become indispensable healthcare intervention and has saved millions of lives. Due to significant scientific progress, many vaccines are available and numerous are anticipated; however, vaccine preventable infectious diseases are still prevalent. Due to rapid pace of developments in the field of vaccination, providers must continue to update their knowledge. The present review is aimed at helping general practitioners understand routine vaccinations, their considerations, issues and side effects.

Low- and middle-income countries contribute to the overwhelming majority of the global perinatal and neonatal mortality. There is a growing amount of literature focused on interventions aimed at reducing the healthcare gaps and thereby reducing perinatal and neonatal mortality in low- and middle-income countries. The current review synthesizes available evidence for interventions that have shown to improve perinatal and neonatal outcomes. Reduction in important gaps in the availability and utilization of perinatal care practices is needed to end preventable deaths of newborns.