Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Effect Of Zinc In Tablet And Suspension Formulations In The Treatment Of Acute Diarrhoea Among Young Children In An Emergency Setting Of Earthquake Affected Region Of Pakistan, Muhammad Atif Habib, Sajid Bashir Soofi, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

A longitudinal cohort study was conducted at Camp Hospital Batagram in August 2006 to ascertain the effect of Zinc utilization in tablet and suspension formulations on the frequency and recovery rates of diarrhoea among young children in the emergency settings of earthquake affected region of Pakistan. Two hundred patients were recruited and followed up, the patients were allocated either of the 2 groups i.e. A (zinc in tablets form) and B (zinc in suspension form). Both groups also received WHO recommended treatment for diarrhoea. Most of the cases recovered from the illness within 3 days after presentation. Significant p-values were …

Evaluation Of Health Workforce Competence In Maternal And Neonatal Issues In Public Health Sector Of Pakistan: An Assessment Of Their Training Needs, Shabina Ariff, Sajid B. Soofi, Kamran Sadiq, Asher B. Feroze, Shuaib Khan, Sadiqua N. Jafarey, Nabeela Ali, Zulfiqar A. Bhutta

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: More than 450 newborns die every hour worldwide, before they reach the age of four weeks (neonatal period) and over 500,000 women die from complications related to childbirth. The major direct causes of neonatal death are infections (36%), Prematurity (28%) and Asphyxia (23%). Pakistan has one of the highest perinatal and neonatal mortality rates in the region and contributes significantly to global neonatal mortality. The high mortality rates are partially attributable to scarcity of trained skilled birth attendants and paucity of resources. Empowerment of health care providers with adequate knowledge and skills can serve as instrument of change. Methods: …

Investment In Paediatric Tuberculosis Prevention In Pakistan: Loss Or Gain, Emad Uddin Siddiqui, Kiran Ejaz, Saira Lone, Syed Jamal Raza

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of paediatric tuberculosis prevention, by reevaluation factors in children exposed to tuberculosis from less privileged strata of Pakistan.

METHODS: This cross sectional descriptive study was conducted at National Institute of Child Health, from January 2004 to December 2005. Paediatric patients under 15 years of either gender, diagnosed with active tuberculosis were enrolled. Interviews were conducted with parents regarding common preventive measures and factors advocating tuberculosis spread. Later factors leading to non-compliance to safety recommendations were also evaluated.

RESULTS: Fifty five (70%) children younger than 5 years, had index cases in direct contact within their own …

Successful Management Of Invasive Aspergillosis With Voriconazole And Amphoteracin B Therapy In A Patient With Acute Mycloid Leukemia (Aml-M2), Nauman Fazal Manzoor, Sidra Azim, Zehra Fadoo

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

An eleven-year-old boy presented with one month's history of fever and weight loss. He was diagnosed with Acute Mycloid Leukemia (AML-M2). During treatment he developed recurrent infections with neutropenia requiring prolonged antibiotics and subsequently developed invasive aspergillosis. He was treated with amphotericin B and Voriconazole. This case shows the efficacy and safety of combined antifungal therapy, including voriconazole, for invasive aspergillosis complicating AML.

Congenital Bilateral Choanal Atresi, Ali Faisal Saleem, Shabina Ariff, Nadeem Aslam, Mubasher Ikram

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Congenital choanal atresia (CCA) is the developmental failure of the nasal cavity to communicate with nasopharynx. Surgical repair is recommended in the first weeks of life in bilateral cases because this is a life-threatening situation in newborns. This is a case report of a full-term, healthy newborn baby presenting with intermittent attacks of cyanosis and respiratory distress soon after birth. On examination, alternating cyanosis and normal colour was observed in the infant. The insertion of nasal catheters in both the nares revealed the diagnosis of bilateral CCA. For this rare condition, conservative management was followed with elective transnasal endoscopic repair …

Klebsiella Osteomyelitis Of The Right Humerus Involving The Right Shoulder Joint In An Infant, Maqbool Qadir, Syed Rehan Ali, Mumtaz Lakhani, Pervaiz Hashmi, Ahsen Amirali

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Osteomyelitis in newborn infants is a rare infection. Lower extremity joints are commonly affected. Most of the cases have a haematogenous spread. Aerobes are the common group of organism involved, of which Staphylococcus aureus is the commonest. Klebsiella osteomyelitis has been reported as a cause of Osteomyelitis. However, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of Klebsiella pneumoniae associated osteomyelitis in an infant from Pakistan.

Use Of Miltefosine In The Treatment Of Visceral Leishmaniasis In Children At A Tertiary Care Hospital Of Karachi, Khadija Nuzhat Humayun, Taimur Saleem, Umair Khalid, Fyezah Jehan, Sajid Soofi

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Existing standard treatment options for visceral leishmaniasis are less than optimal. We report here the use of oral miltefosine in the treatment of two paediatric cases of visceral leishmaniasis at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. One patient came from Balochistan while the second patient was from Northern Pakistan. Both presented with a prolonged history of fever, massive hepatosplenomegaly, anaemia and thrombocytopenia. Visceral leishmaniasis was diagnosed with bone marrow studies. Amphotericin B was first started in the first patient; however severe hypokalaemia and allergic reaction occurred. Oral miltefosine was then administered. The child showed clinical improvement with regards to …

Dyssegemental Dyspalsia; Rolland-Desbuquois Type--A Case Report From Pakistan, Bushra Afroze

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Two different forms of dyssegmental dysplasia can be distinguished; the lethal Silverman-Handmaker type and less severe Rolland-Desbuquois type. Patients with Rolland-Desbuquois type often survive beyond neonatal period. The purpose of this paper is to report a rare case of Dyssegmental dysplasia, Rolland-Desbuquois type from Pakistan.

Teaching Paediatric Critical Care Medicine To Paediatric Residents, Anwarul Haque, Rizwan Haider, Muhammad Sohail Salat

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Critical care training during paediatric residency provides an ideal opportunity to learn and refine the skills needed in the early recognition and prompt treatment of the acutely ill paediatric patients. Paediatric critical care medicine is a relatively young sub-specialty in Pakistan. The aim of this study is to describe our experience of teaching paediatric residents in paediatric critical care medicine during paediatric intensive care unit rotation. Our paediatric critical care teaching curriculum for residents is based on the spectrum of our common critical care problems along with basic principal of critical care. The clinical rotation in our paediatric intensive care …

New Approaches To Preventing, Diagnosing, And Treating Neonatal Sepsis, Karen Edmond, Anita K. M. Zaidi

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

No abstract provided.

Efficacy And Safety Of Procedural Sedation And Analgesia By Paediatric Intensivist In Paediatric Oncology Unit, Anwarul Haque, Zahra Fadoo

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Children with cancer especially acute leukaemia undergo multiple painful procedures like bone marrow biopsy (BM) and lumber puncture (LP) for intrathecal chemotherapy during their first year of treatment. The purpose of this study is to report safety and efficacy of Procedural Sedation and Analgesia (PSA) by paediatric intensivist for oncology procedures in controlled setting in paediatric oncology unit. During 20 months, 124 children received PSA for 499 procedures. 324 LP alone, 175 BM alone and 40 combined LP and BM were done. The most common diagnosis was acute leukaemia and lymphoma. All procedures were in compliance with American Society of …

Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy Of Childhood: A Fatal Complication Of Swine Flu, Muhammad Rehan Khan, Prem Kumar Maheshwari, Syed Asad Ali, Anwarul Haque

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Acute necrotizing encephalopathy of childhood (ANEC) is a rare condition characterized by the presence of multifocal symmetrical brain lesions involving mainly thalami, brainstem, cerebellum and white matter. ANEC is a serious and life threatening complication of simple viral infections. We present a case of a young child who developed this condition with classical clinical and radiological findings consistent with ANEC, secondary to swine flu (H1N1). He needed ventilatory support and had profound motor and intellectual deficit on discharge. We report this case with aim of raising awareness about this fatal complication of swine flu which has become a global health …

Clinical Profile And Treatment Of Infantile Spasms Using Vigabatrin And Acth - A Developing Country Perspective, S. H. Ibrahim, Shamshad Gulab, Sidra Ishaque, Taimur Saleem

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: Infantile spasms represent a serious epileptic syndrome that occurs in the early infantile age. ACTH and Vigabatrin are actively investigated drugs in its treatment. This study describes the comparison of their efficacy in a large series of Patients with infantile spasms from Pakistan. Methods: All Patients with infantile spasms who presented to Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan from January, 2006 to April, 2008 were included in this study. Inclusion criteria were clinical symptoms of infantile spasms, hypsarrythmia or modified hyparrythmia on electroencephalography, at least six months of follow-up period and receipt of any of the two drugs mentioned …

Analysis Of The Uk Recommendations On Obesity Based On A Proposed Implementation Framework, Amudha S. Poobalan, Lorna S. Aucott, Sheraz Ahmed, W. Cairns S. Smith

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: There is considerable expertise in the obesity field in identifying, appraising, and synthesising evidence to develop guidelines and recommendations for policy and practice. The recommendations, while based on evidence, are not formulated in a way that readily leads to implementation. This paper analyses the recent UK recommendations on obesity using a proposed implementation framework. Methods: Two bibliographic databases (Medline and Embase) and various health related and government websites were systematically searched for obesity recommendations published between 1996 and 2007. All the documents published on recommendations for either prevention or treatment of obesity in the UK were assessed. A proposed …