Gain in growth after surgical repair of congenital heart disease among children with Down syndrome.

Down syndrome (DS) is a common genetic disorder among Saudi children, for which limited data is available on growth for those who undergo surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD). We assessed the magnitude of growth over time following surgery and the factors associated with growth change. Eighty-eight children with DS and CHD who underwent surgery between 2009 and 2017 at the tertiary children's hospital in Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia, were eligible. Information on gender, height, and weight (at surgery, 6 and 12 months), age at surgery, and type of CHD were abstracted from the medical records. Repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for data analysis. The sample's mean age (SD) was 16.2 months (20.1); 47% were male. Height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) increased significantly at both follow-up points. There was a significant interaction between age at surgery, type of heart disease, and time for all three physical indices (p-values <0.001). The increase in height, weight, and BMI was significantly greater for children ≤8 months old with acyanotic CHD compared to children >8 months with cyanotic CHD. Overall, the gain in growth was greater for the children with DS who had had surgery at a younger age.

Accuracy of transcutaneous bilirubinometry in the preterm infants: a comprehensive meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) measurement is widely used in term babies. But its effectiveness till debated in preterm infants. So, our objective was to pool data to see the accuracy of transcutaneous bilirubinometry in preterm infants. METHOD: MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library database were searched from 2000 to July 2017. The included studies had compared TcB with total serum bilirubin (TSB) in preterm infants before phototherapy and data were presented as correlation coefficients. Data were extracted by two reviewers and checked for accuracy by the third reviewer. The risk bias assessments were done by an assessment quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies tool. Pooled correlation coefficient assed after Fisher's z transformation and then converted to r. RESULTS: We included 28 studies; all those studies reported results as correlation coefficients. In combination of both sternal and forehead site measurement, our pooled estimates of r = 0.82 (95% CI: 0.78-0.85) in random effect and r = 0.803 (95% CI: 0.78-0.81) in fixed effect model. For separate sites of measurement of TcB pooled r for forehead and sternum were comparable, r = 0.82 (95% CI: 0.78-0.85), and pooled correlation coefficient for the two devices JM103 and Bilicheck the estimated pooled r were also comparable (Pooled r = 0.83). CONCLUSION: Our study found that TcB measurement is well related with TSB values and can represent a reliable method for evaluating preterm infants with possible hyperbilirubinemia. Our findings support the use of investigated devices at both forehead and sternum sites in preterm infants.

Cefpodoxime proxetil compared with cefixime for treatment of typhoid fever in children.

In order to evaluate clinical and bacteriological efficacy of Cefpodoxime Proxetil (CP) in typhoid fever in comparison to cefixime (CF), we assessed 140 children with suspected typhoid fever. Fulfilling inclusion criteria finally 40 culture confirmed typhoid fever were allocated in randomized double blind clinical trial (RCT) to receive therapy with either oral CP (16 mg/kg/day, n = 21) or oral CF (20 mg/kg/day, n = 19) for 10 days. The two groups were comparable in their clinical and baseline characteristics. The clinical efficacy was similar in the two groups with only 2 (one in each group) clinical failures and all showing bacteriological eradication on subsequent blood culture. The time of defervescence was comparable in both groups (4.87 Fluconazole Prophylaxis against Fungal Colonization and Invasive Fungal Infection in Very Low Birth Weight Infants 2.33 vs 4.27 +/- 2.28 days, P = 0.308), with no relapse during 3 months follow up and no significant adverse effect. CP reduced the treatment cost by 33% in comparison to cefixime. Our study suggests CP is effective, safe and cheaper oral option for treatment of typhoid fever in children.