Can Flip-Chart Assisted Maternal Education Improve Essential New Born Care Knowledge and Skills? A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Despite the implementation of essential newborn care (ENC) by the World Health Organization, knowledge gaps among postpartum women persist. Inappropriate breastfeeding practices and lack of knowledge regarding ENC among mothers has resulted in higher neonatal mortality. PURPOSE: Our study focused on evaluating the effectiveness of flip-chart assisted postpartum maternal education in improving ENC knowledge and skills. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A single blind parallel randomized controlled trial was carried out with 120 primigravidae. Participants were allocated to the intervention group (IG) or the control group (CG) by block randomization. A pretested validated questionnaire was administered to participants in both groups within 24 h post-delivery. Women in the IG were provided flip-chart assisted education regarding ENC approximately 24 h post-delivery. Women in both groups received verbal advice on ENC from the postnatal ward nurses, as per the existing hospital policy. ENC skills were observed in all participants in postnatal wards by independent observers. 6 months later, knowledge retention was assessed and analyzed in both groups. RESULTS: Antenatal education remained at 32% among all postnatal women. Postnatal flip-chart-assisted maternal education had a significant impact on ENC skills in the IG (p < 0.01) and precipitated higher knowledge scores at the end of 6 months (p < 0.01) in the IG. CONCLUSION FOR PRACTICE: Flip-chart assisted education soon after delivery had a sustained effect on ENC knowledge and practices that persisted for 6 months post-delivery.

Pseudoachondroplasia: Phenotype and genotype in 11 Indian patients.

Pseudoachondroplasia (PSACH) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by rhizomelic short-limbed skeletal dysplasia. The primary clinical and radiographic features include disproportionate dwarfism, joint laxity and hyperextensibility, exaggerated lumbar lordosis, and late ossification of the epiphyses. Identification of disease-causing variants in heterozygous state in COMP establishes the molecular diagnosis of PSACH. We examined 11 families with clinical features suggestive of PSACH. In nine families, we used Sanger sequencing of exons 8-19 of COMP (NM_000095.2) and in two families exome sequencing was used for confirming the diagnosis. We identified 10 de novo variants, including five known variants (c.925G>A, c.976G>A, c.1201G>T, c.1417_1419del, and c.1511G>A) and five variants (c.874T>C, c.1201G>C, c.1309G>A, c.1416_1421delCGACAA, and c.1445A>T) which are not reported outside Indian ethnicity. We hereby report the largest series of individuals with molecular diagnosis of PSACH from India and reiterate the well-known genotype-phenotype corelation in PSACH.

Resource limited centres can deliver treatment for children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with risk-stratified minimal residual disease based UKALL 2003 protocol with no modification and a good outcome.

OBJECTIVES: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignancy in children. With improved supportive care and a better understanding of the disease biology, it is now a curable cancer in the developed world. However, in low-income countries, the cure rate remains relatively poor. We report our experience on the survival of children with ALL treated on the MRD-based risk-stratified UKALL 2003 protocol, from a center in South India. METHODS: All consecutive children diagnosed with ALL between years 2013 and 2019 were included in this retrospective study. All received uniform treatment as per the UKALL 2003 protocol based on NCI risk and post-induction MRD status. All the details including the type of leukemia, NCI risk status, date of diagnosis, treatment start date, the regimen, MRD status, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, and complications were captured. Analysis was done using prism GraphPad version 8.0. RESULTS: A total of 107 children were started on treatment during this period. The majority of them were boys (68/107). Fifty-nine of them were NCI standard risk (55%). B-ALL was the most common type (92%).Total of 56/107(52.3%) children received treatment under the government's insurance scheme for low-income bracket. The post-induction MRD was performed in 95/107 children. It was >0.01% in 22% (21/95) of children. Five (4.7%) children relapsed so far with a mean follow up of 27 months from the diagnosis. There were 17 deaths (15.9%). The EFS at 3 years was 85% (95% CI 75% to 92%). CONCLUSION: It is feasible to deliver chemotherapy as per the UKALL2003 protocol without any modifications in resource-limited setting. The survival rates have significantly improved over the years in our center from 5 years EFS of 60% in 2010 and now to 3 year EFS of 85%. It is important to note that there was no treatment abandonment in our cohort.

Metabolic Syndrome in Childhood: Rare Case of Alstrom Syndrome with Blindness.

Alstrom's syndrome (AS) is a rare autosomal recessive ciliopathic condition affecting 1:10,00,000 children. It's a single gene disorder of ALMS1 on chromosome 2 with multisystem involvement with cone-rod retinal dystrophy causing juvenile blindness, obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 Diabetes mellitus, hypogonadism and sensorineural hearing loss. Till now only 800 patients with this disorder has been identified so far. In this report, we describe the case of a 9-year old male boy from south India. He had been initially referred for polyphagia, polyuria, polydipsia, generalized weakness from 1 weeks. On examination he was demonstrated features suggestive of AS, including blindness, obesity, type 2 diabetes, altered lipid profile, hypogonadism, acanthosis nigricans, seborrheic dermatitis, right ear discharge and episodes of respiratory tract infections. So, diagnosis of AS is critical as it can easily be overlooked because of the many features associated with metabolic syndrome starting at age 7, a relatively early age.

A Rare Case of Fetus within a Fetus.

We present a case of a 45-day-old baby brought to our paediatric outpatient department with complaints of abdominal distension. The prenatal ultrasonographic examination showed a large cystic intrabdominal mass with internal calcifications.

Papilloma of lip associated with human papilloma viruses-32 infection in a child.

Squamous papilloma is the most common benign oral epithelial lesion, and it is well known to be associated with human papilloma virus 6 and 11. Here, we report a case of squamous papilloma associated with human papilloma viruses (HPV)-32 in a 4-year-old boy who presented with a verrucous lesion on the lower lip. HPV-32 is often associated with a rare benign condition focal epithelial hyperplasia (FEH). A limited number of lesions and the absence of characteristic histology ruled out FEH in our patient. To the best of our knowledge, the association of oral squamous papilloma with HPV-32 is hitherto unreported.

Mediastinal enteric cyst in a neonate.

Mediastinal enteric cysts are relatively uncommon, and patients tend to present at a later age compared to those with duplications in other areas of alimentary canal. The tendency of enteric cyst to enlarge and produce airway obstruction is sufficient reason for early surgical removal. We report on a case of mediastinal enteric cyst in a neonate with respiratory distress for its early presentation and management. The embryological basis and anatomical issues relating to duplication cysts of the gastrointestinal tract is discussed.

Transient myeloproliferative disorder and eosinophilic pericardial effusion in a down syndrome neonate.

Transient myeloproliferative disorder seen in neonates with Down syndrome is often thought to have a benign course. The authors describe the clinical and laboratory profile of a neonate with Down phenotype and transient myeloproliferative disorder with pericardial effusion as co-morbidity. Pericardial fluid analysis showed eosinophils. Pericardial effusion resolved with prednisolone therapy. Regression in hepatosplenomegaly with clearance of blasts was seen by third week of illness. The clinical course suggested a benign infiltration of the pericardium. Presence of eosinophils supports the differentiating capability of the blast cells in transient myeloproliferative disorders.