Stroke in Pediatric Diabetic Ketoacidosis: Case Series.

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) can present with various neurological complications, but stroke is rare. Here, we present three children with recent-onset diabetes with DKA, two of them had deep coma not responding to standard DKA regimen and the third one had seventh nerve palsy noted after recovering from coma. Computed tomography scan of head showed hemorrhage in the area of midbrain in one patient and infarcts in two patients. In any child of DKA with severe neurological impairment, possibility of stroke should be entertained.

Clinical predictors of hospital admission in acute lower respiratory tract infection in 2 months to 2-year-old children.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRI) are a common cause of paediatric emergency visits in young children. We studied risk factors for hospitalization and developed a clinical score for predicting hospitalization among 2 months to 2-year-old children with ALRI. METHODS: We conducted this prospective cohort study in the paediatric emergency department of a tertiary-care teaching hospital in India. Consecutive children, aged 2 months to 2 years with ALRI were enrolled from 15 December 2011 to 14 December 2012. A total of 26 a priori identified, putative risk factors were studied among enrolled children. We determined independent predictors of hospital admission (primary outcome) through multi-variable logistic regression analysis and assimilated them into a clinical risk score using regression coefficients. RESULTS: A total of 240 children (130 admissions) with ALRI were enrolled. Eleven clinical risk factors, which displayed association with hospital admission on univariate analysis (P < 0.1), were entered into multi-variable logistic regression analysis. Five factors retained independent association and were incorporated in a predictive score for hospitalization: tachypnoea (score of 5), chest retractions (score of 3), temperature > 37.8°C (score of 3), SpO2 < 92% at room air (score of 4), GCS < 15 (score of 6). Area under the receiver operator characteristic curve was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.75-0.85, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Five clinical risk factors-tachypnoea, chest retractions, fever > 37.8°C, SpO2 < 92% and GCS < 15-independently predicted hospital admission in infants with ALRI. A novel clinical score predicting hospital admission is presented.

Pseudoaneurysm of aorta after transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus.

Aortic pseudoaneurysm is a rare but life-threatening complication after transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) with only a few reported cases in literature. We report a case of an 18-month-old child who was diagnosed to have pseudoaneurysm of the aorta after 6 months of transcatheter closure of PDA. It was diagnosed on routine follow-up on echocardiography evaluation. Computed tomography chest is the imaging modality of choice for evaluation of these patients which showed large saccular aneurysm arising from distal aortic arch beyond origin of left subclavian artery. Any aneurysm more than 30 mm should be treated irrespective of symptoms. Treatment modalities are surgical resection of the aneurysm (as in our patient) or thoracic endovascular aortic repair. In our case, surgical resection of aneurysm was performed. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12055-023-01619-z.

Angiotensin Receptor and Neprylisin Inhibitor: A new drug in pediatric cardiologist's armamentarium.

Heart failure due to congenital heart disease and cardiomyopathies is a significant burden in the pediatric population. Pharmacological strategies for the management of pediatric heart failure are largely based on the extrapolation of adult data and Delphi process based on expert opinion. There are differences in the etiology, clinical course, and outcome of pediatric heart failure as compared to adult, thus the results of adult heart failure trials cannot be simply extrapolated to pediatric patients. There have been a lot of newer drugs for adults with heart failure, but there is a void for pediatric population with heart failure due to many reasons. Early results of multi-centric randomized control PANORAMA HF Trial and subsequent Food and Drug Administration approval for Angiotensin Receptor and Neprylisin Inhibitor (Sacubitril / Valsartan) for pediatric patients have tried to fill in this void and paved the way for a newer class of drugs for heart failure with proven benefits in pediatric patients.

Abernethy malformation: Our experience from a tertiary cardiac care center and review of literature.

Abernethy malformation, also called as congenital extrahepatic portosystemic venous shunt, is a rare anomaly involving the portal venous system. Although rare, it is increasingly being reported and is important to diagnose given the adverse clinical consequences in untreated patients. It has myriad of clinical presentations, from being completely asymptomatic to causing hepatic carcinoma, hepatic encephalopathy, severe pulmonary hypertension, and diffuse pulmonary arteriovenous malformation. We describe our experience with five cases in a tertiary pediatric cardiac care center with Abernethy malformation, with review of literature and also discuss possible therapeutic implications.

Vitamin D Status in Mothers and Their Newborns and Its Association with Pregnancy Outcomes: Experience from a Tertiary Care Center in Northern India.

OBJECTIVE: Study was planned to know vitamin D status in mothers and their newborns and effect of vitamin D deficiency on pregnancy outcome. Study design: Two hundred consecutive pregnant women with singleton pregnancy admitted to the labor ward of a tertiary care center were recruited for the study. Maternal and cord blood samples were taken and analyzed for 25(OH) D level. Maternal and fetal outcomes were studied. RESULTS: High prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was found among pregnant women. Eighty-six percentage had vitamin D deficiency, 9.5% had insufficiency, and only 4.5% had sufficient vitamin D level. Women with preeclampsia had statistically significant vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency as compared to patients who had normal blood pressure levels (p = 0.04). Cesarean section rate was significantly higher in patients with vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency compared to sufficient group (p = 0.004). Cord blood 25(OH) D levels strongly correlated with maternal serum 25 (OH) D levels (p = 0.001, correlation coefficient r = 0.84). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a very high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D among pregnant women and excellent correlation between maternal and fetal 25(OH) D levels. Hypovitaminosis D was associated with preeclampsia, increased Cesarean rate, and low birth weight babies.

An atypical case of parotid gland swelling and arthritis in a child.

BACKGROUND: Early onset sarcoidosis is a rarely reported disease in children. CASE CHARACTERISTICS: 2½-year-old girl with chronic enlargement of bilateral parotid glands and polyarthritis. OBSERVATION: Biopsy of salivary gland revealed non-caseating granuloma. OUTCOME: Polyarthritis and salivary gland swelling resolved completely after starting oral corticosteroids. MESSAGE: Sarcoidosis is an important differential diagnosis in young children with joint and salivary gland involvement.