Pediatric Reports

631 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A New Way to Measure Mid-Upper-Arm Circumference in African Villages

by Gregor Pollach, Eleanore Bradley, Abigail Cole and Kai Jung

Pediatr. Rep. 2014, 6(2), 5368; https://doi.org/10.4081/pr.2014.5368 - 23 Jun 2014

Viewed by 502

In 2011 we published a study on how to detect the threshold for malnutrition in children, simply using their own hands and without any technical tool. The fight against malnutrition can only be reached when its measurements involve every single child, almost continuously, in the affected villages. In this paper we try to show that, thanks to our method, it is possible to use mid-upper-arm-circumference as a measurement for malnutrition in children, discriminating between severe and moderate malnutrition and providing the basis for the decision on whether to admit a child to a nutritional rehabilitation unit or not. We trained 63 participants in four groups (Group 1: doctors and clinical officers; Group 2: nurses and students; as Group 3 we defined the 20 best participants and Group 4 consisted of 10 more intensely trained participants) to measure the circumference of 9 different artificial arms (between 9 and 13 cm) using their own fingers and hands. The training was short and consisted of an introduction of 5 min, a first training phase of 10-15 min, a test, the critical discussion of the results, a second training phase of 5 min and a final test. We found that 95.3% of participants in the general group and 97.9% in the intensely trained group have identified the severely malnourished child; 87.3% in the general group and 91.9% in the intensely trained group have additionally identified the moderately malnourished child. Both groups haven’t admitted the well nourished child to a therapeutic feeding program retaining their resources. The third group reached without any additional training the results in the above categories. A subsequent discussion with the participants on the influence of procurement, maintenance and pricing of our tool, found our method much less vulnerable than others. We conclude that this method should be considered as a future training in the villages to detect the trend towards malnutrition early enough. Full article

573 KiB

Open AccessCase Report

Two Cases of Esophageal Eosinophilia: Eosinophilic Esophagitis or Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease?

by Ozlem Yilmaz, Hacer Ilbilge Ertoy Karagol, Erdem Topal, Aysel Unlusoy Aksu, Odul Egritas, Ipek Isık Gonul and Arzu Bakirtas

Pediatr. Rep. 2014, 6(2), 5160; https://doi.org/10.4081/pr.2014.5160 - 16 Jun 2014

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 426

Abstract

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and gastro-esophageal reflux disease are among the major causes of isolated esophageal eosinophilia. Isolated esophageal eosinophilia meeting criteria for EoE may respond to proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatment. This entity is termed proton pumps inhibitor responsive esophageal eosinophilia (PPI-REE). Gastro-esophageal reflux is thought to comprise a subgroup of patients with PPI-REE. According to the latest guidelines, PPI responsiveness distinguishes people with PPI-REE from patients having EoE (non-responders). In this report, two unusual cases with findings belonging to both EoE and PPI-REE are discussed with known and unknown facts. Full article

530 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Role of Prophylaxis of Bacterial Infections in Children with Acute Leukemia/non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

by Elio Castagnola

Pediatr. Rep. 2014, 6(2), 5332; https://doi.org/10.4081/pr.2014.5332 - 13 Jun 2014

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 375

Abstract

Infections represent a well-known complication of antineoplastic chemotherapy that may cause delay of treatment, with alteration of the antineoplastic program and dose-intensity, or even the death of a patient that could heal from his/her neoplasia. Bacterial infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients who are neutropenic following chemotherapy for malignancy. Therefore a program of antibiotic prophylaxis for febrile neutropenia may be considered in the management strategy of cancer patients. Full article

648 KiB

Open AccessCase Report

Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum in a Newborn with Turner Mosaicism

by Ester Pereira, Monica Rebollo Polo, Jordi Muchart López, Thais Agut Quijano, Alfredo García-Alix and Carmen Fons

Pediatr. Rep. 2014, 6(2), 5112; https://doi.org/10.4081/pr.2014.5112 - 06 May 2014

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 351

Abstract

The agenesis of the corpus callosum results from a failure in the development of the largest fiber bundle that connects cerebral hemispheres. Patient’s outcome is influenced by etiology and associated central nervous system malformations. We describe a child with Turner syndrome (TS) mosaicism, with particular phenotype features and a complete agenesis of the corpus callosum. To our knowledge, this is the second case report of TS mosaicism associated with complete agenesis of the corpus callosum. Anatomical brain magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging were useful to confirm the complete absence of the corpus callosum, evaluate associated central nervous system malformations, visualize abnormal white matter tracts (Probst bundles) and assess the remaining commissures. Full article

628 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation on 2331 Cases of Pulled Elbow over the Last 10 Years

by Takashi Irie, Takashi Sono, Yousuke Hayama, Taiichi Matsumoto and Mutsumi Matsushita

Pediatr. Rep. 2014, 6(2), 5090; https://doi.org/10.4081/pr.2014.5090 - 06 May 2014

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 668

Abstract

Pulled elbow is a common upper extremity injury in children. We present a retrospective study of 2331 pulled elbow cases examined in our hospital over the last ten years. All pediatric patients with a diagnosis of pulled elbow from January 2002 to December 2011 were retrospectively reviewed according to sex, age, affected arm, recurrence rate, mechanism of injury and treatment outcomes. There is no significant sex difference. The frequency of injury peaked for both boys and girls at 6 months and 2 years of age. The left arm was more affected than the right. The recurrence rate was 14%. In about 50% of cases, the cause of injury was forcible traction to the forearm. Almost all of the splinted patients, caused by severe pain or lack of mobility of the affected limb following reduction, recovered within 2 weeks, but 2 were later diagnosed with a fracture. For infants less than 1 year old, injury can often occur when rolling over. For children 1 year old or older the left arm is more commoly affected, and the frequency of injuries to the left arm increases with age, possibly because the left hand is commonly held by the guardian’s dominant right hand and faster development of muscle strength in the child’s dominant right arm works toward preventing injury to that arm with age. Full article

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Pediatr. Rep., Volume 6, Issue 2 (May 2014) – 5 articles

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