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Background: Neonatal polycythemia is a condition that is incidentally encountered in clinical practice. It is characterized by elevated hemoglobin levels (above 22 g/dL) and hematocrit ratios above 65%. It is important to understand both the prevalence as well as the related risk factors of this condition as untreated preventable risk factors can result in the development of hyperviscosity syndromes leading to potential multiple organ failure. Prevalence and Risk Factors: Risk factors include the presence of twin-to-twin transfusion, pre-eclampsia, maternal hypertension, operator-dependent cord clamping, and the presence of co-morbid conditions in neonates. The prevalence of neonatal polycythemia varies among regions and factors that may affect this variation include elevation above sea level of the patient and the mother, management of perinatal conditions such as gestational diabetes mellitus, and the method of delivery. Conclusions: From this study, it is evident that not only do existing neonatal and maternal risk factors such as twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome and post-term deliveries, respectively, increase the risk of neonatal polycythemia but also the geographical and socioeconomic status are major factors. It is therefore imperative to conduct more thorough large-scale cohort studies to further understand the reasons for this.

The present study was undertaken to evaluate and compare the skeletal, dental, and soft tissue changes in skeletal Class II division 1 cases treated with Twin Block and Clear Block appliances using a cephalogram. A total of 40 patients of age between 12-14 years were randomly divided into two equal groups. Group 1: treated with Twin Block appliance and Group 2: treated with Clear Block appliance. The pre-treatment lateral cephalogram was taken and skeletal, dental, and soft tissue parameters were evaluated and the appliance was delivered. After 8 months, another lateral cephalogram of all the cases was taken and analyzed. The pre and post-treatment values were compared between the two groups. The pre-treatment cases were almost comparable in skeletal, dental, and soft tissue features in both groups. There was a significant change in mandibular growth by SNB angle. The retrusion and extrusion of maxillary incisors as well as a proclination and extrusion of mandibular incisors were seen in group 1 while no change was observed in group 2. Treatment with Clear Block appliances has shown significant and favorable Skeletal, Dental and Soft tissue changes which are similar to already proven by the Twin Block appliance. Clear Block provides an esthetic and less bulky option for growth modification with similar results as compared to conventional Twin Block with the additional benefit of preventing lower incisor proclination.