Introduction: Febrile seizure is one of the most common paediatric emergencies encountered in a paediatric practice. There have been studies done with regards to iron deficiency anaemia and family history and chances of a child developing febrile seizure. Many studies state that vitamin D has a role in development of brain and seizure activity. Aim: To find the association between Vitamin D levels and febrile seizures in children and assessing the nutritional status of children with febrile seizures. Materials and Methods: Fifty consecutive children (developmentally normal), between ages of 9-60 months, presenting with febrile seizures to the Paediatric Department, from February 2019 to January 2020, were enrolled. Antenatal history regarding birth order, maternal weight gain, antenatal check-ups, antenatal supplements and medical problems in mother if any, were noted. Birth history, birth weight, breast feeding, complimentary feeding and present diet history were noted. The height and weight were documented. Skin colour was noted based on Fitzpatrick scale. Vitamin D levels were classified as deficient if blood levels were <10 IU; insufficient if between 10-30 IU and sufficient, if the levels were >30 IU. Collected data were analysed and compared using Sigma Plot 13 and Chi-square test was done and a p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Vitamin D insufficiency was prevalent in 68% of children. The dark skin, reduced time spent outdoors, clothing habits and diet and antenatal factors contribute to this vitamin D insufficiency. A 58% of children had Height for Age Z (HAZ) score less than -1SD and 62% of children had Weight for Age Z (WAZ) score less than -1SD. On correlating the Complete Blood Count (CBC) values with iron deficiency, it was found that 56% of children with febrile seizure had anaemia based on Red-cell Distribution Width (RDW) value >14.5. Febrile seizure was less common in summer (16%). Conclusion: A 68% of children had vitamin D insufficiency. A 56% of children had low iron based on RDW. The nutritional status of children was poor as assessed by HAZ and WAZ scores.
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is the most common arthritis of childhood. It represents a group of disorders that share the clinical manifestation of chronic joint inflammation. The etiology is unknown, and the genetic component is complex, making clear distinctions between the various subtype is also difficult. As a result, the various sets of classification criteria that have been recognized have different benefits and limitations. A new nomenclature, Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), is being increasingly used in order to define the subgroups better.
Background: Developing countries have an increased burden of communicable diseases which are influenced by poor personal hygiene practices. Hand washing, especially with soap and water as an effective intervention to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Despite the proven effectiveness, the practice of effective hand washing is found to be poor in developing countries. This study is aimed at assessing the knowledge and practice of hand washing among school students Methods Design and Setting: An institution-based cross sectional study was carried out among 440 students in a school in South India. A validated semi-structured questionnaire containing 36 questions was used to collect the required data after getting a consent. Place of study: Schools around Saveetha medical college hospital, a tertiary care teaching hospital in Chennai. Results: The study was conducted among 440 students among which 255 were boys and 186 were girls. Majority of children in the population have general know the importance of hand washing in day to day life as 88.18% (n= 388). The awareness about the substance that they use for washing their hands, the time at which they washed their hands, the reason for hand washing, the awareness about infections prevented by hand washing, the awareness about hand washing technique and the steps involved, the availability of soap or sanitizer in the school were all studied and children showed good knowledge and practice about hand washing. Conclusions: To conclude, the knowledge regarding hand washing is good, but the practice of hand washing and hand washing with soap and water after using the toilet is poor.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.