The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to wreak havoc globally during the second wave. Even though it tends to be asymptomatic or cause only a trivial illness in children, it is reported to be associated with a delayed hyper-inflammatory response syndrome resulting in multi-organ dysfunction in children. It is possible that through unknown mechanisms, it could also result in triggering of other auto-immune disorders. We report a case of pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with lupus nephritis suspected to be triggered by SARS-CoV-2 virus which is not reported in the literature so far.

Unlike benign primary cardiac tumors like rhabdomyomas and fibromas, primary malignant tumors are extremely rare in children with very few cases reports in the literature so far. Rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare primary malignant tumor in children with most reported cases occurring in the right heart. We report a 15-month-old child with a primary rhabdomyosarcoma arising from the left ventricle and presenting with cardiac tamponade and circulatory failure. He underwent a diagnostic sternotomy and palliative chemotherapy but succumb to the disease later.

Background: Adequate nutrition during pregnancy and lactation is pivotal for wellbeing of newborn infants. However, presence of traditional beliefs and taboos associated with food intake during pregnancy and lactation could interfere with nutritional needs of growing infants resulting in a variety of nutritional disorders. Our objective was to study the prevalence of dietary restrictions and food taboos practiced by lactating women from five costal districts of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.Methods:It was a descriptive and observational study, conducted between November 2020 to January 2021 at the Children’s Heart Institute, Andhra Hospitals, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. The study was conducted on mothers attending the out-patient clinic of pediatric cardiology department using convenient sampling technique. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect the data.Results: A total of 161 mothers have participated in the survey and, almost all of them (99.3%) have restricted one or more food item during lactation. Age of the mother, level of education and socio-economic status have no bearing on the prevalence of food restrictions and food taboos. Most commonly restricted food items include sweets, fruits, leafy vegetables, yogurt, some pulses, eggs and nuts. The concept of hot and cold food items is highly prevalent in the study population and lactating mothers have no knowledge of the nutritive value of the foods avoided/restricted.Conclusions:Food restrictions and taboos associated with food intake during post-partum period are widespread in our study population. Improving girl child education and campaigning through print and digital media are important tools in fighting against harmful traditional practices interfering with adequate nutrition during pregnancy and lactation.

Primary cardiac tumors are rare in children, usually consist of benign tumors like rhabdomyomas and fibromas that may spontaneously regress. Primary malignant tumors are extremely rare even in adults and very few paediatric cases were reported in literature. Rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare primary malignant tumor in children and most of the reported cases occur in right ventricle, left atrium and right atrium. We report a 15 month old child with primary rhabdomyosarcoma of left ventricle presenting in cardiac tamponade and circulatory failure.

We report an 11-year-old female child presenting with hemorrhagic pericardial effusion causing cardiac tamponade along with moderate left ventricular dysfunction, who screened positive for Coxsackie B infection in the setting of cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain. She needed emergency pericardiocentesis. She also had massive bilateral hemorrhagic pleural effusions requiring bilateral chest drains placement. With a presumed diagnosis of acute myopericarditis, she was treated with steroids and ibuprofen. She made a full recovery without any further recurrence of pericardial or pleural effusion.