Introduction Brain tumors are the most common solid neoplasms and the second most common malignancy in the pediatric age group. Due to the complexity of their management, pediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumors are not a priority in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). Methods In an attempt to improve the survival rate and overall care, we introduced a dedicated pediatric neuro‐oncology service in our institute and evaluated its impact by dividing the pre‐ and post‐era into two cohorts and comparing them: 1998–2013 (16 years: cohort A) and 2014–2019 (6 years: cohort B, after the start of dedicated neuro‐oncology services). Results We observed that after the implementation of a proper neuro‐oncology service, the proportion of patients treated with curative intent increased, and survival improved in cohort B. The patient volume also increased from 15.5 per year in cohort A to 44.8 per year in cohort B. The percentage of children given radiation therapy also increased significantly, while the proportion of children treated with chemotherapy remained stable. Conclusion A dedicated multidisciplinary team trained and knowledgeable in the specialty of pediatric neuro‐oncology can enhance and improve outcomes, and supportive care and help can provide good quality of life to children and their families with brain neoplasms.

The successful outcome of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) in aplastic anemia patients is driven by suitable donor selection, appropriate conditioning regimen, early intervention, and optimal supportive care after transplant. Pakistan, being a developing country, faces grave economic challenges due to meager health care budget; therefore, cost constraints remain the foremost impediment in optimizing transplant facilities for socioeconomically deprived patients. We conducted a single-center retrospective analysis of aplastic anemia patients ( N = 130 ), who received matched sibling donor transplants from 2011 to 2019, treated with either fludarabine/cyclophosphamide (Flu/Cy) or antithymocyte globulin/cyclophosphamide (ATG/CY) conditioning regimen. Median age was 16 years (IQR, 11-20), and it ranged from 3 to 48 years. The median time from diagnosis to transplant was 3 months (IQR, 2 to 4), and it ranged from 1 to 8 months. The estimated overall survival (OS), relapse-free survival (RFS), and GvHD-free survival (GFS) were found to be 69.0%, 66.7%, and 64.3% in the ATG/Cy group while 76.1%, 72.7%, and 62.5% in the Flu/Cy group, respectively, after a median follow-up of 30 months (IQR, 8 to 55), and it ranged from 0 to 98 months for the study groups. The Flu/Cy regimen was well tolerated and was not associated with increased risk of GvHD. Hence, it may be an appropriate alternative conditioning regimen for developing countries with limited health care resources.

The pessimistic community and emotional consequence of childhood obesity together with being liked to a less significant extent by peers, being rejected by peers, and being the victims of various structure of peer violence such as bullying are a major teenage dilemma. Bullying comprises of a variety of actions that result in a disparity of supremacy involving the assailant and the sufferer. Bullying was evaluated by Olweus Bullying Questionnaire (OBQ) and BMI was estimated by Childhood Obesity Working Group of the International Obesity Task Force. In response to the question how often you bullied at school in past couple of months 38.81% students replied once or twice, 9% students replied several times a week, 6.2% students replied once a week. BMI categories (Normal Weight/Overweight and Obese) was compared with the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire, I as hit, kicked, punched, thrown around the door on chi square test which showed statistically significant results (p=0.036). Bullying was significantly associated with obese school children. There should be proper knowledge and understanding of students regarding what bully actually is and report to their teachers and parents.

Pure white cell aplasia (PWCA), also known as agranulocytosis without granulopoiesis, is an uncommon condition that causes neutropenia. If linked with thymomas or medication-induced PWCA, surgical thymectomy or drug cessation may be therapeutically helpful. Here we present the case of an adult 18-year-old male came at The Indus Hospital and Health Network (IHHN) , Karachi in-patient department (IPD) with a complaint of colicky abdominal pain and loose stools for 10 days that were watery in consistency and large in amount, 6-7 episodes per day, for which he was taking flagyl. 5 days later, the patient developed high grade fever (102°F) with on and off chills that regressed on antipyretic. The patient also had decreased appetite and 2-3 episodes of vomiting. He had a history of dengue fever and Posterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery (PICA).Laboratory work-up revealed that he had been suffering from severe neutropenia. His bone marrow biopsy indicated absolute neutropenia with normocellular bone marrow demonstrating virtually total lack of myeloid progenitors, with maintenance of erythroid and megakaryocytic lineages, findings strongly indicative of PWCA with secondary hemophagocytosis. Findings of the case highlights the importance of an unusual clinical condition PWCA with hemophagocytosis. The aggressive clinical course of the idiopathic variant necessitates early immunosuppressive treatment.

Background Prophylactic platelet transfusion is given to patients when the platelet count is less than ten thousand to prevent clinically significant bleeding till platelet engraftment is documented. Despite a very low platelet count, if platelet engraftment is confidently predicted, then platelet transfusion can be avoided in an otherwise stable patient. Objective To determine the role of post-transplant day + 14 immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF) and immature platelet fraction (IPF) as surrogate markers for early prediction of platelet engraftment in pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients. Material and methods This prospective study was done at the National Institute of Blood Diseases and Bone Marrow Transplantation between January 2017 and December 2020. A total of 56 and 31 patients were enrolled in the deviation and validation cohorts respectively. IPF and IRF were tested on a Sysmex XN-1000 hematology analyzer on days + 14 and + 21 of the bone marrow transplant. Platelet count on day + 14 and the day of engraftment was documented. Spearman correlation analysis and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) calculation were done using the statistical package STATA version 12, to determine IRF and IPF cut-off values to predict a median platelet engraftment day. Results The derivation and validation cohorts were statistically comparable. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for IPF and IRF was 0.53 (95% CI: 0.37 – 0.68, p = 0.750) and 0.74 (95% CI: 0.61 – 0.89, p = 0.001) respectively. A weak inverse correlation (rs0.36, p = 0.007) between IRF and platelet engraftment day was found. The ROC demonstrated that the cut-off value for Day + 14 IRF of 13% has a sensitivity and specificity of 92.9% and 37% respectively. This finding was confirmed in the validation group with sensitivity and specificity of 88.2% and 45.2% respectively. Conclusion This study found that Day + 14 IRF but not IPF value can reliably predict platelet engraftment by day + 17 post-transplant.