Context:Blood culture is gold standard for diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. Low sensitivity of blood culture is usually due to small volume of blood sample, intrapartum antibiotics, and antibiotics given to newborn before sampling.Aim:We evaluated use of Umbilical cord blood culture (UCBC) in diagnosis of neonatal sepsis as compared to peripheral venous blood culture.Settings and Design:This study was done in tertiary care teaching hospital during May-June 2012. A total of 45 newborns with presence of two or more risk factors of sepsis were included.Subjects and Methods:Blood sample from placental end of umbilical cord was collected and cultured. Primary outcome was diagnosis of neonatal sepsis by use of umbilical cord blood sample as compared with venous blood sample. Secondary outcome was to compare organisms identified by UCBC and venous blood culture.Statistical Analysis:Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of UCBC were calculated.Results:A total of 24.44% (11 out of 45) high-risk newborns had positive UCBC. A total of 17.8% (8 out of 45) newborns had positive blood culture report. Organisms grown in UCBC were Pseudomonas (45%, 5 out of 11), Acinetobacter (27.27%, 3 out of 11), Escherichia coli (18.18%, 2 out of 11), and Klebsiella (9%, 1 out of 11).Conclusion:UCBC is a good method for diagnosis of neonatal sepsis among high-risk newborns as compared to venous blood culture with a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 91.43%. Organisms grown are comparable to blood culture samples.

Ectrodactyly also known as Split hand/foot malformation is a rare limb malformation with autosomal dominant in heritance with variable penetrance, commonly known as "lobster claw hand". Usually it involves midline clefts of the hands and feet with syndactyly. We report a neonate with ectrodactyly and brief review of literature of condition.

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Cakra activation/balancing and music therapy are part of the traditional Indian healing system. Little is known about effect of musical (vocal) technique of cakra activation on body temperature. We conducted a single-session exploratory study to evaluate effects of a single musical (vocal) cakra activation manoeuvre on body temperature in controlled settings. Seven healthy adults performed a single musical (vocal) cakra activation manoeuvre for approximately 12 minutes in controlled environmental conditions. Pre- and post-manoeuvre body temperatures were recorded with a clinical mercury thermometer. After a single manoeuvre, increase in body temperature was recorded in all seven subjects. The range of increase in body temperature was from 0.2°F to 1.4°F; with mean temperature rise being 0.5°F and median temperature rise being 0.4°F. We conclude that a single session of musical (vocal) technique of cakra activation elevated body temperatures in all 7 subjects. Further research is required to study effects of various cakra activation techniques on body temperature and other physiological parameters.

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