The addition of a written individualized home-management plan improves overall control in children with moderate persistent asthma.

The utility of the WHO Ten Questions Screen (TQS) was studied in a rural community of North India. The study was done in three villages, in two phases. In phase 1, the TQS was administered to parents of children aged between 2 and 9 years, during a house-to-house survey. In phase 2, all children screened positive and a random sample of 110 screened negative were clinically evaluated in detail. The total population of the three villages was 5830 with 1763 children aged between 2 and 9 years. Seventy-six children were positive on the TQS, of these, 38 were found to have significant disability, 18 had protein energy malnutrition and 19 were found normal on clinical evaluation. All the 110 screen-negative children were normal. Significantly larger numbers of boys were positive on TQS as compared to girls [Odd Ratio (OR) 1.5]. The sensitivity of the TQS for significant disability was 100%; the positive predictive value was 50% and was higher for boys than for girls. Of the 50% children classified as false positive 23% had mild delays due to malnutrition. The estimated prevalence of disability was 16/1000. The TQS was found to be a sensitive tool for detection of significant disabilities among children 2-9 years of age. The low-positive predictive value would lead to over referrals but a large number of these children would benefit from medical attention.

Background: The management of childhood asthma necessitates a comprehensive approach including pharmacological treatment as well as education about self‐evaluation and home management of the condition. Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of adding an individualized written home‐management plan in the control of moderate persistent asthma. Methods: Children with moderate persistent asthma were randomized to receive either an individualized written home‐management plan or no plan, in addition to standard asthma therapy including education. They were followed up with serial measurement of outcome variables. Results: Children receiving an individualized written home‐management plan had fewer acute asthma events, fewer lost school days, lower symptom score and less nocturnal awakening than those who did not receive a written plan. Conclusion: The addition of a written individualized home‐management plan improves overall control in children with moderate persistent asthma.

Child maltreatment is a global problem but is more difficult to assess and manage in developing countries such as India where one-fifth of the world's total child population resides. Certain forms of maltreatment such as feticide, infanticide, abandonment, child labour, street-begging, corporal punishment and battered babies are particularly prevalent in India. Most physicians still need to be sensitized in order to suspect child abuse on the basis of unexplained trauma, multiple fractures, parental conflict and other corroborative evidence. This article summarizes the various aspects of this major problem in resource-poor settings in the hope that it will assist in the planning of services addressing child physical and sexual abuse and neglect in India and in other developing countries. A culture of non-violence towards children needs to be built into communities in order to provide an environment conducive to the overall development of the child. Rehabilitation of abused children and their families requires a multi-disciplinary service including paediatricians, child psychologists and social workers, and the training of police forces in how to tackle the problem.

Children with a single-lesion NCC have favorable outcome with resolution of most of the lesions and few seizure recurrences. Cysticidal therapy leads to better seizure control and increased resolution of lesions on short-term follow-up.