Background: The period from birth to 6 months is part of a larger critical ‘window of opportunity’ within which the impact of undernutrition has both immediate and long term adverse consequences. Protocols for older children are often extended to this age group owing to the absence of evidence-based treatment protocols. The following study was carried out to assess the effectiveness of supplementary suckling technique and lactation counselling over counselling alone in management of malnourished infants in the age group of 1- 6 months.Methods: After IRB clearance, all underweight infants with weight for age <-2SD by WHO charts were enrolled in the study. Once identified as lactation failure, the infants were randomly allocated into two groups using SAS 9.2 package. Both, cases and controls were counselled regarding breast feeding practices as per WHO module. Cases were additionally started on supplementary feeds by Supplementary Suckling Technique (SST) for the 1st week. Weight gain was monitored at enrolment, on day 7 and day 14. Weight gain >20gm/day in the 2nd week was considered successful re-lactation. Data was analysed using student unpaired t test and chi square test.Results: Mean weight gain per day in 1st and 2nd week in the cases was significantly higher than that in the controls (p= <0.001). In 2nd week, maximum weight gain i.e. 20-30 g/day was found in 93.3% cases as against 13.3% controls (p=0.01) depicting successful re-lactation.Conclusions: Lactation counselling along with supplementary suckling technique should be the standard of care in management of malnourished infants.

No abstract

Clinicopathologic profile and outcome of 15 children (15 years or above) with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with MCP-842 protocol are reported. Eleven of 15 presented with advanced (stage-III/IV) disease. Post-2 cycles of chemotherapy, complete metabolic and morphologic response was documented in 10 (66%) and rest 5 (33%) with partial response achieved complete metabolic remission by end of treatment. At a median followup of 44 months (range: 16 to 79 mo), the 3-year event-free survival and overall-survival were 77.1% ± 11.7% and 85.7% ± 9.4%, respectively. Though majority of our patients had advanced disease, outcome on MCP-842 protocol was satisfactory.

No abstract

Malnutrition is one of the most pervasive problems of mankind mostly affecting children belonging to less developed countries. It is of great concern because, besides affecting their quality of life (QOL), it also inuences their socio-economic development. In this study we used Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) to gauge the impact of severe acute malnutrition on children in the age group 5 to 12 years (severe thinness/ST). Although there are studies that reveal the adverse impact of ST on QOL, there is insufcient data regarding the same from our country and it is a research gap that is to be lled. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Ÿ To study the QoL in children with severe thinness (ST). Ÿ To assess the functioning of children with ST with respect to physical, emotional, social and psychological wellbeing with the help of PedsQL questionnaire. Ÿ To assess the impact of social and demographic factors on the QoL of these children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Children between 5-12 years of age diagnosed as ST (BMI < -3 SD) after anthropometric screening, were included in the study group (after excluding chronic diseases). Age and sex matched children with normal nutritional status were taken as controls. A comparative study was then performed on these children, encompassing physical, social, emotional and scholastic parameters using PEDsQL. Data was analysed using students unpaired t-test and chi-square test. RESULTS: Children in the control group irrespective of age, scored better in all domains of the PEDsQL questionnaire. Additionally, children with BMI < -4 SD scored lower than those with BMI between -3 SD and -4 SD. CONCLUSION: Severe thinness bears profound adverse effects on the physical and psychosocial development of a child. It is therefore crucial to identify and treat these children at the earliest opportunity sought.