BACKGROUND Perinatal asphyxia (PA) is an important cause of neonatal morbidity, mortality, and neurologic handicap in children. Dysfunction of organs other than central nervous system is often recognised after perinatal asphyxia and manifests as hypoxic ischaemic insults to heart, lungs, kidneys and bowel. The purpose of this study was to assess the spectrum of multi-organ system involvement in perinatal asphyxia. METHODS This observational, descriptive study was conducted at SVRRGGH (Sri Venkateswara Ramnarayan Ruia Government General Hospital) - Tirupati from October 2010 to September 2011 and has Institutional Ethics Committee approval (Regd. No: 58647, Dt: 20 / 11 / 2010). After considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 204 neonates diagnosed with perinatal asphyxia who got admitted in our newborn intensive care unit (NICU) were included in this study. RESULTS In the present study, we had 118 (57.89 %) male babies and 86 (42.11 %) female babies. The mean birth weight was 2640 +/- 460 grams. Infants of birth weight 2500 - 4000 grams (appropriate for gestational age - AGA) accounted for 202 (98.96 %). Major maternal risk factors in this study were MSAF (meconium-stained amniotic fluid (66/204, 32.4 %), PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension) and Eclampsia (26/204, 12.7 %) and PROM (premature rupture of membranes) (26/204, 12.7 %). In the present study, we found higher mortality (19/117, 16.2 %) in babies born to multiparous mothers. Respiratory system involvement was seen in 80 (39.2 %) infants. Renal involvement was observed in 58 (27.5 %) infants. Acute renal failure was diagnosed in 22 (10.8 %) cases. CVS (cardiovascular system) involvement was seen in 56 (27.5 %) cases where as GIT (gastrointestinal tract) involvement was found in 32 (15.68 %) cases. CONCLUSIONS Epidemiological research is needed to accurately estimate the contribution of birth asphyxia to perinatal morbidity and mortality, especially in community settings where the burden of disease, due to high proportion of unattended deliveries, is likely to be larger than the hospital setting. KEYWORDS Perinatal Asphyxia, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy, Multi Organ Dysfunction, Cardiovascular System

BACKGROUND Breath holding spells (BHS) are common, non-epileptic paroxysmal events that occur in children below 6 years, whose diagnosis is made many times clinically. Exact aetiology is not known, but iron deficiency was one among many proposed aetiological factors. Very few studies were published till date to determine role and effect of iron supplementation in children with breath holding spells. Hence the present study was taken up to assess the presence of iron deficiency and the effect of iron supplementation in children with breath holding spells. METHODS This prospective interventional study was performed from May 2012 to April 2017. 125 children below six years of age brought with the complaint of breath holding spells were screened for presence of anaemia and other systemic illnesses. Ten children were excluded with other organic causes and only 85 children were found to have anaemia and were supplemented with 6 mg/kg/day of ferrous sulphate for 3 months and followed up for a total period of 6 months. Response to iron supplementation was assessed in these children by measuring total number of attacks of BHS before starting iron supplementation, after supplementation of iron for three months and also at the end of follow-up period. The results were analysed by using Microsoft Office Excel. RESULTS 76.52 % (85/115) of patients had anaemia and were supplemented with 6 mg/kg/day of ferrous sulphate for 3 months. The remaining 27 cases had normal Hb % & red blood cells (RBC) indices and were not included. Response to iron therapy was assessed in anaemic children with breath holding spells and we found complete response in 78.41 %, partial response in 15.91 % and no response in 5.7 %. CONCLUSIONS This study proved the role of iron therapy in anaemic children with breath holding spells. KEYWORDS Breath Holding Spells (BHS), Iron Deficiency, Anaemia, Haemoglobin