IntroductionBirth weight is described as the primary determinant of the chances of survival among newborns. Low birth weight (LBW) is considered to be a major public health issue, especially among developing countries where poor maternal nutritional status is identified as a cause of both long and short-term adverse consequences. In developing countries, the majority of the LBW infants are born at term but are affected by intrauterine growth restriction, which might have begun early in the pregnancy period. We conducted this study in order to determine the possible effects of the poor nutritional status of mothers on the birth weight of their newborns. However, in disparity to the previous literature, our study evaluated unpredictable results. MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study that was conducted at two tertiary care teaching hospitals from November 2020 to April 2021 in order to determine the possible effects of the poor nutritional status of mothers on the birth weight of their newborns. 156 women both primigravida and multigravida of ages between 15 and 50 years and those who delivered low birth weight (LBW) babies of either gender at term (37-40 weeks of gestation) were included. For all mothers who delivered LBW (<2500 g) at term, their mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) was measured by inelastic tape. Mothers with MUAC less than 21 cm were considered malnourished. ResultsA total of 156 study participants were included in the study, with majority (n=112, %=71.8%) of them between the ages of 20 and 30 years. The mean age of all included participants was calculated to be 25.96±4.54 years (ranging from 18 to 38 years). Prevalence of maternal malnutrition was observed in 41 (26.3%) of the included women who delivered LBW babies, in contrast to high prevalence rates in previous literature. ConclusionsIn contrast to the previous literature, our study has shown that the nutritional status of mothers has no significant impact on the weight of neonates and the majority of neonates in our study were not severely low weight

Objective: To determine frequency and outcome of hypoglycemia in severely malnourished children at tertiary care Hospital Larkana. Methodology: This descriptive, case series study was carried out at the department of Pediatric Medicine Chandka Medical Hospital Larkana, during 6 months. Severely malnourished children of both gender and age between 6 months to 5 years were enrolled. Severity of malnutrition was evaluated as per standard anthropometric measures i.e. height, body weight, MUAC (mid upper arm circumference) by standard MUAC tape. Hypoglycemia was assessed by checking random blood sugar on glucometer. All the data was recorded via self-made proforma and analyzed by using SPSS version 20. Results: Mean age of the patients was 24.27±15.30 months. Mean MUAC was 9.39±1.56. There were 96 (52.20%) females and 88 (47.80%) males. Mean serum glucose level was found to be 86.02±21.58 mg/dL. There were 23(12.50%) patients with hypoglycemia and out of which 16 (69.60%) patients expired and 7 (30.40%) patients survived. Conclusion: Hypoglycemia was found to be 12.50% in severely malnourished children and it was significantly associated with adverse outcome.

Aim: To assess the efficacy of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) among low birth weight neonates at a tertiary care hospital Study Design: A cross-sectional study Place and Duration. The Kangaroo mother care ward, CMC Children Hospital, Larkana from August 2019 to February 2020. Methodology: Total 345 low birth weight patients were included. Newborns were kept in KMC position. Axillary temperature was measured during KMC position. Stratification of study variables was done while post-stratification chi-square test or independent sample student t-test was employed to see the impact of effect modifiers on the outcome (efficacy) considering p-value ≤0.05 as significant. Results: Out of a total of 345 LBW neonates, there were 198 (57.4%) boys and 147 (42.6%) girls. The mean age of neonates was 12.01\(\pm\)7.68 days while majority 177 (51.3%) were aged less than or equal to 10 days. The mean body weight was 1997.22\(\pm\)243.48 grams. The mean gestational age was noted to be 35.35\(\pm\)1.37 weeks. There were 104 (30.1%) neonates who belonged to rural areas while 241 (69.9%) were from urban areas. The mean mother’s temperature was 37.58\(\pm\)0.98 C. The mean room temperature was 33.11\(\pm\)2.59 C. The mean initial temperature was 35.40\(\pm\)0.48 C. The efficacy of KMC was observed to be in 242 (70.1%) cases. Conclusion: The KMC was found to be effective and useful in caring LBW neonates.  Further advantages of KMC are low cost, promotion of exclusive breast-feeding and increased mother’s confidence in handling LBW babies.

Objective: To find out the prevalence of acute otitis media among febrile children presenting at a tertiary healthcare facility. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of the Study: The Department of Pediatrics, Chandka Medical College, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University, Larkana from 1st January 2021 to 30th June 2021. Material and Methods: A total of 118 children of both genders aged 2 to 11 years with fever (temp>100.4 0F) for a minimum duration of 6 hours were included. Demographic data along with presenting symptoms were noted. Auroscopy/otoscopy was performed in all cases for the diagnosis of AOM. All the study data was entered into SPSS version 26.0 for statistical analysis. Results: In a total of 118 children, 67 (56.8%) were male. Mean age was noted to be 4.9±4.2 years (ranging between 2 to 12 years) and 62 (52.5%) children were aged between 2 to 5 years. Mean duration of fever was 6.20±1.7 days (ranging between 3 to 9 days) while 75 (63.6%) children had duration of fever above 5 days. Mean maximum reported fever was 103.04±1.1 0F. Irritability, dizziness, restlessness and diminished appetite were the most frequent symptoms noted in 98 (83.1%), 67 (56.8%), 61 (51.7%), and 58 (49.2%) patients respectively. The prevalence of AOM was observed in 27 (22.9%) febrile children. Conclusion: The prevalence of acute otitis media among febrile children was high. High index of suspicion for acute otitis media should be made whenever febrile children are presenting to pediatric healthcare facilities. Keywords: Acute otitis media, febrile, irritability, dizziness.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge of parents regarding polio vaccination in unvaccinated children less than 5 years of age. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration: Department of Pediatrics, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University, Larkana Pakistan from February 2018 till August 2018 Methodology:  All parents of unvaccinated children of either gender with ages from 2 months to less than 5 years of age visiting the hospital outpatient department for any reason were included in the study. Information about the OPV immunization status, demographics, education of the family earner, occupation and income, accessibility of vaccination center in terms of distance, the behavior of immunization staff, parents' views regarding vaccines were recorded. Questions were asked about the vaccination schedule. Results: Mean age of the child and respondent’s age was 2.96 ±0.89 years and 31.40 ±3.96 years respectively. Male preponderance was found to be higher 146 (63.50%). Adequate knowledge about polio was found in 58 (25.20%) parents. Conclusion: The Knowledge of parents regarding polio vaccination was found unsatisfactory in unvaccinated children less than 5 years of age.