Therefore, silk hydrogel coating of polypropylene mesh can improve peritoneal healing, minimize adhesion formation, is safe and can augment the outcome of hernia surgery.

Background: Wasting, a form of malnutrition is a major public health burden in developing countries including India. Since, food and diet diversity have direct impact on nutritional status of children. The aim of the study was to assess the dietary consumption pattern and malnutrition based on mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) of Lodha tribal children of Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram districts of West Bengal, India.Methods: A total of 1043 Lodha preschool children (1-5 years) was selected for the present study. MUAC of the children was made and recorded by standard method. A questionnaire for 24-hour dietary recall method was applied to collect dietary information. Dietary diversity was calculated by standard techniques. All statistical analyses were performed by using Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software.Results: The mean±SD of MUAC was 129.7±11.3 mm. The results showed that the mean MUAC increased steadily with the advancement of age in both genders. Prevalence of wasting based on MUAC in age-sex combined among Lodha children was 28.9%, of which 24.9% and 4.0% found to be moderate and severe acute malnutrition. The dietary intake of children was insufficient than recommended dietary allowance (RDA). The dietary diversity score (DDS) and Dietary serving score (DSS) of the children were very low. Pearson correlation analysis showed Mean adequacy ratio (MAR) had significant correlation with DDS (r=0.26, p<0.001), DSS (r=0.81, p<0.001), calorie intake (r=0.52, p<0.001) and protein intake (r=0.38, p<0.001).Conclusions: The dietary consumption of Lodha children was inadequate. This effort should be given to improve their nutritional status by nutrition education and nutrient sensitive farming including kitchen garden.

Aim To assess the sanitation and hygienic practices of women and its effects on the nutritional status of the mother and preschool children of the Lodha tribal community in two districts of West Bengal. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted during November, 2014 - December, 2018 of 941 Lodha mothers and 1043 of their preschool children in Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram districts. All information was collected by using KAP questionnaire following interview and group discussion. Mother nutritional status was assessed based on body mass index (BMI) and mid upper arm circumference (MUAC). A child was classified as underweight, stunting and wasting as weight-for-age, height-for-age and weight-of -height Z-score below -2 standard deviation of WHO standard. Results This study found 35% of the households used safe drinking water. Almost 97.2% of the mother had the low hand wash score and about 67.1% of them had an average WaSH score. Overall, 41.6% and 1.6% mothers were suffered from undernutrition (BMI <18.5 kg/m2) and overweight/obesity (BMI≥25kg/m2). Whereas, 48.9% women were undernourished based on MUAC<22.0cm. Moreover, the overall prevalence of wasting, stunting and underweight of preschool children was 31.9%, 62.1% and 61.3%, respectively. The WaSH score of family was significantly associated with child stunted and underweight. Conclusion There is a good association between poor household WaSH practices with child undernutrition and morbidity. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop the comprehensive knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) guidelines in their language to educate them about appropriate water storage, retrieval methods, sanitation and hand washing practices.

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Objectives: Accidental poisoning is one of the major medical emergencies in paediatric population, specially among under five children. However, there is still lack of clinicodemographic data mostly due to under-reporting of events. In this study, we analyzed the clinicoepidemiological profile as well as awareness of parents in respect to childhood poisoning cases admitted in our institute. Methods: Children aged up to 12 years admitted in our hospital with accidental poisoning between January 2020 to June 2021 were included in this study. We collected their demographic, epidemiological and clinical data, analyzed, and compared these with data from other parts of India as well as world. Results: About 87% of children were under 5 years of age with a male dominance (male: female was 1.3:1). Majority of children (65%) were from lower socioeconomic class and 66% of parents had no knowledge or ignorant about the poisonous substance. Hydrocarbons like-kerosene oil (44.5%) followed by drugs were the most common substance related to poisoning. Cough (23.7%) followed by vomiting (21%) was the most common presenting symptom and cardiorespiratory abnormalities were most common (49%) finding on clinical examination. About 5% of children died due to poisoning or its related effects. Conclusion: It can be said that negligence and ignorance from the side of caregivers play the most important role in such calamities. Community-based childhood poisoning prevention program and simple preventive measures like education to the parents, proper storage of household items, and proper placement of drugs could be helpful in preventing mortality and morbidity in children with poisoning.