A pilot study on the effects of curd (dahi) & leaf protein concentrate in children with protein energy malnutrition (PEM).

Background & Objective: In protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) there is a significant impairment of immunity, both cell-mediated and humoral, which may be reversed with nutritional rehabilitation. With the use of probiotics like curd (dahi) and micronutrient-rich leaf protein concentrate (LPC), this immune recovery may be hastened. This study was conducted to assess the impact of supplementation of curd and LPC on nutritional status, and immunity as assessed by anthropometry, haemoglobin, ferritin levels, T- cell subpopulation and C-reactive protein (CRP), in children suffering from PEM.

Gender gap and Indian Academy of Pediatrics: still a long way to go!

We conducted this study to document the female participation in the administrative and academic affairs of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP). Of 45 IAP Presidents till date, 7 (15.6%) were women.

Cost and cost-effectiveness of a public-private mix project in Kannur District, Kerala, India, 2001-2002.

Background: Little is known yet about the cost-effectiveness of public-private mix (PPM) collaborations for the delivery of tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic and treatment services.

Design: We evaluated the cost and cost-effectiveness of a PPM project targeting private laboratories in Kannur district, India, from the perspective of the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP). We estimated the cost per provider recruited and retained, the cost per additional patient notified under various effectiveness scenarios and the cost per additional patient successfully treated.

Public-private mix TB activities in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, North India: delivering dots via collaboration with private providers and non-governmental organizations.

Background: We evaluated the contribution of public-private collaboration between the Indian tuberculosis (TB) programme and the private health sector (including non-governmental organizations and private providers) to TB case-detection and treatment outcomes in Meerut district, India.

Methodology: District TB registers from January 2001-June 2003 were reviewed.

Results: The 2002 new AFB-positive case-notification rate (103/100,000 population) in Meerut exceeded national targets.

Physical growth patterns and dental caries in thalassemia.

This study was conducted to assess the effect of age, ferritin level, hemoglobin level and chelating agents on the physical growth in thalassemic children and to determine the prevalence of dental caries in thalassemic children. Weight, standing height, sitting height and subischial leg length were measured in 65 children attending the Thalassemia day care center at a tertiary hospital in Delhi. Their mean pre transfusion hemoglobin and ferritin levels over the previous two years were calculated.

Low sensitivity of a whole-blood interferon-gamma release assay for detection of active tuberculosis.

The sensitivity of an interferon-gamma assay (Quantiferon-TB Gold; Cellestis) was evaluated for the detection of tuberculosis among 242 persons with suspected tuberculosis in San Francisco, California. Thirty-seven subjects had culture-confirmed tuberculosis. Excluding 1 indeterminate result, 23 (64%; 95% confidence interval, 48%-78%) of 36 subjects had positive results using the QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay.

Feasibility, acceptability, and cost of tuberculosis testing by whole-blood interferon-gamma assay.

Background: The whole-blood interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) is recommended in some settings as an alternative to the tuberculin skin test (TST). Outcomes from field implementation of the IGRA for routine tuberculosis (TB) testing have not been reported. We evaluated feasibility, acceptability, and costs after 1.

A tuberculosis outbreak in a private-home family child care center in San Francisco, 2002 to 2004.

Background: Child care facilities are well known as sites of infectious disease transmission, and California child care facility licensure requirements include annual tuberculosis (TB) screening for on-site adults. In April 2004, we detected an adult with TB living in a private-home family child care center (child care center A).

Methods: We reviewed patient medical records and conducted a contact investigation.

Pregnancy in an achondroplastic dwarf: a case report.

Achondroplasia is a rare disorder occurring 1 in 1 5,000 to 1 in 40,000 live births. It is, however, the commonest cause of short-limbed dwarfism. It is a genetic disorder and inherited as an autosomal dominant trait but most cases (80%) are due to mutations of fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3).

Improving tuberculosis control through public-private collaboration in India: literature review.

Objective: To review the characteristics of public-private mix projects in India and their effect on case notification and treatment outcomes for tuberculosis.

Design: Literature review.

Data Sources: Review of surveillance records from Indian tuberculosis programme project, evaluation reports, and medical literature for public-private mix projects in India.

Tumor lysis syndrome in a patient with metastatic, androgen independent prostate cancer.

Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is an uncommon, but well described, clinical entity that typically occurs following chemotherapy in patients with rapidly growing hematological malignancies. It is rarely described in patients with solid tumors. We report a case of TLS in a patient with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the prostate after treatment with paclitaxel chemotherapy.

Improved tuberculosis case detection through public-private partnership and laboratory-based surveillance, Kannur District, Kerala, India, 2001-2002.

Background: Efforts to intensify global tuberculosis (TB) control are limited by difficulties in coordinating with private doctors. More than half of Indian TB patients may initially consult a private provider, but many are neither diagnosed accurately nor treated effectively. We established and evaluated a public-private partnership based on surveillance of TB detected in private laboratories and use of standardised directly observed treatment regimens.

High prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis, Republic of Lithuania, 2002.

Background: Nations of the former Soviet Union have the world's highest reported levels of resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs. We conducted the first national survey of anti-tuberculosis drug resistance in the Republic of Lithuania.

Methods: We tested Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from all incident culture-positive pulmonary TB patients registered in 2002.

Capacity building for international tuberculosis control through operations research training.

Setting: In resource-poor countries, few tuberculosis (TB) program staff at the national, provincial, and even district levels have the basic analytical and epidemiological skills necessary for collecting and analyzing quality data pertaining to national TB control program (NTP) improvements. This includes setting program priorities, operations planning, and implementing and evaluating program activities.

Objectives: To present a model course for building capacity in basic epidemiology and operations research (OR).

Management of post-operative bladder spasm.

Objective: Pain management following bladder surgery in children is often complicated by bladder spasm. The overall severity of spasm can be reduced with opioids, anticholinergic medication and sedatives, although breakthrough spasms often occur. At the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, intravesical bupivacaine has been used to manage postoperative bladder spasm to good effect.