Pediatric Hypertension: Parental Perception and Knowledge.

The prevalence of hypertension (HTN) among youngsters has increased recently. Often, it is underrecognized owing to a lack of routine blood pressure measurement in many health centers, partly due to the unavailability of instruments and possibly because of this perception that it is not the foremost problem in children. There is less information about the parental perception of childhood HTN from Bangladesh.

Trends in antimicrobial resistance amongst Salmonella Paratyphi A isolates in Bangladesh: 1999-2021.

Background: Typhoid and paratyphoid remain common bloodstream infections in areas with suboptimal water and sanitation infrastructure. Paratyphoid, caused by Salmonella Paratyphi A, is less prevalent than typhoid and its antimicrobial resistance (AMR) trends are less documented. Empirical treatment for paratyphoid is commonly based on the knowledge of susceptibility of Salmonella Typhi, which causes typhoid.

Improving access to family planning services through community pharmacies: Experience from The Challenge Initiative in three counties in Kenya.

Pharmacies play a vital role in improving access to family planning (FP) services in urban areas. They complement the resource-limited public health system and are viewed as key access points for contraceptives among young people (10-24 years) and the general population. The Challenge Initiative East Africa (TCI EA), in collaboration with the health management teams of Mombasa, Kilifi, and the Nairobi counties in Kenya and the Kenya Pharmaceutical Association (KPA) piloted an innovative public-private partnership (PPP) engagement to improve access to quality FP services offered at pharmacies in urban areas.

Assessment of the Link of and gene polymorphisms with the prednisolone resistance in pediatric nephrotic syndrome patients of Bangladesh: A genotype and haplotype approach.

Introduction: Nephrotic syndrome is a common pediatric kidney disease. Investigations on several genetic polymorphisms revealed an inconsistent influence on the resistance of patients to steroids.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the association of (1236C > T, 2677G > T, 3435C > T), (rs10482634, rs6877893), and (CYP3A5*3) gene polymorphism as well as sociodemographic and clinicopathological parameters with the risk of developing prednisolone resistance in pediatric patients with nephrotic syndrome.

Pediatric Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (PCRRT) expert committee recommendation on prescribing prolonged intermittent renal replacement therapy (PIRRT) in critically ill children.

Introduction: Recently, prolonged intermittent renal replacement therapies (PIRRT) have emerged as cost-effective alternatives to conventional CRRT and their use in the pediatric population has started to become more prominent. However, there is a lack of consensus guidelines on the use of PIRRT in pediatric patients in an intensive care setting.

Methods: A literature search was performed on PubMed/Medline, Embase, and Google Scholar in conjunction with medical librarians from both India and the Cleveland Clinic hospital system to find relevant articles.

Invasive Pneumococcal Infections in Children with Nephrotic Syndrome in Bangladesh.

Introduction: Children with nephrotic syndrome are susceptible to invasive bacterial infections. In this study, we aimed to: (1) determine the pathogens associated with infections in children with nephrotic syndrome and (2) describe antimicrobial susceptibility and serotype distribution of Streptococcus pneumoniae to guide evidence-based treatment and prevention policies.

Methods: From June 2013 to March 2015, we collected blood and/or ascitic fluid from children hospitalized with nephrotic syndrome and suspected bacterial disease in the largest pediatric hospital of Bangladesh.

Epidemiology of Typhoid and Paratyphoid: Implications for Vaccine Policy.

Background: Typhoid and paratyphoid remain the most common bloodstream infections in many resource-poor settings. The World Health Organization recommends typhoid conjugate vaccines for country-specific introduction, but questions regarding typhoid and paratyphoid epidemiology persist, especially regarding their severity in young children.

Methods: We conducted enteric fever surveillance in Bangladesh from 2004 through 2016 in the inpatient departments of 2 pediatric hospitals and the outpatient departments of 1 pediatric hospital and 1 private consultation clinic.

Designing Comprehensive Public Health Surveillance for Enteric Fever in Endemic Countries: Importance of Including Different Healthcare Facilities.

Background: Designing comprehensive surveillance to generate credible burden estimates of enteric fever in an endemic country can be challenging because care-seeking behavior is complex and surveillance in different healthcare facilities may lead to documentation of different epidemiological characteristics.

Methods: We conducted retrospective surveillance in 3 healthcare facilities to identify culture-confirmed enteric fever cases in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from January 2012 through December 2016. The study settings included (1) hospital in-patient department (IPD), (2) hospital out-patient department (OPD), and (3) private consultation center OPD.

Fractional excretion of magnesium, a marker of aminoglycoside induced nephrotoxicity in neonates.

Aminoglycoside is a widely used antibiotic in neonatal age group at hospital setting in Bangladesh. It has underlying side effect and toxicity which is mostly unseen and ignored. The aim of the study was to evaluate the nephrotoxic effect of aminoglycoside in neonates.

Correlation of fractional excretion of magnesium with steroid responsiveness in children with nephrotic syndrome.

Steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) patients are candidates for other alter-native drug regimes, and the non-responsiveness to steroid is more common among glomerulo-nephritides other than minimal change disease. Without performing biopsy and proper renal histology, progression of the disease cannot be assessed. Fractional excretion of magnesium (FE Mg) has been found to correlate directly with various renal histologies.

Follow-up of cases of Haemophilus influenzae type b meningitis to determine its long-term sequelae.

Objective: To measure physical and neurologic impact of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) meningitis on surviving children through short- and long-term follow-up.

Study Design: Cases of Hib meningitis, diagnosed at a tertiary level pediatric hospital, were subjected to short- and long-term follow-up and compared with age, sex, and area of residence matched healthy controls. Follow-up assessments included thorough physical and neurodevelopmental assessments using a standardized protocol by a multidisciplinary team.

Endothelin-1 attenuates the hemodynamic response to exogenous epinephrine in a porcine ischemic ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest model.

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) increases in the ischemically induced ventricular fibrillation (VF) swine model of cardiac arrest and affects outcome by potentially attenuating the hemodynamic response to epinephrine. Fifty-one swine underwent percutaneous left anterior descending occlusion. Seven minutes postonset of ischemic VF, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated.

Markers of progenitor cell recruitment and differentiation rise early during ischemia and continue during resuscitation in a porcine acute ischemia model.

Clinical administration of bone marrow-derived stem cells in the setting of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) leads to improved left ventricular ejection fraction. Thymosin beta-4 (TB4) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are linked to adult epicardial progenitor cell mobilization and neovascularization and is cardioprotective after myocardial ischemia. This study investigated the time course of TB4 and VEGF during AMI, cardiac arrest, and resuscitation.

Community-based cross-sectional seroprevalence study of hepatitis A in Bangladesh.

Aim: To elucidate the age-distribution of anti-hepatitis A virus (HAV) seroprevalence across different socioeconomic status (SES) categories in Bangladesh which, despite scarce data, is generally deemed to have high endemicity.

Methods: Blood samples of 818 subjects from a stratified sample of schools and hospitals, comprising different age categories and SES were collected. They were assayed for total anti-HAV antibodies.

Might gene therapy offer symptomatic relief for patients with 'no option' angina?

A best evidence topic in cardiac surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was whether the use of gene therapy could relieve angina symptoms in patients who are not amenable to conventional revascularisation strategies. Altogether 60 papers were identified using the search below.

Are prophylactic beta-blockers of benefit in reducing the incidence of AF following coronary bypass surgery?

A best evidence topic in cardiac surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was whether prophylactic beta-blockers effectively reduces the incidence of atrial fibrillation post-cardiac surgery. Altogether 113 papers were found using the reported search, of which 8 represented the best evidence on this topic.

Does the use of topical tranexamic acid in cardiac surgery reduce the incidence of post-operative mediastinal bleeding?

A best evidence topic in cardiac surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was whether the use of topical tranexamic acid reduces the incidence of post-operative mediastinal bleeding. Altogether 511 papers were identified using the below mentioned search, of which only one paper presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question.

Invasive Haemophilus influenzae type B diseases in Bangladesh, with increased resistance to antibiotics.

Objective: To determine the prevalence, age-group distribution, serotype, and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) isolates in Bangladeshi children because data regarding Hib diseases in developing countries are scarce, which has led to delay of the introduction of Hib vaccine in these countries.

Methods: Children diagnosed with meningitis (n = 1412) and pneumonia (n = 2434) were enrolled in this surveillance study for Hib invasive diseases. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood specimens, and the subsequent isolates, were processed using standard procedures.

Comparison of antibiotic resistance and serotype composition of carriage and invasive pneumococci among Bangladeshi children: implications for treatment policy and vaccine formulation.

The nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae is thought to pose a risk for invasive pneumococcal diseases, and the evaluation of carriage strains is thus often used to inform antibiotic treatment and vaccination strategies for these diseases. In this study, the age-specific prevalences, resistance to antibiotics, and serotype distributions of 1,340 carriage strains were analyzed and compared to 71 pneumococcal strains isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of children under 5 years old with meningitis. Overall, the nasal carriage rate was 47%.