Author Reply - SOFA-based Prognostication in PICU: A Cardiovascular Critique!

: Lois A, Save S. Author Reply - SOFA-based Prognostication in PICU: A Cardiovascular Critique! Indian J Crit Care Med 2023;27(11):863.

Serial Evaluation of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score (SOFA) as a Predictor of Outcome in Children Admitted in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Tertiary Care Hospital.

Background: Sequential organ failure assessment score (SOFA) is a score to quantify organ system dysfunction. This study was done to evaluate SOFA as a predictor of outcomes in children in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Objective: (A) To determine whether initial SOFA, Delta SOFA, and SOFA score at 72 hours are better predictors of outcome in terms of sensitivity and specificity.

Clinical characteristics & severity profile of children with COVID-19 during the second wave pandemic: An experience from tertiary care hospital in Mumbai.

This retrospective observational study was aimed at defining the demographic and clinical characteristics as well as severity profile of COVID-19 disease in children admitted to dedicated COVID-19 tertiary care hospital in Mumbai, India, during the second wave. COVID-19 infection detected in children (1 month-12 years) by the rapid antigen test or reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction or TRUENAT from March 1 to July 31, 2021 on throat/nasopharyngeal samples were enrolled and their clinical features and outcomes were studied. During the study period, 77 children with COVID-19 infection were admitted, of whom two-third (59.

Analysis of Fluid Balance as Predictor of Length of Assisted Mechanical Ventilation in Children Admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

Background: Ventilator-associated lung injury (VALI) is a devastating complication of assisted mechanical ventilation (AMV) and is one of the root causes of prolonged AMV. Many strategies were made to decrease the effect of the same. This study is conducted to determine the association of prolonged AMV with fluid balance and pediatric index of mortality 2 (PIM2) score.

DREEM Study: Students Perceptions of Learning Environment in a Medical College in Mumbai, India.

Purpose: This study was carried out to assess medical education environment (MEE) at our institution and to determine if there is an association between the assessment scores and factors such as gender, residence, family educational background and medium of instruction during school years.

Methods: Students appearing for the final qualifying examination were enrolled in the cross-sectional survey after obtaining written informed consent. Demographic data and personal information such as place of residence, parental education and medium of instruction was collected.

Auto-immune Thyroiditis in an Infant Masquerading as Congenital Nephrotic Syndrome.

A seven-months-old girl under treatment for pneumonia presented with generalized edema, decreased urinary output and was found to have hypertension, muco-cutaneous fungal infection and pulmonary hypertension. Investigations revealed that she had heavy proteinuria, hypertriglyceridemia, hypoalbuminemia and elevated levels of free T3 and T4 with suppression of TSH levels in the serum. A diagnosis of autoimmune thyroiditis (AT) in thyrotoxic phase was made on the basis of clinical presentation and presence of anti-TPO antibodies and reduced uptake in thyroid (technetium) scintigraphy.

Congenital Hypothyroidism: An Unusual Combination of Biochemical Abnormalities.

A forty-five-day-old female infant presented with prolonged jaundice with clinical features suggestive of congenital hypothyroidism (CHT). On investigations, the infant was noted to have indirect hyperbilirubinemia (13.8 mg/dl) with increased levels of AST (298 IU/dl) and ALT (174 IU/dl) in the serum.

A Swelling over Sternum in a Child: Reminder of an Uncommon Diagnosis.

Lack of awareness about isolated tubercular osteomyelitis of the sternum resulted in a delay in diagnosing the condition in an eleven-year-old girl who presented with a gradually increasing swelling over the sternum. Radiological, histological, and microbiological investigations helped diagnose the condition and the child responded well to antitubercular therapy (ATT) and surgical debridement. The report provides a brief description about the various management options available.

Choosing the Right Journal for a Scientific Paper.

Authors need to take the crucial decision of choosing the journal for their prospective manuscript before even starting to write it. Although, this choice is influenced by many factors, matching the intended recipients of the main message of the manuscript with a journal's readership should override all other consideration in journal selection. That done, availability of time-bound review process,journal's visibility, indexation in databases, regularity of publication, acceptance rate and expenses involved are some other factors that will help decide the choice.

Writing Case Reports: Contributing to Practice and Research.

Case reports describe a patient with unusual or unexpected features. They represent the oldest type of medical publication. They are about generating a new hypothesis and not about proving a hypothesis.

Off-label and unlicensed drug use in children admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU).

Background: There is paucity of data regarding the use of off-label (OL) and unlicensed drug (UL) use in children admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs).

Objective: To determine prevalence of OL- and UL-drug use in children admitted to PICU.

Design: Prospective observational study.

A rare nonfatal presentation of disseminated Chromobacterium violaceum sepsis.

We present a case of disseminated Chromobacterium violaceum sepsis with multiple liver and splenic abscesses presenting with skin lesions and cardiogenic shock, and later diagnosed to have chronic granulomatous disease. The patient was treated with prolonged antimicrobial therapy, after which she recovered and remained asymptomatic on follow-up.