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Two hundred term healthy neonates were examined and 14 anthropometric measurements were taken in the face and ear region. Difference between the sexes was observed in ear length, ear breadth, and philtrum. Significant correlation was found between ear placement and ear length; and outer and inner canthal distances (p less than 0.001). The paper provides baselines data for facial growth measurements and discusses the utility of these measurements in detecting dysmorphogenesis in neonates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An inservice-orientationprogramme in nutrition and health was conducted with 50 preschool teachers (balsevikas). The programme was carried out for 4 weeks by 2 nutrition experts and a health expert. The curriculum included topics on basic nutrition and applied nutrition with specific emphasis on needs for vulnerable age groups. A composite questionnaire was administered at the beginning and at the completion of the programme to evaluate the impact on knowledge. The improvement inposttest scores was significant (P< 0.01). The influence of previous nutrition and health education on the learning and scores obtained was also significant. Earlier exposure to the subject faciliated the learning capacity and was instrumental in the attainment of higher scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An evaluation of the on-going supplementary feeding programme was conducted with references to their diet and mental development. The home diets of all children were found to be highly deficient in all nutrients especially calories and proteins. The supplementation which was prepared at the centre provided each child per day with Kcals 180, protein 7.5g, retinol 20ug and iron 1.7mg. The impact of this supplementation was obvious on the experimental group as they had higher intelligence quotient (IQ) values as compared to control group after a period of 6 months. The correlation between protein intake and IQ values was very near to the level of significance in the experimental group. The amount of protein in the supplementation made their diets adequate in this nutrient but it was mainly used to fill the large calorie gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One thousand one hundred and eighty nine children below 2 yr were investigated for their weaning and feeding practices. Majority of the mothers discarded colostrum. Goat's, or cow's milk was given as the first feed. Feeding 'Ondemand' was followed among most of the families. The milk supplement was introduced before six months age by more Brahmin (86.6%) and Kshatryia (85.7%) mothers than by backward and scheduled caste (64.7%) and Jatsikh (32.9%) mothers. Solids were introduced at the earliest among the Brahmin children and they were delayed in case of backward and scheduled class children. The need for programmes aimed at better nutritional education of the mothers particularly those belonging to less privileged castes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six hundred and twenty children with diarrhoea were studied. The maximum number of patients were seen in the age group of 7 to 12 months, i.e., an incidence of 46%. 75% of diarrhoea patients were below the age of one year. The peak incidence (52%) of diarrhoea was observed during the months of May to August. 64.5% of the patients had varying degrees of undernutrition associated with diarrhoea. In 71 children, bacteriological studies were done. Bacterial pathogens were isolated only in 29% of the stool samples. Enteropathogenic Esch. coli was the commonest pathogen isolated (21.1%). The serotypes frequently isolated were 086, 0119 012o and 0128. 0111 and 055 serotypes of Esch. coli were not detected in the present series. It is suggested that approximately one-third of cases of diarrhoea in children are due to pathogenic organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two hundred and fifty children with clinical and radiological diagnosis of pneumonias were studied. Fifty nine per cent of pneumonias were seen in children below the age of one year. Male to female ratio was 3∶2. The commonest radiological types of pneumonias were bronchopneumonia in 42.4 per cent, lobar consolidation in 39.2 per cent and staphylococcal pneumonia in 18.4 per cent. The main symptoms were fever (94%), breathlessness (76%) and cough (70%). Lobar consolidation and staphylococcal pneumonias were seen on the right side with an incidence of 64.3% and 60.9%. In lobar pneumonia, the right upper lobe was commonly affected (38.7%) followed by the left lower lobe (18.3%). Pathogenic organisms were grown from the throat in 38% of patients and from the blood in 50 per cent of patients. It is suggested that in India staphylococcal pneumonia can be a likely aetiological possibility in two out of three infants below the age of one year, irrespective of radiological findings, and thus the need for proper antibiotic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute infantile leukaemia in five infants diagnosed under one year of age was characterized by an insidious onset, hepatosplenomegaly, pallor and lymphadenopathy. Our clinical observations indicate that leukaemic nodules, purpura, skeletal changes and bone tenderness may not always be encountered in acute infantile leukaemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feeding pattern of 788 infants between the ages of one month and 24 months was analysed in relation to physical growth. Breast feeding was found to be ideal for weight gain and height gain up to the age of seven months and four months respectively. Prolonged breast feeding without supplementation after 7 months resulted in a marasmic child. The head circumference did not show any correlation with any type of feeding pattern. Milestones were attained earlier in the infants given breast milk and supplements. These data emphasize the role of breast feeding and adequate dietary supplementation from the age of 4-7 months onwards for proper physical growth and development of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a study of 30 cases of bronchiectasis in childhood, the following observations were made: 46.7% of the cases were in the age range of five to eight years and 36.6% in the age range of nine to twelve years. Male: female ratio was found to be 2.8:1. Predisposing factors were not found in 50 per cent of the cases. Foreign body aspiration as the cause of bronchiectasis was not seen at all. Cough with expectoration was the commonest symptom followed by haemoptysis. Clubbing was found in 56.7% of the cases. Unilateral bronchiectasis was mofe common than bilateral. Lingular involvement alone was not demonstrated. The posterior basal segment of the left lowe lobe was the segment affected most often Saccular bronchiectasis was the commones morphological variety followed by mixed and tubular bronchiectasis. We do not believe that such structural subdivisions serve any useful purpose. There was no evidence that various morphological types have different aetiopathogenesis and prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A patient with epidermolysis bullosa letalis who died after 13 days is reported. Born of a consanguinous marriage, four siblings had died of the same condition and one paternal uncle and aunt had also died in early infancy after developing similar skin lesions. The baby had, in addition an atrial septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus and the death was due to Pseudomonas septicaemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The case of an 11-month old female baby who had a classical type of choledochal cyst and two additional huge intrahepatic bile duct cysts is reported. The gallbladder was absent. The ampulla of Vater was atretic and the liver showed biliary cirrhosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gerodermia Osteodysplastica is a rare autosomal recessive connective tissue disorder included in the cutis laxa syndromes. Twenty five cases have been reported in the world literature to date. The authors report the first case from our country, a 13 year old female having phenotypic and radiological features suggestive of this genetic disorder.