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Pica is the compulsive ingestion of nonnutritive substances. The causes are not known, but the symptom is often associated either with iron-deficiency or with pregnancy. The authors report on a case of pica in a 2-year old Indian child, affected by a serious ferropenic anaemia.

Since the early 1970s, when continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) was introduced as a method of treatment of neonatal respiratory distress, many technical approaches have been suggested. The Authors report their experience with a new technique for nasal CPAP which has been developed to minimize impedance to breathing and offering maximum airway pressure stability and tolerance to leakage. Thirty-two newborns with symptoms of RDS were treated with Infant Flow System, a new device for nasal CPAP with nasal prongs which resulted inexpensive, simple to use and with lower risk for serious complications. Furthermore, the results suggest that treatment by early CPAP with nasal prongs in newborns presenting symptoms of RDS can be effective in reducing the number of newborns transferred to the third level Unit.