The Journal of the Singapore Paediatric Society最新文献

This was a double-blind, randomised evaluation of the efficacy and safety of Zaditen in comparison with placebo in infants and young children (aged 6-36 months). These children either had (i) at least 2 episodes of wheezing over 8 weeks, or (ii) persistent wheeze over 4 weeks, prior to entering into the study. In the doctor's opinion, the group treated with Zaditen had more improvement in symptomatology (p < 0.05). They were more likely to have reduced or discontinued bronchodilators. They showed trends of improvement of symptom scores in night cough, wheeze and sputum production. These differences, however, did not reach statistical significance. There were no major adverse reaction of note.

Dengue fever, Dengue hemorrhagic fever and Dengue shock syndrome within the dengue complex is a sinister disease of great public health importance and continues to ravage children, young adults and the aged in Malaysia. The history of the disease is traced for over the years and the changing pattern of clinical presentation are noted. Various hospital based studies have been compared and the pathognomonic features of the disease in Malaysia are highlighted.

This report outlines our experience (retrospectively over a 3-year period) with peripheral artery cannulation for blood gas monitoring in 170 newborn infants. The technique for radial artery cannulation is described in detail. Recorded sites of cannulation were radial (138), posterior tibial (34), dorsalis pedis (2) and temporal (1). Only minor complications occurred which were transient ischaemia (19 cases), accidental blood loss (4 cases) and superficial abscesses (2 cases). Three other cases were suspected to have systemic infection but these were not proven. Cannulae had to be removed in 52% of cases because no blood could be withdrawn for sampling. It is concluded that peripheral artery cannulation in the newborn is a safer and more convenient procedure than umbilical artery catheterisation.

Midazolam is a water-soluble benzodiazepine with low toxicity. It has anxiolytic and sedative effects. This study assessed the efficacy and tolerance of this drug for sedation in various ward procedures. Pethidine was added to bone marrow aspirations for analgesia. 57 children with the mean age of 48 months and mean weight of 15.7 kilograms were studied. The dose of midazolam used to sedate adequately 86% of the children was 0.73mg/kg, the average onset of sedation was 4.3 minutes and mean duration was about 88 minutes. 47.5% were completely sedated, whereas 38.5% were only partially sedated. In 14%, sedation was not achieved at all. There was a statistically significant drop in blood pressure after sedation but this was not associated with any clinical effects. Hypoventilation was not detected in this study.

Son preference exists in many countries in Asia. In countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, such preference has been shown to result in excess female mortality. In Singapore, there is also son preference but excess female mortality is not seen because of several factors: Government's policy of equal educational opportunities for boys and girls since World War II, the protection of women's rights through the Women's Charter, the family planning message that "Boy or Girl, two is enough", urbanisation and industrialisation. Singapore is seeing increasing participation of women in the workforce, not only as clerks and factory operators but also as decision makers in middle and senior management positions. In this modern age, the girl child should be given as much value as the boy child. Only when such an egalitarian attitude towards the girl child exists would she be able to develop into her full potential to be an asset to her country. Government policies to promote the well-being, protect the rights, and to improve the lot of the girl child appear necessary in countries where son preference leads to excess mortality of girls from sex discrimination in nutrition and/or health care.