Surviving Children (surviving + child)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Sibling loss, guilt and reparation: A case study

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOANALYSIS, Issue 1 2007
CHRISTOPHER CHRISTIAN
Psychoanalysis has shown that the death of a sibling is likely to have a long-standing impact on the character development of a surviving child. Among common adult manifestations are the identifi cation with the deceased sibling, repetitive self-punitive behaviors, and the development of masochistic trends. In treatment, these patients can become entrenched in a negative therapeutic reaction that compromises the outcome of their analysis. In this paper, the author discusses the analysis of a woman with a history of losses that included the loss of a sibling at an early age. A critical part of the treatment focused on helping this patient overcome a negative therapeutic reaction that emerged as she became aware of hostile and vengeful fantasies, not only as they related to her deceased brother but, more importantly, as they related to her parents. [source]


Infant mortality and child nutrition in Bangladesh

HEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 9 2008
Diane Dancer
Abstract The excess female infant mortality observed in South Asia has typically been attributed to gender discrimination in the intra-household allocation of food and medical care. However, studies on child nutrition find no evidence of gender differences. A natural explanation could be that in environments of high infant mortality of females, the surviving children are healthier, so that child nutrition cannot be studied independently of mortality. In this paper, we use data from the 2004 Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey to investigate if there are any gender differences in survival probabilities and whether this leads to differences in child nutrition. We argue the importance of establishing whether or not there exists a dependence relationship between the two random variables , infant mortality and child nutrition , and in order to detect this we employ a copula approach to model specification. The results suggest, for example, that while male children have a significantly lower likelihood of surviving their first year relative to female children, should they survive they have significantly better height-for-age Z -scores. From a policy perspective, household wealth and public health interventions such as vaccinations are found to be important predictors of better nutritional outcomes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Serial factitious disorder and Munchausen by proxy in pregnancy

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 12 2006
M. D. FELDMAN
Summary Factitious disorder, including Munchausen syndrome, is seldom documented among pregnant patients but can have powerful consequences. We report on a 44-year-old woman who, over a period of two decades, self-induced labour and delivery in five consecutive pregnancies. She precipitated labour by rupturing her own amniotic sac with a fingernail or cervical manipulation, or misappropriating and self-administering prostaglandin suppositories from the hospital unit on which she worked as a nurse. Preterm deliveries resulted in fetal demise in one case and in neonatal intensive care treatment for two of the offspring. One of the surviving children has cerebral palsy attributable to the mother's factitious illness behaviour, which raises the spectre of Munchausen by proxy maltreatment. The patient sought attention and care through the ruses, which have never been uncovered by her obstetric and gynaecologic caregivers. Indeed, she underwent an unnecessary hysterectomy because of the illusion of heavy menstrual bleeding. Most recently, the patient has been engaging in surreptitious autophlebotomy to force blood transfusions. [source]


Children with corrected or palliated congenital heart disease on home mechanical ventilation,

PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY, Issue 7 2010
Jeffrey D. Edwards MD
Abstract Infants and children with surgically corrected or palliated congenital heart disease (CHD) are at risk for chronic respiratory failure, necessitating home mechanical ventilation (HMV) via tracheostomy. However, very little data exists on this population or their outcomes. We conducted a retrospective chart review of all children with CHD enrolled in the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles HMV program between 1994 and 2009. Data were collected on type of heart lesion, surgeries performed, number of failed extubations, timing of tracheostomy, mortality, length of time on HMV, weaning status, associated co-morbidities, and Risk Adjusted classification for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS-1) category. Thirty-five children were identified; six with single ventricle anatomy, who received palliative procedures. Twenty-three (66%) patients are alive; 8 (23%) living patients have been weaned off HMV. Twelve (34%) patients are deceased. The incidence of mortality for single ventricle patients was 50%, and only one of the surviving children has received final palliation and weaned off HMV. Eight of nine patients (89%) with a RACHS score ,4 died, and none have been weaned off of HMV. The 5-year survival for all CHD HMV patients was 68%; 90% for patients with RACHS ,3; and 12% for patients with score ,4. Children with more complex lesions, as demonstrated by single ventricle physiology or greater RACHS scores, had higher mortality rates and less success weaning off HMV. This case series suggests that caregivers should give serious consideration to the type of heart defect as they advise families considering HMV in children with CHD. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2010; 45:645,649. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Early onset, severe fetal growth restriction with absent or reversed end-diastolic flow velocity waveform in the umbilical artery: Perinatal and long-term outcomes

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
Scott G. PETERSEN
Objective: To assess perinatal and long-term outcomes for pregnancies complicated by early onset, severe fetal growth restriction with absent or reverse end-diastolic flow velocity waveform (AREDF) in the umbilical artery. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 36 singleton pregnancies with AREDF when the estimated fetal weight (EFW) is less than 501 g at presentation. Results: At presentation, the median gestational age and EFW were 24 (18,29) weeks and 364 (167,496) g, respectively. The median interval between presentation and live birth or diagnosis of intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) was 13 (0,60) days. Delivery was for IUFD in 19 cases (53%), fetal indications in 13 cases (36%) and maternal indications in four cases (11%). Caesarean section (CS) was performed for the 17 live births of which 10 (59%) were by classical CS. Of the total cohort, five infants survived to hospital discharge giving an overall perinatal survival rate of 14%. All survivors had short-term morbidity. The cognitive function in four children was assessed as normal at two years of age. One survivor had developmental delay. None of the surviving children had any evidence of cerebral palsy. Conclusion: The overall perinatal survival rate for pregnancies complicated by early onset, severe growth restriction with an EFW of < 501 g and AREDF is low. When delivery occurs for fetal indications, the majority of these women require classical CS. Short-term neonatal morbidity is high though none of the survivors had cerebral palsy. [source]


Long-term follow up of children exposed in utero to nifedipine or ritodrine for the management of preterm labour

BJOG : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 3 2006
BA Houtzager
Objective, To compare the long-term psychosocial and motor effects on children exposed in utero to nifedipine or ritodrine for the management of preterm labour. Design, Randomised controlled trial. Setting, Multicentre study in two university and one primary hospital in the Netherlands. Population, In the original trial, 185 women were randomised to either nifedipine (n= 95) or ritodrine (n= 90). Of the 185 liveborn children, 171 survived (92%), and of these 102 (61%) were followed up at age 9,12 years. Methods, Age-specific questionnaires were administered to the parent and teacher. Additional data were obtained from medical records. Main outcome measures, Questionnaires were used to assess the child's behavioural,emotional problems, quality of life (QoL), motor functioning, parenting distress and the child's education. Results, Of the 171 eligible families, 102 (61%) agreed to participate and completed the questionnaires. Response was equal in the ritodrine group (n= 54 of 83 surviving children, 65%) compared with the nifedipine group (n= 48 of 88 surviving children, 55%). After controlling for differing perinatal characteristics at birth, no significant differences between the groups were detected with respect to long-term behaviour,emotional outcome, QoL, education, motor functioning or parenting distress. Psychosocial outcome was slightly better in the nifedipine group. Conclusions, The results do not support any differential postnatal effect of the tocolytic agents ritodrine or nifedipine on the child's long-term psychosocial and motor functioning. The slightly better outcome of children randomised in the nifedipine group is most likely due to more favourable perinatal outcomes in this group. These results merit further investigation in a larger group of survivors. [source]


Perinatal risk factors of adverse outcome in very preterm children: a role of initial treatment of respiratory insufficiency?

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 2 2004
B Mølholm Hansen
Aim: To investigate risk factors of adverse outcome in a cohort of very preterm children treated mainly with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) during the neonatal course. Methods: In Denmark, preterm children are treated with nasal CPAP as a first approach to respiratory support. A national prospective study of all infants with a birthweight below 1000 g or a gestational age below 28 wk born in 1994,1995 was initiated to evaluate this approach. Of the 269 surviving children 164 (61%) were not treated with mechanical ventilation in the neonatal period. A follow-up of the children at 5 y of age was conducted. Data from the neonatal period and the 5-y follow-up were analysed. Results: In multivariate analyses including 250 children, a severely abnormal neonatal brain ultrasound scan was predictive of cerebral palsy (OR= 19.9, CI 95%: 6.1,64.8) and intellectual disability (OR = 6.2, CI 95%: 2.3,16.5). A high Clinical Risk Index for Babies (CRIB) score (OR = 2.4, CI 95%: 1.1,5.5) and chronic lung disease (OR = 2.8, CI 95%: 1.2,6.9) were predictive of intellectual disability. In univariate analyses mechanical ventilation was associated with cerebral palsy (OR = 4.3, CI 95%: 1.7,10.8) and intellectual disability (OR = 2.2, CI 95%: 1.2,4.2), but the associations became insignificant in multivariate analyses including chronic lung disease and a severely abnormal ultrasound scan. Conclusion: The associations between neonatal risk factors and adverse outcome in our cohort were very similar to those found in other cohorts with another initial treatment of respiratory insufficiency. We found no significant adverse effects of mechanical ventilation beyond what could be explained by associations with chronic lung disease and IVH 3,4/PVL. [source]


Early nasal continuous positive airway pressure in a cohort of the smallest infants in Denmark: neurodevelopmental outcome at five years of age

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 2 2004
BM Hansen
Aim: To evaluate neurodevelopmental outcome at age 5 y of age in a cohort of preterm children treated mainly with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in the neonatal period. Methods: A national prospective observational study was conducted in Denmark which included all 269 surviving children with a birthweight below 1000 g or a gestational age below 28 wk born in Denmark in between 1994 and 1995. A total of 164 children (61%) had been treated with nasal CPAP only in the neonatal period. A reference group (n= 76) of term children was studied in parallel. Results: Of the 269 surviving children, 252 (94%) were examined. Twenty-four children (10%) had cerebral palsy, and three children were blind. No case of hearing impairment was detected. Nineteen percent of the index children had an IQ score >-2 SD and 42% had an IQ score >-1 SD of the mean score of the reference group. Conclusions: The intellectual development of children in this cohort treated with early nasal CPAP did not suggest a higher proportion of adverse effects on the brain compared to the published follow-up studies of preterm children treated with mechanical ventilation. In our population-based cohort, however, the survival rate for infants below 25 wk of gestation was relatively low and this may indicate a limit for the use of early nasal CPAP. [source]