Global Update

Indian Pediatrics 2002; 39:799

News in Brief

Couch potatoes: It is a lucky child today, who can run around in fields and swim in rivers. City bred kids rarely have safe playgrounds. And if they do, the school curriculum or the idiot box keeps them at home. Childhood obesity is on the rise. Children are spending more time in front of computers and television. Exercise has reduced. The American Heart Association has brought out guidelines to reduce cardiovascular risks in children. All children more than 2 years need atleast 30 minutes of moderate exercise almost daily. They need more than 5 servings of fruits or vegetables everyday and 6-11 servings of grain or cereals. Encouraging habits of physical activity both in play and as household chores and reduction of sedentary activities like TV are recommended. (Details of the recommendations can be accessed at www.americanheart.org, Circulation 2002;106:143-60.)

On-line diagnosis: Isabel is the daughter of British parents Charlotte and Jason Maude. She developed necrotizing faciitis after chicken pox. However the diagnosis was missed by several doctors and she nearly died. Now a charity called Isabel has been formed which has developed an online tool for medical professionals. Symptoms have to be entered in medical terminology ( to limit usage by non professionals) and a rapid search of recent pediatric textbooks is done. A differential diagnosis with 95% accuracy has been reported from various hospitals who have used this tool (eBMJ 22 June 2002, www.isabel.org.uk ).

Freedom from polio: In a historic milestone of the polio eradication program, Europe was declared polio free by the WHO on 21 June. The European Regional Commission for the Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication (RCC) in Copenhagen say that all the 51 countries of the European region have been free of indigenous polio cases for 3 years. However small outbreaks of polio cases did occur in Bulgaria where the virus had originated from India. Europe’s formula for success was also the 2 extra doses of OPV between 1995-98. The biggest bulk of remaining polio is still the Indian sub-continent ( The Lancet interactive 29 June 2002).

Obstetricians slip: In Germany a heated discussion is on about whether the court was right in asking a gynecologist to pay damages because her ultrasound failed to pick up major limb malformations antenatally. Members of the Study Commission on Law and Ethics in Modern Medicine of the Bundestag feel that our society has increasingly become intolerant of people with disabilities. By aborting a deformed fetus we are presuming to decide which life is worthy and which is not. Others feel sloppiness or incompetence of the gynecologist must be punished (The Lancet interactive 29 June 2002).

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