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Biomedical subjects

V M Osundwa

Publications and source records attributed to V M Osundwa.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Acute asthma: treatment and outcome of 2000 consecutive pediatric emergency room visits in Doha, Qatar.

The case files of 2000 asthma episodes seen in our pediatric emergency room (PER) over a 2-month period were reviewed. Patients included 1429 males and 571 females with 66.2% < 48 months old. More than 60% of patients had been symptomatic for <24 hr and 88.5% had tried inhaled beta2-agonist before coming to the PER. In the PER, 57% responded to a single salbutamol aerosol and 35.5% responded to a combination of 2-3 salbutamol, IV hydrocortisone, and aminophylline drip < or = 6 hr. Only 7.5% were admitted to the hospital. Of the admitted patients, 82% had been symptomatic for > 24 hr and 60.6% were <4 years old.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1994

The occurrence of ataxia-telangiectasia and common variable immunodeficiency in siblings: case report.

Common variable immunodeficiency and ataxia-telangiectasia with immunodeficiency are both well recognized syndromes which occur in children. The aetiological factors responsible for both these conditions have yet to be defined clearly. The clinical and laboratory features in two siblings, one with common variable immunodeficiency and the other with ataxia-telangiectasia, are presented. This is the first report of these two entities occurring in siblings.

Ataxia Telangiectasia↗
PubMed1994

Home nebulizer therapy in asthmatics in Qatar.

We reviewed charts of 50 asthmatic children who were on home nebulizer therapy for treatment of their asthma over a 1-year period. Patients served as their own controls for comparison of the asthma-related variables between periods of 6 months before and 6 months after the initiation of home nebulizer treatment. There was a 74% and 70% reduction in the emergency room visits and hospitalizations, respectively, during the period when the patients were on home nebulizer therapy. We suggest that this form of therapy, if properly used in appropriately selected asthmatic children, will reduce the need for hospital care.

Albuterol↗
PubMed1993

Recurrent wheezing in children with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis in Qatar.

Records of 70 infants admitted to Hamad General Hospital with RSV bronchiolitis and a similar number of controls were retrospectively reviewed. Two years after admission, 44% of the infants with RSV bronchiolitis developed recurrent wheezing compared with only 12.9% of controls (P = 0.001). A family history of atopy appeared not to be a significant predisposing factor for the occurrence of recurrent wheezing in post RSV bronchiolitis patients. These results are similar to those from similar studies in industrialized countries.

Bronchiolitis↗
PubMed1992

Intussusception in children under 2 years of age in the State of Qatar : analysis of 67 cases.

Intussusception is one of the leading causes of bowel obstruction in early infancy and childhood. From 1984-1989, 67 patients under 2 years of age with intussusception were diagnosed and treated in our institution. There were 48 boys and 19 girls ranging in age from 2 months to 2 years with a mean of 7.4 months. Presenting symptoms and signs included abdominal pain (96%), vomiting (93%), rectal bleeding (60%) and a palpable mass (67%). Symptoms and signs were present for less than 24 hours in about 80% of cases. Most of the intussusceptions were of the ileocolic type (75%). The overall success rate of hydrostatic barium enema reduction was 49%. The highest rate of reduction by enema was among patients between 9 and 16 months of age (83%). The success rate of barium enema reduction was negligible after 24 hours of cardinal symptoms. Five children underwent surgical exploration without contrast studies because of delayed presentation and signs of an acute abdomen. A pathological lead point was found in only four cases, the commonest being Meckel's diverticulum. The average length of hospitalization was 2.57 days after barium enema reduction and 7.55 days after surgical reduction. There were no deaths. There was no case of perforation during enema reduction. Three children had recurrence within 3 months of initial presentation. The best outcome is associated with early diagnosis and barium enema reduction, or selected surgical intervention when indicated.

Barium Sulfate↗
PubMed1992

Four-year experience with bronchial asthma in a pediatric intensive care unit.

Charts of all children with severe acute asthma admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care unit (PICU) of this hospital between January 1987 and December 1990 were reviewed retrospectively. There were 47 admissions for life threatening asthma to the PICU over this period, representing about 2% of all acute asthma admissions to our hospital. The mean duration of symptoms in these patients before admission was 54 hours. Only 55% of the PICU admissions had received bronchodilators before coming to our hospital emergency room from where they were admitted. From arterial blood gas analysis, 57% of the patients had hypercapnia (PaCO2 > 45 mmHg). All the patients received nebulized salbutamol frequently as well as intravenous aminophylline and hydrocortisone. Mechanical ventilation was used in only 8.5% of the patients. Only two patients developed pneumothorax, neither of whom had been mechanically ventilated, but they did not require surgical intervention for drainage. There was only one death in a patient who was known to have sickle cell anemia and developed sagittal sinus thrombosis. We conclude from our series that the mortality for children with life threatening asthma admitted to PICU is very low if bronchodilators and steroids are used optimally in their management, along with judicious selection of those requiring mechanical ventilation.

Asthma↗
PubMed1989

Vomiting as the main presenting symptom of acute asthma.

Vomiting as a dominant symptom in a patient with acute asthma is reported. The traditionally recognized triad of cough, tachypnea and wheezing were absent or trivial whenever this patient presented with persistent vomiting. A careful history, laboratory evaluation and a course of bronchodilators eventually ascertained that the episodes of vomiting were due to attacks of acute asthma. It is suggested that acute asthma be included in the differential diagnosis of recurrent and/or severe vomiting in children.

Acute Disease↗