Babies born before the 34th week of pregnancy, weighing two kilograms, and receiving oxygen should be referred to ophthalmologists for screening because too much oxygen could damage the eyesight, lungs, and brain of prematurely born babies, Prof Dr Syed Jamal Raza told The Express Tribune on the sidelines of the concluding session of 26th Biennial International Pediatric Conference organized by Pakistan Pediatric Association on Sunday.
Dr Raza said that there were no oxygen-administration guidelines in Pakistan and health specialists and medical practitioners used to administer oxygen as per estimations. "For the first time in the history of Pakistan, this conference has come up with guidelines, which have been developed by Pakistan Pediatric Association in collaboration with UNICEF and the National Health Services," he said.
"These knowledge and research-based guidelines set the oxygen level to be administered to the newborns. There should be a referral mechanism to a hospital where these facilities are available," he said. "It will save the eyesight and life of the newborns," he added. "These guidelines will be forwarded to the health department for implementation."
Others who spoke at the conference included Prof Jamal Raza, Dr Waseem Jamalvi, Dr M. Khalid Shafi, Dr Tufail Muhammad Khan, Prof Tipu Sultan, Dr Waseem Ur Rehman, Prof Aisha Mehnaz, Dr Naeem Zafar, Dr Arsheen Zeeshan, and others.
While speaking during a session on 'Developing Child Protection System for Pakistan', Dr Tufail Muhammad Khan, Chairperson, Child Rights Group-PPA, said that short-term effect of child abuse includes injuries to various body parts, loss of life, sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancy, anxiety, suicide attempts, whereas long-term effects include cognitive impairment, paralysis, sexual dysfunction, infertility, and poor social adaptation. The short-term consequences may become long-term consequences," he added.
"In Pakistan, there is no structured child protection system nor is there any federal and provincial legislation. There is a need to develop a structured child protection system, which addresses prevention, recognition, referral, management, and aftercare," Dr Tufail said. "Families, schools, health professionals, law enforcement agencies, social services, voluntary agencies, community leaders, and religious organizations could help keep families together and children safe."
He further said that child abuse constitutes all forms of physical and emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, or negligent treatment and exploitation resulting in potential harm to the child's health, survival, and development.
Prof Tipu Sultan and Dr Waseem Ur Rehman, in their speeches on "Spectrum of Inherited Metabolic Disorders with Neurological Manifestations in Children", enlightened the conference that "inborn errors" of metabolism are inherited diseases in which the function of a protein is damaged or lost. "Neurological manifestations are the most common presenting features and it occurs at varying rates in different groups with a higher rate associated with consanguinity," he added.
While talking about "Traumatic Brain Injury", Dr Arsheen Zeeshan said that Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury (PTBI) is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity with TBI observed in more than 75% of fall-related injuries and 50% of road traffic accidents. "In Pakistan, 46% of TBI does not have access to quality emergency medical services," she added.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2022.
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