180 paediatrics meet to discuss critical cases

ABU DHABI — About 180 doctors from across the UAE converged yesterday on the capital to discuss recent approaches in the field of paediatrics and shed light on the most critical clinical cases of children under treatment in the hospitals of Abu Dhabi.

By A Staff Reporter

Published: Sat 27 May 2006, 10:32 AM

Last updated: Sat 4 Apr 2015, 1:52 PM

The one-day meeting was organised by the Paediatric Department of the Emirates Medical Association (EMA) at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Paediatric consultants from the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC), Zayed Military Hospital, Al Rahba and Mafraq Hospitals reviewed eight critical and rare cases of young children during four scientific sessions chaired by heads of the paediatric departments at these health institutions.

“The paediatrics gathering is part of the EMA meetings that are held every two months in one of the emirates to shed light on the curative and preventive advancements in various medical specialisations,” said Dr Saggaf Alawi Al Saggaf, President of the EMA.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Dr Ann Feng, Senior Paediatric Consultant at SKMC, said participants discussed treatment of Kawasaki disease, a systemic vasculitis, which is an inflammation of blood vessels that can be particularly dangerous because it can affect the coronary arteries which supply blood to the heart.

The symptoms of the Kawasaki Syndrome usually involves a persistent or prolonged fever, severe redness in the eyes, red, dry, cracked lips and swollen palms of the hands and soles of the feet with a purple-red colour, explained Dr Feng. Children suffering the disease should be hospitalised for treatment, she said.

Dr Saggaf added that the Kawasaki disease is an illness that involves the skin, mouth, and lymph nodes, and typically affects children who are under the age of five. He said the cause of the Kawasaki disease is unknown, but if the symptoms are recognised at an early stage, kids with the disease can fully recover within a few days. If it goes untreated, it can lead to serious complications that can involve the heart, he said.

Meanwhile, the participating paediatrics also discussed cases involving somnolence in a toddler, an unusual cause of AC pancreatitis in eight-year-old girl, a rare cause of developmental delay, idiopathic infantile arterial calcification, thrombophilia and fever in children.