Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) also known as cot or crib death is an unexplained and mysterious disorder present in infants less than one year. It is unexpected and sudden death during sleeping hours of healthy infants. Mostly infants die during midnight hours without having any sign and symptom. It has been observed that 90% of them die before 6 months. Numbers of researches are present which could not explain the exact cause of death in SIDS infants. No suitable treatment and vaccine are available. It can only be prevented by following precautionary measures.
The two major attributions can be adopted to reduce the risk of SIDS; breastfeeding and use of pacifier. United States and United Kingdom have high risk of SIDS due to poor breast feeding. This postneonatal infant disorder is still third driving reason of baby mortality in United States. Pakistan is also at high risk of SIDS due to high poverty rate. Before the infant die due to SIDS all other potential reasons for death must be researched.
What are the causes of SIDS?
No exact reason can be explained but some of the risk factors are suggested by researchers which are discussed and vary child to child.
· Stomach sleeping: SIDS is most likely present in babies who sleep on their stomach rather than those who sleep on their back. It is believed that stomach sleeping results in difficult breathing so, risk of SIDS becomes higher in them.
· Sleeping on soft surface: During sleeping infants who lye their faces down to fluffy surface or with blanket or pillows or with stuff toys may have difficulty in breathing.
· Sharing bed: The risk of SIDS is higher in first three months of infants who share their bed with parents, some of sibling or anyone.
· Physical factors: some of the physical factors can be possibly become reason of SIDS.
o Brain defect in some infants may be the cause of SIDS. In SIDS infant’s portion of brain does not develop properly that controls breathing and sleep-awakening activities.
o Respiratory infection may be results in SIDS because infection cause breathing problems
o Untimely birth or being a part of a various birth results in premature brain due to this breathing and heart rate cannot be controlled properly.
o Being overheated may be another reason of SIDS.
· Being passive smoker: infants become passive smoker of their mother or father or both have increasing risk of being SIDS sufferers. Because smoking make them to breath with difficulty.
· Genetics: It cannot be said with clarity but most of the researchers have been observed the chances of SIDS become higher in those infants whom cousins have affected by this.
· Gender: It has been noted that SIDS chances are high in male infants than in female infants
· Maternal risk factors: In some cases, some mothers are become reason of their infants being affected.
o Mothers who got pregnant in early twenties have risk of having SIDS infant
o Those mothers who are addict of drugs or alcohol or using cigarettes
o Prenatal care have not be given to mothers before delivery
o Avoid breast feeding and prefer bottle feeding in early months after delivery
What is RISK MODEL OF SIDS?
This model has been proposed to explain about the most possible causes of SIDS in infants.
· Infants with their abnormal brainstem are not able to respond properly to low oxygen level and high carbon dioxide level in blood.
· Infants who use to sleep on face down to stomach or belly
· Any of these event may happen during early 6 months that vulnerable period to infants
How can SIDS infants be diagnosed?
We cannot clearly tell the real cause but if other causes have been excluded then most possible cause of SIDS may be diagnosed by
· Doing scene investigation
· Doing autopsy
· Taking review of clinical history
How SIDS can be prevented in infants?
No real cause of SIDS has been investigated but some possible precautions can be adopted to lower the risk of SIDS
· Sleep on back: it is necessary to prevent your infant underlying sleep or sleep on stomach. Place your infant on back for sleeping especially first 6 to 8 months. This posture makes your infant to breath with comfort.
· Avoid fluffy material: Don’t leave your infant with fluffy material i.e. blanket, pillow, quilt, lambskin or stuff toys. This stuff may interfere with your infants breathing and results can be vulnerable. Try to use firm matters in crib or cot
· Avoid overheating: Don’t use extra clothes to cover your infant and try not to cover your infant head if not necessary. Try sleep sack or other sleep clothing which don’t require another clothe
· Sleep in crib or cot: try to sleep your infant in crib or cot because sharing bed with adults may cause problem. Your infant may suffocate due to trap in space between mattress and bed frame or space between matters and wall or any of the parent may roll over to the infant accidentally and cover his/her mouth or nose.
· Offer pacifier: Using of pacifiers during nap time or bedtime may reduce the chances of SIDS among your infants. Pacifiers should be offer when your baby becomes 3 to 4 weeks old so that you will be able to set his/her nursing routine properly. It’s better to wait for a month if your baby is on breast feeding.
· Other precautions
o Breastfeeding specially for first one year reduce the risk of SIDS
o Avoid alcohol, drugs and smoking. If you are sharing your bed with baby strictly cut off smoking.
o Properly immunize your baby. In some studies it has been discussed that 50% chances of SIDS reduce among properly immunized babies.
o Avoid home monitors or any devices that are not safe and effective for your babies.
Death of SIDS infants is really tragic for whole family. Some children hospitals are available that have resources and support sufferers. Some general practioners and health visitors give advice and do counseling to parents and family.
Dr Rizwan Uppal, the founder of IDC, believed that proper and timely diagnosis is the key to successful treatment. An all under one roof diagnostic service with the name of Islamabad Diagnostic Center (IDC) Pvt. Ltd was established in the beautiful City of Islamabad more than a decade ago.
This brain child of Dr Rizwan was not possible without the support of his two brothers and Executive directors, Dr Rehan Uppal and Dr Imran Uppal. Since the day of inception, Dr Rehan has been a great assistance and immense help in IDC progress and evolution. IDC’s main strength lies in use of state of the art technology, in the hands of qualified and experienced team of doctors and technologist on 24/7 basis. There is still no such setup of equivalent scale and quality in Pakistan.
IDC is one facility where both laboratory and Radiology services. The widest spectrum of in house laboratory tests and imaging investigations are available nowhere, other than at IDC. To further widen the services of rare but important tests, IDC is now offering a unique service of sending samples to UK at The Doctors Lab (TDL), and Germany, Synlab on daily basis at no extra cost.
The small and humble setup of IDC established more than decade ago is now spreaded nationwide. IDC now has a branch network of more than 2 dozen outlets and mini IDCs, with a staff of more than 300 doctors and technologist and supporting staff, working day and night to offer the best diagnostics to the patients and doctors. IDC is actively participating in external and internal quality assurance Programs from UK EQAS and USA (CAP) , NEQAP, PNRA) and ISO certification. The IDC is also involved in academic and research activities. It is affiliated with Irsa University. IDC pathologist and doctors are part of Nafees Medical College academic faculty.
IDC has the vision to provide health for all through better medical diagnostics.
IDC has taken lead in providing all type of novel studies like Real Time PCR for Hepatitis B/C and MTB, CR DR system, latest Open MRI, Digital CMOS OPG and 4D real time ultrasonography, Digital Holter Recorder & Ambulatory BP Monitor, ETT, Spirometry, Mammography, Fluoroscopy and ECHO in Rawalpindi & Islamabad tests that are not available anywhere in Pakistan are carried out in collaboration with SynLab Services (Germany) and The Doctor’s Lab (TDL) UK. Besides quality, accuracy & reliability, IDC takes pride in offering quickest turn-around times (TAT). Special cold chain shipment is provided by FedEx & DHL to meet IDC standards.
Dr. Essa’s labortary & diagnostic center founded in 1987, has rapidly achived its reputation as one of the leading laboratories in pakistan
Essa Lab specializes in a wide range of testing services available to patient’s physicians and hospitals. It pledges to provide its clients with clinical laboratory analyses that meet the required standards of quality and accuracy, using state-of-the-art equipment and methodology, thereby providing trusted & reliable results.
Prof Dr. Essa M Abdulla recently received the Eli Lilly Gold Medal 2000, presented by Prof Ata-ur-Rahman, Federal Minister of Science & Technology, for the most outstanding Microbiologist and teacher in Pakistan. The laboratory founded in 1987,when Prof. Essa returned after having a rich teaching experience for 40 years abroad.
CERTIFIED From ISO and Our organization aspires to achieve commendable standards of performance, giving physicians and patients the personal and professional commitment they expect and deserve.
In 1996, we set out to establish a medical diagnostic center that caters to the needs of patients and diagnosticians alike. Our focus has always been on providing a quality service in a timely manner. We take pride in the fact that years later, today, with a network of collection centers in and out of Lahore, AL-Nasar Lab® & Diagnostic Centre remains the provider of a wide variety of medical services for the most competitive rates in the industry. Our Mission is to provide reliable, timely, high quality, cost-effective and innovative diagnostic services & information to our patients and clients
We are only one in Lahore who provides DEXA scan, A DEXA scan is a special type of X-ray that measures bone mineral density (BMD). DEXA stands for "dual energy X-ray absorptiometry". This type of scan may also be called: a DXA scan. a bone density scan
Our quality management system is certified by TUV AUSTRIA.
Excel Lab was founded upon core values of patient priority and accurate testing. During the past 25 years we have built up a legendary reputation for excellence in both, from a small local lab we have grown to become a regional network. However, our goal remains unchanged – to serve each patient with the same care and service that is at the core of our organization.
Excel Labs utilizes state of the art equipment from top international manufacturers. In addition, the reagents used for testing are purchased directly from the authorized dealers in Pakistan to ensure that “cold chain” requirements are met. All this, along with a rigorous QC and QA program ensure that all results are of international standard.
Excel Labs is the only lab in Pakistan to have participated in the external Quality Assurance program of the College of American Pathologists for more than 20 years. By doing so, we have successfully met the CLIA standards specified for US labs
Excel Labs has also developed and implemented a quality management system that complies with the international standard ISO 9001:2008.
Al Razi Healthcare (Pvt.) Limited is a state-of-the-art private healthcare facility centrally located on M.M. Alam Road, Lahore with a focus on providing excellent hospital services supported by high quality Radiological and Laboratory diagnostics. The company operates through two main facilities; Al Razi Hospital and Al Razi Laboratory.
The hospital itself has been operational for over 5 years, providing healthcare facilities to both walk-in and corporate clients. We have over 50 foreign qualified consultants at our facility representing all major specialties such as Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Dermatology, Oncology, General Surgery, Dentistry, Palliative care etc. The hospital also offers round the clock Emergency Services and Home Services including visits from doctors and co blood sample collection obtained from the privacy and convenience of a patient’s own home – at no extra cost.
Al-Razi truly excels is in providing outstanding Radiology Services with its state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment which includes a Digital X-Ray, Dual Source 64 slice CT, and an Open bore 1.5T MRI. This equipment is by far the most highly advanced in Pakistan.
The Diagnostic Center. Aznostics private Limited is a company dedicated to providing high quality and ethical radiology and pathology diagnostics services. Established in 2011, it has in a short time developed a reputation for providing excellent consultative and investigative services and has opened satellite branches in Lahore, Gujranwala and Sialkot. We have a full range of radiology and pathology services.
We are a group of leading physicians most of whom have trained overseas and held teaching and research appointments Aznostics has a special interest in the diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in particular. We hold a weekly tumor board meeting for this and are heavily involved in a charitable low cost hepatitis screening and treatment program. We are a socially responsible group and take part in many health related initiatives including blood camps, anti-smoking campaigns and hepatitis awareness.
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The combined experience of our management teams, help our clients to interact and discuss any enquiries they may have about the laboratory or radiology services provided by the Diagnostics center Network.
Working as one highly efficient team, our supporting departments are confident in providing the highest quality services throughout the Pakistan. Our clinical management teams are professional, highly qualified scientists that have vast experience in the field of medicine, clinical pathology and information technology. Such a formidable combination of scientific and managerial expertise, allow us to assist our referring doctors and clinicians.
Innova is a name of Quality and Care. We guarantee excellent facilities, provided by a team of highly qualified doctors and specialists in a very compassionate, comfortable yet professional ambiance.
With its state-of-the-art technology, Innova offers outstanding services in areas of Endocrinology, Hematology, Clinical Pathology, Molecular Biology, Microbiology and Histopathology. In addition to our diagnostic services, our esteemed clients enjoy our luxurious customers services by having an easy access to their reports via web-based reporting, free urgent reporting, SMS reporting services, WhatsApp reporting on request. Last but not the least, we also provide “Free” home sample collection services. Stay connected and enjoy our constantly evolving innovative services.
Established in 1984 in Lahore, Al-Noor Diagnostic Centre (ANDC) has been constantly facilitating the nation in the field of diagnostic services. Being a three storied building, which is situated in the heart of Lahore (Shadman), ANDC aims to provide diagnostic facilities along with other medical services under one roof. All the diagnostic facilities are supervised by the leading, highly experienced medical professionals. We guarantee quality healthcare services for your relevant medical conditions. ANDC is fully equipped with multiple high-end sophisticated ultrasound machines, 128 slice MDCT which is also capable of performing cardiac CT, MRI, fluoroscopic machine, CR system, mammography, OPG, CBCT and DEXA scan. ANDC has developed its reputation with state-of-the-art equipment and by providing outstanding, accurate / precise diagnostic services.
Citi Lab and Research Centre was established in 1986. The lab is facilitating superior quality diagnostics services to its customers through a very e!cient network of labs and collection points. We use fully automated instruments for lab tests with best accuracy and precision. This enables the lab to report test results quickly without ever compromising on quality. It is because of this reputation of uncompromising quality and quick reporting time that is the reference lab of choice for multiple hospitals and labs.
Citi lab and Research Centre has an extended nationwide network of laboratory collection centers running under strict guidelines and standard operating procedures to ensure provision of quality testing services to people all over Pakistan. An advanced patient data management system is available where test results are saved within the labs Information System, an in-house built software system, and can be easily accessed online.
Lab one was incorporated in the year 2003 by Prof. Dr. Javed Asif and Mr. Mumtaz Khan. Since then Lab One continued to facilitate patient care by providing high quality, cost effective and certified laboratory testing to patients and referring centers all over Pakistan. Lab One is one of the leading state-of the-art laboratory in Lahore and serves a critical role in the health care perpetuity. We offer reliable test and efficient delivery of reports providing quality health care. Lab One aims not to earn but to serve the patients with its best resources and abilities.
