Samanmali Sumanasena

• MBBS (C'bo), DCH (C'bo), MSc (London), MD (C'bo), MRCPCH (UK)
• Lecturer at University of Kelaniya

Objectives The nutritional data from children with cerebral palsy (CP) in low and middle income countries (LMIC) is sparse. In high income countries (HICs) well established nutritional care plans, commercial products and good psycho-social support are available.¹ A multitude of complications arise due to malnutrition leading to poor quality of life...

Objectives Cerebral palsy (CP) is the commonest physical disability in children globally.¹ It is a clinical diagnosis based on clinical and neurological findings. International clinical practice guidelines recommend early diagnosis and CP specific interventions to invest in neural plasticity and achieve optimal functional levels.² In the past diagn...

Background In recent years telehealth became a popular and a rational health service delivery approach, especially amidst multiple challenges posed while providing health care interventions during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Aim We synthesized available evidence on telehealth for managing children with NDDs in the Asia‐Pacific region with the aim of id...

Objectives Cerebral/cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) is defined as impaired vision due to damage to visual pathways or the visual cortex, or both. It is the commonest reason for visual impairment in children’s high-income countries.¹ However, there is less awareness about this condition in lower-middle-income countries, and it is relevant to unders...

Objectives To describe the rehabilitation services available for communication disorders in Sri Lanka and to estimate the adequacy of the services in provinces and districts of the country. Setting The study considered government and private institutions, which provide rehabilitation services for communication disorders in Sri Lanka. Participants...

Background Preschool children in low resource settings are at higher risk of missing developmental potential due to the lack of standardized and validated methods for the timely detection of children with developmental delays or neurodevelopmental disorders. The preschool teacher is a non-specialist resourceful link within the community to detect a...

Introduction Early detection of neuro-developmental (ND) disorders enables infants to be promoted to early intervention services. Objective This study aimed to evaluate ND outcomes in high-risk infants by examining the association between the neuro-motor assessments at 3 and 6 months corrected age (CGA) with the neuro-developmental assessments at 9...

Introduction:The quality and the range of vocational training (VT) courses offered to youth with disabilities (YwD) in low-middle-income countries are underexplored. This protocol describes a study designed to gather perceptions of a range of stakeholders related to the quality and relevance of VT programmes conducted by the Department of Social Se...

The quality and the range of vocational training (VT) courses offered to youth with disabilities (YwD) in low-middle-income countries are underexplored. This protocol describes a study designed to gather perceptions of a range of stakeholders related to the quality and relevance of VT programmes conducted by the Department of Social Services in Sri...

Background Although therapeutic hypothermia reduces death or disability after neonatal encephalopathy in high-income countries, its safety and efficacy in low-income and middle-income countries is unclear. We aimed to examine whether therapeutic hypothermia alongside optimal supportive intensive care reduces death or moderate or severe disability a...

Majority of under-five children with developmental disabilities live in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). A considerable proportion of disabilities results from perinatal adversities. The neonatal and infant mortality rates in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka have improved over the last two decades, implying survival of infants at risk for d...

Introduction Time-critical neonatal trials in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) raise several ethical issues. Using a qualitative-dominant mixed-methods design, we explored informed consent process in Hypothermia for encephalopathy in low and middle-income countries (HELIX) trial conducted in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Methods Term inf...

Objective To assess the developmental progression and compare the developmental attainments of children treated with two hormonal therapies for infantile spasms (IS) over two years (seizure and EEG outcomes of this RCT published previously). Methods Newly diagnosed infants with IS were randomised to receive adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) or prednisol...

ABSTRACT Introduction Time-critical neonatal trials in low-and�middle-income countries (LMICs) raise several ethical issues. Using a qualitative-dominant mixed-methods design, we explored informed consent process in Hypothermia for encephalopathy in low and middle-income countries (HELIX) trial conducted in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Met...

Introduction Cerebral palsy (CP) describes a heterogeneous group of motor disorders resulting from disturbance in the developing brain. CP occurs in approximately 2.1 per 1000 live births in high-income countries, but in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) the prevalence and severity of CP may be greater and aetiological risk factors different...

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is one of the most common and costly neurodevelopmental disorder of posture and movement among infants. CP has no cure, hence, intervention from the earliest is crucial to improve the quality of life of the patient. To magnify the complications with CP, the exact causes of CP is yet not clear. However, there had been many attemp...

Introduction: Dyslexia is a term describing specific reading impairments. Language lays the foundation for reading. Sinhala is an alpha-syllabic language with opaque orthography. The majority of evidence available on dyslexia is based on research on the English language which is an alphabetic language with opaque orthography. While there are univer...

Aim To describe the baseline developmental profile and influence of clinical and demographic factors on the developmental skills of infants diagnosed with infantile spasms. Method Ninety‐five infants (55 males, 40 females) newly diagnosed with infantile spasms were recruited for a cross‐sectional, longitudinal study. All infants underwent Bayley S...

Background: There is a lack of information on long-term neurodevelopmental outcome in preterm neonates in low- and middle-income countries. Objectives: To describe the developmental attainments of preterm neonates followed up for 5 years and to identify the risk factors for impairment. Method: A prospective descriptive cohort study was underta...

Objective: We earlier completed a single-blind, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial to test the null hypothesis that adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is not superior to high-dose prednisolone for short-term control of West syndrome. We now present long-term follow-up data for spasm control for individuals who completed this earlier trial....

Background: Early thyroxine replacement prevents intellectual impairment due to congenital hypothyroidism (CHT). There is minimal evidence on neurodevelopmental outcome of children commenced on thyroxine during early infancy from countries not screening for CHT. Objective: To assess the neurocognitive skills of children with CHT of age group 6-10 y...

Parents and service providers are the key care providers for children with disabilities (CWD) and understand their living circumstances best. These children are often invisible and face many challenges to full participation within their own communities. A qualitative phenomenological action research was carried out in three districts of Sri Lanka t...

Potocki–Lupski syndrome is a microduplication syndrome associated with duplication at 17p11.2. Features include facial dysmorphism, moderate to mild cognitive impairment and behavioural abnormalities including autism spectrum disorders. Case presentation We describe a patient from Sri Lanka that was referred for genetic assessment at 4 years of age...

Background Role of therapy on improvement of hypsarrhythmia has not been systematically assessed before. This study was performed to assess the efficacy of oral prednisolone and intramuscular adrenocorticotropine(ACTH) in improving hypsarrhythmia in West syndrome. Method Children (2 months-2 years) with previously untreated West syndrome, were ran...

Purpose: This study examined the experiences of children with disabilities, their parents and teachers at the special education units in 3 public schools, located in the Kandy district of Sri Lanka. Method: The participants were 20 children with disabilities, 18 parents and 8 teachers. In order to examine the influence of physical, social and psych...

Introduction Acute gastroenteritis causing watery diarrhoea is a common childhood problem managed in the majority of instances with oral rehydration therapy. But it is common for antibiotics to have been used in this condition prior to admission to hospital. This study was done to document the use of antibiotics in watery/mucoid diarrhoea.

Recurrent meningitis in children may be due to immune deficiency, presence of indwelling devices in the ventricular system or breakage of the mucocutaneous barrier between skin and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We report a child who presented with recurrent meningitis and CSF rhinorrhoea due to presence of a defect in the cribriform plate. Key words:...

To evaluate the risk of fulminant hepatic failure in relation to paracetamol overuse with therapeutic intent in febrile children. It was a case control study. Paracetamol ingestion for the current febrile illness was compared between 25 cases of fulminant hepatic failure and 33 hospital age matched controls. Supra-therapeutic doses of paracetamol (...

Opsoclonus-myoclonus is a rare neurological disorder characterised by intention tremor, unsteady gait, myoclonus and opsoclonus. Lethargy and irritability are also described. The abnormal eye movements are distinctive, being multidirectional and of high amplitude. Its recognition helps in the diagnosis of this clinical syndrome, the correct identif...

The final examination in paediatrics for medical undergraduates in Sri Lanka consists of a written and a clinical component. Each candidate at the clinical component sees one long case and two short cases. To assess the views of the bystanders regarding their sick children participating at a clinical examination, and to evaluate the children's perc...