Caring for Children

A branch of medicine devoted to diseases of children, infants and newborns, paediatrics, has a long and rich tradition of attracting the medical profession's best and brightest.

Looking at the crowds of children of all ages flocking to AKU's Department of Paediatrics, it is clear that this tradition is alive and well on campus. AKU's paediatricians combine the time-honoured medical ideals of service, education and research with a remarkable awareness of children's needs, making it the leading paediatrics department in the country.

AKU has cared for children from the time the University Hospital first opened its doors in 1985. "We are one of the largest departments of the University, with intensive commitments in all areas of modern paediatrics, including general and subspecialty care, residency and fellowship training, and research," notes Dr. Gaffar Billoo, the Kamruddin M. Jessani Professor of Paediatrics and Department Chairman. Dr. Billoo's positive assessment is echoed in the activities of the department's highly accomplished faculty. Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, the Husein Laljee Dewraj Professor of Paediatrics, has become world-famous for scientific contributions in the areas of micro-nutrient research, typhoid fever and neonatal infections. Professor Qamaruddin Nizami and Associate Professors Drs. Iqtidar Khan and Mehnaz Atiq are also highly regarded academics, with contributions in nephrology, paediatric public health and paediatric cardiology. A recent addition is Assistant Professor Dr. Anita Zaidi (MBBS '88), an infectious disease specialist who has returned after serving on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School. The other Assistant Professors are Dr. Shahnaz Ibrahim, neurologist, and Dr. Zehra Fadoo (MB, BS '91), a haematologist-oncologist. The faculty rolls also include Senior Instructors Drs. Ayesha Mirza and Sohail Salat, Instructors Drs. Shabina Arif and Nasir Rashid, and as many as 18 non-full-time consultants.

The Department of Paediatrics has distinguished itself by being pioneers in conducting academic research at AKU.  A central theme of paediatrics research at AKU is community-based scientific investigations which aim at reducing neonatal and childhood mortality in Pakistan. The Department is the recipient of multiple grants totalling more than US$ 4.5 million in the last five years. Current research projects include World Health Organization (WHO) sponsored studies of treatment of meningitis and sepsis; International  Vaccine Institute-funded studies of  the burden of cholera, shigella, and typhoid, as well as assessment of the public health impact of a typhoid vaccination programme. A major cluster randomised controlled trial of community-based perinatal interventions in rural Pakistan recently received funding from WHO and Saving Newborn Lives initiatives of the Gates Foundation.  With its prolific and widely cited academic output, the Department has already begun to influence national policy on paediatric care in the country.

The paediatrics faculty oversees a busy inpatient service with close to 100 beds spread in different areas including general care, special care, intensive care and neonatal intensive care. Bed occupancy is usually around 80%. The outpatient facilities are equally busy, with regular clinics scheduled from 9 A.M. to 8 P.M., Monday through Saturday. As part of a comprehensive philosophy of care, there is close liaison with paediatric surgeons as well as with paediatricians practicing outside AKU. The Department takes special pride in its teaching programmes, which train medical students and residents, and also provide advanced fellowship training to paediatricians who have already completed residency education. Inspired by their paediatrics rotations, many AKU medical graduates have gone on to take up the speciality, a testimony to the high teaching standards that AKU paediatrics has maintained over the years. The Department also enjoys collaborative links for training selected individuals in the world's leading medical centres, including the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

Distinguished as the Department is, it still remains very conscious of the need to keep innovating. Dr. Billoo looks forward to one day realising the dream of a Maternal and Child Health complex at AKU that will provide holistic care to mothers and children.