OBJECTIVE: To compare the safety and efficacy of buccal midazolam as opposed to rectal diazepam in the treatment of acute seizures in children less than 18 years old. METHODOLOGY: This is a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing the use of buccal midazolam and rectal diazepam as treatment for acute seizures in children less than 18 years old. The total population of each study are as follows: 330 patients (Mpimbaza, 2008), 43 patients (Baysun, 2005), and 17 patients, all less than 18 years old, coming into the emergency department due to seizures. RESULTS: There is no significant difference in the mean duration of seizure in minutes and seizure cessation in ten minutes between the buccal midazolam and rectal diazepam groups (Mean difference 0.39; 95% Confidence interval [CI] -0.18 to 0.96; p=0.17; Risk ratio [RR] 0.99; 95% CI 0.83 to 1,19, p=0.2). There is no significant difference in the risk of respiratory depression between buccal midazolam and rectal diazepam (RR 0.96; 95% CI 0.22 to 4.13; p=0.61). CONCLUSION The administration of buccal midazolam and rectal diazepam are similar in terms of efficacy and safety in terms of time to seizure cessation, termination of seizure within ten minutes, and risk of respiratory depression.

BACKGROUND: Bullying most often occurs in the school environment and can affect the social climate of the school as well as the surrounding community. Bullying interferes with learning and student development, and its long-term social and emotional ramifications are solely underestimated. OBJECTIVES: To identify the prevalence and common risk factors for bullying among grade 5 and 6 students in a public elementary school in Quezon City. METHODS: This is a prospective cross-sectional study where in prevalence rate of bullying and the associated risk factors of bullying were analyzed. The Illinois Bullying Scale (IBS) was used to measure the prevalence of bullying. RESULTS: A total of 166 students between 10-12 years old of age participated in the study. All the respondents were old students. Majority of them were male (53.61%). Nine of ten students were Catholics. Majority of the fathers and half of the mothers were employed. The prevalence of bullying was at 15.66%. There was 18% prevalence of bullying on the victim subscale, 13.86% on the bully subscale, and 15.66% on the fight subscale. CONCLUSION Males have increased bully scores compared to female for both bully and fight subscales. Other factors such as being overweight or underweight, educational levels of parents, socioeconomic status, composition of the families play no significant association with bullying among students in public school. Schools and parents should become familiar with the school‘s definition of bullying, bullying prevention policies and the code of conduct.
Bullying