All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Patna will start another speciality clinic for children.

The health hub's paediatrics department is starting a paediatric immunology clinic from January 16.

The new facility would deal with immune system-related deficiencies in children apart from rheumatic disorders such as arthritis. None of the state-run or private hospitals in Patna have this facility at the moment.

The paediatrics department of AIIMS-Patna already runs two speciality clinics for children - paediatric neuro-development clinic and paediatric asthma clinic - started last year. The paediatric immunology clinic would be the third speciality clinic the department would run.

'We have decided to start a separate and dedicated wing to treat immunology-related diseases in children because we were getting many cases of children suffering such disorders. AIIMS-Delhi and PGI-Chandigarh already have this wing,' said A.K. Baranwal, head of the paediatrics department at AIIMS-Patna.

Baranwal, earlier associated with Birmingham Children's Hospital in UK, said: 'Our paediatrics immunology clinic would mostly deal with the immune system-related disorders like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).'

SLE is an autoimmune disease marked by acute and chronic inflammation of various tissues of the body.

Autoimmune diseases occur when the body's tissues are attacked by its own immune system, which is supposed to fight infectious agents like bacteria and other foreign bodies. The system fights infections by producing anti-bodies. But in SLE patients, the immune system produces abnormal antibodies, in blood, which target the patient's own body and not infectious or foreign bodies. People suffering from SLE develop rashes on their skin. These patients are also at the risk of developing kidney and heart problems.

The clinic would also assess infants and children who are at risk of developing HIV. 'If a child shows HIV symptoms, we would refer him/her to the nearby ART centre. Once ART centre is open at our hospital, HIV positive children would also be treated here,' Baranwal said.

The clinic would also deal with children suffering from nephrotic syndrome (a kind of kidney disorder).

'In the past year, our department has treated around 25 cases of nephrotic syndrome (cause by damage to clusters of tiny blood vessels in the kidney). There might be many nephrotic syndrome patients in the state. So, we decided to treat this disorder in our paediatric immunology clinic.'

The paediatric immunology clinic would, however, open only once a week. 'The clinic would be open only on Fridays and people can visit it between 2pm and 5pm,' said Barnwal.

The consultation fee would be just Rs 10, he said.