Publications by authors named "Alex Donas"
Article Synopsis
- * The MYTHIC Study is designed as a rigorous trial involving 13 Swiss pediatric centers, comparing macrolide treatment to placebo in children aged 3-17 diagnosed with pneumonia, using precise tests to confirm M. pneumoniae infection.
- * The main goals are to assess the time to stabilize vital signs and determine any changes in patient care within 28 days, with an aim to show that the placebo is not significantly less effective than macrolide treatment in managing this infection.
Importance: Ileocolic intussusception is an important cause of intestinal obstruction in children. Reduction of ileocolic intussusception using air or fluid enema is the standard of care. This likely distressing procedure is usually performed without sedation or analgesia, but practice variation exists.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Sepsis is a significant cause of death in children globally, prompting a study on its incidence and outcomes in Switzerland between 2011-2015 due to blood culture-proven bacterial sepsis.
- The study involved nearly 1,100 children, revealing that a substantial percentage of sepsis cases occurred in previously healthy kids, neonates, and those with existing health issues.
- The overall case-fatality rate was 7%, with higher rates in neonates (11%) and children with comorbidities, while common pathogens included Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, accounting for a majority of sepsis episodes.
Article Synopsis
- Blood cultures are crucial for diagnosing and treating children suspected of having sepsis, with hospitals typically monitoring or treating them for at least 48 hours while waiting for results.
- A study from Swiss Pediatric Sepsis examined blood culture results in children aged 0-16 who tested positive for sepsis, finding that the median time to positivity (TTP) was 12 hours.
- The study revealed that most bacteria are detected within 24 hours, suggesting that the standard practice of observing or treating all suspected sepsis cases for a full 48 hours may be unnecessary.
Objective: To assess the epidemiology of blood culture-proven early- (EOS) and late-onset neonatal sepsis (LOS).
Study Design: All newborn infants admitted to tertiary care neonatal intensive care units in Switzerland and presenting with blood culture-proven sepsis between September 2011 and December 2015 were included in the study. We defined EOS as infection occurring <3 days after birth, and LOS as infection ≥3 days after birth.
The incidence and outcome of group B streptococcal (GBS) sepsis were assessed prospectively between September 2011 and February 2015 in all tertiary care pediatric hospitals of Switzerland. We describe a low incidence of GBS early-onset sepsis (0.12/1000 livebirths) and a predominance of GBS late-onset sepsis (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF