Safety of the One Step Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (Push-PEG) Button in Pediatric Patients.

Objectives: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG)-systems are essential tools for enteral feeding in a broad variety of pediatric patients. The One Step ("Push-PEG") technique allows the direct introduction of a PEG-Button. The aim of the study was to investigate the safety and parental view of the Push-PEG technique.

Microbiome analysis and fecal microbiota transfer in pediatric gastroenterology - a structured online survey in German-speaking countries.

Purpose: To assess the current attitude and the status quo towards the use of microbiome analysis and fecal microbiota transfer (FMT) in pediatric patients in German-speaking pediatric gastroenterology centers.

Methods: A structured online survey among all certified facilities of the German-speaking society of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition (GPGE) was conducted from November 01, 2020, until March 30, 2021.

Results: A total of 71 centers were included in the analysis.

Infection and transmission risks of COVID-19 in schools and their contribution to population infections in Germany: A retrospective observational study using nationwide and regional health and education agency notification data.

Background: School-level infection control measures in Germany during the early Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic differed across the 16 federal states and lacked a dependable evidence base, with available evidence limited to regional data restricted to short phases of the pandemic. This study aimed to assess the (a) infection risks in students and staff; (b) transmission risks and routes in schools; (c) effects of school-level infection control measures on school and population infection dynamics; and (d) contribution of contacts in schools to population cases.

Methods And Findings: For this retrospective observational study, we used German federal state (NUTS-2) and county (NUTS-3) data from public health and education agencies from March 2020 to April 2022.

Implementing the Lolli-Method and pooled RT-qPCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in schools: a pilot project.

Purpose: School closures have been used as part of lockdown strategies to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2, adversely affecting children's health and education. To ensure the accessibility of educational institutions without exposing society to the risk of increased transmissions, it is essential to establish SARS-CoV-2 testing strategies that are child-friendly, scalable and implementable in a daily school routine. Self-sampling using non-invasive saliva swabs combined with pooled RT-qPCR testing (Lolli-Method) has been proven to be a sensitive method for the detection of SARS-CoV-2.

Effective high-throughput RT-qPCR screening for SARS-CoV-2 infections in children.

Systematic SARS-CoV-2 testing is a valuable tool for infection control and surveillance. However, broad application of high sensitive RT-qPCR testing in children is often hampered due to unpleasant sample collection, limited RT-qPCR capacities and high costs. Here, we developed a high-throughput approach ('Lolli-Method') for SARS-CoV-2 detection in children, combining non-invasive sample collection with an RT-qPCR-pool testing strategy.

[Fecal Microbiota Transfer (FMT) in Children and Adolescents - Review and statement by the GPGE microbiome working group].

The human microbiome and especially the gastrointestinal microbiota are associated with health and disease. Disturbance in the composition or function of fecal microbiota (dysbiosis) plays a role in the development of pediatric gastrointestinal diseases. Fecal microbiota transfer (FMT) is a special intervention, where microbiota are transferred from a healthy donor.

Pooled RT-qPCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in schools - a cluster randomised trial.

Background: The extent to which children and adolescents contribute to SARS-CoV-2 transmission remains not fully understood. Novel high-capacity testing methods may provide real-time epidemiological data in educational settings helping to establish a rational approach to prevent and minimize SARS-CoV-2 transmission. We investigated whether pooling of samples for SARS-CoV-2 detection by RT-qPCR is a sensitive and feasible high-capacity diagnostic strategy for surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 infections in schools.

Multidimensional response to vaccination pain in very preterm, moderate- to-late preterm and full-term infants at age three months.

Background: Very early life pain exposure and stress induces alterations in the developing brain and leads to altered pain sensitivity. In premature infants with a history of numerous early postnatal adverse events, behavioral responsiveness and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity may show alterations as well.

Aims: We compared a multidimensional response to a painful situation (vaccination) in three month old infants.

Clerkship maturity: does the idea of training clinical skills work?

Background: With the reformed curriculum "4C", the Medical Faculty of the University of Cologne has started to systematically plan practical skills training, for which Clerkship Maturity is the first step. The key guidelines along which the curriculum was development were developed by experts. This approach has now been validated.