This study described 17 cases of children admitted to the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital with acute hepatitis of unknown origin between mid-April and November 2022. Following the World Health Organization's working case definition of probable cases, 17 children, with a median age of 2.1 years (interquartile range: 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in children under 5 years have a significant clinical burden, also in primary care settings. This study investigates the epidemiology and burden of RSV in Italian children during the 2019/20 pre-pandemic winter season.
Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted in two Italian regions.
Digital pathology (DP) has begun to play a key role in the evaluation of liver specimens. Recent studies have shown that a workflow that combines DP and artificial intelligence (AI) applied to histopathology has potential value in supporting the diagnosis, treatment evaluation, and prognosis prediction of liver diseases. Here, we provide a systematic review of the use of this workflow in the field of hepatology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Nephritis is a common manifestation of IgA vasculitis and is morphologically indistinguishable from IgA nephropathy. While MEST-C scores are predictive of kidney outcomes in IgA nephropathy, their value in IgA vasculitis nephritis has not been investigated in large multiethnic cohorts.
Methods: Biopsies from 262 children and 99 adults with IgA vasculitis nephritis ( N =361) from 23 centers in North America, Europe, and Asia were independently scored by three pathologists.
Purpose: Univentricular heart is corrected with the Fontan procedure (FP). In the long term, so-called Fontan-associated liver diseases (FALDs) can develop. The aim of this study is to analyze the molecular profile of FALDs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common glomerulonephritis worldwide. While studies have primarily focused on identifying risk factors for disease progression, very few data exist on the likelihood of achieving complete recovery from the disease.
Methods: We conducted a single-center retrospective study on all consecutive patients with biopsy-proven IgAN diagnosed between 1986 and 2018 in our pediatric center.
Background: Pancreatic Stone Protein (PSP) is one of the most promising diagnostic and prognostic markers. The aim of the study was to assess the accuracy of PSP, compared to C-Reactive Protein (CRP), and Procalcitonin (PCT) for sepsis diagnosis in pediatric patients. Furthermore, we explored the correlation of PSP levels with sepsis severity and organ failure measured with PELOD-2 score.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Childhood overweight and obesity have been described by the World Health Organization as noncommunicable diseases and among the greatest public health threats since they have reached epidemic proportions. A child with obesity risks becoming an adult with obesity and developing metabolic and hemostatic disorders which are the basis for the development of coronary heart diseases. Recently, a number of clinical reports have demonstrated that both an increase in plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and a deficiency in 25OH-vitamin D3 (VD) are associated with an increase in thrombotic episodes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: It is well known that the best nutritional option for infants is human milk, and that when breastfeeding is not possible, human milk banks are a possible alternative. However, in the case of infants with fat transport disorder like chylothorax, defatting of human milk is mandatory.
Research Aim: The aim of the study was to reduce milk fat content without reducing other nutrients, increasing oxidative stress, or introducing harmful microorganisms.
Background: Children with severe food allergy may present high risk of fatal anaphylaxis and a highly impaired quality of life. Anti IgE-treatment has been shown to be a promising approach as monotherapy for severe allergy to multiple foods. However, very high serum total IgE levels may limit its use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2), was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 2020, causing unprecedented disease with million deaths across the globe, mostly adults. Indeed, children accounted for only a few percent of cases. Italy was the first Western country struck by the COVID-19 epidemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObesity has reached epidemic proportions, and the World Health Organization defined childhood overweight and obesity as a noncommunicable disease that represents the most serious public health challenges of the twenty-first century. Oxidative stress, defined as an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants causing an impairment of the redox signals, is linked to the development of metabolic diseases. In addition, reactive oxygen species generated during metabolic disorder could increase inflammation, causing the development of insulin resistance, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChildren are prone to bloodstream infections (BSIs), the rapid and accurate diagnosis of which is an unmet clinical need. The T2MR technology is a direct molecular assay for identification of BSI pathogens, which can help to overcome the limits of blood culture (BC) such as diagnostic accuracy, blood volumes required, and turnaround time. We analyzed results obtained with the T2Bacteria (648) and T2Candida (106) panels in pediatric patients of the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital between May 2018 and September 2020 in order to evaluate the performance of the T2Dx instrument with respect to BC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most frequent form of leishmaniasis. The auricle is an extremely rare site for CL in the Old World. Auricular CL may be mistaken for other entities, such as relapsing polychondritis (RP).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOwing to an increasing number of infections in adults, has gained recognition as an emerging human pathogen, causing bacteraemia and septicaemia. In September 2020, four paediatric onco-hematologic patients received a platelet concentrate from the same adult donor at Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome. Three of four patients experienced sepsis one day after transfusion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common rare disease caused by a mutation of the gene encoding a channel protein of the apical membrane of epithelial cells leading to alteration of Na and K transport, hence inducing accumulation of dense and sticky mucus and promoting recurrent airway infections. The most detected bacterium in CF patients is (PA) which causes chronic colonization, requiring stringent antibiotic therapies that, in turn induces multi-drug resistance. Despite eradication attempts at the first infection, the bacterium is able to utilize several adaptation mechanisms to survive in hostile environments such as the CF lung.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: On 9th January 2020, China CDC reported a novel coronavirus (later named SARS-CoV-2) as the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Identifying the first appearance of virus is of epidemiological importance to tracking and mapping the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in a country. We therefore conducted a retrospective observational study to detect SARS-CoV-2 in oropharyngeal samples collected from hospitalized patients with a Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) enrolled in the DRIVE (Development of Robust and Innovative Vaccine Effectiveness) study in five Italian hospitals (CIRI-IT BIVE hospitals network) (1st November 2019 - 29th February 2020).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe determination of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) and Alpha Fetoprotein (AFP) levels on serum and amniotic fluid plays a fundamental role in the diagnosis and follow-up of specific physiological or pathological conditions (e.g., pregnancy, threat of abortion or germ cell tumors).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Brain death secondary to traumatic brain injury is one of the main sources of organs for transplantation but it can be associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation, which has been considered a relative contraindication for kidney donation.
Methods: We describe two successful pediatric cases of kidney transplantation from a single donor with disseminated intravascular coagulation.
Results: A 17-year-old male donor died from head injury and both kidneys were offered to our center.
Purpose: Paediatric obesity is a well-known risk factor for metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on the levels of total homocysteine (tHcy) and total glutathione (tGSH) plasma levels in children with MAFLD.
Material And Methods: Twenty-four children with severe obesity who underwent LSG were included in the study.
In December 2019, a novel coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 started circulating in China and this led to a major epidemic in Northern Italy between February and May 2020. Young children (aged <5 years) seem to be less affected by this coronavirus disease (COVID-19) compared to adults, although there is very little information on the circulation of this new virus among children in Italy. We retrospectively tested nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 in samples collected in young children between November, 2019 and March, 2020 in the context of the RSV ComNet study.
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