Long-term multi-systemic complications following SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and Delta infection in children: a retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: Most studies on long-term sequelae of SARS-CoV-2-infection in children were conducted pre-Omicron and pre-dated vaccination rollout. We examined long-term risk of new-incident multi-systemic sequelae after SARS-CoV-2 Delta/Omicron infection in a multi-ethnic Asian pediatric population.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of Singaporean children aged 1- 17 years infected during Delta/Omicron BA.

Childhood acute flaccid myelitis, including the first confirmed cases of enterovirus D68 myelitis, in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Aim: We report the epidemiology, treatment and outcomes of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), including the first two cases of enterovirus (EV) D68 myelitis, in Singapore.

Methods: Retrospective observational study from a paediatric hospital in Singapore, from January 2012 to December 2022. Clinical, laboratory, neuroimaging and outcome data were analysed.

Time to positivity of blood cultures in paediatric patients.

Aim: Continuous monitoring of blood culture (BC) systems allows rapid detection of microbial growth. We aimed to determine differences in time to positivity (TTP) in BACTEC BC between organisms and whether a 36-h period was sufficient to detect all relevant pathogenic bacteria for children admitted to a tertiary care paediatric hospital.

Methods: This was a retrospective audit of positive aerobic (AE) and anaerobic (AN) BC from paediatric inpatients with available TTP from 1 August 2016 to 2 January 2019.

Long COVID prevalence, risk factors and impact of vaccination in the paediatric population: A survey study in Singapore.

Introduction: Information on the quality of health of children and younger persons (CYPs) after SARS-COV-2 infection remains scarce, especially from Asia. In this study, we utilised an online survey to investigate Long COVID prevalence in CYPs in Singapore.

Method: The study was an anonymised online survey of physical and functional symptoms, made available from 14 October 2022 to 15 January 2023.

T cell hybrid immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in children: a longitudinal study.

Background: Hybrid immunity to SARS-CoV-2, resulting from both vaccination and natural infection, remains insufficiently understood in paediatric populations, despite increasing rates of breakthrough infections among vaccinated children.

Methods: We conducted a prospective longitudinal study to investigate the magnitude, specificity, and cytokine profile of antigen-specific T cell responses elicited by breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection in a cohort of mRNA-vaccinated children (n = 29) aged 5-11. This longitudinal analysis involved six distinct time points spanning a 16-month period post-vaccination, during which we analysed a total of 159 blood samples.

Remdesivir therapy for severe pediatric COVID-19 in Singapore: A single-center retrospective observational cohort study.

Background And Aims: There is a paucity of information on remdesivir (RDV) use in severe pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to explore the effectiveness of RDV as the cumulative proportion of pediatric COVID-19 patients deescalated from Day 5 of high dependency or intensive care unit (HD/ICU).

Methods: All children ≤18 years admitted to Singapore's largest pediatric hospital from January 1, 2020 to March 18, 2022 were reviewed retrospectively.

Potential relevance of salivary legumain for the clinical diagnostic of hand, foot, and mouth disease.

The fight against hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) remains an arduous challenge without existing point-of-care (POC) diagnostic platforms for accurate diagnosis and prompt case quarantine. Hence, the purpose of this salivary biomarker discovery study is to set the fundamentals for the realization of POC diagnostics for HFMD. Whole salivary proteome profiling was performed on the saliva obtained from children with HFMD and healthy children, using a reductive dimethylation chemical labeling method coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics technology.

BNT162b2 vaccine induced variant-specific immunity, safety and risk of Omicron breakthrough infection in children aged 5 to 11 years: a cohort study.

There is little information on BNT162b2 vaccine-induced variant-specific immunogenicity, safety data and dynamics of breakthrough infections in pediatric populations. We addressed these questions using a prospective two dose BNT162b2 (10 mcg) vaccination cohort study of healthy children 5-11 years in Singapore. Follow up included blood samples at scheduled visits, daily vaccination symptom diary and confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Paediatric actinomycosis: A 16-year, single-institution retrospective review of cases.

Aim: Actinomycosis is a rare subacute to chronic granulomatous infection which can mimic other infectious or malignant diseases. This study examined the epidemiology and treatment outcome of actinomycosis in children.

Methods: A retrospective study on children admitted for actinomycosis in a tertiary paediatric hospital in Singapore, from January 2004 to December 2020.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children in Singapore.

Introduction: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare inflammatory syndrome with multisystem involvement affecting children exposed to COVID-19. This condition is rarely reported in East Asia and was not detected in Singapore until 2021. We present 12 cases of MIS-C diagnosed in KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) from October 2021 to December 2021.

Effectiveness of maternal pertussis vaccination in Singapore: A test-negative case-control study.

Pertussis vaccination (Tdap -Tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis) for pregnant women has been recommended since November 2017 in Singapore. In this prospective test-negative case-control study from 2018 to 2019, we aimed to evaluate vaccine effectiveness (VE) against pertussis infection and pertussis-related intensive care unit (ICU) admission according to Tdap (Tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis) during pregnancy and/or infant pertussis vaccination. A total of 58 children (26 cases, 32 controls) were recruited with 4 ICU admissions.

Effectiveness of primary series and booster vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalisation among adolescents aged 12-17 years in Singapore: a national cohort study.

Background: Singapore offered the BNT162b2 vaccine (tozinameran; Pfizer-BioNTech) to adolescents aged 12-17 years in May 18, 2021, and extended booster vaccines to this group in Jan 21, 2022. Literature on the effectiveness of primary series and booster vaccination among adolescents is scarce outside of Europe and North America. We aimed to determine primary series and booster vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalisation among adolescents in Singapore.

Implementation of Universal Newborn Screening for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency in Singapore While Continuing Routine Bacille-Calmette-Guerin Vaccination Given at Birth.

Introduction: Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) is generally fatal if untreated; it predisposes to severe infections, including disseminated Bacille-Calmette-Guerin (BCG) disease from BCG vaccination at birth. However, delaying BCG vaccination can be detrimental to the population in tuberculosis-endemic regions. Early diagnosis of SCID through newborn screening followed by pre-emptive treatment with anti-mycobacterial therapy may be an alternative strategy to delaying routine BCG vaccination.

Clinical profile of children with parechovirus meningitis in Singapore.

Human parechovirus (HPeV) is one of the most common causes of aseptic meningitis in children worldwide. This study aims to review the epidemiology, clinical presentation, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings in HPeV meningitis and compare these with Enterovirus (EV) meningitis. This is a retrospective study of children aged ≤ 1 year admitted for HPeV meningitis between November 2015 and July 2017, with positive CSF HPeV PCR and negative blood and CSF bacterial cultures.