Administering analgesia sublingually is a suitable option for children with acute abdominal pain in the emergency department.

Aim: Acute abdominal pain is a frequent complaint in children attending emergency departments. The aim of this study was to investigate the pain score reductions when children with acute abdominal pain received medication sublingually.

Methods: We carried out a multicentre randomised controlled trial in three children's hospitals in Italy between March 2015 and June 2017.

Intranasal Nerve Growth Factor administration improves cerebral functions in a child with severe traumatic brain injury: A case report.

Background: Nerve growth factor (NGF) promotes neural recovery after experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI) supporting neuronal growth, differentiation and survival of brain cells and up-regulating the neurogenesis-associated protein Doublecortin (DCX). Only a few studies reported NGF administration in paediatric patients with severe TBI.

Methods: A four-year-old boy in a persistent unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) was treated with intranasal murine NGF administration 6 months after severe TBI.

Contact urticaria on eczematous skin by kiwifruit allergy. In vivo component-resolved diagnosis.

Background: Kiwifruit allergy has been responsible for a variety of clinical manifestations, ranging from mild reactions, such as localised oral symptoms, to severe systemic symptoms, such as anaphylaxis. No cases of isolated contact urticaria (ICU) due to IgE-mediated allergy to kiwifruit have been reported in the literature so far. Here we describe the first three cases of ICU due to kiwi and we hypothesise about a kiwifruit allergen not described yet.

Increased levels of neurotrophins in the cerebrospinal fluid of children with Epstein-Barr virus meningoencephalitis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of children with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-induced meningoencephalitis (ME) in order to establish a possible correlation with laboratory findings and neurological manifestations.

Methods: A prospective observational clinical study was performed on 10 children with viral ME, five of them with EBV-induced ME. As controls, we used CSF samples collected from children admitted with febrile seizures.

Neuroprotective role of nerve growth factor in hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.

Hypoxic-ischemic brain injuries (HIBI) in childhood are frequently associated with poor clinical and neurological outcome. Unfortunately, there is currently no effective therapy to restore neuronal loss and to determine substantial clinical improvement. Several neurotrophins, such as Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), and Glial Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF), play a key role in the development, differentiation, and survival of the neurons of the peripheral and central nervous system.

Effects of nerve growth factor in experimental model of focal microgyria.

Aim: The effects on neural repair of intraparenchymal nerve growth factor (NGF) administration were evaluated in neonate Wistar rats with experimentally induced focal microgyria.

Methods: A freezing focal polymicrogyric lesion was induced on the frontal cortex in 35 newborn Wistar rats on postnatal day 1. NGF was administered in 15 cases, with 20 pups as controls.

Neuroprotective role of nerve growth factor in hypoxicischemic injury. From brain to skin.

Hypoxic-ischemic injuries (HII) of the brain, optic pathways, and skin are frequently associated with poor neurological and clinical outcome. Unfortunately, no new therapeutic approaches have been proposed for these conditions. Recently, experimental and clinical studies showed that nerve growth factor (NGF) can improve neurological deficits, visual loss and skin damage after HII.

Comparison of propofol versus propofol-ketamine combination in pediatric oncologic procedures performed by non-anesthesiologists.

Background: Limited data are available on the best option (short acting sedatives, opioids, or ketamine) in oncologic procedural sedation performed by non-anesthesiologists. The aim of the present prospective study is to compare the safety and efficacy of propofol-ketamine versus propofol alone, managed by trained pediatricians, in children with cancer undergoing painful procedures.

Procedures: Data on 121 children with acute lymphatic leukemia (ALL) undergoing procedural sedations (lumbar punctures and bone marrow aspirations) were prospectively collected and included drug doses, side effects, pain assessment, and sedation degree.