Retrospective longitudinal analysis of the effects of postnatal weight gain on the timing and tempo of puberty and menarche in a cohort of Italian girls.

Objective: over the last few decades there has been a progressive decline in the average age of onset of pubertal development stages in both sexes. The increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity seems to play an important role in this phenomenon.

Design: we undertook a retrospective, longitudinal evaluation of the average age of thelarche and menarche to evaluate the relationship between BMI and weight change during the first years of life and the timing and tempo of puberty.

Retrospective Evaluation on the Use of a New Polysaccharide Complex in Managing Paediatric Type 1 Diabetes with Metabolic Syndrome (MetS).

Background: Children and adolescents affected by type 1 diabetes have an increased risk of being overweight or obese and of suffering from cardiometabolic symptoms.

Aims: To retrospectively evaluate the effects of a new complex of polysaccharide macromolecules, Policaptil Gel Retard (PGR), on auxological and metabolic parameters, glycaemic variability and control parameters in paediatric patients with type 1 diabetes and metabolic syndrome (MetS).

Patients And Methods: Data for 27 paediatric patients with a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in conjunction with obesity and MetS of at least 5 years' standing were collected and retrospectively studied.

Italian consensus on the therapeutic management of uncomplicated acute hematogenous osteomyelitis in children.

Background: Acute hematogenous osteomyelitis (AHOM) is an insidious infection of the bone that more frequently affects young males. The etiology, mainly bacterial, is often related to the patient's age, but it is frequently missed, owing to the low sensitivity of microbiological cultures. Thus, the evaluation of inflammatory biomarkers and imaging usually guide the diagnosis and follow-up of the infection.

Analysis of the Timing of Puberty in a Recent Cohort of Italian Girls: Evidence for Earlier Onset Compared to Previous Studies.

Background: Throughout the 20 century, in developed countries there has been a secular trend toward earlier menarche. Over the past 2 decades, however, there has been an apparent stabilization in the average age of menarche age in most Western countries.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to analyze the mean age of menarche in a cohort of Italian girls, to analyze the mean age of breast button appearance (B2), and to correlate the B2 developmental stage and age at menarche with the most important clinical and auxological parameters.

Frequency of positive oral food challenges and their outcomes in the allergy unit of a tertiary-care pediatric hospital.

Introduction And Objective: The oral food challenge (OFC) is the gold standard to diagnose food allergy (FA); however, it is not a procedure free from the risk of having significant allergic reactions, even life-threatening.The aims of our study were to evaluate the frequency of positive OFCs performed in children with a suspected diagnosis of IgE- and non-IgE-mediated (food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES)) FA and how the failed challenges were managed.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective chart review was done on all children who have had OFCs in a tertiary-care pediatric allergy unit from 2017 to 2019.

Prevalence and multicenter observational study on falls of hospitalized children and Italian, linguistic-cultural validation of the Humpty Dumpty Fall Scale.

Introduction: Falls in hospitals are a major problem also in pediatric settings. No Pediatric Fall Risk Assessment Scales (PFRAS) are validated in Italian.

Goals: to perform the Italian validation of the Humpty-Dumpty Falls Scale (HDFS); to assess its predictive performance; to estimate the frequency of falls in hospitalized children and to analyze possible associations between children's clinical variables and falls.

Increased incidence of precocious and accelerated puberty in females during and after the Italian lockdown for the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Background: The timing of puberty in girls is occurring at an increasingly early age. While a positive family history is recognised as a predisposing factor for early or precocious puberty, the role of environmental factors is not fully understood.

Aims Of The Study: To make a retrospective evaluation of the incidence of newly diagnosed central precocious puberty (CPP) and the rate of pubertal progression in previously diagnosed patients during and after the Italian lockdown for COVID-19, comparing data with corresponding data from the previous 5 years.

Auxological and Endocrinological Features in Children With McCune Albright Syndrome: A Review.

McCune-Albright syndrome is a rare and challenging congenital sporadic disease involving the skin and skeletal and endocrine systems with a prevalence ranges from one in 100,000 to 1,000,000. In addition to the classical triad of fibrous dysplasia of bone, pigmented skin lesions and precocious puberty, other multiple endocrinological features, including hyperthyroidism, growth hormone excess, hypercortisolism, and hypophosphatemic rickets, have been reported. A brief review of the syndrome in children is here reported.

Knowledge, attitude and disinformation regarding vaccination and immunization practices among healthcare workers of a third-level paediatric hospital.

Background: Vaccination represents one of the most effective means of preventing infections for the population and for the public health in general. Recently there has been a decline in vaccinations, also among healthcare workers (HCWs). The aim of the study is to detect the knowledge, skills, attitudes and barriers of HCWs regarding vaccinations in a tertiary children's hospital in order to support clinical management in immunisation practices.

Effectiveness of an App for Reducing Preoperative Anxiety in Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Effective methods to reduce children's preoperative anxiety (such as giving information beforehand, organizing a tour of the operating room [OR] before the intervention, and incorporating clown physicians) may be difficult to implement for some hospitals, as they are time-consuming and expensive and require hospital staff to be performed.

Objective: To test the effectiveness of Clickamico, an app that shows clown physicians giving a comical and informative tour of the OR, for reducing preoperative anxiety in children.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This unblinded randomized clinical trial included 40 children aged 6 to 11 years undergoing a planned surgical intervention at a third-level Italian pediatric hospital from December 2013 to September 2014 randomized into experimental (n = 20) and control (n = 20) groups.

Cross-sectional study on differences in pain perception and behavioral distress during venipuncture between italian and chinese children.

Venipuncture is perhaps the scariest aspect of hospitalization for children as it causes pain and high levels of behavioral distress. Pain is a complex experience which is also influenced by social factors such as cultural attitudes, beliefs and traditions. Studies focusing on ethnic/cultural differences in pain perception and behavioral distress show controversial results, in particular with regards to children.

Perception of venipuncture pain in children suffering from chronic diseases.

Background: Venipuncture pain in children results from a variety of co-factors which increase the intensity of the nociceptive stimulus. Among them, anticipatory anxiety plays an important role. Children with chronic diseases undergo invasive procedures and venipuncture more often than other children.

Heparin solution for maintaining peripheral venous catheter patency in children: a survey of current practice in Italian pediatric units.

Background: Prolonging the duration of peripheral venous catheters (PVC) as long as possible in children is a nursing priority. However, available studies provide conflicting evidence on what kind of flush/lock solution should be used to increase the life of PVCs in children.

Objectives: To describe the clinical behavior of nurses working in Italian pediatric units with regards to PVCs flushing and locking practices.

Nosocomial Rotavirus Gastroenteritis in pediatric patients: a multi-center prospective cohort study.

Background: Few data are available on the incidence of nosocomial Rotavirus infections (NRVI) in pediatric hospitals and on their economic impact. The goals of this study were: to evaluate the incidence of NRVI in various Italian pediatric wards during the course of two peak RV seasons; to investigate possible risk factors for NRVI; to estimate the costs caused by NRVI.

Methods: prospective cohort study.

A 1-m distance is not safe for children with cystic fibrosis at risk for cross-infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Although maintaining a distance of 1 m between persons with cystic fibrosis (CF) is a universal recommendation to prevent respiratory cross-infections such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, evidence supporting this preventive measure is scarce. Examining 336 samples from 42 patients with CF collected experimentally from sterile surfaces after speaking and coughing, we found that transmission of P aeruginosa beyond 1 m is possible during both talking and coughing, although the probability is low (1.7%).