Brain white matter hyperintensities in Kawasaki disease: A case-control study.

Background: Cerebrovascular involvement of Kawasaki disease (KD) is poorly studied. White matter hyperintensities (WMH) indicate cerebral small vessel disease and increase the risk for stroke.

Purpose: To investigate whether childhood KD is associated with WMHs and other cerebrovascular findings later in adulthood.

Identification of novel locus associated with coronary artery aneurysms and validation of loci for susceptibility to Kawasaki disease.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a paediatric vasculitis associated with coronary artery aneurysms (CAA). Genetic variants influencing susceptibility to KD have been previously identified, but no risk alleles have been validated that influence CAA formation. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for CAA in KD patients of European descent with 200 cases and 276 controls.

Paediatric tuberculosis during universal and selective Calmette-Guérin vaccination policy: a nationwide population-based retrospective study, Finland, 1995-2015.

IntroductionIn 2006, the Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination policy in Finland changed from universal to selective.AimWe assessed the impact of the policy change on tuberculosis (TB) morbidity in children under 5 years and epidemiological trends of paediatric TB in Finland.MethodsWe conducted a nationwide, population-based, retrospective registry study of all newly diagnosed active TB cases younger than 15 years in Finland from 1995 to 2015 by linking data from the National Infectious Diseases Register, Finnish Care Register for Health Care, medical patient records and Finnish Population Information System.

Tuberculosis contact investigation results among paediatric contacts in low-incidence settings in Finland.

Tuberculosis (TB) risk is highest immediately after primary infection, and young children are vulnerable to rapid and severe TB disease. Contact tracing should identify infected children rapidly and simultaneously target resources effectively. We conducted a retrospective review of the paediatric TB contact tracing results in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa from 2012 to 2016 and identified risk factors for TB disease or infection.

Childhood nontuberculous mycobacterial lymphadenitis-observation alone is a good alternative to surgery.

Objective: Cervicofacial lymphadenitis caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is commonly treated with surgery or antimicrobial therapy. The aim of this study was to analyze the utility of our new blood-based diagnostic method and the treatment protocol, surgery or observation alone, in NTM lymphadenitis in children.

Methods: All patients under 16 years of age with cervicofacial NTM lymphadenitis diagnosed and treated at Children's Hospital or at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Helsinki University Hospital (Helsinki, Finland) in 2007-2017 were retrospectively reviewed.

Epidemiology of Kawasaki disease before and after universal Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination program was discontinued.

Aim: Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine (BCG) has been suggested to induce the primary immunity needed for the subsequent Kawasaki disease (KD). We studied the epidemiology of KD before and after the universal BCG vaccination ended in Finland in September 2006.

Methods: Kawasaki disease cases were retrieved from national health registries from 1996 to 2016 for annual incidence rates.

Unlikely association between Kawasaki disease and intracranial aneurysms: a prospective cohort study.

Objective: Kawasaki disease (KD) is a vasculitis that can cause aneurysm formation in coronary arteries and, more rarely, in peripheral arteries. A possible connection between KD and intracranial aneurysms is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine if KD is associated with intracranial aneurysms.

Increase in Childhood Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Infections After Bacille Calmette-Guérin Coverage Drop: A Nationwide, Population-Based Retrospective Study, Finland, 1995-2016.

Background: Epidemiological data on childhood nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) disease is scarce and the protective effect of bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination remains debated. In 2006, the BCG policy in Finland changed from universal to selective. We aimed to study the effect of the BCG coverage decrease on the incidence of childhood NTM infections in Finland.

The impact of Bacille Calmette-Guérin shortage on immunisation practice and policies in Europe - A Paediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (ptbnet) survey.

Background: Recent reports indicate an ongoing BCG shortage that may influence immunisation practice. This study aimed to determine current availability of BCG vaccine across Europe, and implications on immunisation practices and policies in Europe.

Methods: Web-based survey among Paediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (ptbnet) members, between May and October 2015.

Elispot Igra With Purified Protein Derivative Stimulation For Diagnosing Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Cervical Lympadenitis.

Childhood cervical lymphadenitis caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria is a diagnostic challenge for the clinician. We present a new promising diagnostic method for childhood nontuberculous mycobacterial lymphadenitis. The modified T-SPOT.

Invasive Group A Streptococcal Infections in Children: A Nationwide Survey in Finland.

Background: The incidence of invasive group A streptococcus (iGAS) infections varies in time and geographically for unknown reasons. We performed a nationwide survey to assess the population-based incidence rates and outcomes of children with iGAS infections.

Methods: We collected data on patients from hospital discharge registries and the electronic databases of microbiological laboratories in Finland for the period 1996-2010.

Finnish guidelines for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia and pertussis in children.

Unlabelled: Evidence-based guidelines are needed to harmonise and improve the diagnostics and treatment of children's lower respiratory tract infections. Following a professional literature search, an interdisciplinary working group evaluated and graded the available evidence and constructed guidelines for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia and pertussis.

Conclusion: The clinical guidelines state that chest radiography is not needed if the child is diagnosed with pneumonia and treated at home.

Finnish guidelines for the treatment of laryngitis, wheezing bronchitis and bronchiolitis in children.

Unlabelled: Evidence-based guidelines are needed to harmonise and improve the diagnostics and treatment of children's lower respiratory tract infections. Following a professional literature search, an interdisciplinary working group evaluated and graded the available evidence and constructed guidelines for treating laryngitis, bronchitis, wheezing bronchitis and bronchiolitis.

Conclusion: Currently available drugs were not effective in relieving cough symptoms.

Retropharyngeal involvement in Kawasaki disease--a report of four patients with retropharyngeal edema verified by magnetic resonance imaging.

Kawasaki disease is an acute systemic vasculitis of childhood. The diagnosis is based on clinical criteria. Prognosis with adequate treatment is favorable.

An outbreak of CTX-M-15 -producing Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, and Klebsiella in a children's hospital in Finland.

Four different extended-spectrum β -lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria from a pediatric surgery ward were studied. The presence of TEM-, SHV-, and CTX-M-type β -lactamases was analyzed and the relatedness of the isolates studied with a repetitive PCR system (DiversiLab) and pulsed-fi eld gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Molecular analysis showed that a clonal dissemination of CTX-M-15-producing Escherichia coli and Enterobacter cloacae had occurred.

Evaluation of the filter paper IP-10 tests in school children after exposure to tuberculosis: a prospective cohort study with a 4-year follow-up.

Objectives: The prevalence of active tuberculosis (TB) is low in Finland, but outbreaks do occur. Following exposure national guidelines recommend either tuberculosis skin test or interferon-γ-release assay-testing of asymptomatic children. The aim of this study was to compare QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test (QFT) and interferon-γ-inducible protein (IP-10) release assay for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection following exposure to TB in a primary school.

Inclusion of latent tuberculosis infection as a separate entity into the international classification of diseases.

The 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) proposed by the WHO is currently in the consultation phase. In common with previous versions of the ICD this revised version does not contain a code for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), contrasting with the inclusion of a large number of codes for various manifestations of active tuberculosis (TB). Inclusion of a separate code for LTBI into ICD-11 is critically important for epidemiological, clinical and research purposes.

Incidence of Kawasaki disease in northern European countries.

Background: The aim of the present study was to compare the epidemiologic features of Kawasaki disease (KD) in three northern European countries and Japan.

Methods: Data were obtained from discharge databases for hospitals in Finland, Norway, and Sweden for 1999-2009 and from nationwide epidemiologic surveys in Japan for 1998-2008. Annual incidence for each country was calculated using regional census data.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli serotype O78:H(-) in family, Finland, 2009.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a pathogen that causes gastroenteritis and bloody diarrhea but can lead to severe disease, such as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). STEC serotype O78:H(-) is rare among humans, and infections are often asymptomatic. We detected a sorbitol-fermenting STEC O78:H(-):stx(1c):hlyA in blood and fecal samples of a 2-week-old boy who had bacteremia and HUS and in fecal samples of his asymptomatic family members.

[Lymphadenitis caused by nontuberculous mycobacteriae].

Lymphadenitis caused by nontuberculous mycobacteriae has been increasingly seen in Finland since the cessation of universal BCG vaccination in 2006. An otherwise healthy child develops a slowly growing unilateral mass in the cervicofacial region. Without treatment, the lymphadenitis suppurates and forms a draining sinus, which dries after some weeks or months, leaving a scar.

Mandibular osteomyelitis in children mimicking juvenile recurrent parotitis.

Objective: To describe pediatric cases with mandibular osteomyelitis initially diagnosed and treated as juvenile recurrent parotitis.

Methods: We reviewed the patient data of all our pediatric patients treated at Helsinki University Central Hospital, a tertiary care hospital, between 1998 and 2010 who had the initial diagnosis of recurrent parotitis which in fact was osteomyelitis.

Results: Over a period of 12 years, six children (aged 5-17 years, five girls) presented with mandibular osteomyelitis primarily diagnosed as recurrent parotitis.

Isolation and characterization of Streptococcus mitis from blood of child with osteomyelitis.

Objectives: Osteomyelitis is an inflammatory process accompanied by bone destruction that is caused by bacterial infection, with most child cases showing a haematogenous origin and metaphysis of the long bones. The aim of the present study was to characterize streptococcal strains isolated from the blood of a child diagnosed with osteomyelitis in a long bone and investigate the biological properties related to virulence of strains associated with osteomyelitis.

Methods: Blood isolate species were determined based on the 16S rRNA sequence.

Pneumococcal serotype distribution in invasive paediatric disease in Southern Finland before the introduction of vaccine.

Vaccination with pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) has been started in many countries, resulting in a marked decrease in the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). After the decline, an increase in the incidence of IPD caused by non-vaccine serotypes has been observed. Finland has just decided to incorporate PCV into the national immunization programme, starting 1 September 2010.