Publications by authors named "Francesca Calo Carducci"

Article Synopsis
  • Acute myocarditis cases in kids are increasing in Italy, with 65 suspected cases reported in 2024, largely linked to parvovirus B19 infection.
  • Among these cases, 29 children needed intensive care and there were eight fatalities, emphasizing the severity of the situation.
  • The study suggests a need for better diagnosis, enhanced monitoring, and standardized treatment strategies, as only about one-third of affected children received effective intravenous immunoglobulins.
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  • Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus that causes lifelong infection and is a key cause of congenital infections in newborns worldwide.
  • Researchers studied the behavior of natural killer (NK) cells in mothers and newborns, comparing those who transmitted the virus to those who did not.
  • The study found that non-transmitting mothers and their congenital CMV-infected babies had different NK cell profiles, which could help predict the risk of virus transmission during pregnancy.
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Invasive infections caused by (iGAS), commonly known as Group A Streptococcus, represent a significant public health concern due to their potential for rapid progression and life-threatening complications. Epidemiologically, invasive GAS infections exhibit a diverse global distribution, affecting individuals of all ages with varying predisposing factors. The pathogenesis of invasive GAS involves an array of virulence factors that contribute to tissue invasion, immune evasion, and systemic dissemination.

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Since its emergence, SARS-CoV-2 Omicron clade has shown a marked degree of variability and different clinical presentation compared with previous clades. Here we demonstrate that at least four Omicron lineages circulated in children since December 2021, and studied until November 2022: BA.1 (33.

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Background: COVID-19 is generally milder in children than in adults, however severe infection has been described in some patients. Few data are available on use of Remdesivir (RDV) in children, as most clinical trials focused on adult patients. We report a multicenter study conducted in 10 Italian Hospitals to investigate the safety of RDV in children affected by COVID-19.

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Background: Valacyclovir is the only treatment demonstrated to be effective for the prevention of vertical transmission of cytomegalovirus within a clinical randomized, placebo-controlled trial and has been reimbursed by the Italian National Health System since December 2020.

Objective: This study reported the results of a real-life Italian multicenter observational study on cytomegalovirus infection in pregnancy evaluating the effect of the introduction of valacyclovir in the clinical practice for the prevention of vertical transmission of cytomegalovirus.

Study Design: The outcomes of women who received valacyclovir treatment and their fetuses or newborns were compared with those of a retrospective cohort observed between 2010 and 2020 who did not receive the antiviral treatment.

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  • COVID-19 and tuberculosis (TB) are significant causes of death among infectious diseases, with a potential link between active TB and increased COVID-19 risk, particularly in children.
  • Three cases of pediatric COVID-TB are reported, including a 5-year-old with mild symptoms, a 13-year-old needing COVID-19 treatment, and a 10-year-old with severe TB but no COVID-19 complications.
  • The findings suggest that children with COVID-TB may face worse health outcomes, highlighting the need for careful monitoring and targeted COVID-19 treatments in pediatric cases.
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Background: The spread of carbapenem-resistant organisms (CROs) is an increasingly serious threat globally, especially in vulnerable populations, such as intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Currently, the antibiotic options for CROs are very limited, particularly in pediatric settings. We describe a cohort of pediatric patients affected by CRO infections, highlighting the important changes in carbapenemase production in recent years and comparing the treatment with novel cephalosporins (N-CEFs) to Colistin-based regimens (COLI).

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Background: SARS-CoV-2 can lead to excessive coagulation and thrombo-inflammation with deposition of microthrombi and microvascular dysfunction. Several studies in human and animal models have already evidenced biomarkers of endothelial injury during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Real-time observation of sublingual microcirculation using an handheld vital microscopy with an Incident Dark Field (IDF) technique could represent a non-invasive way to assess early signs of microvascular dysfunction and endothelial inflammation in patients with severe COVID-19 infection.

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  • * The degree of brain damage is influenced by the type of infectious agent, its target cells, and the timing of maternal infection in relation to fetal brain development.
  • * New infectious agents like the Zika virus and SARS-CoV-2 have been linked to congenital brain damage, prompting increased focus on neuroimaging patterns related to these conditions in clinical settings.
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Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection can follow primary and secondary maternal infection. Growing evidence indicate that secondary maternal infections contribute to a much greater proportion of symptomatic cCMV than was previously thought. We performed a monocentric retrospective study of babies with cCMV evaluated from August 2004 to February 2021; we compared data of symptomatic children born to mothers with primary or secondary infection, both at birth and during follow up.

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Cutaneous 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).

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Monoclonal antibody therapies for COVID-19 have been frequently used in adults, whereas there are little data regarding the safety or efficacy of monoclonal antibody treatments in pediatric patients affected by COVID-19. We report our experience in the administration of mAb as a treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection in children aged from 24 days to 18 years old.

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  • Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the virus that causes COVID-19, which can lead to a variety of symptoms from mild to severe, affecting people of all ages.
  • Children and infants typically experience milder symptoms, but infants can have a higher risk of hospitalization and severe illness.
  • The case study discusses a preterm infant who had a severe SARS-CoV-2 infection that resulted in cerebral venous thrombosis, which was effectively treated with steroids, hyperimmune plasma, and remdesivir.
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Background: With the gradual resumption of sports activities after the lock-down period for coronavirus pandemic, a new problem is emerging: Allow all athletes to be able to return to compete after SARS-CoV-2 infection in total safety. Several protocols have been proposed for healed athletes but all of them have been formulated for the adult population. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the adequacy of Italian practical recommendations for return-to-paly, in order to exclude cardiorespiratory complications due to COVID-19 in children and adolescents.

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  • SARS-CoV-2 infection in children is usually mild and typically doesn’t require long hospital stays, but managing these cases can present social challenges.
  • A study at Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital involved monitoring 65 discharged children with positive COVID-19 tests through a telephonic follow-up to track symptoms and ensure recovery.
  • The follow-up revealed that most patients experienced mild symptoms, while two required re-hospitalization due to serious conditions, suggesting that remote monitoring can safely facilitate early discharge and prompt treatment for complications.
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  • This study investigates the characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infections in children and adolescents, focusing on the factors that lead to more severe cases.
  • Conducted across multiple centers in Italy, it included 759 kids under 18, finding that most showed symptoms, with fever being the most prevalent.
  • Key findings indicate that complications and severe outcomes are linked to comorbidities and younger age groups, especially those with additional viral infections, underscoring the need for better management strategies.
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In severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) critically ill adults, hyperinflammation plays a key role in disease progression. The clinical manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection among children are much less severe compared with adult patients and usually associated with a good prognosis. However, hyperinflammation in SARS-CoV-2-infected pediatric patients has been described as pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 or as Kawasaki-like disease but is still little known, and optimal management has to be defined.

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  • Recent concerns have emerged regarding the risk of COVID-19 transmission from pregnant mothers to their newborns, prompting discussions on how to safely manage childbirth and postnatal care, including breastfeeding.
  • A study involving five mother-child pairs in Italy revealed that while four neonates tested positive for COVID-19, most were asymptomatic or showed mild symptoms, particularly gastrointestinal issues.
  • The study suggests that decisions about separating COVID-positive mothers from their infants should be personalized, considering various factors such as the family's wishes and local health conditions.
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Amount of parenchymal involvement in patients with interstitial pneumonia Covid-19 related, seems to be associated with a worse prognosis. Nowadays 3D reconstruction imaging is expanding its role in clinical medical practice. We aimed to use 3D lung reconstruction of a young lady affected by Sars-CoV2 infection and interstitial pneumonia, to better visualize, and quantitatively assess the parenchymal involvement.

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Background: To date, few data on paediatric COVID-19 have been published, and most reports originate from China. This study aimed to capture key data on children and adolescents with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection across Europe to inform physicians and health-care service planning during the ongoing pandemic.

Methods: This multicentre cohort study involved 82 participating health-care institutions across 25 European countries, using a well established research network-the Paediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (ptbnet)-that mainly comprises paediatric infectious diseases specialists and paediatric pulmonologists.

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We evaluated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA clearance in 22 children. The estimation of positivity at day 14 was 52% for nasopharyngeal swab and 31% for stool samples. These data underline the significance of nasopharyngeal and stoolsample for detecting infected children.

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Background: The early use of broad-spectrum antibiotics remains the cornerstone for the treatment of neonatal late onset sepsis (LOS). However, which antibiotics should be used is still debatable, as relevant studies were conducted more than 20 years ago, recruited in single centres or countries, evaluated antibiotics not in clinical use anymore and had variable inclusion/exclusion criteria and outcome measures. Moreover, antibiotic-resistant bacteria have become a major problem in many countries worldwide.

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Background: Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is one of the main causes of deafness in childhood. It frequently causes serious long-term neurological sequelae. In children who are asymptomatic at birth, tests to accurately predict these sequelae are still unavailable.

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Background: A number of biomarkers have been studied for the diagnosis of sepsis in paediatrics, but no gold standard has been identified. Procalcitonin (PCT) was demonstrated to be an accurate biomarker for the diagnosis of sepsis in adults and showed to be promising in paediatrics. Our study reviewed the diagnostic accuracy of PCT as an early biomarker of sepsis in neonates and children with suspected sepsis.

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