Treatment adherence during childhood in individuals with phenylketonuria: Early signs of treatment discontinuation.

Introduction: Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by a deficiency in phenylalanine (Phe) hydroxylase activity. Early diagnosis and continuous treatment with a low Phe diet prevents severe neurological and cognitive impairment.

Aims: 1.

[Higher risk for health care associated infections in hospitalized children with special health needs].

Background: Nosocomial infections (NIs) represent an important public health issue, being associated with high morbidity, mortality and costs.

Objectives: To identify risk factors of NIs in a cohort of hospitalized pediatric patients, with emphasis in children with special health care needs (CSHCN).

Patients And Methods: We studied patients hospitalized in Sótero del Río Pediatric Hospital at Santiago-Chile, between September and December, 2009.

[Children with special health care needs: prevalence in a pediatric hospital and associated risks].

Background: "Children with special health care needs" (CSHCN) is a novel definition for pediatric patients with chronic diseases, adopted by the Chilean Pediatric Society in 2008. As life expectancy in Chile increases, prevalence of CSHCN is progressively growing, leading to higher health costs.

Aim: To describe the epidemiological profile and clinical characteristics of hospitalized CSHCN, and compare the risk assessment of adverse events during hospitalization using two definitions for CSHCN.

[Association between tattoos, piercings and risk behaviors in adolescents].

Background: The use of tattoos and piercings has increased, especially among adolescents in the last decades.

Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of these behaviors in adolescents and their association with risk behaviors such as alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use and sexual promiscuity.

Material And Methods: An anonymous and confidential survey about tattooing and piercings was applied to randomly selected high school teenagers, attending municipal, private-subsidized and private schools, in four sectors of Santiago (north-east, south-east, north-west, south-west).

Environmental pediatrics: an emerging issue.

Objective: To review the most relevant articles regarding environmental pediatrics, its potential effects on health, and especially its advances in prevention.

Sources: A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE/PubMed and SciELO databases. Articles from 1990 to 2010 were reviewed, in addition to book chapters related to environmental pediatrics.

Overexpression of p73 as a tissue marker for high-risk gastritis.

Purpose: Histologic assessment of high-risk gastritis for the development of gastric cancer is not well defined. The identification of tissue markers together with the integration of histologic features will be required for this assessment.

Experimental Design: Matched tumor/nontumor adjacent mucosa (NTAM) of 91 early gastric cancer and 148 chronic gastritis cases were evaluated for histologic characteristics (atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, chronic inflammation, polymorphonuclear infiltration, and Helicobacter pylori) by the Sydney System.