The Impact on the Quality of Life Among Newly Diagnosed Children With Coeliac Disease in Malta: A Child Versus Parent Perspective.

Background and objective Coeliac disease (CD) is an autoimmune condition that is managed by following a strict lifelong gluten-free diet. Its incidence is rising, and no cure is currently available. CD in children has a significant impact on both patients and their caregivers as they adapt to a new lifestyle.

Conflict between parents, physicians, and healthcare professionals in medical decision-making: How to address it-A systematic review from the ESPGHAN Ethics Committee.

Medical decisions about pediatric gastroenterology pathologies often involve collaboration between the medical team and the family. On occasions, conflict may arise between the individuals involved in decision making (team-family conflict) causing delays in managing a child's health condition. Little is known on the strategies that can be implemented to address such conflicts.

The safety of seasonal influenza vaccination among adults prescribed immune checkpoint inhibitors: A self-controlled case series study using administrative data.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy for patients undergoing cancer treatment carries a risk of severe immune-related adverse events (IRAEs). Questions remain about whether seasonal influenza vaccination might increase the risk of developing IRAEs among these patients given that vaccines are immunomodulatory. Previous vaccine safety studies on patients with cancer prescribed ICI therapy have demonstrated conflicting results.

Vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization among adolescent and pediatric SARS-CoV-2 cases between May 2021 and January 2022 in Ontario, Canada: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have been shown to reduce risk of infection as well as severe disease among those with breakthrough infection in adults. The latter effect is particularly important as immune evasion by Omicron variants appears to have made vaccines less effective at preventing infection. Therefore, we aimed to quantify the protection conferred by mRNA vaccination against hospitalization due to SARS-CoV-2 in adolescent and pediatric populations.

Severity of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection in Pregnancy in Ontario: A Matched Cohort Analysis.

Background: Pregnancy represents a physiological state associated with increased vulnerability to severe outcomes from infectious diseases, both for the pregnant person and developing infant. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic may have important health consequences for pregnant individuals, who may also be more reluctant than nonpregnant people to accept vaccination.

Methods: We sought to estimate the degree to which increased severity of SARS-CoV-2 outcomes can be attributed to pregnancy using a population-based SARS-CoV-2 case file from Ontario, Canada.

Recognizing the Emergent and Submerged Iceberg of the Celiac Disease: ITAMA Project-Global Strategy Protocol.

Coeliac disease (CD) is frequently underdiagnosed with a consequent heavy burden in terms of morbidity and health care costs. Diagnosis of CD is based on the evaluation of symptoms and anti-transglutaminase antibodies IgA (TGA-IgA) levels, with values above a tenfold increase being the basis of the biopsy-free diagnostic approach suggested by present guidelines. This study showcased the largest screening project for CD carried out to date in school children (n=20,000) aimed at assessing the diagnostic accuracy of minimally invasive finger prick point-of-care tests (POCT) which, combined with conventional celiac serology and the aid of an artificial intelligence-based system, may eliminate the need for intestinal biopsy.

Relative Virulence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Among Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Individuals Hospitalized With SARS-CoV-2.

Background: The rapid development of safe and effective vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been a singular scientific achievement. Confounding due to health-seeking behaviors, circulating variants, and differential testing by vaccination status may bias analyses toward an apparent increase in infection severity following vaccination.

Methods: We used data from the Ontario, Canada, Case and Contact Management Database and a provincial vaccination dataset (COVaxON) to create a time-matched cohort of individuals who were hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Understanding and Responding to the Impact of COVID-19 on Paediatric Gastroenterology Training & Practice of Young ESPGHAN Members.

Objectives: Limited data exist about the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the training and clinical practice of young doctors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact on paediatric gastroenterologists in training posts during the first wave of the European COVID pandemic.

Methods: All Young members of European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) (YE) members received a multiple-choice questionnaire concerning the impact (if any) on their clinical practice, mental health, quality of care provided and fellowship/training experience.

Urban emergence of Dermanyssus gallinae lineage L1 and Ornithonyssus sylviarum in Hungary: phylogenetic differentiation between the roles of migrating vs transported synanthropic birds.

Background: Among Dermanyssoidea, the chicken red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) and the northern fowl mite (Ornithonyssus sylviarum) are considered to be the cause of high economic losses endured by the poultry industry in the Holarctic region, with O. sylviarum predominating in North America and D. gallinae in Europe.

Evaluating comparative effectiveness of psychosocial interventions adjunctive to opioid agonist therapy for opioid use disorder: A systematic review with network meta-analyses.

Background: Guidelines recommend that individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) receive pharmacological and psychosocial interventions; however, the most appropriate psychosocial intervention is not known. In collaboration with people with lived experience, clinicians, and policy makers, we sought to assess the relative benefits of psychosocial interventions as an adjunct to opioid agonist therapy (OAT) among persons with OUD.

Methods: A review protocol was registered a priori (CRD42018090761), and a comprehensive search for randomized controlled trials (RCT) was conducted from database inception to June 2020 in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials.

A transdisciplinary and community-driven database to unravel subduction zone initiation.

Subduction zones are pivotal for the recycling of Earth's outer layer into its interior. However, the conditions under which new subduction zones initiate are enigmatic. Here, we constructed a transdisciplinary database featuring detailed analysis of more than a dozen documented subduction zone initiation events from the last hundred million years.

First records and molecular-phylogenetic analyses of three tick species (Ixodes kaiseri, Hyalomma lusitanicum and Ornithodoros coniceps) from Malta.

The Maltese islands are situated south of mainland Europe and north of Africa, therefore are expected to share tick species and tick-borne pathogens with both continents. This situation highlights the importance of studying ticks in this country. Nevertheless, the tick fauna of Malta appears to be a seldom investigated issue, with hitherto only five tick species reported in the country.

Pediatric Endoscopic Procedure Complications.

Purpose Of Review: This review summarizes the current body of research, define high-risk patients and endoscopic processes, and outline evidence-based countermeasures aimed at minimizing the incidence of complications during endoscopy in children.

Recent Findings: Significant complications of endoscopy requiring emergency department or inpatient admission in otherwise healthy children are unusual, but more common with therapeutic procedures; risk from procedures increases incrementally with preoperative coexisting conditions. Duodenal hematoma is predominantly a pediatric endoscopic complication and is more likely in hematology-oncology patients.

Molecular investigations of cat fleas () provide the first evidence of in Malta and Rickettsia senegalensis in Israel.

, the causative agent of flea-borne spotted fever, occurs on all continents except Antarctica, owing to the cosmopolitan distribution of its cat flea vector. In this study, cat fleas were collected in two countries where the occurrence of was either unknown (Malta) or where accurate prevalence data were lacking (Israel). Altogether 129 fleas were molecularly analysed for the presence of rickettsial DNA.

Infestation of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato on cats in Malta.

Studies on cats as hosts of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (s.l.) are scarce.

High mitochondrial sequence divergence in synanthropic flea species (Insecta: Siphonaptera) from Europe and the Mediterranean.

Background: Adult fleas are haematophagous ectoparasites of warm-blooded vertebrates, particularly mammals. Among them, the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) and the human flea (Pulex irritans) have high veterinary-medical significance, owing to their cosmopolitan distribution and role in the transmission of important vector-borne pathogens. While the taxonomy of Ct.

Screening for thyroid disease in pregnancy: a review.

Screening for thyroid disease in pregnancy remains a contentious issue. This review presents these diverging views and discusses their reasons as well as the relevant facts. The final aim is to establish the information gaps and limitations - technological or otherwise - which still need to be eliminated in order to settle the debate conclusively.

The influence of clinicopathological features on the predictive accuracy of conventional breast imaging in determining the extent of screen-detected high-grade pure ductal carcinoma in situ.

Introduction: The extent of calcified ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) detected by screening mammography is a determinant for treatment with breast conserving surgery (BCS). However, DCIS may be uncalcified and almost a quarter of patients with DCIS treated initially by BCS either require a second operation or are found to have unexpected invasive disease following surgery. Identification of these cases might guide selective implementation of additional diagnostic procedures.

Metabolic syndrome and coronary heart disease among Spanish male workers: a case-control study of MESYAS.

Background And Aims: In Spain, the incidence of coronary heart disease is below that expected based on the burden of classic cardiovascular risk factors present in the population. Whether the risk associated with metabolic syndrome is lower in Spain deserves to be investigated. This study evaluates the association of incident clinical coronary heart disease with metabolic syndrome and each of its individual defining components in a sample of Spanish working males.

Usefulness of triglycerides-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio for predicting the first coronary event in men.

Overweight and obesity potentiate the development of cardiovascular risk factors but many doubts have arisen recently regarding their role in coronary events. We evaluated the predictive value of a surrogate maker of insulin resistance, the ratio of triglyceride (TG) to high-density lipoprotein (HDL), for the incidence of a first coronary event in men workers according to body mass index (BMI). We designed a case-control study of active subjects collected from a single factory through their annual health examination and medical reports.

Outbreak of norovirus infection in a nursing home for the elderly in Malta, November-December 2008.

In norovirus outbreak in a nursing home in Malta in November and December 2008, 44 people were affected. 35 of 91 residents and nine of 44 employees were symptomatic. The overall attack rate among residents was 38.

Gender differences in obesity related cardiovascular risk factors in Spain.

Background: Obesity and overweight are increasing progressively leading to an increase in cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular events.

Methods: The MESYAS Registry (Metabolic Syndrome in Active Subjects) recruited active workers from their annual health examinations in Spain through 2003. Body mass index was used to diagnose overweight and obesity.

Comparison of serum lipid values in subjects with and without the metabolic syndrome.

Insulin resistance is supposed to be the basis of metabolic syndrome (MS), although it is difficult to measure. The ratio of triglyceride (TG) to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) has been proposed as a surrogate marker of insulin resistance in overweight subjects. The aim of the present study was to assess the accuracy of the TG/HDL ratio for the diagnosis of MS.

Prehypertension is associated with insulin resistance state and not with an initial renal function impairment. A Metabolic Syndrome in Active Subjects in Spain (MESYAS) Registry substudy.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and other surrogate markers of insulin resistance, and whether these markers are better for defining the prehypertensive state than is renal dysfunction.

Methods: Data from 19,041 healthy active workers, mean age 42.2 (10.