Policy statement of enteral nutrition for preterm and very low birthweight infants.

For preterm and very low birthweight infants, the mother's own milk is the best nutrition. Based on the latest information for mothers who give birth to preterm and very low birthweight infants, medical staff should encourage and assist mothers to pump or express and provide their own milk whenever possible. If the supply of maternal milk is insufficient even though they receive adequate support, or the mother's own milk cannot be given to her infant for any reason, donor human milk should be used.

Clinical features at diagnosis and responses to antithyroid drugs in younger children with Graves' disease compared with adolescent patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, and effects of antithyroid drugs in younger children with Graves' disease (GD).

Design: A retrospective and collaborative study.

Setting: Nine facilities in Chiba prefecture, Japan.

Higher dose of methimazole causes frequent adverse effects in the management of Graves' disease in children and adolescents.

Objective: Methimazole (MMI) is used as a first-line antithyroid drug in children and adolescents with Graves' disease (GD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between the initial dose of MMI and the clinical course of GD after treatment.

Design: Retrospective and collaborative study.

Neonatal screening for congenital hypothyroidism in Japan.

Congenital hypothyroidism may cause irreversible intellectual disability or failure to thrive if left untreated. Because this disorder can be prevented by early identification and early treatment, newborn mass screening started in 1979 in Japan. A guideline for mass screening for this disease was prepared in 1998.

Comparison of methimazole and propylthiouracil in the management of children and adolescents with Graves' disease: efficacy and adverse reactions during initial treatment and long-term outcome.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and adverse reactions during initial treatment and long-term outcome between children and adolescents with Graves' disease (GD) treated with propylthiouracil (PTU) and those treated with methimazole (MMI).

Design, Setting And Participants: Retrospective and collaborative study. Children and adolescents with GD were divided into group M (MMI: n=64) and group P (PTU: n=69) and into four subgroups by initial dose: group M1 (<0.

A Report of Three Girls with Antithyroid Drug-Induced Agranulocytosis; Retrospective Analysis of 18 Cases Aged 15 Years or Younger Reported between 1995 and 2009.

Agranulocytosis is an extremely serious, although rare, adverse effect of antithyroid drugs (ATDs), including methimazole (MMI) and propylthiouracil (PTU), in children and adolescents. There are few reports about the characteristics of ATD-induced agranulocytosis in Japanese children and adolescents. This report presents the cases of three girls with ATD-induced agranulocytosis and a retrospective analysis of 18 patients with ATD-induced agranulocytosis, whose cases had been referred to the drug manufacturer, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.

Time trend and geographic distribution of treated patients with congenital hypothyroidism relative to the number of available endocrinologists in Japan.

Objective: To investigate the time trend and geographic distribution of treated patients with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) and explore their possible relationship to the availability of endocrinologists in Japan.

Study Design: The 2-source capture-recapture method was used to estimate the total number of patients. The ratio of the total estimated number of patients with CH to the number of endocrinologists and Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated.

Increased incidence of extrathyroidal congenital malformations in Japanese patients with congenital hypothyroidism and their relationship with Down syndrome and other factors.

Background: Much remains unknown regarding extrathyroidal congenital malformations (ECMs) in patients with primary congenital hypothyroidism (PCH) and Down syndrome (DS). Here, we investigated the frequency of ECMs in patients with PCH, particularly among patients with or without DS.

Methods: In a retrospective review of questionnaires based on medical records, ECMs were identified in 1520 patients with PCH and were compared with congenital malformations among nationwide live births or liveborn infants with DS.

Seasonality in the incidence of congenital hypothyroidism in Japan: gender-specific patterns and correlation with temperature.

Objective: Seasonality in the incidence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) has been reported in several countries. The objective of this study was to examine whether seasonality was also observable in Japan and whether this seasonality affected genders differently.

Methods: Confirmed primary CH cases (n = 1586) occurring between 1994 and 2003 were examined through a retrospective review of the nationwide follow-up system at the Aiiku Maternal and Child Health Center, Tokyo, Japan.

Efficacy of intravenous immune globulin therapy combined with dexamethasone for the initial treatment of acute Kawasaki disease.

Unlabelled: We studied the effects of a new regimen consisting of intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) combined with dexamethasone (DEX) on clinical outcome and serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the initial treatment of Kawasaki disease (KD). A total of 46 KD patients received 0.3 mg/kg per day DEX plus heparin i.

Color Doppler ultrasonography: diagnosis of ectopic thyroid gland in patients with congenital hypothyroidism caused by thyroid dysgenesis.

The etiology of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) may play an important role in determining disease severity, outcome, and, therefore, its treatment schedule. Radionuclide imaging (RI) is currently the most precise diagnostic technique to establish the etiology of CH. Conventional ultrasound can identify an athyrotic condition at the normal neck position and has gained acceptance for the initial evaluation of CH; however, its ability in delineating ectopic thyroid is limited.

Clinical utility of thyroid ultrasonography in the diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism.

To determine the clinical utility of thyroid ultrasonography in the diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) before initiation of therapy, ultrasonographic images of the thyroid gland with a high-resolution transducer were obtained in 204 healthy infants aged from newborn to 12 months (Group A), and 174 infants suspected of having CH detected by neonatal mass screening (Group B). The thyroid gland was imaged by transverse scanning at the anatomic site of the thyroid gland. The maximal width of thyroid on the transverse section in the normal location was measured.