Histologic Severity of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Associates with Reduced Bone Mineral Density in Children.

Background: Lower whole body bone mineral density (BMD) has been reported in children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but potential mediators remain uncertain.

Aims: To assess BMD at multiple skeletal sites in children with confirmed NAFLD and controls with obesity, adjusting for known determinants of BMD, and examine potential mediators.

Methods: We assessed age-, sex-, and race-specific, and height-adjusted BMD z-scores of whole body, lumbar spine, hip, femoral neck and forearm by dual-energy-x-ray absorptiometry in 79 children, 8-19 years old: 46 with biopsy-confirmed NAFLD [29 steatohepatitis (NASH)/17 fatty liver (NAFL)] and 33 controls without liver disease.

Hypertriglyceridemia Induced Pancreatitis: Inpatient Management at a Single Pediatric Institution.

Objectives: Hypertriglyceridemia-induced pancreatitis is an important cause of acute pancreatitis (AP) in children, which lacks established guidelines. The aim of this study was to review management approaches at a single pediatric center.

Methods: This retrospective study included all inpatients younger than 21 years with AP and triglycerides (TG) of 1000 mg/dL or greater.

Cardiovascular impact of the pediatric obesity epidemic: higher left ventricular mass is related to higher body mass index.

Objective: To compare secular changes in body mass index (BMI) and left ventricular mass (LVM) in today's children versus children of a generation earlier.

Study Design: All healthy patients aged 2 to 19 years who underwent echocardiography at a single US academic medical center in 1986 to 1989 (prior era) and 2008 (current era) were included in this retrospective cross-sectional study. BMI, BMI z score, LVM indexed to height (LVMI), LVM z score, and relative wall thickness were calculated.

Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left ventricle.

A 22-month-old boy was referred to pediatric cardiology for evaluation of a heart murmur. He was asymptomatic except for occasional wheezing with activity. On evaluation, he was found to have both systolic and diastolic murmurs.

Reversibility of cardiac abnormalities in morbidly obese adolescents.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in cardiac geometry, systolic and diastolic function before and after weight loss in morbidly obese adolescents.

Background: Cardiac abnormalities are present in morbidly obese adolescents; however, it is unclear if they are reversible with weight loss.

Methods: Data from 38 adolescents (13 to 19 years; 29 females, 9 males, 33 Caucasians, 5 African Americans) were evaluated before and after bariatric surgery.

The impact of evolving hand-carried echocardiographic technology on outpatient physical examination accuracy in pediatric cardiology.

Background: Cardiac auscultory skills are declining. Hand-carried ultrasound (HCU) has been proposed as a method to enhance diagnostic accuracy of the physical examination (PE). However, features of HCU devices are varied.

Implementation of an objective testing system in noninvasive cardiac imaging for evaluation of pediatric cardiology fellows.

Introduction: Current evaluation of pediatric cardiology fellow performance is subjective and qualitative. More objective tools are recommended by credentialing boards and may provide more effective evaluation and education.

Objective: A series of training level-specific multiple-choice tests were developed and evaluated for their effectiveness as evaluation and educational tools for pediatric cardiology fellows.