Trends in Asymptomatic Nasopharyngeal Carriage with qPCR and Culture Analysis.

We previously reported trends in pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage in the post-PCV13 era as detected by conventional culture methods. Our current aim is to assess if there are fundamental differences in the clinical and demographic features of children who have pneumococcal carriage detected by qPCR compared with culture analysis. The CASPER team conducted point-prevalence surveys in 2016 in healthy children in Calgary to determine trends in overall and serotype-specific pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage.

Diabetic ketoacidosis at type 1 diabetes diagnosis in children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant public health measures that have resulted in decreased acute pediatric care utilization. We evaluated whether the rate of severe presentations of new onset type 1 diabetes (DM1), such as, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) has changed since the COVID-19 public health measures were enacted.

Research Design And Methods: A retrospective chart review of children less than 18 years of age presenting with new onset DM1 during the pandemic period of March 17, 2020 to August 31, 2020 was conducted at two tertiary care pediatric hospitals in Alberta, Canada.

Lyophilized fecal short-chain fatty acid and electrolyte determination by capillary electrophoresis with indirect UV detection for assessment of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease.

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and electrolytes are major constituents of human feces involved in maintaining gastrointestinal homeostasis that underlie complex diet, host and microbiome interactions. Reliable quantification of SCFAs and electrolytes is challenging given the heterogeneity of stool specimens from pediatric patients with diarrhea-predominate inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Herein, we introduce two validated methods for determination of 3 SCFAs and 5 electrolytes consistently quantified from fecal extracts when using capillary electrophoresis with indirect UV detection (CE-iUV), where concentrations are normalized to total dried weight (mmol/kg d.

Homelessness in Adults with Invasive Pneumococcal Disease (IPD) in Calgary, Canada.

Background: Homelessness is uncommon, but is frequently a characteristic in adults with invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). In Calgary, homeless persons comprise approximately 0.2% of the population.