Characteristics and incidence of transfusion-associated necrotizing enterocolitis in the UK.

The etiology of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is unclear and postulated as being multifactorial. It has been suggested that one causative factor is the transfusion of packed red blood cells (PRBCs) leading to the disease entity commonly referred to as transfusion-associated NEC (TANEC). TANEC has been reported in North America but its incidence has not been formally investigated in the UK.

Should First-line Empiric Treatment Strategies for Neonates Cover Coagulase-negative Staphylococcal Infections in Kenya?

Background: Neonatal mortality remains high in sub-Saharan Africa, and a third of deaths are estimated to result from infection. While coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are leading neonatal pathogens in resource-rich settings, their role, and the need for early anti-Staphylococcal treatment in empiric antibiotic guidelines, is unknown in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods: We examined systematic clinical and microbiologic surveillance data from all neonatal admissions to Kilifi County Hospital (1998-2013) to determine associated case fatality and/or prolonged duration of admission associated with CoNS in neonates treated according to standard World Health Organization guidelines.

Daily co-trimoxazole prophylaxis to prevent mortality in children with complicated severe acute malnutrition: a multicentre, double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Children with complicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM) have a greatly increased risk of mortality from infections while in hospital and after discharge. In HIV-infected children, mortality and admission to hospital are prevented by daily co-trimoxazole prophylaxis, despite locally reported bacterial resistance to co-trimoxazole. We aimed to assess the efficacy of daily co-trimoxazole prophylaxis on survival in children without HIV being treated for complicated SAM.

Intestinal failure following necrotizing enterocolitis: A clinical approach.

Intestinal failure is a recognized complication of surgically-managed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Functional adaptation of remaining bowel means that many children are eventually able to achieve enteral autonomy. Integrated multidisciplinary care in the early post-operative phase is key to long-term success.

Balancing omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF).

Ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) are a key component of a life-saving treatment for young children who present with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition in resource limited settings. Increasing recognition of the role of balanced dietary omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in neurocognitive and immune development led two independent groups to evaluate RUTFs. Jones et al.

Ready-to-use therapeutic food with elevated n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid content, with or without fish oil, to treat severe acute malnutrition: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) are lipid-based pastes widely used in the treatment of acute malnutrition. Current specifications for RUTF permit a high n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content and low n-3 PUFA, with no stipulated requirements for preformed long-chain n-3 PUFA. The objective of this study was to develop an RUTF with elevated short-chain n-3 PUFA and measure its impact, with and without fish oil supplementation, on children's PUFA status during treatment of severe acute malnutrition.

Environmental enteric dysfunction: an overview.

Background: Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) refers to an incompletely defined syndrome of inflammation, reduced absorptive capacity, and reduced barrier function in the small intestine. It is widespread among children and adults in low- and middle-income countries. Understanding of EED and its possible consequences for health is currently limited.

Severe acute malnutrition and infection.

Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is associated with increased severity of common infectious diseases, and death amongst children with SAM is almost always as a result of infection. The diagnosis and management of infection are often different in malnourished versus well-nourished children. The objectives of this brief are to outline the evidence underpinning important practical questions relating to the management of infectious diseases in children with SAM and to highlight research gaps.

Mesalazine in the initial management of severely acutely malnourished children with environmental enteric dysfunction: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Background: Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is an acquired syndrome of impaired gastrointestinal mucosal barrier function that is thought to play a key role in the pathogenesis of stunting in early life. It has been conceptualized as an adaptive response to excess environmental pathogen exposure. However, it is clinically similar to other inflammatory enteropathies, which result from both host and environmental triggers, and for which immunomodulation is a cornerstone of therapy.

Childhood malnutrition: toward an understanding of infections, inflammation, and antimicrobials.

Background: Undernutrition in childhood is estimated to cause 3.1 million child deaths annually through a potentiating effect on common infectious diseases, such as pneumonia and diarrhea. In turn, overt and subclinical infections, and inflammation, especially in the gut, alter nutrient intake, absorption, secretion, diversion, catabolism, and expenditure.

Transcriptomic profiling in childhood H1N1/09 influenza reveals reduced expression of protein synthesis genes.

We compared the blood RNA transcriptome of children hospitalized with influenza A H1N1/09, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or bacterial infection, and healthy controls. Compared to controls, H1N1/09 patients showed increased expression of inflammatory pathway genes and reduced expression of adaptive immune pathway genes. This was validated on an independent cohort.

Comparison of pandemic and seasonal influenza reveals higher mortality and increased prevalence of shock in children with severe h1n1/09 infection.

Comparison of the clinical features of H1N1/09 and previous years' influenza A cases reveals that, in children presenting with severe disease, H1N1/09 influenza is associated with an increased prevalence of shock, duration of admission, and mortality. This was not attributable to demographic differences or underlying disease. H1N1/09 influenza is associated with more severe diseases than those with previous years' influenza A strains.

Perinatal nutrition and immunity to infection.

Epidemiological data provide strong evidence for a relationship between undernutrition and life-threatening infection in infants and children. However, the mechanisms that underlie this relationship are poorly understood. Through foetal life, infancy and childhood, the immune system undergoes a process of functional maturation.

Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa: an emerging public-health concern.

The extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) categorisation has been developed as a phenotypic description of those TB strains that are resistant to most conventional anti-TB drugs. While widely accepted to have significant incidence in those areas, such as Eastern Europe, that have high levels of multidrug resistance, recent reports have described a cluster of XDR-TB cases in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. With very high case-fatality rates in this setting and a paucity of potential treatment options, concerns have grown about the possibility of an outbreak of highly lethal TB occurring in areas where TB prevalence, generally, is at its highest.