Postoperative apnea after pyloromyotomy for infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.

Objective: Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS), which causes gastric outlet obstruction and hypochloremic hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis, could pose a risk of postoperative apnea in patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence of postoperative apnea in babies admitted to a tertiary-level pediatric surgical center in Milano, Italy with diagnosis of IHPS in 2010-2019. The secondary objective is to evaluate the risk factors for postoperative apnea.

Very High Negative Concordance Rate of RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 in Nasopharyngeal Swab and Tracheo-Bronchial Aspirate in Children.

Unlabelled: Reliable testing methods for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in children are essential to allow normal activities. Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is currently based on real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) performed on nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs; concerns have been raised regarding NP swab accuracy in children to detect the virus because of potential lack of cooperation of the patients or due to general uncertainties about concordance between high and low respiratory tract specimens in children. The aim of the study (IRB approval: ST/2020/405) is to prospectively compare RT-PCR results on NP and tracheo-bronchial aspirate (TA) in children admitted to the hospital for surgery or admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of a tertiary children hospital in Milano, Italy, during a peak of COVID-19 infections in the city.