A randomized clinical trial of intranasal dexmedetomidine versus inhaled nitrous oxide for procedural sedation and analgesia in children.

Background: Procedural sedation and analgesia is an important part of pediatric emergency care, safe and clinically useful alternatives for adequate management are necessary. The objective of this clinical trial was to evaluate the non-inferiority of intranasal dexmedetomidine to nitrous oxide with respect to analgesia for a painful procedure in children 3-15 years of age.

Methods: This prospective, equally randomized, open-label, non-inferiority trial was conducted at a Pediatric Emergency Department.

Circulation of West Nile virus and Usutu virus in birds in Germany, 2021 and 2022.

Background: Usutu virus (USUV) and West Nile virus (WNV) are zoonotic arthropod-borne orthoflaviviruses. The enzootic transmission cycles of both include mosquitoes as vectors and birds as amplifying hosts. For more than 10 years, these viruses have been monitored in birds in Germany by a multidisciplinary network.

Occurrence of and in European Wild Rabbits () in Southern Germany (Bavaria).

and are fungus-related, obligate intracellular pathogens belonging to the microsporidia. Both microorganisms occur in mammals, birds and even humans, thus revealing a zoonotic potential. Knowledge of their relevance in wild rabbits is very limited so far.

Circadian Corticosterone Profile in Laying Hens ().

Measurement of blood corticosterone concentrations has been established as an indicator for assessment of acute distress. Therefore, knowledge on physiological fluctuations is required, but previous studies allow little conclusion on daily fluctuations in domestic chickens (). To verify the presence of a circadian corticosterone rhythm in socialized chickens, blood samples were taken at four-hour intervals from 12 laying hens kept in groups of four over three days, each.

Pre-admission virus detection during the COVID-19 pandemic in children with and without symptoms of infection.

Aim: Pre-admission viral screening is used only in exceptional situations such as pandemics. We therefore evaluated pre-admission screening for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza during the COVID-19 pandemic, comparing epidemiology and clinical features of admitted children.

Methods: Children were screened at a paediatric emergency department from 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2022 by nasopharyngeal sampling and polymerase chain reaction kit.