Surge of Pediatric Respiratory Tract Infections After the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Concept of "Immune Debt".

Objective: To investigate a dose-response relationship between the magnitude of decrease in pediatric respiratory tract infections (RTI) during the 2020 implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) and the rise thereafter during NPI lifting.

Study Design: We conducted an interrupted, time-series analysis, based on a multinational surveillance system. All patients <16 years of age coming to medical attention with various symptoms and signs of RTI at 25 pediatric emergency departments from 13 European countries between January 2018 and June 2022 were included.

Use of Lung Ultrasound in Cystic Fibrosis: Is It a Valuable Tool?

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a multisystem disorder characterized by progressive respiratory deterioration, significantly impacting both quality of life and survival. Over the years, lung ultrasound (LUS) has emerged as a promising tool in pediatric respiratory due to its safety profile and ease at the bedside. In the era of highly effective CF modulator therapies and improved life expectancy, the use of non-ionizing radiation techniques could become an integral part of CF management, particularly in the pediatric population.

Pediatric ultrasound practice in Italy: an exploratory survey.

Background: The aim of this exploratory survey is to describe the current state of US (ultrasound) technique across different pediatric settings nationwide.

Methods: A questionnaire was emailed to all members of the Italian Society of Pediatrics, including pediatric residents. The survey was open from December 2021 to March 2022.

The lung ultrasound in children with SARS-COV-2 infection: a national multicenter prospective study.

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) caused hospitalizations, severe disease, and deaths in any age, including in the youngest children. The aim of this multicenter national study is to characterize the clinical and the prognostic role of lung ultrasound (LU) in children with COVID-19. We enrolled children between 1 month and 18 years of age with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) infection who underwent a LU within 6 h from the first medical evaluation.

Children at risk of domestic accidents when are locked up at home: the other side of COVID-19 outbreak lockdown.

Background: We proposed to analyze thoroughly the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown (CL) in changes of profiles and in trend of the domestic accidents (DAs) in children.

Methods: This was a single experience, cross-sectional study conducted at the emergency department (ED) of III trauma center. We enrolled children under 18 years admitted to ED with a diagnosis of DAs comparing the CL period from 10 March 2020 to 4 May 2020 with the same period of the previous year,10 March 2019 to 4 May 2019.

Prognostic Role of Lung Ultrasound in Children with Bronchiolitis: Multicentric Prospective Study.

There is increasing recognition of the role of lung ultrasound (LUS) to assess bronchiolitis severity in children. However, available studies are limited to small, single-center cohorts. We aimed to assess a qualitative and quantitative LUS protocol to evaluate the course of bronchiolitis at diagnosis and during follow-up.

One Year of Lung Ultrasound in Children with SARS-CoV-2 Admitted to a Tertiary Referral Children's Hospital: A Retrospective Study during 2020-2021.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lung ultrasound (LU) turned out to be a pivotal tool to study the lung involvement in the adult population, but the same was not well evaluated in children. We detected the LU patterns through an integrated approach with clinical−laboratory features in children hospitalized for COVID-19 in relation to the temporal trend of the Italian epidemic. We conducted a retrospective study which took place at a pediatric tertiary hospital from 15 March 2020 to 15 March 2021.

Lung Ultrasound to Detect Pneumothorax in Children Evaluated for Acute Chest Pain in the Emergency Department: An Observational Pilot Study.

Background: Spontaneous pneumothorax is a relatively uncommon and poorly studied condition in children. While several protocols have been developed to evaluate the use of lung ultrasound for dyspneic adult patients in the emergency department, no specific guidelines are present for pediatric emergency physicians.

Objectives: We prospectively analyzed children with acute chest pain and clinical suspicion of pneumothorax evaluated at the pediatric emergency department.

Ten Years of Pediatric Lung Ultrasound: A Narrative Review.

Lung diseases are the most common conditions in newborns, infants, and children and are also the primary cause of death in children younger than 5 years old. Traditionally, the lung was not thought to be a target for an ultrasound due to its inability to penetrate the gas-filled anatomical structures. With the deepening of knowledge on ultrasound in recent years, it is now known that the affected lung produces ultrasound artifacts resulting from the abnormal tissue/gas/tissue interface when ultrasound sound waves penetrate lung tissue.

The Role of Lung Ultrasound in Diagnosing COVID-19-Related Multisystemic Inflammatory Disease: A Preliminary Experience.

Background: To date, there are no data regarding the systematic application of Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound (PoC-LUS) in children with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). The main aim of this study is to show the role of Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound as an additional aid in the diagnosis of COVID-19-related Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).

Methods: Between April 2020 and April 2021, patients aged 0-18 years referred to our emergency department for fever, and later hospitalized without a specific diagnosis, underwent PoC-LUS.

Pleuropulmonary Ultrasound in Pediatrics: Proposal of a Reporting Model From the Academy of Thoracic Ultrasound.

With the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, pleuropulmonary ultrasound has become a very common tool in clinical practice, even in the pediatric field. Therefore, the clinicians' need to speak a common ultrasound language becomes increasingly necessary. The Italian scientific society AdET (Academy of Thoracic Ultrasound) has been carrying out the study and dissemination of pulmonary ultrasound in medical practice in Italy for years.

Lung ultrasound in the diagnosis and monitoring of 30 children with coronavirus disease 2019.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a new global pandemic and is responsible for millions of infections and thousands of deaths in the world. The lung ultrasound (LUS) is a noninvasive and easily repeatable tool and can be carried out by the pediatrician at the bedside of children with a consequent reduction in the risk of transmission of the virus.

Objective: We hypothesized that ultrasound findings in these patients would (1) be associated with their disease severity and (2) change over time in alignment with clinical outcome.

Lung Ultrasound in Children with COVID-19: Preliminary Findings.

Recent evidence indicates the usefulness of lung ultrasound (LUS) in detecting coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pneumonia. However, no data are available on the use of LUS in children with COVID-19 pneumonia. In this report, we describe LUS features of 10 consecutively admitted children with COVID-19 in two tertiary-level pediatric hospitals in Rome.

Lung ultrasound features of children with complicated and noncomplicated community acquired pneumonia: A prospective study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe lung ultrasound (LUS) findings at baseline and 48 hours after the beginning of treatment and evaluate how they correlate with outcome DESIGN: We prospectively analyzed patients from 1 month to 17 years of age with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) evaluated at a tertiary level pediatric hospital. At baseline and 48 hours after the beginning of treatment, history, clinical examination, laboratory testing, chest X-ray, and LUS were performed.

Results: One hundred one children were enrolled in the study (13 with complicated CAP).

Point-of-care lung ultrasound in infants with bronchiolitis in the pediatric emergency department: a prospective study.

Bronchiolitis is the most common cause of hospitalization of children in the first year of life. The lung ultrasound is a new diagnostic tool which is inexpensive, non-invasive, rapid, and easily repeatable. Our prospective study was conducted in the emergency department and all patients underwent a routine clinical evaluation and lung ultrasound by the pediatricians who defined the clinical and the ultrasound score.

Laboratory Biomarkers to Facilitate Differential Diagnosis between Measles and Kawasaki Disease in a Pediatric Emergency Room: A Retrospective Study.

This retrospective study was conducted to analyze clinical and laboratoristic parameters to individuate specific differences and facilitate differential diagnosis between Measles and Kawasaki Disease (KD) at first evaluation in an emergency room. We found similar clinical features as duration of fever and number of KD criteria (p > 0.5) but significant differences in white blood cell count, neutrophils, CRP and LDH levels (p < 0.

Diagnosis of Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome in Settings With Limited Resources.

Importance: Although polysomnographic (PSG) testing is the gold standard for the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in children, the number of pediatric sleep laboratories is limited. Developing new screening methods for identifying OSAS may reduce the need for PSG testing.

Objective: To evaluate the combined use of the sleep clinical record (SCR) and nocturnal oximetry testing for predicting PSG results in children with clinically suspected OSAS.

Cognitive function in preschool children with sleep-disordered breathing.

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to assess cognitive functions in preschool children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and to compare them with matched control children.

Methods: A clinical sample of 2.5- to 6-year-old children with SDB was recruited.

Urinary concentration of 8-isoprostane as marker of severity of pediatric OSAS.

Background: F2-isoprostanes are considered to be a reliable standard biomarker of oxidative stress in vivo because they are not influenced by the intake of lipids in the diet, and they are chemically stable molecules and easily detected. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that 8-isoprostane level is a useful marker to valuate the severity of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods: Sixty-five children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) (mean age 5.

Epilepsy and sleep-disordered breathing as false friends: a case report.

Because signs of nocturnal seizures can overlap with sleep respiratory events, clinicians can have difficulty distinguishing abnormal events related to sleep disorders from epileptic seizures. We describe the case of a 3-year-old child presenting with ictal electroencephalographic (EEG) activity associated with a particular form of atypical obstructive sleep apnea, characterized by increased respiratory rate, paradoxical breathing, desaturations, and tonic-dystonic posture associated with movement artifacts. Following cardiorespiratory polysomnography, the patient was initially misdiagnosed as having severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.