Etiology and classification of acute pancreatitis in children admitted to ICU using the Pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (pSOFA) score.

Background: Pediatric acute pancreatitis (AP) is rare but increasing. Severe AP is associated with higher morbidity and mortality. However, there are no universally accepted prognostic criteria for AP.

Severe linezolid-induced lactic acidosis in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A case report.

Linezolid is an antibiotic increasingly used for treatment of resistant Gram-positive infections, which blocks bacterial proteosythesis through direct inhibition of mitochondrial ribosomes. The most common adverse effects of linezolid include gastrointestinal symtoms, peripheral neuropathy, bone marrow depression and lactic acidosis. Here we present a rare case of a 9-year-old female, a survivor of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), who developed life-threatening lactic acidosis with vomiting, impaired consciousness and Kussmaul breathing after 51 days of intravenous linezolid administration due to mycobacterial infection.

Acute onset of autoimmune hepatitis in children and adolescents.

Background: Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a rare progressive liver disease, which manifests as acute hepatitis in 40%-50% of pediatric cases. This refers predominantly to spontaneous exacerbations of previously unrecognized subclinical AIH with laboratory and histological signs of chronic hepatitis, or to acute exacerbations of known chronic disease. Only a few of these patients fulfill criteria for acute liver failure (ALF).

McRAPD unlike MALDI-TOF MS is a suitable candidate for routine discrimination of new Haemophilus influenzae strain acquisition in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis.

Background And Aims: Haemophilus influenzae new strain acquisition has been demonstrated to increase the relative risk of acute exacerbation fourfold in contrast to colonisation or chronic infection by the same strain in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Unfortunately, molecular typing techniques are not suitable for routine use due to cost, labour-intensity and need for special expertise. We tested two techniques potentially useful for routine typing, namely the newly available MALDI-TOF MS and the modified McRAPD compared to MLST as the gold standard.

NAS agar is more suitable than McKay agar for primary culture of Streptococcus milleri group (SMG) fastidious bacteria, S. intermedius in particular.

Streptococcus milleri group (SMG) is a group of three streptococcal species (S. anginosus, intermedius and constellatus) that act as opportunist pathogens, among others in cystic fibrosis. Due to their fastidious character, they are both difficult to cultivate and to differentiate from less pathogenic streptococcal species, therefore being most probably underdiagnosed.

Performance of pyrosequencing versus MALDI-TOF MS in bacteria identification in chronic lung disease.

Rapid identification of the etiological agent in bacterial infection is necessary for correct diagnosis and appropriate therapy. In general, identification of pure cultures of bacteria using conventional phenotyping techniques requires 4-24 hours. Recently available new molecular technologies offer the potential of same day species identification once pure culture is available.

[Prolonged culture in a humid chamber increases the yields of pathogenic bacteria from the respiratory tract samples of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis].

Current standards of care for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients lack unequivocal recommendations concerning the duration of primary culture of bacteriological samples. With the exception of Burkholderia cepacia (5 days), the minimum recommended duration of primary culture varies between 48 and 72 hours. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of an extended 10-day period of primary culture in a humid chamber in samples acquired from the respiratory tract of patients suffering from CF.

The Streptococcus milleri group in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background And Aims: S. anginosus, constellatus and intermedius, also known as the Streptococcus milleri group (SMG) are three streptococcal species more frequently detected in cases of invasive disease, abscesses and empyema in particular. Recent research suggests they play a role in exacerbations of cystic fibrosis (CF).

[Relation of risk factors between metabolic syndrome and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in children and adolescents].

Aim: In recent years, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and metabolic syndrome (MS) in children have increased in line with the increased prevalence of obesity. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate a relation between NAFDL and MS in children.

Methods: NAFLD was defined as an elevation of serum transaminase level and hyperechogenic feature of liver on ultrasonography.

Montelukast decreases plasma endothelin-1 and serum eosinophil cationic protein levels in paediatric atopic asthma.

Background And Objective: Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is produced by vascular endothelial cells and epithelial cells, T-lymphocytes and phagocytes. Increased ET-1 levels have been demonstrated in the bronchial epithelium of asthma patients. In vitro, ET-1 stimulates mucus secretion, activates proinflammatory cells - macrophages and mast cells - and serves as a mitogenic stimulus for fibroblasts and smooth muscle.

Percentage of eosinophils with surface CD44 and levels of eosinophil cationic protein in the peripheral blood in children with bronchial asthma and their changes after montelukast therapy.

Bronchial asthma (BA) is chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract with a role played by a variety of cells, particularly mast cells, eosinophils (Eo), and T lymphocytes. The serum levels of Eo cationic protein (S-ECP) reflect the severity of bronchial inflammation and the level of bronchial hyperreactivity in asthma patients. One of the most important adhesion molecules is CD44.

Bronchial asthma and Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies in children aged 4-8 years in Olomouc district.

Background: Although several studies have demonstrated an association between infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae and asthma, these were mainly limited to exacerbation of symptoms in adults with known asthma

Objective: We investigated the role of C. pneumoniae infection in 149 atopic children with chronic cough and asthma, comparing them with 241 control non-atopic subjects presenting at Olomouc hospital between 1999 and 2003 with non-specific symptoms (temperature above normal (subfebrile), abdominal pain, arthralgia, and other symptoms.

Methods: The levels of C.

Treatment of chronic cough in children with montelukast,a leukotriene receptor antagonist.

Twenty-two children (13 boys and 9 girls) with chronic cough were treated with the leukotriene receptor antagonist montelukast (Singulair tbl. 5 mg) administered once daily for four weeks. In 14 children (68%), the cough ceased during the third week of treatment.