Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Emergencies.

Objective: By forcing closure of schools, curtailing outpatient services, and imposing strict social distancing, the COVID-19 pandemic has abruptly affected the daily life of millions worldwide, with still unclear consequences for mental health. This study aimed to evaluate if and how child and adolescent psychiatric visits to hospital emergency departments (EDs) changed during the pandemic lockdown, which started in Italy on February 24, 2020.

Methods: We examined all ED visits by patients under 18 years of age in the 7 weeks prior to February 24, 2020, and in the subsequent 8 weeks of COVID-19 lockdown at two urban university hospitals, in Turin and Rome, Italy.

Development of a quantitative real-time PCR assay for sapovirus in children under 5-years-old in Regina Margherita Hospital of Turin, Italy.

Gastroenteritis is a common disease in children. It is characterized by diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and fever. Sapovirus (SaV) is a causative agent of acute gastroenteritis, but it causes milder illness than do rotavirus and norovirus.

Molecular detection of human parechovirus in under-Five-Year-Old Children with gastroenteritis.

Background: Currently, RT-PCR is used widely and considered to be a convenient, useful, and powerful method for molecular diagnosis, to detect pathogens from clinical specimens.

Objectives: In this work we describe the development of an in-house Real-time Taqman PCR assay for quantification of HPeV in stool specimens.

Study Designs: A total of 137 fecal specimens previously screened for rotavirus and adenovirus were tested for HPeV virus.