Characterization of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) microbiota at the time of initial surgical intervention for children with hydrocephalus.

Objective: To characterize the microbiota of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from children with hydrocephalus at the time of initial surgical intervention.

Study Design: CSF was obtained at initial surgical intervention. One aliquot was stored in skim milk-tryptone-glucose-glycerol (STGG) medium and the second was unprocessed; both were then stored at -70°C.

Urban-rural disparities in interfacility transfers for children during COVID-19.

Purpose: We aimed to identify temporal trends and differences in urban and rural pediatric interfacility transfers (IFTs) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of IFT among children <18 years from January 2019 to June 2022 using the Pediatric Health Information System. The primary outcome was IFTs from general hospitals to referral children's hospitals.

Obesity and Health-Related Quality of Life in Children Hospitalized for Acute Respiratory Illness.

Objectives: Obesity has rapidly become a major problem for children that has adverse effects on respiratory health. We sought to assess the impact of obesity on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and hospital outcomes for children hospitalized with asthma or pneumonia.

Methods: In this multicenter prospective cohort study, we evaluated children (aged 2-16 years) hospitalized with an acute asthma exacerbation or pneumonia between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2016.

Effects of polysubstance exposure on neonatal outcomes for infants with intrauterine opioid exposure.

Objective: Quantify the effect of prenatal polysubstance exposure on neonatal outcomes compared to methadone exposure alone.

Study Design: This retrospective cohort study compared infants with methadone-only exposure to methadone with additional psychoactive substances. Outcomes included time to maximum Finnegan scores, proportion requiring scheduled morphine, and length of stay (LOS).

Effects of age, sex, race/ethnicity, and allergy status in obesity-related pediatric asthma.

Rationale: Obesity in children increases the risk for new asthma. How age, sex, race/ethnicity, and allergy status affect the relationship between obesity and asthma is unclear. This study describes the relationship between high body mass index (BMI) and incident asthma.

Relationship of causative organism and time to infection among children with cerebrospinal fluid shunt infection.

Objective: Infection is a common complication of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts, occurring in 6%-20% of children. Although studies are limited, Staphylococcus aureus is thought to cause more rapid and aggressive infection than coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CONS) or gram-negative organisms. The authors' objective was to evaluate the relationship between the causative organisms of CSF shunt infection and the timing of infection.

Being Overweight or Obese and the Development of Asthma.

Objectives: Adult obesity is linked to asthma cases and is estimated to lead to 250 000 new cases yearly. Similar incidence and attributable risk (AR) estimates have not been developed for children. We sought to describe the relationship between overweight and obesity and incident asthma in childhood and quantify AR statistics in the United States for overweight and obesity on pediatric asthma.

Adjunct Systemic Corticosteroid Therapy in Children With Community-Acquired Pneumonia in the Outpatient Setting.

Background: The role of adjunct systemic corticosteroid therapy in children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is not known. The objective was to determine the association between adjunct systemic corticosteroid therapy and treatment failure in children who received antibiotics for treatment of CAP in the outpatient setting.

Methods: The study included a retrospective cohort study of children, aged 1-18 years, with a diagnosis of CAP who were managed at an outpatient practice affiliated with Geisinger Health System from January 1, 2008 to January 31, 2010.

Beta-lactam versus beta- lactam/macrolide therapy in pediatric outpatient pneumonia.

Objective: The objective was to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of beta-lactam monotherapy and beta- lactam/macrolide combination therapy in the outpatient management of children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included children, ages 1-18 years, with CAP diagnosed between January 1, 2008 and January 31, 2010 during outpatient management in the Geisinger Health System. The primary exposure was receipt of beta-lactam monotherapy or beta-lactam/macrolide combination therapy.

Comparative Effectiveness of Beta-lactam Versus Macrolide Monotherapy in Children with Pneumonia Diagnosed in the Outpatient Setting.

Background: Most children diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are treated in the outpatient setting. The objective of this study was to determine the comparative clinical effectiveness of beta-lactam monotherapy and macrolide monotherapy in this population.

Study Design: Children, 1-18 years old, with a clinical diagnosis of CAP at an outpatient practice affiliated (n = 71) with Geisinger Health System during January 1, 2008 to January 31, 2010 were eligible.

Utilization of nebulized 3% saline in infants hospitalized with bronchiolitis.

Objectives: To describe utilization of 3% hypertonic saline (HTS) in hospitalized infants and to evaluate the association between HTS use and length of stay (LOS) in a real-world setting.

Study Design: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included infants≤12 months hospitalized with bronchiolitis between October 2008 and September 2011 using the Pediatric Health Information System. HTS use was categorized as trial, rescue, daily, or sporadic.

Variation in the management of infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis persists after the 2006 American Academy of Pediatrics bronchiolitis guidelines.

Objective: To describe variation across US pediatric hospitals in the utilization of resources not recommended for routine use by the American Academy of Pediatrics guideline for infants hospitalized with bronchiolitis and to examine the association between resource utilization and disposition outcomes.

Study Design: We conducted a cross-sectional study of infants ≤12 months hospitalized for bronchiolitis from 2007-2012 at 42 hospitals contributing data to the Pediatric Health Information System. Patients with asthma were excluded.

Impact of clinical history on chest radiograph interpretation.

Background: The inclusion of clinical information may have unrecognized influence in the interpretation of diagnostic testing.

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the impact of clinical history on chest radiograph interpretation in the diagnosis of pneumonia.

Design: Prospective case-based study.

Macrolide therapy and outcomes in a multicenter cohort of children hospitalized with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia.

Background: Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia in childhood. Few studies have addressed the association of antimicrobial treatment and outcomes.

Objective: To determine whether macrolide therapy is associated with improved outcomes among children hospitalized with M.

Schistosoma mansoni population structure and persistence after praziquantel treatment in two villages of Bahia, Brazil.

Praziquantel has been used to treat schistosome infections since 1979 and currently is the only chemotherapeutic agent in production for this purpose, raising concerns about the potential for the emergence of drug resistance. In practice, 10-20% of infected patients will continue to excrete eggs after treatment. It is not understood to what degree this represents selection of a resistant population or incomplete elimination due to the presence of immature worms at the time of treatment.

Long-term genetic stability and population dynamics of laboratory strains of Schistosoma mansoni.

Measures of genetic differentiation between populations are useful tools for understanding the long-term dynamics of parasite communities. We followed the allele frequencies of microsatellite markers in samples taken over a period of 16 yr from the Case Western Reserve University-Naval Medical Research Institute (CWRU-NMRI) laboratory strain of Schistosoma mansoni. DNA was isolated from pooled samples of adults, eggs, or cercariae collected at 46 time points and genotyped for 14 tri- or tetranucleotide microsatellite markers.