QT interval in children with orthostatic dysregulation: Changes in standing load.

Background: The corrected QT interval (QTc) is affected by changes in autonomic sympathovagal modulation. The aim of this study was to determine whether children with orthostatic dysregulation (OD) have a longer QTc while standing than children without OD.

Methods: We retrospectively assessed patients who underwent the Schellong test and electrocardiography between November 2016 and November 2019.

A Case with Iron Deficiency Anemia Developed Aplastic Crisis.

A toddler with an unbalanced diet and gastrointestinal bleeding by juvenile polyp developed an aplastic crisis due to the human parvovirus B19 (HPVB19). Although he exhibited microcytic anemia without iron deficiency in the acute phase of HPVB19 infection, he presented with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in the chronic phase. IDA results in erythroblast hyperplasia and shortened red blood cell lifespan as like congenital hemolytic diseases, which may lead to an aplastic crisis during HPVB19 infection.

The Limited Effect of a History of COVID-19 on Antibody Titers and Adverse Reactions Following BNT162b2 Vaccination: A Single-Center Prospective Study.

The need for, and ideal frequency of, the vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) of previously infected individuals have not yet been sufficiently evaluated. The aim of this study was to examine the anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody status and adverse reactions after vaccination among medical staff with or without a history of COVID-19. A single-center prospective study was performed at Fukuoka University Chikushi Hospital.

Distribution of Alleles, , and Genes of Lipopolysaccharide and Sequence-Based Types Among Serogroup 1 Isolates in Japan and China.

Approximately 85% of cases of Legionnaires' disease are caused by serogroup 1. In this study, we analyzed the distribution of alleles, and genes of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and sequence-based types of 616 serogroup 1 strains isolated in Japan (206 clinical, 225 environmental) and China (13 clinical and 172 environmental). The gene was harbored by significantly more of the clinical isolates compared with the environmental isolates (90.

Legionella pneumophila and Other Legionella Species Isolated from Legionellosis Patients in Japan between 2008 and 2016.

The Reference Center in Japan collected 427 clinical isolates between 2008 and 2016, including 7 representative isolates from corresponding outbreaks. The collection included 419 isolates, of which 372 belonged to serogroup 1 (SG1) (87%) and the others belonged to SG2 to SG15 except for SG7 and SG11, and 8 isolates of other species (, , , , , and ). isolates were genotyped by sequence-based typing (SBT) and represented 187 sequence types (STs), of which 126 occurred in a single isolate (index of discrimination of 0.

Right ventricular myocardial deformation patterns in children with congenital heart disease associated with right ventricular pressure overload.

Aims: Longitudinal wall motion of the right ventricle (RV) has been thoroughly studied in patients with RV dysfunction. However, circumferential strain of the RV free wall has yet to be investigated. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the utility of RV free wall circumferential strain.

Right ventricular thrombosis in two patients with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum.

Thrombosis was detected in the right ventricle 7 days after a bidirectional Glenn operation in a 1-year-old boy with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PAIVS) and immediately before pulmonary valvuloplasty in a 21-day-old boy with PAIVS. The risk of thrombosis and the blood clotting cascade should be assessed by blood tests, and surveillance echocardiography should be frequently applied in order to diagnose thrombosis early in such patients.

Echocardiographic assessment of anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery.

Transthoracic echocardiography of a 4-month-old boy with heart failure revealed poor left ventricular contractility with severe mitral regurgitation. Deformation analysis revealed significantly decreased circumferential strain in the anterior and anteroseptal segments. Furthermore, post-systolic shortening was evident in the anterior and lateral segments.

Assessment of the helical ventricular myocardial band using standard echocardiography.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of morphological and functional evaluation of the helical ventricular myocardial band using standard echocardiographic images.

Methods: Echocardiographic data were obtained from 132 normal children. We attempted to identify the echogenic bright line serving as the boundary between the ascending and descending segments in the ventricular septum, and between the left and ascending segments in the left ventricular inferior wall in the helical myocardial band model proposed by Torrent-Guasp.

Fibromyxoid excrescence of the aortic valve that manifested after catheterisation and required resection.

A 2-year-old boy developed fibromyxoid excrescence of the aortic valve 2 years after balloon dilatation for simple coarctation. Transthoracic echocardiography showed a mobile mass on the non-coronary cusp of the aortic valve. Definitive diagnosis was achieved after operative resection.

Assessment of two-component ventricular septum: functional differences in systolic deformation and rotation assessed by speckle tracking imaging.

Background: The purpose of this study was to elucidate functional differences in the right and left components of the ventricular septum (Rt and Lt, respectively).

Methods: Strain, strain rate, rotation, and rotation rate profile curves of Rt and Lt were obtained using speckle tracking echocardiography in 38 normal children and adolescents.

Results: The echogenic bright line serving as the boundary separating Rt from Lt was consistently visible in the middle of the ventricular septum.

Ratio of early diastolic tricuspid inflow to tricuspid lateral annulus velocity reflects pulmonary regurgitation severity but not right ventricular diastolic function in children with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot.

The current study assessed relationships between the ratio of early diastolic tricuspid inflow to tricuspid lateral annular velocity (tricuspid E/e') and right ventricular (RV) function in children after tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) repair. The RV function of 25 asymptomatic children with surgically repaired TOF (age 3.3 ± 2.

Left atrial volume change throughout the cardiac cycle in children with congenital heart disease associated with increased pulmonary blood flow: evaluation using a novel left atrium-tracking method.

There is a paucity of data regarding the significance of left atrial (LA) volume and its changes throughout the cardiac cycle in pediatric patients with heart disease. The recently developed LA volume-tracking (LAVT) method can automatically construct the LA volume curve. The study group consisted of 48 pediatric patients with ventricular septal defect (n = 34) or patent ductus arteriosus (n = 14) and age-matched healthy controls.

Stent placement in the ductus venosus of a neonate with total anomalous pulmonary venous return.

A newborn with right isomerism, infracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR), and obstruction of the ductus venosus underwent stent implantation in the ductus venosus at 4 h after birth. This procedure averted early pulmonary venous obstruction. Since gradual neointimal proliferation subsequently occurred within the stent, the patient underwent stent balloon dilatation at 35 days of age and underwent surgical repair of the TAPVR with a Blalock-Taussig shunt operation at 53 days of age.

Subclavian and pulmonary artery steal phenomenon in a patient with isolated left subclavian artery and right aortic arch.

We describe a patient with an isolated left subclavian artery associated with right aortic arch, patent ductus arteriosus, and ventricular septal defect. As the isolated left subclavian artery is supplied by the left vertebral artery in which blood flows in the retrograde direction, this anomaly is usually responsible for a congenital subclavian steal phenomenon. Atrophy of the left cerebral hemisphere and inverted left vertebral arterial flow were clearly depicted by echoencephalography in this patient, whose subclavian artery was connected to the main pulmonary artery by a patent ductus arteriosus.

A novel bilayer approach to ventricular septal deformation analysis by speckle tracking imaging in children with right ventricular overload.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate functional differences between the left and right sides of the ventricular septum in children with right ventricular overload.

Methods: Radial, longitudinal, and circumferential strain on both sides of the ventricular septum were compared using speckle-tracking echocardiography in patients with preoperative atrial septal defects (n = 22), postoperative tetralogy of Fallot (n = 23) and age-matched normal controls (n = 44). The duration between peak strain of the left and right ventricular septum (TLt-Rt) was also evaluated.

Consideration of the Pathological Features of Pediatric Congenital Heart Diseases Which Are Ideally Suitable for Diagnosing With Multidetector-row CT.

Background: A lots of articles published regarding the usefulness of multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) mostly describe that it can be an alternative to the invasive catheterization and angiography. The unique diagnostic features of this imaging modality have been largely ignored or disregarded. We described the pathological conditions that cannot be diagnosed by conventional angiography with cardiac catheterization but can be accurately diagnosed by MDCT.

Pulmonary emphysematous changes in patients with congenital heart disease associated with increased pulmonary blood flow: evaluation using multidetector-row computed tomography.

Background: The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and the location of segmental emphysematous change in congenital heart disease (CHD) patients with increased pulmonary blood flow using multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT).

Methods: A total of 129 consecutive patients (mean age, 5.8±5.

Serum concentration of heart-type fatty acid-binding protein in children and adolescents with congenital heart disease.

Background: Serum heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) is widely applied as a marker of cardiac myocyte injury. Recently, it has been reported that levels of H-FABP are elevated in adult patients with chronic heart failure and thus provide useful prognostic information. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationships between serum H-FABP levels and pathophysiological characteristics in children and adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD).

Transient left temporal lobe lesion in Menkes disease may influence the generation of tonic spasms.

We report a 7-month-old boy with Menkes disease who presented West syndrome. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed atrophy of the frontal and parietal lobes, subdural hematoma on the right side, and left temporal lobe lesion (low intensity in T1-weighted imaging (T1-WI), high intensity in T2-weighted imaging (T2-WI) and low intensity in diffusion-weighted imaging (DW-I)) at 7 months of age. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was 1.