Back to school: Safe for children with underlying medical conditions.

As schools reopen as a result of low community transmission rates of COVID-19, parents and teachers will have understandable concerns about the risks to students and staff.

Does discharging asthma patients after one hour of treatment if clinically well affect emergency department length of stay.

Aim: Asthma is a major contributor to direct and indirect health-care costs and resource use. In May 2015, the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) amended its clinical practice guideline for acute asthma management from discharging patients if the anticipated salbutamol requirement was every 3-4 h to discharging patients who were clinically well at 1 h after initial treatment. Our objective was to examine the impact of the new discharge recommendation on emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS), rates of admission and representation.

Pulmonary Mycobacterium abscessus complex in children with cystic fibrosis: A practical management guideline.

The treatment of Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABSC) pulmonary infections is an emerging challenge in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Multidrug therapy for prolonged durations is required and carries the significant burden of drug-related toxicity, cost and selective pressure for multiresistant bacteria. International guidelines acknowledge that clinical and in vitro data to support treatment regimens are limited, particularly in children.

Linkages between soil carbon, soil fertility and nitrogen fixation in plantations of varying age in Sudan.

Background: Over the last decades sub-Saharan Africa has experienced severe land degradation and food security challenges linked to loss of soil fertility and soil organic matter (SOM), recurrent drought and increasing population. Although primary production in drylands is strictly limited by water availability, nutrient deficiencies, particularly of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), are also considered limiting factors for plant growth. It is known that SOM (often measured as soil organic carbon (SOC)) is a key indicator of soil fertility, therefore, management practices that increase SOM contents, such as increasing tree cover, can be expected to improve soil fertility.

The location of Australian Buruli ulcer lesions-Implications for unravelling disease transmission.

Background: Buruli ulcer (BU), caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, is increasing in incidence in Victoria, Australia. To improve understanding of disease transmission, we aimed to map the location of BU lesions on the human body.

Methods: Using notification data and clinical records review, we conducted a retrospective observational study of patients diagnosed with BU in Victoria from 1998-2015.

Antibiotic duration and timing of the switch from intravenous to oral route for bacterial infections in children: systematic review and guidelines.

Few studies are available to inform duration of intravenous antibiotics for children and when it is safe and appropriate to switch to oral antibiotics. We have systematically reviewed antibiotic duration and timing of intravenous to oral switch for 36 paediatric infectious diseases and developed evidence-graded recommendations on the basis of the review, guidelines, and expert consensus. We searched databases and obtained information from references identified and relevant guidelines.

Diagnostic Yield of Timing Blood Culture Collection Relative to Fever.

Background: Conventional practice involves obtaining a blood culture during or immediately after a fever to increase diagnostic yield. There are no data to support this practice in children.

Methods: Retrospective single-center case-control study of children (0-18 years) who had blood cultures performed as part of routine care.

Impacts of forest harvesting on mobilization of Hg and MeHg in drained peatland forests on black schist or felsic bedrock.

Forest harvesting, especially when intensified harvesting method as whole-tree harvesting with stump lifting (WTHs) are used, may increase mercury (Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) leaching to recipient water courses. The effect can be enhanced if the underlying bedrock and overburden soil contain Hg. The impact of stem-only harvesting (SOH) and WTHs on the concentrations of Hg and MeHg as well as several other variables in the ditch water was studied using a paired catchment approach in eight drained peatland-dominated catchments in Finland (2008-2012).

Managing childhood migraine.

Background: Childhood migraines create a significant health burden and are probably under-diagnosed and treated.

Objectives: The aim of this article is to offer a systematic approach to the management of migraine.

Discussion: A systematic approach to the presentation of migraines in children can help to alleviate parental and physician anxiety and allow for an accurate diagnosis.

Paediatric infectious diseases: the last 50 years.

Many advances and challenges have occurred in the field of paediatric infectious diseases during the past 50 years. It is impossible to cover all of these in a short review, but a few highlights and lowlights will be covered. These include virtual disappearance of some infectious diseases, emergence of new ones, infections in the immunocompromised, antimicrobial resistance, development of new and improved antimicrobials, improved diagnostic tests and the Human Microbiome Project.

Determination of low methylmercury concentrations in peat soil samples by isotope dilution GC-ICP-MS using distillation and solvent extraction methods.

Most often, only total mercury concentrations in soil samples are determined in environmental studies. However, the determination of extremely toxic methylmercury (MeHg) in addition to the total mercury is critical to understand the biogeochemistry of mercury in the environment. In this study, N2-assisted distillation and acidic KBr/CuSO4 solvent extraction methods were applied to isolate MeHg from wet peat soil samples collected from boreal forest catchments.

Long-term changes in acidity and DOC in throughfall and soil water in Finnish forests.

The main objective of this study was to examine if any detectable trends in dissolved organic carbon (DOC), sulphate (SO4-S) concentrations and acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) in throughfall (TF) and soil water (SW) could be found during 1990-2010 and to relate them to recent changes in decreased acid deposition. The study was conducted in seven boreal coniferous forest sites: four of which are managed and three unmanaged forests sites. Generally, temporal trend showed a significant decrease in SO4-S concentrations in bulk precipitation (BP), TF and SW.

Are we there yet? Travel vaccinations for Australian children.

Background: Australians travel overseas frequently and general practitioners (GPs) are often asked to provide detailed advice on travel vaccinations for children. Planning a safe and effective vaccination schedule is dependent on the context: where and when the family is travelling, the individual child's medical needs and past vaccination history, and if they are visiting family and friends.

Objective: In this paper we provide an overview of the issues to consider when vaccinating Australian children for overseas travel.

Formal infectious diseases consultations at a tertiary pediatric hospital: a 14-year review.

We analyzed the formal consultations seen by the infectious diseases service over a 14-year period at one of the largest pediatric hospitals in Australia. We highlight the increasing demand for pediatric infectious diseases expertise and the reasons for which consultations are sought. Our findings will help in planning and resource allocation in an era of increasingly complex patients.

Nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, and suspended solids loads from forest clear-cutting and site preparation: long-term paired catchment studies from eastern Finland.

The long-term impacts of current forest management methods on surface water quality in Fennoscandia are largely unexplored. We studied the long-term effects of clear-cutting and site preparation on runoff and the export of total nitrogen (total N), total organic nitrogen (TON), ammonium (NH(4)-N), nitrate (NO(3)-N), total phosphorus (total P), phosphate (PO(4)-P), total organic carbon, and suspended solids (SS) in three paired-catchments in Eastern Finland. Clear-cutting and soil preparation were carried out on 34 % (C34), 11 % (C11), and 8 % (C8) of the area of the treated catchments and wide buffer zones were left along the streams.

Antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteremia in pediatric oncology patients--risk factors and outcomes.

Background: Infection with antibiotic-resistant (AR) Gram-negative (GN) bacteria is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine risk factors and outcomes associated with GN bacteremia with acquired resistance to antibiotics used in the empiric treatment of febrile neutropenia in pediatric oncology patients at our institution.

Methods: All episodes of GN bacteremia in oncology patients at the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, from 2003 to 2010 were retrospectively reviewed.