Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic and Associated Restrictions on Vitamin D Status in a Large Cohort of Italian Children and Adolescents.

: Vitamin D is synthesized in the skin upon sunlight exposure, showing variations with season and latitude. We aimed to investigate the influence of age, sex, and season on vitamin D status in a large pediatric cohort during the COVID-19 pandemic period and the corresponding pre-pandemic period. : Retrospective data concerning subjects aged < 18 years were extracted anonymously from the large database of a reference laboratory hospital (Sassari, Northern Sardinia, Italy).

Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and associated restrictions on Pediatric Emergency Department utilization in Sardinia: a retrospective bicentric observational study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures have had a profound impact on health systems worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess quantitative and qualitative changes in Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) visits in Sardinia, Italy, during the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated the number and characteristics of visits to two major Sardinian PEDs, in the periods January-June 2020 and January-June 2019.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia in a nine-year-old girl with isodicentric chromosome 15 syndrome.

Isodicentric chromosome 15, also called idic(15), is a rare chromosomal abnormality resulting from inverted duplication of proximal 15q. It is associated with specific clinical findings such as early central hypotonia, developmental delay, cognitive dysfunction, autism spectrum disorders, and seizure. Herein we describe a case of a girl with idic(15) syndrome who developed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at the age of 9 years.

Real-Life Management of Children and Adolescents with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: The Italian Experience.

Background: To date, no data on the adherence to specific guidelines for children with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in chronic phase (CP) have been reported.

Methods: Since 2001, guidelines for treatment with imatinib mesylate (IM) and monitoring in patients younger than 18 years with CP-CML have been shared with 9 pediatric referral centers (P centers) and 4 reference centers for adults and children/adolescents (AP centers) in Italy. In this study, the adherence to these guidelines was analyzed.

Parasitic Hypereosinophilia in Childhood: a Diagnostic Challenge.

Severe hypereosinophilia (HE) in children is rare, and its etiological diagnosis is challenging. We describe a case of a 30-month-old boy, living in a rural area, who was admitted to our Clinic with a 7-day history of fever and severe hypereosinophilia. A comprehensive diagnostic workup could not identify the cause of this condition.