Admissions due to vaccine preventable diseases in a large paediatric intensive care unit in Greece over a 10-year period.

Aim: Childhood immunisation is an important preventive measure. However, care givers may delay routine immunisations or seek exemptions from state vaccine mandates. Vaccine refusal creates barriers on vaccine coverage and leads to morbidity and mortality.

Characteristics of Bordetella pertussis infection among infantsand children admitted to paediatric intensive care units in Greece: A multicentre, 11-year study.

Aim: To describe children with pertussis who required intensive care.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of pertussis admissions to all (six) national intensive care units in Greece from 2003 to 2013.

Results: A total of 31 children were included, 28 of whom were younger than 12 months old.

Enterovirus-associated hemophagocytic syndrome in children with malignancy: report of three cases and review of the literature.

Enteroviruses can cause severe manifestations in children with malignancy. Infection-associated hemophagocytic syndrome (IAHS) due to enterovirus is a rare entity in children. Patients with malignancy and IAHS due to enterovirus were retrospectively evaluated at the University of Athens' Hematology-Oncology pediatric unit within a 6-year period (2000-2006).

Pharmacokinetics of teicoplanin in an ICU population of children and infants.

Purpose: Better dosing is needed for antibiotics, including teicoplanin (TEI), to prevent emergence of resistant bacterial strains. Here, we assess the TEI pharmacokinetics (PK) related to a 10 mg/l minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) target in ICU children (4 to 120 months; n = 20) with gram+ infections.

Methods: Standard administration of TEI was with three 10 mg/kg Q12h, loading infusions, and maintainance with 10 mg/kg or 15 mg/kg Q24h.