Publications by authors named "Petra Zimmermann"

Context: European and German consensus guidelines advocate preoperative therapy with α-adrenoreceptor antagonists in symptomatic patients with catecholamine-producing pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) to avoid hypertensive crisis during adrenalectomy. This practice has been questioned recently.

Objective: This work aimed to assess current preoperative management of PPGLs across disciplines.

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There is a critical early window during infancy for establishing the intestinal microbiota. Increasing evidence shows that breast milk (BM) harbors its own distinct microbiota. However, the extent of its contribution to the infant intestinal microbiota remains unclear.

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Introduction: The gut-brain axis plays a crucial role in the regulation and development of psychological and physical processes. The first year of life is a critical period for the development of the gut microbiome, which parallels important milestones in establishing sleep rhythm and brain development. Growing evidence suggests that the gut microbiome influences sleep, cognition and early neurodevelopment.

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Context: Bilateral macronodular adrenal disease (BMAD) typically presents with bilateral benign adrenocortical macronodules and variable cortisol excess. Anecdotal evidence suggests oversecretion of other adrenal steroids, including mineralocorticoids.

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that primary aldosteronism (PA) can occur in BMAD, resulting in a distinct, more severe phenotype compared to BMAD with isolated cortisol hypersecretion or unilateral PA (uPA).

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Unlabelled: The gut microbiome is crucial for host health. Early childhood is a critical period for the development of a healthy gut microbiome, but it is particularly sensitive to external influences. Recent research has focused on using advanced techniques like shotgun metagenome sequencing to identify key microbial signatures and disruptions linked to disease.

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Objective: The effects of sex hormones remain largely unexplored in pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) and gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).

Methods: We evaluated the effects of estradiol, progesterone, Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), and testosterone on human patient-derived PPGL/GEP-NET primary culture cell viability (n = 38/n = 12), performed next-generation sequencing and immunohistochemical hormone receptor analysis in patient-derived PPGL tumor tissues (n = 36).

Results: In PPGLs, estradiol and progesterone (1 µm) demonstrated overall significant antitumor effects with the strongest efficacy in PPGLs with NF1 (cluster 2) pathogenic variants.

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The intestinal microbiota plays a critical role in host immunity and might contribute to the significant variation between individuals' vaccine responses. A systematic search was done using MEDLINE and Embase to identify original human studies investigating the association between intestinal microbiota composition and humoral and cellular vaccine responses. In total, 30 publications (26 studies, 14 in infants, 12 in adults), were included.

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Background: Antibiotics are the most commonly prescribed drugs during pregnancy. The long-term health risks to children associated with prenatal antibiotic exposure are uncertain.

Objective: To identify the association between prenatal antibiotics and adverse long-term health outcomes in children.

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Melatonin (MT) (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is an indoleamine recognized primarily for its crucial role in regulating sleep through circadian rhythm modulation in humans and animals. Beyond its association with the pineal gland, it is synthesized in various tissues, functioning as a hormone, tissue factor, autocoid, paracoid, and antioxidant, impacting multiple organ systems, including the gut-brain axis. However, the mechanisms of extra-pineal MT production and its role in microbiota-host interactions remain less understood.

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The epidemiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children has evolved throughout the pandemic, with initially low infection rates rising significantly as a result of the emergence of the more transmissible Omicron variant. Adolescents, children from ethnic minorities and lower-income households, and those with obesity are at increased risk of contracting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The immune response in children leads to milder symptoms compared to adults, with fever and cough being most frequent; tough symptoms vary by SARS-CoV-2 variant and age.

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Background: Children are the age group with the highest exposure to antibiotics (ABX). ABX treatment changes the composition of the intestinal microbiota. The first few years of life are crucial for the establishment of a healthy microbiota and consequently, disturbance of the microbiota during this critical period may have far-reaching consequences.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The MYTHIC Study is designed as a rigorous trial involving 13 Swiss pediatric centers, comparing macrolide treatment to placebo in children aged 3-17 diagnosed with pneumonia, using precise tests to confirm M. pneumoniae infection.
  • * The main goals are to assess the time to stabilize vital signs and determine any changes in patient care within 28 days, with an aim to show that the placebo is not significantly less effective than macrolide treatment in managing this infection.
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Article Synopsis
  • Endogenous hypercortisolism shows different symptoms, and researchers are seeking to understand what factors influence its severity, especially focusing on the ABCB1 gene's role in glucocorticoid secretion.
  • The study examined 137 patients from the German Cushing's registry to see how the ABCB1 polymorphism rs2032582 affects steroid levels and clinical characteristics.
  • Results showed that patients with cortisol-producing adrenal adenomas who had the major allele GG of the ABCB1 polymorphism had higher cortisol levels and blood pressure compared to those with other genotype variations, suggesting the gene may influence disease severity.
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Background: Colorectal surgery still experiences high rates of infectious complications, such as anastomotic leakage (AL) and surgical site infections (SSIs). Therefore, oral antibiotic bowel decontamination (OABD) has experienced a renaissance. However, data on perioperative selective digestive tract decontamination (SDD)-based regimens or combined bowel preparation are inconsistent.

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Article Synopsis
  • Secondary hypogonadism (SH) is prevalent in men with Cushing's syndrome (CS) and mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS), significantly impacting testosterone levels.
  • In a study involving 30 men with CS and 17 with MACS, most had low testosterone levels, with improvements observed post-surgery.
  • Despite testosterone levels normalizing after treatment, some red blood cell parameters remained low, suggesting the need for further research.
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Background: In the initial phase of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, masking has been widely accepted in healthcare institutions to mitigate the risk of healthcare-associated infection. Evidence, however, is still scant and the role of masks in preventing healthcare-associated SARS-CoV-2 acquisition remains unclear.We investigated the association of variation in institutional mask policies with healthcare-associated SARS-CoV-2 infections in acute care hospitals in Switzerland during the BA.

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Background: Normalization of hypercortisolism is essential to reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with Cushing's syndrome (CS). The aim of this analysis was to assess biochemical control rates in patients with Cushing's disease (CD), ectopic Cushing's syndrome (ECS) and adrenal Cushing's syndrome (ACS).

Methods: Patients with confirmed CS (n= 296) treated in a single tertiary care center were retrospectively analysed (185 CD, 27 ECS, 84 uni- and bilateral ACS).

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Background: Pyomyositis, a bacterial muscle infection, is an important differential diagnosis in children and adolescents with musculoskeletal pain. In contrast to tropical regions, it is rarely recognized in temperate countries, but incidence is increasing and major studies are missing.

Methods: This retrospective multicenter study included patients <18 years of age hospitalized with pyomyositis in 11 Swiss children's hospitals between January 2010 and December 2022.

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Background: PIMS-TS (pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome-temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2) is a rare but serious condition in children following SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by a range of clinical symptoms with varying severity. Understanding risk factors for severe PIMS-TS is crucial for appropriate and timely intervention.

Objective: To identify factors associated with increased PIMS-TS severity in children.

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Background: Due to a multicenter study early in the coronavirus disease (COVID)-pandemic that revealed an increased risk for postoperative mortality, thromboembolic and pulmonary complications in case of surgery shortly after a COVID infection, current recommendations for planning elective surgeries suggest postponing surgery for at least 7 weeks after COVID infection. However, virus variants have evolved throughout the pandemic, leading to less severe symptoms. Besides, laparoscopic adrenal gland surgery itself is a safe procedure with low morbidity rates.

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Introduction: Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease of a multifactorial pathogenesis. Recently numerous genetic variants linked to an aggressive phenotype were identified, leading to a progress in therapeutic options, resulting in a decreased necessity for surgery. Nevertheless, surgery is often inevitable.

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Animal and human bites are a common reason for emergency consultation, especially in children. The most common complication of bite wounds is local infection. Systemic infections are much rarer.

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Introduction: The early-life intestinal microbiome plays an important role in the development and regulation of the immune system. It is unknown whether the administration of vaccines influences the composition of the intestinal microbiome.

Objective: To investigate whether Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine given in the first few days of life influences the abundance of bacterial taxa and metabolic pathways in the intestinal microbiome at 1 week of age.

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Aim: To investigate the evolution of clinical symptoms of COVID-19 in children throughout the pandemic.

Methods: In this national prospective surveillance study, symptoms in children hospitalised with COVID-19 were collected from all paediatric hospitals in Switzerland between March 2020 and March 2023. Data was analysed across four time periods, according to the predominantly circulating SARS-CoV-2 variant: T1 (wild-type), T2 (Alpha), T3 (Delta) and T4 (Omicron), as well as by age group.

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Objective: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most common surgically curable cause of hypertension. Unilateral aldosterone-producing adenoma can be treated with adrenalectomy. Clinical and biochemical outcomes are assessed 6-12 months after adrenalectomy according to primary aldosteronism surgical outcome (PASO) consensus criteria.

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