The association between vitamin D deficiency and hospitalization outcomes in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease.

Background: While there is a known association between low vitamin D levels and increased chronic pain in patients with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), there are no reported studies evaluating the relationship of vitamin D levels and hospitalization outcomes in this population. The aim of this study was to assess this relationship with hospitalization outcomes defined as the number of emergency room (ER) visits, hospital admissions for pain crisis, and length of hospital stay.

Design: A retrospective chart review of all pediatric patients with SCD (1-21 years old) was performed from January 2015 to January 2016 in an urban-based hospital setting (n = 134).

Kingella kingae as the Main Cause of Septic Arthritis: Importance of Molecular Diagnosis.

Background: Kingella kingae is an emergent pathogen causing septic arthritis (SA) in children.The objective of this study was to analyze the etiology of SA in children before and after the implementation of universal 16S rRNA gene polymerase chain reaction and sequencing (16SPCR) in synovial fluid.

Methods: Children ≤14 years with acute SA from a Madrid cohort (2002-2013) were reviewed.