SICOB Italian clinical practice guidelines for the surgical treatment of obesity and associated diseases using GRADE methodology on bariatric and metabolic surgery.

Obesity is a chronic disease associated with increased morbidity and mortality and reduced quality of life. Pharmacotherapy can be associated with life style changes in increasing and maintaining weight loss and ameliorating obesity-related complications and comorbidities. In patients affected by obesity and uncontrolled obesity-associated complications or high degrees of BMI (> 40 Kg/m), metabolic bariatric surgery can be a valid therapeutic option.

Upcoming Italian clinical practice guidelines on endoscopic bariatric treatment of overweight and obesity: design and methodological aspects.

Obesity/overweight and its complications are a growing problem in many countries. Italian Society of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery for Obesity (Società Italiana di Chirurgia dell'Obesità e delle Malattie Metaboliche-SICOB) decided to develop the first Italian guidelines for the endoscopic bariatric treatment of obesity. The creation of SICOB Guidelines is based on an extended work made by a panel of 44 members and a coordinator.

The use of pediatric short-stay observation in Italy.

Background: In Italy, the State Regions Conference on 1 August 2019 approved the Guidelines for Short-Stay Observation (SSO). At the beginning of 2022, the main Scientific Societies of the pediatric hospital emergency-urgency area launched a national survey to identify the extent to which these national guidelines had been adopted in the emergency rooms and pediatric wards of the Italian Regions.

Methods: A survey has been widespread, among Pediatric Wards and Pediatric Emergency Departments (EDs), using both a paper questionnaire and a link to a database on Google Drive, for those who preferred to fill it directly online.

Development of the Italian Clinical Practice Guidelines on Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery: Design and Methodological Aspects.

Unlabelled: Development of the Italian clinical practice guidelines on bariatric and metabolic surgery, as well as design and methodological aspects.

Background: Obesity and its complications are a growing problem in many countries. Italian Society of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery for Obesity (Società Italiana di Chirurgia dell'Obesità e delle Malattie Metaboliche-SICOB) developed the first Italian guidelines for the treatment of obesity.

A Longitudinal Study of Assisted Infant Toilet Training During the First Year of Life.

Objective: Previous retrospective studies have examined elimination signals, stool toileting refusal, and completion age in Assisted Infant Toilet Training (AITT). The aim of this longitudinal cohort study was to describe the practice of AITT and caregiver satisfaction in a primarily Western setting during the first year of life.

Methods: Families who started AITT before 4 months of age were recruited.

Pediatric obesity: looking into treatment.

Prevalence of pediatric obesity continues to rise worldwide. Increasing the number of health care practitioners as well as pediatricians with expertise in obesity treatment is necessary. Because many obese patients suffer obesity-associated cardiovascular, metabolic and other health complications that could increase the severity of obesity, it is fundamental not only to identify the child prone to obesity as early as possible, but to recognize, treat and monitor obesity-related diseases during adolescence.

Routine coagulation tests in newborn and young infants.

Background: The diagnostic approach to haemostatic defects in the newborn is challenging and requires appropriate interpretation of coagulation tests according to reference values dependent on the postnatal age.

Methods: This investigation was designed to study the postnatal development of the human coagulation system in newborn infants and to develop appropriate reference ranges for prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and fibrinogen (FBG) according at the day of birth and for the following postnatal period (days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, from 7 to 10 and from 11 to 44).

Results: The mean FBG value was already within the adult reference range in newborns at birth, the mean PT value fell within the adult reference range in infants aged 4 days or more, whereas the mean APTT value was still higher than the upper limit of the adult reference range in infants aged between 11 and 20 days.

Familial haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: survival of a premature twin with immuno-chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation from an HLA-identical unrelated donor.

Unlabelled: We describe a premature twin born at 30 wk of gestational age, affected with familial haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Two different mutations were identified in his DNA: one inherited from the mother and one from the father. Haemophagocytosis had been confirmed in his twin brother, who died soon after birth, as well as in the re-evaluation of the autopsy of his older sister, who died 1 y earlier.

Survival and complications in patients with thalassemia major treated with transfusion and deferoxamine.

Background And Objectives: Seven Italian centers reported data on survival, causes of death and appearance of complications in patients with thalassemia major. The interactions between gender, birth cohort, complications, and ferritin on survival and complications were analyzed.

Design And Methods: Survival after the first decade was studied for 977 patients born since 1960 whereas survival since birth and complication appearance was studied for the 720 patients born after 1970.

Neonatal screening for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency fails to detect heterozygote females.

We examined glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency in north-eastern Italian Caucasian neonates detected by neonatal screening, in order to measure the incidence of heterozygote females detected by neonatal screening, and to estimate the near-true total incidence. A total of 85,437 Caucasian neonates, born between January 2000 and December 2001, have been enclosed in the study. The total incidence of the disease, measured by fluorescent method, is 0.

Serendipitous diagnosis of infracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous return by umbilical venous catheter blood gas samples.

Total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR) is a rare congenital heart defect that occurs when all four pulmonary veins connect to the systemic venous circulation. We describe a full-term male neonate who presented with cyanosis and mild tachypnea shortly after birth. One umbilical artery and the umbilical vein were catheterized, and oxygen treatment was provided.

Assisted infant toilet training in a Western family setting.

In the Western world, independent toilet training usually starts at age 18 months or later. In Asia and Africa, assisted toilet training traditionally starts between one and three months and is completed within approximately one year. This article reports a male infant who started caregiver-assisted toilet training at age 33 days in a Western family setting.

Automated external defibrillators for children: what is new?

Although automated external defibrillators (AEDs) have been available for adults for more than 20 years, their use in children under 8 years of age has been approved by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) as recently as June 2003. The following concerns about AEDs limited their use in children: amount of delivered energy, effect of biphasic waveforms in children, pad size, and capacity of detecting pediatric shockable and non-shockable rhythms. Lately, a new generation of AEDs addressed these issues and new encouraging data are available.

Long-term treatment of Barth syndrome with pantothenic acid: a retrospective study.

We report on three patients (two are brothers) with confirmed Barth syndrome treated with pantothenic acid. This treatment is still controversial and only one study has reported positive results to date. In our patients, long-term treatment has failed to reduce the number of infectious episodes and prevent dilated cardiomyopathy.