Tuberculosis Disease in Immunocompromised Children and Adolescents: A Pediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group Multicenter Case-control Study.

Background: In high-resource settings, the survival of children with immunocompromise (IC) has increased and immunosuppressive therapies are increasingly being used. This study aimed to determine the clinical characteristics, performance of diagnostic tools, and outcome of IC children with tuberculosis (TB) in Europe.

Methods: Multicenter, matched case-control study within the Pediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group, capturing TB cases <18 years diagnosed 2000-2020.

Ketogenic Diet and Drug-Induced Hepatotoxicity During Tuberculosis Treatment.

When therapy with hepatotoxic drugs is being considered, all other possible contributing agents of liver damage should be held to account. While not generally considered a risk factor, we present 2 cases in which ketogenic diet (KD) may have played a role in liver injury due to antituberculosis drugs. Ketogenic diet has been linked to liver injury, and while its pathophysiology remains obscure, carnitine depletion could play a role, as it is a mechanism of liver damage common to KD and antituberculosis drug regimens.

Bone and joint tuberculosis in paediatrics: a 13-year retrospective study.

Bone and joint tuberculosis (BJTB) is rare in developed countries, particularly in the paediatric population. The clinical features and sequelae of paediatric BJTB in Europe are not well characterized and should be assessed to achieve a better approach. To assess the management and outcomes of paediatric BJTB.

Performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus assays in paediatric tuberculosis: a multicentre PTBNET study.

Rationale: In 2016, a new interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) was introduced, QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus), claimed to have improved sensitivity in active tuberculosis (TB).

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the performance of QFT-Plus, compared with previous generation IGRAs and the tuberculin skin test (TST), in children with TB in Europe.

Methods: Multicentre, ambispective cohort study within the Paediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (ptbnet), a dedicated paediatric TB research network comprising >300 members, capturing TB cases <18 years-of-age diagnosed between January 2009 and December 2019.

COVID-19 in a tertiary paediatric centre in Portugal: a single-centre retrospective study.

Objective: To describe the demographic, clinical, laboratory and imaging features of the first 300 SARS-CoV-2-infected children presenting to a tertiary paediatric centre in Portugal.

Design: Single-centre, retrospective, descriptive study of paediatric patients who had a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from 7 March to 20 September 2020.

Setting: Tertiary paediatric referral centre (Hospital Dona Estefânia, Lisbon, Portugal).

Saliva molecular testing bypassing RNA extraction is suitable for monitoring and diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 infection in children.

Background: Adults are being vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 worldwide, but the longitudinal protection of these vaccines is uncertain, given the ongoing appearance of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Children remain largely unvaccinated and are susceptible to infection, with studies reporting that they actively transmit the virus even when asymptomatic, thus affecting the community.

Methods: We investigated if saliva is an effective sample for detecting SARS-CoV-2 RNA and antibodies in children, and associated viral RNA levels to infectivity.

[Pediatric Tuberculosis: 12 Years of Experience in a Tertiary Referral Center in Portugal].

Introduction: The diagnosis of tuberculosis in children is a challenge namely because extrapulmonary tuberculosis and severe disease are more frequent in this age group. The aim of this study was to evaluate and reflect about severe tuberculosis in pediatric age, in a metropolitan area of Lisbon.

Material And Methods: Descriptive study about patients under 18 years of age admitted with tuberculosis disease in a tertiary pediatric hospital, from 2008 to 2019 (12 years).

Protocol-based cardiotoxicity monitoring in hydroxychloroquine medicated COVID-19 pediatric patients.

Introduction/objectives: By May 2020, SARS-CoV-2 had caused more than 400 000 deaths worldwide. Initially, hydroxychloroquine was a treatment option for COVID-19. More recent studies have questioned its safety and efficacy and, until stronger evidence is available, it was suspended from therapy protocols.

Clinical and Therapeutic Approach to Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Pediatric Cohort in Portugal.

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, in children is usually a mild disease, but severe illness has been reported. Currently, the therapy benefits of antiviral experimental drugs are still uncertain. The main aim of this study is to describe the experience of a level III hospital regarding therapeutic management of hospitalized children with COVID-19 and to characterize clinical features and evolution.

Severe Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis overlap syndrome-beyond skin involvement.

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are rare but serious dermatologic diseases with many potential multisystem complications. We describe the case of an 8-year-old girl who developed severe SJS/TEN overlap syndrome (25% of her body surface area was affected) complicated by pancreatitis and bronchiolitis obliterans. These rare complications emphasize the need for careful, intensive monitoring of possible complications and an interdisciplinary team approach to provide optimal treatment and follow-up.