Background And Objective: Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels have been associated with increased susceptibility to and severity of respiratory viral infections. Hypovitaminosis D may be a modifiable risk factor in the severity of viral respiratory illnesses. The hypothesis for this study was that children hospitalized for respiratory illnesses would have lower serum 25(OH)D levels than controls and that 25(OH)D levels would be associated with illness severity among cases.
Methods: A case-control study of a sample of patients aged 6 months through 12 years hospitalized from January to May 2010 at an urban pediatric referral hospital was performed. Cases were children hospitalized for acute respiratory illnesses, and controls were children hospitalized for nonrespiratory illnesses. Illness severity among cases was assessed according to hospital length of stay, ICU admission, peripheral oxygen saturation, and pediatric risk of admission II score. Associations between serum 25(OH)D levels and dependent variables were tested for by using binary logistic and multivariable linear regression while controlling for admission diagnosis, age, gender, and race/ethnicity.
Results: The majority of cases (n = 38) and controls (n = 83) were African American (65.8% and 59.0%, respectively). Of the entire cohort (N = 121), 64.8% had vitamin D insufficiency (25[OH]D level ≤30 ng/mL) and 31.1% had vitamin D deficiency (25[OH]D level ≤20 ng/mL). Mean ± SD 25(OH)D levels did not differ between cases and controls (26.8 ± 11.5 vs 26.1 ± 10.6 ng/mL, respectively; P = .73).
Conclusions: Hypovitaminosis D was common among cases and controls, but it was not significantly associated with the presence or severity of respiratory illnesses.
Spontaneous hepatic rupture is a rare complication that occurs in pregnant mothers with HELLP syndrome, or preeclampsia with severe features, or eclampsia. The most common symptom of hepatic rupture/hematoma is right upper quadrant pain or epigastric pain, which is similar to the presentation of preeclampsia with severe features. Therefore, the absence of specific signs and symptoms leads to a diagnostic dilemma and a delay in management.
Nowadays, consumption of fish is becoming a public health concern due to quality and safety issues. This study was designed to assess the proximate composition, microbial quality, and heavy metal accumulation in the Nile tilapia fillet at three selected landing sites in Lake Tana. Fifteen samples were collected and analyzed.
Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Córdoba (IMIBIC), Avenida Menéndez Pidal, 14004, Córdoba, Spain; Reina Sofia University Hospital, Avenida Menéndez Pidal 7, 14004, Córdoba, Spain; University of Cordoba, Department of Morphological and Sociosanitary Science, Córdoba, Spain.
Objectives: Although croup is a common respiratory illness, there is little published regarding symptom course. We aimed to assess symptom progression and caregiver burden, and whether age, sex or season and initial severity of disease are associated with symptom duration.
Design, Setting And Participants: We conducted a secondary analysis of two Canadian prospective cohorts of children 0-16 years old diagnosed with croup; one recruited from a paediatric emergency department (ED) (307 children) between November 1999 and March 2000, and the other from 26 general EDs (1214 children) between September 2002 and April 2006.
Introduction: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) provides critical support to patients in severe cardiac and respiratory failure, but it requires anticoagulation to prevent complications like bleeding and thrombosis. Heparin, the primary anticoagulant utilized, is monitored by activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and anti-Factor Xa (AntiXa) levels. Discordance between the two assays complicates its titration and the impact on patient outcomes is not well-established.
