CanVasc Recommendations for the Management of Antineutrophil Cytoplasm Antibody-associated Vasculitides.

Objective: The Canadian Vasculitis research network (CanVasc) is composed of physicians from different medical specialties and researchers with expertise in vasculitis. One of its aims is to develop recommendations for the diagnosis and management of antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAV) in Canada.

Methods: Diagnostic and therapeutic questions were developed based on the results of a national needs assessment survey.

Trauma center variation in the management of pediatric patients with blunt abdominal solid organ injury: a national trauma data bank analysis.

Background: Nonoperative management of hemodynamically stable children with Solid Organ Injury (SOI) has become standard of care. The aim of this study is to identify differences in management of children with SOI treated at Adult Trauma Centers (ATC) versus Pediatric Trauma Centers (PTC). We hypothesized that patients treated at ATC would undergo more procedures than PTC.

Pediatric cerebellar astrocytoma: a review.

Introduction: Cerebellar astrocytomas (CA) are one of the most common posterior fossa tumors in children. The vast majority is low grade, and prognosis for long-term survival is excellent.

Methods: Recent literature about CA was reviewed to provide an up to date overview of the epidemiology, pathology, molecular and cell biology, diagnosis, presentation, management, and long-term outcomes.

Craniopharyngioma in Children: Long-term Outcomes.

The survival rate for childhood craniopharyngioma has been improving, with more long-term survivors. Unfortunately it is rare for the patient to be normal, either from the disease itself or from the effects of treatment. Long-term survivors of childhood craniopharyngioma suffer a number of impairments, which include visual loss, endocrinopathy, hypothalamic dysfunction, cerebrovascular problems, neurologic and neurocognitive dysfunction.

Enlarging corneoscleral cyst in a 2-year-old girl.

Cysts rarely develop within the cornea or sclera of children with no previous history of trauma or surgery. Primary corneoscleral cysts may arise from proliferation of anomalously situated epithelial or endothelial cells. We report the case of a 2-year-old girl with a primary enlarging cyst situated at the limbus of her left eye.

Subacute osteomyelitis of the femur due to Fusobacterium nucleatum in a 7-year-old boy.

Subacute hematogenous osteomyelitis is an insidious infection, which commonly has a delayed diagnosis. We describe the case of a 7-year-old boy with subacute osteomyelitis, which was initially considered to be a bone tumor. Infection should be considered in all cases of bone pain, especially in children, even in the absence of typical systemic features of inflammation.

National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Project on Criteria for Clinical Trials in Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease: III. The 2014 Biomarker Working Group Report.

Biology-based markers to confirm or aid in the diagnosis or prognosis of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation or monitor its progression are critically needed to facilitate evaluation of new therapies. Biomarkers have been defined as any characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of a normal biological or pathogenic process, or of a pharmacologic response to a therapeutic intervention. Applications of biomarkers in chronic GVHD clinical trials or patient management include the following: (1) diagnosis and assessment of chronic GVHD disease activity, including distinguishing irreversible damage from continued disease activity; (2) prognostic risk to develop chronic GVHD; and (3) prediction of response to therapy.

A cohort study of morbidity, mortality and health seeking behavior following rural health center visits by children under 12 in southwestern Uganda.

Background: Children discharged from hospitals in developing countries are at high risk of morbidity and mortality. However, few data describe these outcomes among children seen and discharged from rural outpatient centers.

Objective: The objective of this exploratory study was to identify predictors of immediate and follow-up morbidity and mortality among children visiting a rural health center in Uganda.

Changes in birth weight between 2002 and 2012 in Guangzhou, China.

Background: Recent surveillance data suggest that mean birth weight has begun to decline in several developed countries. The aim of this study is to examine the changes in birth weight among singleton live births from 2002 to 2012 in Guangzhou, one of the most rapidly developed cities in China.

Methods: We used data from the Guangzhou Perinatal Health Care and Delivery Surveillance System for 34108 and 54575 singleton live births with 28-41 weeks of gestation, who were born to local mothers, in 2002 and 2012, respectively.

A Process for Change in the Care of Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer in Canada. "Moving to Action": The Second Canadian International Workshop. International Perspectives on AYAO, Part 1.

The Canadian National Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Task Force (NTF) held its second international workshop in Toronto during March 2012. The workshop's theme, "Moving to Action," focused on implementing the NTF's recommendations, published previously in the . Here we provide a review of the NTF's process of engagement and actions in order to advocate for and implement a change process in the care of AYA patients in Canada.

Neurological morbidity of surgical resection of pediatric cerebellar astrocytomas.

Background: Review of children with low-grade cerebellar astrocytoma (LGCA) prior to 1992 showed a 98% rate of gross total resection (GTR) but a concerning incidence of permanent neurological dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of GTR of LGCA since 1992 and frequency of neurologic injury.

Methods: Retrospective review of children with LGCA was performed.

Long-term multicentre randomised controlled study of high frequency chest wall oscillation versus positive expiratory pressure mask in cystic fibrosis.

Background: Positive expiratory pressure (PEP) is the most commonly used method of airway clearance (AC) in Canada for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) whereas, in some countries, high frequency chest wall oscillation (HFCWO) is the preferred form of AC. There have been no long-term studies comparing the efficacy of HFCWO and PEP in the CF population.

Objectives: To determine the long-term efficacy of HFCWO compared with PEP mask therapy in the treatment of CF as measured by the number of pulmonary exacerbations (PEs).

The disease burden of invasive meningococcal serogroup B disease in Canada.

Background: Invasive meningococcal disease remains a rare but deadly infection in Canada. New serogroup B vaccines may offer the potential for prevention and control. This report examines the disease burden caused by serogroup B invasive meningococcal infections.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase α phosphotyrosyl-789 binds BCAR3 to position Cas for activation at integrin-mediated focal adhesions.

Integrin-mediated focal adhesions connect the extracellular matrix and cytoskeleton to regulate cell responses, such as migration. Protein tyrosine phosphatase α (PTPα) regulates integrin signaling, focal adhesion formation, and migration, but its roles in these events are incompletely understood. The integrin-proximal action of PTPα activates Src family kinases, and subsequent phosphorylation of PTPα at Tyr789 acts in an unknown manner to promote migration.

Television-related injuries in children--the British Columbia experience.

Purpose: In Canada, mortality from falling televisions (TVs) is the 15th leading cause of childhood death owing to injury. Frequency, characteristics, and outcomes of TV childhood injuries were examined to determine any at risk populations.

Methods: All TV-related traumas at a tertiary children's hospital from 1997 to 2011 were identified using the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program database and the hospital's trauma database.

Multi-institutional follow-up of patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia reveals severe disability and variations in practice.

Background/purpose: Survivors of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) have a high incidence of morbidity. Variability in follow-up practices between institutions may affect perception of disability and prevent population-based outcome analysis.

Methods: A survey of follow-up practices at 16 centers within a population-based CDH network was performed.

Alternative activation of macrophages by IL-4 requires SHIP degradation.

Alternatively activated macrophages are critical in host defense against parasites and are protective in inflammatory bowel disease, but contribute to pathology in asthma and solid tumors. The mechanisms underlying alternative activation of macrophages are only partially understood and little is known about their amenability to manipulation in pathophysiological conditions. Herein, we demonstrate that Src homology 2-domain-containing inositol-5'-phosphatase (SHIP)-deficient murine macrophages are more sensitive to IL-4-mediated skewing to an alternatively activated phenotype.

Gastric histology in children treated with proton pump inhibitors long term, with emphasis on enterochromaffin cell-like hyperplasia.

Background: There are longstanding concerns that carcinoid tumours or atrophic gastritis might develop in children receiving proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) long term. In children, this has not been studied using stains sensitive and specific for enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells.

Aim: To evaluate gastric biopsies for ECL hyperplasia or gastric atrophy, in children treated long-term with PPIs.