Performance evaluation of the LIOFeron®TB/LTBI IGRA for screening of paediatric LTBI and tuberculosis.

Purpose: High-accuracy diagnostic screening tests for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection are required, primarily to detect patients with latent infections (LTBIs) in order to avoid their progression to active tuberculosis disease. The performance of the novel IGRA LIOFeron®TB/LTBI was evaluated in children. The originality of this test is the new MTB antigen contained (L-alanine dehydrogenase), identified as a tool to differentiate active TB from LTBI infection.

Fever management in children and insights into fever of unknown origin: a survey among Italian pediatricians.

Background: Fever is a common symptom in children, but despite existing guidelines, pediatricians may not fully apply recommendations. Fever of Unknown Origin (FUO) is generally referred to as an unexplained prolonged fever. However, a standardized FUO definition and management is missing.

Treatment of acute pharyngitis in children: an Italian intersociety consensus (SIPPS-SIP-SITIP-FIMP-SIAIP-SIMRI-FIMMG).

Sore throat represents one of the main causes of antibiotic overprescription in children. Its management is still a matter of debate, with countries considering streptococcal pharyngotonsillitis a benign and self-limiting condition and others advocating for its antibiotic treatment to prevent suppurative complications and acute rheumatic fever. Italian paediatricians frequently prescribe antibiotics on a clinical basis regardless of microbiological results.

Treatment of mild to moderate community-acquired pneumonia in previously healthy children: an Italian intersociety consensus (SIPPS-SIP-SITIP-FIMP-SIAIP-SIMRI-FIMMG-SIMG).

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is an acute infection of the lung parenchyma acquired outside the hospital or other healthcare settings, typically affecting previously healthy individuals. This intersociety consensus aims to provide evidence-based recommendations for the antibiotic treatment of mild to moderate CAP in previously healthy children in Italy.A systematic review was conducted to identify the most recent and relevant evidence.

Implementation of the WHO standards to assess the quality of care for children with acute diarrhoea: findings of a multicentre study (CHOICE) in Italy.

Background: There is no documented experience in the use of the WHO standards for improving the quality of care (QOC) for children at the facility level. We describe the use of 10 prioritised WHO-Standard-based Quality Measures to assess QOC for children with acute diarrhoea (AD) in Italy.

Methods: In a multicentre observational study in 11 paediatric emergency departments with different characteristics and geographical location, we collected data on 3061 children aged 6 months to 15 years with AD and no complications.

Implementation of the WHO Standards to assess the quality of paediatric care using health workers as source of data: findings of a multicentre study (CHOICE) in Italy.

Objectives: There is little experience in implementing the WHO Standards for improving the quality of care (QOC) for children. We describe the use of 75 WHO-Standard based Quality Measures to assess paediatric QOC, using health workers (HWs) as data sources.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Prognostic value of right ventricular involvement in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) involvement has been reported in one out of three patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), however its prognostic significance remains unknown. We aimed to assess the prognostic value of RV involvement in patients with HCM through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: A literature search was performed on PubMed, ClinicalTrials.

An expert consensus on prevention, diagnosis, and management of hemorrhagic cystitis in pediatric hematopoietic cell transplantation, on behalf of the Infectious Disease and Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Working groups of Italian Pediatric Hematology Oncology Association (AIEOP).

The optimal management of hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) is debated, both for early onset HC (EOHC) secondary to chemotherapy toxicity and BK Polyomavirus (BKPyV)-related HC, due to the lack of controlled trials, particularly referred to pediatric setting. Actually, clinical practice is mainly based on guidelines of the European Conference on Infections in Leukemia, 6 edition, which considers both adult and pediatric populations but concludes that, despite much progress in understanding the pathogenesis, epidemiology, and risk factors, this complication still represents a disabling unmet clinical need with limited prophylactic and therapeutic options. Additionally, the Guidelines of the American Society of Clinical Oncology define the management of chemotherapeutic toxicity independently from the patients' population.

Effect of antimetabolite regimen on cellular and humoral immune response to SARS-COV-2 vaccination in solid organ transplant recipients.

Objective: Novel mRNA-based vaccines have been proven to be powerful tools in combating the global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 protecting individuals, especially the immunocompromised, from COVID-19. Still, it remains largely unknown how solid organ transplant and different immunosuppressive medications affect development of vaccine-induced immunity.

Methods: In this work, we monitored humoral and cellular memory responses after mRNA SARS-CoV-2 two-doses and booster doses vaccination in cystic fibrosis lung transplanted patients (CFT) and compared them with both cystic fibrosis patients without lung transplant (CF) and with kidney transplant recipients (KT).

Doppler-Derived Renal Functional Reserve in the Prediction of Postoperative Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Undergoing Robotic Surgery.

Background: Postoperative acute kidney injury (PO-AKI) is a frequent complication after surgery. Various tools have been proposed to identify patients at high risk for AKI, including preoperative serum creatinine or estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), urinary cell cycle arrest, and tubular damage biomarkers; however, none of these can appropriately assess AKI risk before surgery. Renal functional reserve (RFR) screened by the Doppler-derived intraparenchymal renal resistive index variation (IRRIV) test has been proposed to identify patients at risk for AKI before a kidney insult.

The clinical and economic costs associated with regional disparities in varicella vaccine coverage in Italy over 50 years (2020-2070).

Italy implemented two-dose universal varicella vaccination (UVV) regionally from 2003 to 2013 and nationally from 2017 onwards. Our objective was to analyze regional disparities in varicella outcomes resulting from disparities in vaccine coverage rates (VCRs) projected over a 50-year time-horizon (2020-2070). A previously published dynamic transmission model was updated to quantify the potential public health impact of the UVV program in Italy at the national and regional levels.

Corrigendum to "Effect of Sustained Clinical Remission on the Risk of Lupus Flares and Impaired Kidney Function in Patients With Lupus Nephritis" [ Volume 9, Issue 4, April 2024, Pages 1047-1056].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.ekir.

Effect of Sustained Clinical Remission on the Risk of Lupus Flares and Impaired Kidney Function in Patients With Lupus Nephritis.

Introduction: This retrospective study on patients with biopsy-proven lupus nephritis (LN) aimed to assess the probability of sustained clinical remission (sCR) and to investigate sCR effects on disease flares and impaired kidney function (IKF).

Methods: sCR was defined as clinical-Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) = 0 and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) >60 ml/min per 1.73 m lasting ≥1 year; IKF: eGFR <60 ml/min per 1.

Management of respiratory issues in patients with Rett syndrome: Italian experts' consensus using a Delphi approach.

Background: Despite the publication of the 2020 guidelines on how to manage Rett Syndrome (RS), some fundamental topics are still open, in particular respiratory problems.

Objective: Identification and reinforcement of current recommendations concerning the management of respiratory issues in RS patients.

Materials And Methods: Using a Delphi approach, the leading group reviewed the literature and formulated 14 statements.

From evidence to practice: A systematic review-based diagnostic algorithm for paediatric eosinophilia across socioeconomic context.

Aim: Paediatric eosinophilia is a common clinical dilemma, often leading to resource- and time-consuming assessments. We aim to evaluate the main aetiologies of eosinophilia in children from different socioeconomic settings and propose a diagnostic algorithm.

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted through PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library.

Erdheim-Chester disease as complex clinical presentation and diagnosis: A case report and concise review of literature.

Rationale: Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare multisystemic disease characterized by the infiltration of multiple organs by foamy CD68 + CD1a-histiocytes. The genetic background consists of gain-of-function somatic mutations in the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. The purpose of the present paper is to make a contribution to the scientific literature on ECD by reporting our experience with a complex clinical case report, along with a concise review of the literature.