Impact of advanced lung cancer inflammation index on all-cause mortality among patients with heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis with reconstructed time-to-event data.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is associated with systemic inflammation and hypercatabolic syndrome, impacting body metabolism. The advanced lung cancer inflammation index (ALI) is a novel inflammatory and nutritional biomarker. We aimed to investigate the prognostic role of ALI in patients with HF.

Weight Trajectories among Children with Down Syndrome: A Retrospective Study.

Objectives: To evaluate body mass index trajectories over time and to evaluate common comorbidities across a large, nationally representative sample of youth with Down syndrome (DS).

Study Design: This retrospective study included children ages 2-18 years within the Cerner Health Facts database with a diagnosis of DS and a medical visit between 2010 and 2017. Comorbid conditions were mapped into PheCodes (ie, ≥1 International Classification of Diseases codes that combine into specific diseases or traits) and were included if they occurred in ≥1% (145 PheCodes) of the sample.

Analysis of scoliosis rod deformation after cutting with a surgical rod cutter.

Purpose: Scoliosis is a complex multi-dimensional deformity of the spine that is common in children and adults. Of the various treatments for scoliosis, one is posterior spinal fusion with instrumentation. The rods typically used are composed of titanium or cobalt-chrome.

A family-based behavioral group obesity randomized control feasibility trial across a clinical trials network: a focus on contact hours.

Objective: This ancillary study's purpose is to describe the relationship between dose of treatment and body mass index (BMI) outcomes in a tele-behavioral health program delivered in the IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network to children and their families living in rural communities.

Methods: Participants randomized to the intervention were able to receive 26 contact hours (15 hr of group sessions and 11 hr of individual sessions) of material focused on nutrition, physical activity, and behavioral caregiver training delivered via interactive televideo. Dose of the intervention received by child/caregiver dyads (n = 52) from rural areas was measured as contact hours.

The relationship between optical coherence tomography and magnetic resonance imaging measurements in people with multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Several studies show that optical coherence tomography (OCT) metrics e with cognition, disability, and brain structure in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). This review the correlation between OCT parameters and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements in PwMS.

Methods: A comprehensive search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science was performed, including studies published in English up to November 29, 2024 to identify studies reporting quantitative data on the correlation between baseline OCT parameters and MRI measurements in PwMS.

Environment scan of generative AI infrastructure for clinical and translational science.

This study reports a comprehensive environmental scan of the generative AI (GenAI) infrastructure in the national network for clinical and translational science across 36 institutions supported by the CTSA Program led by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the United States. Key findings indicate a diverse range of institutional strategies, with most organizations in the experimental phase of GenAI deployment. The results underscore the need for a more coordinated approach to GenAI governance, emphasizing collaboration among senior leaders, clinicians, information technology staff, and researchers.

Genetic and Epigenetic Insights into Pregnancy-Related Complications.

Placental dysfunction is a leading cause of numerous pregnancy complications, including preeclampsia, preterm birth, fetal growth restrictions, placental abruption, and late spontaneous abortion [...

Pediatric Transplant and Cellular Therapy Consortium RESILIENT Conference on Pediatric Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease Survivorship after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: Part II. Organ Dysfunction and Immune Reconstitution Considerations for Children with Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.

While highly morbid forms of chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD) and severe late effects of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) can impact children and adults alike, unique considerations arise in pediatric cases regarding diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, and likelihood of resolution. As children can present with atypical features of cGVHD and with more significant disease due to inability to communicate symptoms, they may be at increased risk for highly morbid forms of cGVHD and incur greater subsequent late effects, which may be more pronounced in those with underlying chromosomal breakage syndromes, with higher prevalence in pediatric HCT recipients. The long-term effects of cGVHD and its therapies include impaired immune reconstitution, leading to increased risks of infection and secondary malignant neoplasms.

International Validation of a Novel PEACE Scale to Improve the Quality of Upper Gastrointestinal Mucosal Inspection During Endoscopy.

Introduction: The performance of a high quality esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is dependent on the mucosal cleanliness. Recently, the Polprep: Effective Assessment of Cleanliness in EGD (PEACE) scale was created to assess the degree of mucosal cleanliness during EGD. The aim of this study was to validate this scoring system in a cohort of international endoscopists.

Optimizing laboratory medication safety monitoring in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis to advance value-based care.

Introduction/objectives: Most children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) are treated with medications that require safety monitoring labs. Recommended testing includes a creatinine level. However, 87.

Semaglutide in obesity-related heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and type 2 diabetes across baseline HbA levels (STEP-HFpEF DM): a prespecified analysis of heart failure and metabolic outcomes from a randomised, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: About half of patients with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) have type 2 diabetes. In the STEP-HFpEF DM trial of adults with obesity-related HFpEF and type 2 diabetes, subcutaneous once weekly semaglutide 2·4 mg conferred improvements in heart failure-related symptoms and physical limitations, bodyweight, and other heart failure outcomes. We aimed to determine whether these effects of semaglutide differ according to baseline HbA.

Evolution of sleep disordered breathing in infants with achondroplasia.

Purpose: Children with achondroplasia (ACH) are at risk for sudden death in infancy due to sleep disordered breathing (SDB) and foramen magnum stenosis (FMS). Sleep studies and neuroimaging are performed in infants with ACH, but interpretation of infant studies is challenging. We sought to describe baseline data on polysomnography (PSG) indices in infants with achondroplasia as well as effects of age and surgery on these parameters.

Achieving reliable patient reported outcomes collection to measure health care improvement in a learning health network: lessons from pediatric rheumatology care and outcomes improvement network.

Introduction: Data from the Pediatric Rheumatology Care and Outcomes Improvement Network (PR-COIN) registry suggests that reliable collection of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) varies across sites. The objective of this study was to better understand the practices of collecting PROs at PR-COIN sites.

Methods: A REDCap survey was sent to the lead representative for each PR-COIN site.

Rapid and scalable personalized ASO screening in patient-derived organoids.

Personalized antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) have achieved positive results in the treatment of rare genetic disease. As clinical sequencing technologies continue to advance, the ability to identify patients with rare disease harbouring pathogenic genetic variants amenable to this therapeutic strategy will probably improve. Here we describe a scalable platform for generating patient-derived cellular models and demonstrate that these personalized models can be used for preclinical evaluation of patient-specific ASOs.

Pediatric relapsed/refractory ALK+ anaplastic large cell lymphoma treatment and outcomes in the targeted drug era.

Treatment options for patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) have increased in the era of targeted therapies such as brentuximab vedotin (BV) and Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) inhibitors. However, there is no standard treatment and limited published data evaluating their use. The goal of this retrospective study is to describe current real-world treatment and outcomes of pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients with R/R ALK-positive ALCL.

Patient physical violence toward healthcare workers at a US children's hospital.

An improved understanding of patient-related violent events toward healthcare workers (HCWs) is a critical step in mitigating patient violence in the pediatric medical hospital setting. Therefore, we sought to describe the timing/setting, potential antecedents to, and management of pediatric patient-related violence toward HCW. Using our electronic health record (EHR), we performed a retrospective study of patient-related physical violent events from 2017 to 2022 among youth hospitalized at our free-standing children's hospital.

Symptom Documentation in Unstructured Palliative Care Notes of Children and Adolescents With Cancer.

Context: Children and adolescents with cancer experiencing complex symptoms can benefit from subspeciality palliative care. However, standardized methods of symptom documentation by pediatric palliative care teams are lacking. Understanding current approaches to symptom documentation will inform next steps to optimize symptom support.

Impact of Recent Translational and Therapeutic Developments on Clinical Course of BCR::ABL1-Positive and -Negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms.

Despite the study of BCR::ABL1-positive and -negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) providing seminal insights into cancer biology, tumor evolution and precision oncology over the past half century, significant challenges remain. MPNs are clonal hematopoietic stem cell-derived neoplasms with heterogenous clinical phenotypes and a clonal architecture which impacts the often-complex underlying genetics and microenvironment. The major driving molecular abnormalities have been well characterized, but debate on their role as disease-initiating molecular lesions continues.

Skin cancer treatment environment and survivorship resources among sexual and gender minority patients: results of the OUT National Cancer Survey.

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) cancer survivors face unmet care needs in accessing cancer health information and social support despite high satisfaction with treatment. SGM patients often delay care due to concerns of discrimination in healthcare settings, though the care experiences of SGM skin cancer survivors are less known. SGM individuals, particularly sexual minority men, report higher skin cancer prevalence and related risk behaviors than heterosexual men.

Investigation of a targeted panel of gut microbiome-derived toxins in children with chronic kidney disease.

Background: The gut-kidney axis is implicated in chronic kidney disease (CKD) morbidity. We describe how a panel of gut microbiome-derived toxins relates to kidney function and neurocognitive outcomes in children with CKD, consisting of indoleacetate, 3-indoxylsulfate, p-cresol glucuronide, p-cresol sulfate, and phenylacetylglutamine.

Methods: The Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) cohort is a North American multicenter prospective cohort that enrolled children aged 6 months to 16 years with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 30-89 ml/min/1.