The effect of tranexamic acid on blood loss and maternal outcome in the treatment of persistent postpartum hemorrhage: A nationwide retrospective cohort study.

Background: Recent results show a protective effect of tranexamic acid on death due to bleeding in patients with postpartum hemorrhage in low- and middle-resource countries. We quantify the association between early administration of tranexamic acid compared to late or no administration and severe acute maternal morbidity and blood loss among women suffering from persistent severe postpartum hemorrhage in a high-income country.

Methods And Findings: We performed a nationwide retrospective cohort study in 61 hospitals in the Netherlands.

Maternal mortality audit in Suriname between 2010 and 2014, a reproductive age mortality survey.

Background: The fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG-5) aimed to improve maternal health, targeting a maternal mortality ratio (MMR) reduction of 75% between 1990 and 2015. The objective of this study was to identify all maternal deaths in Suriname, determine the extent of underreporting, estimate the reduction, audit the maternal deaths and assess underlying causes and substandard care factors.

Methods: A reproductive age mortality survey was conducted in Suriname (South-American upper-middle income country) between 2010 and 2014 to identify all maternal deaths in the country.

Distribution of Health Effects and Cost-effectiveness of Varicella Vaccination are Shaped by the Impact on Herpes Zoster.

Introduction: Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is the etiological agent of varicella and herpes zoster (HZ). It has been hypothesised that immune boosting of latently infected persons by contact with varicella reduces the probability of HZ. If true, universal varicella vaccination may increase HZ incidence due to reduced VZV circulation.

Serotype distribution and antibiotic susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae strains carried by children infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

Background: We studied the serotype distribution and antibiotic susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates carried by children infected with HIV in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Methods: Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 90 HIV infected children aged 4 to 144 months. S.

Streptococcus pneumoniae in saliva of Dutch primary school children.

While nasopharyngeal sampling is the gold standard for the detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage, historically seen, saliva sampling also seems highly sensitive for pneumococcal detection. We investigated S. pneumoniae carriage in saliva from fifty schoolchildren by conventional and molecular methods.

Health-related quality of life in children with newly diagnosed immune thrombocytopenia.

Despite its generally transient and benign course, childhood immune thrombocytopenia has a large impact on health-related quality of life. Recently published guidelines state that quality of life should be taken into account while making decisions on management in childhood immune thrombocytopenia. We, therefore, assessed health-related quality of life in children with newly diagnosed immune thrombocytopenia in a prospective multicenter study.

Superiority of trans-oral over trans-nasal sampling in detecting Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization in adults.

The human nasopharynx is the main reservoir for Streptococcus pneumoniae. We applied conventional and molecular methods to determine the prevalence of S. pneumoniae nasopharyngeal colonization in adults.

Gut derived lactic acid bacteria induce strain specific CD4(+) T cell responses in human PBMC.

Background & Aims: Probiotic bacteria are used as food supplement in many different disease settings. The immune modulating capacity of different strains is not always properly tested which might result in a suboptimal choice of strains for clinical use.

Methods: The CD4 T cell responses to 19 different gut derived lactic acid bacteria were tested with different methods to show their diversity in immune modulation and to make a well-founded choice on which strains to use in future clinical trials.

The Self-administered Eczema Area and Severity Index in children with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis: better estimation of AD body surface area than severity.

The Self-Administered Eczema Area and Severity Index (SA-EASI) is one of the few patient based atopic dermatitis (AD) disease activity scores and was found to be highly correlated with the EASI. Correlation with other frequently used scoring methods has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relation of the SA-EASI with two physician-based disease activity scores (objective SCORAD and SASSAD score) and with a serum marker for AD (Thymus and Activation-Regulated Cytokine [TARC]) in children with AD.

Bullous lesions in Henoch Schönlein Purpura as indication to start systemic prednisone.

Unlabelled: Henoch Schönlein Purpura (HSP) is usually mild and self-limiting, but it may be accompanied by severe complications such as bullous lesions. We describe the use of systemic prednisone in two patients with bullous lesions in HSP. The first patient presented with progressive bullous lesions distributed on the limbs that evolved into painful ulcers and necrosis.

GNAS-associated disorders of cutaneous ossification: two different clinical presentations.

Progressive osseous heteroplasia (POH) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by dermal ossification during infancy and progressive ossification into deep connective tissue during childhood. POH is at the severe end of a spectrum of GNAS-associated ossification disorders that include osteoma cutis and Albright Hereditary Osteodystrophy (AHO). Here we describe two girls who have different clinical presentations that reflect the variable expression of GNAS-associated disorders of cutaneous ossification.

Pathophysiology of edema formation in children with nephrotic syndrome not due to minimal change disease.

It has been shown that children with nephrotic syndrome due to minimal change disease (MCD) can present with avid salt retention and stimulated vasoactive hormones, as well as with stable edema. The present study examines these conditions in children with nephrotic syndrome not due to MCD (non-MCD). In six children with hypovolemic symptoms (congenital nephrotic syndrome in four), strong sodium retention (fractional sodium excretion, FE(Na), 0.

Infant B cell responses to polysaccharide determinants.

Newborns and infants up to the age of 1.5-2 years of age are unable to produce antibodies to bacterial capsular polysaccharides. As a consequence, children up to the age of 2 years have an increased susceptibility for infections with encapsulated bacteria.