In our letter, we comment the paper of Kounis et al., that highlights a poor-known clinical entity determined by systemic use of corticosteroids, the so-called "Kounis syndrome type I". We ...appreciated and shared the intent of Authors to treat the important issue of high risk of adverse drug reaction in patients with atopic diathesis and we confirm the need to administer corticosteroids with caution in patients suffering from allergic disease.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract We report a case of worsening respiratory distress associated with opisthotonus secondary to tracheomalacia, a rather unique pathophysiological phenomenon. A 2-month-old male baby was ...referred to our hospital for respiratory distress syndrome with a noticeable opisthotonus. Examination and investigation confirmed the presence of an aberrant innominate artery compressing the trachea. The infant underwent aortopexy and made a dramatic post-operative recovery. Of special note, the opisthotonus vanished soon after the operation. Opisthotonus is not always related to neurological impairment and may be a warning sign of mediastinal overcrowding in patients with respiratory distress syndrome secondary to vascular compression.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Several studies have demonstrated that Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication does not affect metabolic control in diabetic patients. The prevalence of H. pylori infection and reinfection rate ...in adult diabetic patients seems to be higher than in controls.
To evaluate the reinfection rate of H. pylori three years after a standard eradicating treatment and the late effect of eradication upon metabolic control in young diabetic patients.
We enrolled 75 diabetic patients and 99 controls, from previous our studies in which we had evaluated H. pylori infection. In all subjects we re-evaluated the presence of H. pylori by means of 13C-Urea Breath Test, metabolic control and the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms. The effect of age, sex and socio-economic factors on H. pylori reinfection were also evaluated.
The prevalence of H. pylori infection was higher in diabetic patients (17/69, 24%) than in dyspeptic controls of similar age, gender and socio-economical status after three years of follow-up. The reinfection rate was higher in diabetic patients than in controls. Multivariate analysis confirmed that age and socio-economical status were independently associated with H. pylori reinfection.
Young patients with diabetes present a higher risk of H. pylori gastric reinfection than controls. In addition, age and mean annual income are associated with reinfection.
Abstract Atypical onset of Kawasaki disease (KD) is a frequent problem leading to diagnostic mistake. Acute cholestasis and liver involvement occur occasionally as minor manifestation of KD. We ...report the case of a 6-year-old boy presenting fever, jaundice, abdominal pain, and ascites who subsequently developed typical KD clinical pattern just at the same time of echocardiographic coronary arteries anomalies. Abdominal radiological evaluation was normal and seroimmunologic markers resulted negative. Shortly after intravenous immunoglobulin and acetylsalicylic acid administration the clinical features disappeared. KD should be considered in differential diagnosis in children with cholestasis, abdominal pain and fever of unknown etiology.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Abstract The patient with neuromuscular disability (spinal muscular atrophy, muscular dystrophy, myopathy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, post-poliomyelitis syndrome or neuropathy) represents a ...typical example of a child with chronic respiratory disease requiring either hospitalisation or domiciliary assistance. For these patients, respiratory disease represents the main cause of morbidity and mortality, due primarily to weakness of the respiratory muscles, an ineffective cough and abnormal swallowing. A multidisciplinary approach, with the aim of improving the patient's quality of life, is therefore required. Such an approach involves various strategies, for example use of the cough-assist machine (a non-invasive respiratory physiotherapy that safely and consistently removes secretions in patients with an ineffective ability to cough), monitoring of nutritional status, the prevention of chest deformities, and the use of mechanically assisted ventilation – both non-invasive and invasive ventilation via a tracheotomy.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The role of Helicobacter pylori infection in metabolic control and gastrointestinal symptoms in type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) patients has been debated. The aim of this study was to investigate the ...prevalence of H pylori, of the more cytotoxic Cag-A-positive strains, and the effects of infection on gastrointestinal symptoms and metabolic control in young DM1 patients. Research Design and Methods. H pylori infection was investigated by using the 13C-urea breath test in 121 DM1 patients (65 males, 56 females; mean age: 15 +/- 6 years) and 147 matched controls. In positive patients, an assay for specific immunoglobulin G against Cag-A was performed. Glycosylated hemoglobin A, daily insulin requirement, and duration of illness were established; a questionnaire concerning the presence of dyspeptic symptoms was administered.
No difference in H pylori infection rate between patients and controls was observed. Thirty-four (28.1%) of 121 patients and 43 (29.25%) of 147 controls were infected. Twenty-one patients and 24 controls were positive for Cag-A. Glycosylated hemoglobin A, daily insulin requirement, and duration of illness were not affected by infection nor by Cag-A status. Among gastrointestinal symptoms, only halitosis was related to H pylori infection, but this association disappeared after correction for age. Positive patients with halitosis showed a worse glycemic control than uninfected patients with halitosis.
H pylori infection and Cag-A-positive strains do not affect metabolic control in DM1 patients. With regard to gastrointestinal symptoms studied, H pylori infection, when present in participants with halitosis, seems to predict a worse metabolic control than in H pylori-negative patients with halitosis.
This paper describes severe hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia during bolus enteral feeding in two neurologically impaired children. Both children were affected by dysphagia with swallowing difficulties; ...caloric intake was inadequate. For these reasons, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy had been positioned during the first months of life. In one patient due to persisting vomiting, after a few months, a gastrojejunal tube (PEG-J) was inserted. Hypoglycemia was revealed by routine blood tests, without evidence of specific symptoms. Continuous subcutaneous glucose monitoring showed wide glucose excursions, ranging from hypoglycemia to hyperglycemia. Extremely high levels of insulin were detected at the time of hypoglycemia. A diagnosis of dumping syndrome (DS) was suspected in both children. In the child with PEG, the tip of the gastrostomy catheter was found to be lying in the bulbus duodeni. Once this had been pulled back, hypoglycemic episodes disappeared. The child with PEG-J needed continuous enteral feeding to reach a normal glucose balance. DS is a relatively common complication in children with gastrostomy, but extremely irregular glucose levels, ranging from hypoglycemia to hyperglycemia, and increased insulin secretion had not been previously demonstrated. The incidence of DS is probably underestimated in children receiving enteral feeding for neurological impairment. In these patients intensive monitoring of blood glucose levels should be performed to calibrate meals. Repeated underestimated hypoglycemic episodes could worsen neurological damage and cause a deterioration in clinical conditions.
OBJECTIVES:Eradication of Helicobacter pylori is more difficult in adult patients with diabetes than in patients with dyspepsia. It has also been suggested that eradication of H. pylori in children ...with type 1 diabetes mellitus improves their metabolic control. The aim of the current study was to assess the eradication rate of a standard triple therapy and its effects on glycemic control in young patients with type 1 diabetes.
METHODS:The authors enrolled 29 type 1 diabetic patients with H. pylori, 29 type 1 diabetic patients without H. pylori, and 29 dyspeptic children with H. pylori. Groups were matched for gender and age and had similar geographical origin and socioeconomic status. H.pylori status was investigated before and 6 weeks after therapy by C-urea breath test. All enrolled patients with H. pylori were prescribed a standard triple therapy for eradicating H. pylori. Glycosylated hemoglobin A and daily insulin requirement were evaluated at enrollment and 6 months later in all patients with diabetes. The prevalence of the most common gastrointestinal symptoms also was investigated by means of a questionnaire in all subjects at enrollment and 6 months later.
RESULTS:Eradication of H. pylori was similar in patients with diabetes (24/29) and those with dyspepsia (23/29) (83%v 79%; P = NS). No difference in metabolic control was observed before or after antibiotic treatment in the patients who experienced H. pylori eradication. No difference in glycemic control was observed after 6 months of follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS:The eradication rate of H. pylori infection was similar for young patients with type 1 diabetes and those with dyspepsia and did not improve metabolic control in a short-term follow-up.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
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