Asthma is a disease that has been described since the times of Hammurabi. However, it is only since the 1960s that effective therapeutic strategies have been available. Pathogenic mechanisms ...underlying the disease have been deeply studied, contributing to creating a "patient-specific asthma" definition. Biological drugs have been approved over the last twenty years, improving disease management in patients with severe asthma via a "precision medicine-driven approach". This article aims to describe the evolution of scientific knowledge in childhood asthma, focusing on the most recent biological therapies and their indications for patients with severe asthma.
Fusobacterium necrophorum is an anaerobic, gram-negative, non-motile, filamentous, non-spore forming bacillus found in the oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract, and female genital tract, responsible ...of a rare disease named Lemierre Syndrome, characterized by septic thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein, which mainly affects previously healthy adolescents and young adults; some risk factors are reported, as smoking or primary viral or bacterial infection leading to the disruption of mucosa. The syndrome originates commonly from an upper respiratory infection such as pharyngotonsillitis, acute otitis media, cervical lymphadenitis, sinusitis, or odontogenic abscess, and may result in multiorgan metastasis, more frequently leading to pulmonary complications, especially lung abscesses.
We describe two cases of adolescents with atypical Lemierre Syndrome evaluated in a tertiary care center, one with a confirmed infection by Fusobacterium necrophorum and one with a presumptive diagnosis based on clinical features, who developed lung abscesses needing a prolonged antibiotic course and hospitalization. Of interest, both were user of electronic cigarette, configuring a possible new risk factor. The proper diagnosis of Lemierre Syndrome is often difficult to establish, so a high degree of suspicion is needed, especially in the case of lung abscesses in otherwise healthy adolescents.
The current study will contribute to providing insight into Lemierre Syndrome clinical presentation and management in adolescents, promoting awareness for a rare but potentially fatal disease. Moreover, it suggests a possible relationship between Lemierre syndrome and the use of electronic cigarette, that should be investigated by future studies.
Pediatric neurosurgery is a highly specialized branch of surgery in which surgical site infections (SSIs) are potentially serious complications that can also adversely affect a good surgical outcome, ...compromising functional recovery and, in some cases, even putting the patient’s life at risk. The main aim of this consensus document is to provide clinicians with a series of recommendations on antimicrobial prophylaxis for neonates and children undergoing neurosurgery. The following scenarios were considered: (1) craniotomy or cranial/cranio-facial approach to craniosynostosis; (2) neurosurgery with a trans-nasal-trans-sphenoidal approach; (3) non-penetrating head injuries; (4) penetrating head fracture; (5) spinal surgery (extradural and intradural); (6) shunt surgery or neuroendoscopy; (7) neuroendovascular procedures. Patients undergoing neurosurgery often undergo peri-operative antibiotic prophylaxis, with different schedules, not always supported by scientific evidence. This consensus provides clear and shared indications, based on the most updated literature. This work has been made possible by the multidisciplinary contribution of experts belonging to the most important Italian scientific societies, and represents, in our opinion, the most complete and up-to-date collection of recommendations on the behavior to be held in the peri-operative setting in this type of intervention, in order to guide physicians in the management of the patient, standardize approaches and avoid abuse and misuse of antibiotics.
Our work aims to add evidence on the effectiveness of Elexacaftor-Tezacaftor-Ivacaftor on chronic rhinosinusitis in cystic fibrosis.
We conducted an observational retrospective cohort study at the ...Cystic Fibrosis Center of a tertiary care hospital to investigate the effect of Elexacaftor-Tezacaftor-Ivacaftor on chronic rhinosinusitis in cystic fibrosis patients, aged 12 or older. The study's endpoints were the change in the occurrence of acute exacerbations of chronic rhinosinusitis, and the variation of the endoscopic and radiologic findings scored using the Lund-Kennedy endoscopic scale, Lund-Mackay, and modified Lund-Mackay radiologic scales, in patients who underwent both pre-treatment and post-treatment examinations.
The study population comprised 136 patients, of which 28 underwent both pre-treatment and post-treatment nasal endoscopy and 15 had pre- and post-treatment CT scans. Elexacaftor-Tezacaftor-Ivacaftor provided a significant improvement in chronic rhinosinusitis. The mean number of acute exacerbations of chronic rhinosinusitis per year in the pre-treatment time was 0.55 versus 0.35 during the treatment (p < 0.0021). The Lund-Kennedy scale had a pre-treatment average score of 4.21 points versus 1.5 points after the start of Elexacaftor-Tezacaftor-Ivacaftor (p < 0.0001). The average Lund-Mackay and modified Lund-Mackay scores in the pre-treatment time were respectively 14.6 and 16.45 points; and after the start of the therapy, they became 5.87 and 6.73 (p < 0.0001).
Elexacaftor-Tezacaftor-Ivacaftor was associated with fewer acute exacerbations of chronic rhinosinusitis, and a significant improvement of chronic rhinosinusitis evaluated endoscopically and radiologically. To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the change in the occurrence of acute exacerbation of chronic rhinosinusitis in patients affected by cystic fibrosis in therapy with Elexacaftor-Tezacaftor-Ivacaftor.
Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is characterized by chronic airway disease, male infertility, and randomization of the left/right body axis as a result of defects of motile cilia and sperm flagella. ...We identified loss-of-function mutations in the open-reading frame C11orf70 in PCD individuals from five distinct families. Transmission electron microscopy analyses and high-resolution immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrate that loss-of-function mutations in C11orf70 cause immotility of respiratory cilia and sperm flagella, respectively, as a result of the loss of axonemal outer (ODAs) and inner dynein arms (IDAs), indicating that C11orf70 is involved in cytoplasmic assembly of dynein arms. Expression analyses of C11orf70 showed that C11orf70 is expressed in ciliated respiratory cells and that the expression of C11orf70 is upregulated during ciliogenesis, similar to other previously described cytoplasmic dynein-arm assembly factors. Furthermore, C11orf70 shows an interaction with cytoplasmic ODA/IDA assembly factor DNAAF2, supporting our hypothesis that C11orf70 is a preassembly factor involved in the pathogenesis of PCD. The identification of additional genetic defects that cause PCD and male infertility is of great importance for the clinic as well as for genetic counselling.
Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common upper airways inflammatory condition especially in paediatric population; its burden potentially impacts on quality of life, quality of sleep and daily performance, ...which can be difficult to perceive but not less relevant in the middle-long term. The present review aims to provide an updated overview on AR epidemiology, diagnosis and with a special focus on its connections with bronchial asthma. In fact, when considering asthmatic pediatric population, AR is probably the most important risk factor for asthma onset and the most impactful extra-bronchial determinant of asthma control. Under this perspective, allergen immunotherapy (AIT) should always be considered in the light of a precision medicine approach. In fact, AIT does represent a unique opportunity to specifically interfere with AR immunological background, improve both AR and bronchial asthma control and prevent allergic disease evolution. Verifying the patient's eligibility to that option should be considered as a priority for every physician managing children suffering from AR, especially when associated with bronchial asthma.
Aim
To determine (i) prevalence and the risk factors for acute kidney injury (AKI) in children hospitalised for febrile urinary tract infection (fUTI) and (ii) role of AKI as indicator of an ...underlying VUR. AKI, in fact, is favoured by a reduced nephron mass, often associated to VUR.
Methods
This retrospective Italian multicentre study enrolled children aged 18 years or younger (median age = 0.5 years) discharged with a primary diagnosis of fUTI. AKI was defined using Kidney Disease/Improving Global Outcomes serum creatinine criteria.
Results
Of 849 children hospitalised for fUTI (44.2% females, median age 0.5 years; IQR = 1.8), 124 (14.6%) developed AKI. AKI prevalence rose to 30% in the presence of underlying congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT). The strongest AKI predictors were presence of CAKUT (OR = 7.5; 95%CI: 3.8–15.2; p = 9.4e‐09) and neutrophils levels (OR = 1.13; 95%CI: 1.08–1.2; p = 6.8e‐07).
At multiple logistic regression analysis, AKI during fUTI episode was a significant indicator of VUR (OR = 3.4; 95%CI: 1.7–6.9; p = 0.001) despite correction for the diagnostic covariates usually used to assess the risk of VUR after the first fUTI episode. Moreover, AKI showed the best positive likelihood ratio, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and specificity for VUR.
Conclusion
AKI occurs in 14.6% of children hospitalised for fUTI and is a significant indicator of VUR.
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