Exploring the relationship between life course adiposity and sepsis: insights from a two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis.

Objectives: The relationship between adiposity and sepsis has received increasing attention. This study aims to explore the causal relationship between life course adiposity and the sepsis incidence. Methods: Mendelian randomization (MR) method was employed in this study. Instrumental variants were obtained from genome-wide association studies for life course adiposity, including birth weight, childhood body mass index (BMI), childhood obesity, adult BMI, waist circumference, visceral adiposity, and body fat percentage. A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for sepsis including 10,154 cases and 454,764 controls was used in this study. MR analyses were performed using inverse variance weighted, MR Egger regression, weighted median, weighted mode, and simple mode. Instrumental variables were identified as significant single nucleotide polymorphisms at the genome-wide significance level (P < 5×10-8). The sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the reliability of the MR estimates. Results: Analysis using the MR analysis of inverse variance weighted method revealed that genetic predisposition to increased childhood BMI (OR = 1.29, P = 0.003), childhood obesity (OR = 1.07, P = 0.034), adult BMI (OR = 1.38, P < 0.001), adult waist circumference (OR = 1.01, P = 0.028), and adult visceral adiposity (OR = 1.53, P < 0.001) predicted a higher risk of sepsis. Sensitivity analysis did not identify any bias in the MR results. Conclusion: The results demonstrated that adiposity in childhood and adults had causal effects on sepsis incidence. However, more well-designed studies are still needed to validate their association.

A Case of Ulcerative Colitis Induced by Paraneoplastic Syndrome?

Background: Paraneoplastic syndromes often cause endocrine, neurological, cutaneous, and hematologic pathologies, and cases with digestive symptoms as prominent cases are rare. Case Description: A 1-year-old child admitted to the emergency department with severe abdominal distension was later diagnosed with sacrococcygeal yolk cystoma with ulcerative colitis. After symptomatic management, surgical removal of the tumor, and JEB chemotherapy, the symptoms of ulcerative colitis disappeared completely. After 7 years of follow-up, the child grew and developed well, and there was no recurrence of tumor and ulcerative colitis. Conclusion: Yolk sac tumor with ulcerative colitis is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome with complex clinical manifestations.

Assessment of continuous neutrophil CD64 index measurement for diagnosing sepsis and predicting outcome in a Chinese pediatric intensive care unit: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: The high affinity immunoglobulin-Fc fragment receptor I CD64 on neutrophils is widely assumed to be a useful biomarker in the early identification of sepsis, and it improves outcomes. We aimed to determine its ability to diagnose sepsis and predict its prognosis with continuous measurements. METHODS: A total of 335 patients admitted to a Chinese PICU were prospectively stratified into two groups according to the presence of sepsis (defined by clinical criteria for sepsis) between 2018 and 2019. Serum concentrations of the nCD64 index, C-reactive protein (CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT) were measured. Sensitivity, specificity and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated to evaluate the diagnostic value for sepsis. A multiple logistic regression model was used to estimate the prognostic value of continuous nCD64 index measurement for in-hospital death. RESULTS: The baseline nCD64 index and levels of PCT and CRP were significantly higher in septic children than in nonseptic children (P<0.05). The nCD64 index presented a higher sensitivity (0.90), specificity (0.78) and area under the ROC curve [0.91 (0.90, 0.93)] than CRP and PCT in discriminating septic children with an optimal cutoff value of 5.78. The nCD64 index decreased with the progression of sepsis, and the baseline nCD64 index was strongly associated with in-hospital death (OR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.02-4.74). Moreover, the more rapidly the nCD64 index declined, the lower the in-hospital death rate was (OR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.63-1.35) after adjusting for the baseline nCD64 index and other confounders. CONCLUSIONS: The nCD64 index was not only effective for the early diagnosis of childhood sepsis but also positively associated with the prognosis of sepsis. Moreover, the nCD64 decline was inversely associated with the in-hospital death rate.

IDDCA syndrome in a Chinese infant due to GNB5 biallelic mutations.

Herein, we present a Chinese infant with an early-onset intellectual developmental disorder with cardiac arrhythmia syndrome. A 6-month-old boy visited our hospital because of convulsions and paroxysmal cyanosis for 1 day. Mental development analysis showed that the patient had a neurodevelopmental delay. Frequent seizures occurred, and ECG monitoring demonstrated severe cardiac arrhythmia. Whole-exome sequencing showed that the infant had two compound heterozygous variants, NM_016194:c.458G>A/p.Cys153Tyr and NM_016194:c.1032C>A/p.Tyr344*, in GNB5. The first variant was inherited from his mother, while the other one was a de novo variant. Haplotype analysis indicated that the de novo variant was located in the paternal chromosome. Structural modeling indicated that both mutations could influence the interaction of GNB5 with its binding protein. Our study expanded the known genetic and phenotypic spectrum of GNB5-associated diseases, by presenting a Chinese male infant with IDDCA.

[Risk factors and prognosis of acute kidney injury in children with sepsis in pediatric intensive care unit].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk factors and prognosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) in children with sepsis in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). METHODS: A retrospective analysis of clinical data of PICU sepsis children in Anhui Children's Hospital from May 2015 to May 2018 was performed. The children were divided into AKI group and non-AKI group according to whether AKI occurred within 48 hours of PICU [referring to the diagnostic criteria for Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO)]. The general data, physiological data and clinical outcomes of the two groups were compared; Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors of AKI in children with sepsis and the prognostic factors. RESULTS: AKI occurred in 55 of 127 children with sepsis, the incidence of AKI was 43.3%, and the overall mortality was 28.3% (36/127), with 41.8% (23/55) in AKI group and 18.1% (13/72) in non-AKI group. (1) Compared with non-AKI group, oxygenation index, albumin, the pediatric critical illness case score (PCIS) and urine volume in AKI group were significantly decreased, while cystatin C, procalcitonin (PCT), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), pediatric multiple organ dysfunction score (P-MODS), the proportions of mechanical ventilation, vasoactive drug use, shock, septic shock and mortality were significantly increased, while there was no difference in age, gender, mean arterial pressure (MAP), white blood cell count (WBC) and C-reactive protein (CRP) between the two groups. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that low serum albumin [odds ratio (OR) = 0.627, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 0.495-0.794, P = 0.000] and homocystatin C (OR = 2.641, 95%CI = 1.157-6.032, P = 0.021) were risk factors for AKI in children with sepsis. (2) Compared with the survival group of children with sepsis AKI, the proportion of mechanical ventilation, septic shock, vasoactive drug use, positive balance ratio of liquid for 72 hours, 6-hour lactate clearance rate < 10%, and AKI 3-stage patients in the death group of children with sepsis AKI were significantly increased. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that 72-hour positive liquid balance (OR = 8.542, 95%CI = 1.956-37.307, P = 0.004) and 6-hour lactate clearance rate < 10% (OR = 5.980, 95%CI = 1.393-25.676, P = 0.016) were risk factors for the death of children with sepsis AKI. CONCLUSIONS: Serum albumin and cystatin C should be closely monitored in children with sepsis. Early detection and intervention of positive fluid balance and low lactate clearance rate can reduce the mortality of AKI in children with sepsis.

[Etiology and prognosis of thrombocytopenia in children: a case analysis in 683 children within 10 years of pediatric intensive care unit].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the etiology and prognosis of children with thrombocytopenia (TP) in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). METHODS: The data of children with TP (exclusion of congenital and unknown TP) admitted to PICU of Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital from January 2008 to December 2017 was analyzed retrospectively. According to the age of onset, the children were divided into infantile group (29 days to less than 1 year), early childhood group (1 to less than 3 years), preschool group (3 to less than 6 years), school age group (6 to less than 10 years) and puberty group (more than 10 years). Moreover, according to the lowest platelet count (PLT), the children were divided into PLT ≤ 20×109/L group, PLT (21-50)×109/L group and PLT > (50-100) ×109/L group. The distribution and mortality of TP were analyzed, and the relationship between age, PLT decrease and prognosis were analyzed by Pearson method. RESULTS: Among 6 725 children admitted to PICU in our hospital from January 2008 to December 2017, there were 683 children with TP, with the incidence of 10.2%. Among 683 children with TP, there were 387 males and 296 females, with the median age of 2.72 (0.61, 3.08) years, and 92 children died, with a total mortality of 13.5%. Analysis of primary disease showed that TP caused by non-hematological malignant tumor disease accounted for 73.9%, with the mortality of 11.1% (56/505). TP induced by hematological malignant tumor disease accounted for 21.4%, with the mortality of 24.7% (36/146). Pseudothrombocytopenia accounted for 0.6%, with the mortality of 0% (0/4). Other children who gave up treatment accounted for 4.1%. It was shown by further analysis that multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) caused by TP associated with non-hematological malignant tumor disease accounted for 26.9%, with the mortality of 15.4% (21/136). Sepsis, severe trauma, pneumonia, central nervous system infection and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) accounted for 17.4%, 16.6%, 12.7%, 11.7% and 11.5%; with the mortality of 8.0% (7/88), 2.4% (2/84), 0% (0/64), 20.3% (12/59) and 24.1% (14/58), respectively. The main causes of TP associated with hematological malignant tumor disease were hemophagocytic syndrome [accounting for 27.4%, with the mortality of 32.5% (13/40)] and bone marrow inhibition [accounting for 21.2%, with the mortality of 25.8% (8/31)]. The younger were the children with TP, the higher would be the mortality. The mortality of infantile group was significantly higher than that of early childhood group, preschool group, school age group and puberty group [18.8% (53/282) vs. 14.0% (28/200), 6.7% (7/104), 4.3% (4/92), 0% (0/5), all P < 0.01]. The lower was the PLT, the higher would be the mortality. The mortality of PLT ≤ 20×109/L group was significantly higher than that of PLT (21-50)×109/L group and PLT > (50-100)×109/L group [18.1% (39/215) vs. 13.0% (32/247), 9.5% (21/221), both P < 0.05]. It was shown by correlation analysis that there was no association between age and 28-day death time in children with TP (r = -0.037, P = 0.727), but PLT was positively correlated with 28-day death time in children with TP (r = 0.844, P = 0.010). CONCLUSIONS: MODS, infection, sepsis, severe trauma and DIC are the common causes of TP in PICU. The younger are the children with TP, the lower is the PLT, and the worse would be the prognosis.

Whole-exome Sequencing Helps the Diagnosis and Treatment in Children with Neurodevelopmental Delay Accompanied Unexplained Dyspnea.

Neurodevelopmental delay accompanied unexplained dyspnea is a highly lethal disease in clinic. This study is to investigate the performance characteristics of trio whole exome sequencing (Trio-WES) in a pediatric setting by presenting our patient cohort and displaying the diagnostic yield. A total of 31 pediatric patients showing neurodevelopmental delay accompanied unexplained dyspnea were admitted to our hospital and referred for molecular genetic testing using Trio-WES. Eight genes namely MMACHC, G6PC, G6PT, ETFDH, OTC, NDUFAF5, SLC22A5, and MAGEL2 were suspected to be responsible for the onset of the clinical symptoms and 6 variants were novel. Standard interpretation according to ACMG guideline showed that the variants were pathogenic. Finally, diagnosis of methylmalonic aciduria and homocystinuria, glycogen storage disease, ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency, glutaric acidemia II, mitochondrial complex 1 deficiency, carnitine deficiency, and Schaaf-Yang syndrome was made in 12 out of the 31 patients. Trio-WES is an effective means for molecular diagnosis of infantile neurodevelopmental delay accompanied unexplained dyspnea. As for molecular etiology identification, when routine potential monogenetic inheritance patterns including de novo, autosomal recessive, autosomal dominant, and X-linked recessive inheritance analysis is negative, physicians should take into account imprinted genes.

[Effects of different sedation regimens on sedation and inflammatory response in critically ill children with multiple trauma].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the sedation and anti-inflammatory effects of dexmedetomidine and midazolam on critical ill children with multiple trauma. METHODS: A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted. Sixty-five critical ill children with multiple trauma admitted to pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of Anhui Province Children's Hospital from January 2014 to September 2016 were enrolled, who were randomly divided into dexmedetomidine group (33 cases) and midazolam group (32 cases). Children of both groups received sufentanil for analgesia. Children in dexmedetomidine group firstly received 1.0 µg/kg intravenous bolus of dexmedetomidine for 10 minutes, then continuous infusion of 0.2-0.7 µg×kg-1×h-1, while in midazolam group children received 1-5 µg×kg-1×min-1 of midazolam in continuous infusion. The goal of sedation was to maintain a Richmond agitation-sedation scale (RASS) score of -1 to 0. The level of serum interleukin (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at 24, 48, 72 hours after treatment, and the duration of mechanical ventilation, ratio of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), length of stay in the PICU, ratio of sepsis and multiple organ failure (MOF) and mortality were also recorded. RESULTS: Compared with midazolam, dexmedetomidine decreased the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines and increased the level of anti-inflammatory cytokines. At 24 hours after treatment, the levels of serum IL-1ß, TNF-α significantly decreased and IL-10 significantly increased [IL-1ß (ng/L): 6.48±2.89 vs. 8.07±3.14, TNF-α (µg/L): 11.25±5.21 vs. 15.44±5.97, IL-10 (ng/L): 12.10±5.35 vs. 9.58±4.71, all P < 0.05]. At 48 hours after treatment, the levels of serum IL-6, IL-8, IL-1ß, TNF-α and CRP significantly decreased and IL-10 significantly increased [IL-6 (ng/L): 209.67±80.49 vs. 336.31±123.94, IL-8 (ng/L): 229.09±80.81 vs. 298.28±90.25, IL-1ß (ng/L): 7.31±3.02 vs. 8.74±3.17, TNF-α (µg/L): 12.52±4.79 vs. 16.58±5.98, CRP (g/L): 47.82±24.92 vs. 72.35±31.71, IL-10 (ng/L): 12.90±5.42 vs. 10.01±4.79, all P < 0.05]. At 72 hours after treatment, the levels of serum IL-8 and CRP significantly decreased [IL-8 (ng/L): 234.64±96.24 vs. 290.28±103.97, CRP (g/L): 53.24±29.12 vs. 86.58±38.30, both P < 0.05]. Compared with midazolam, dexmedetomidine could significantly reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation (days: 4.7±1.3 vs. 6.6±2.1), length of PICU stay (days: 9.5±2.7 vs. 12.3±3.9, both P < 0.05), and the ratio of sepsis (33.3% vs. 53.1%, P < 0.05). But there were no significant differences in ratio of CRRT (18.2% vs. 18.8%), MOF (9.1% vs. 18.8%) and mortality (6.1% vs. 12.5%) between two groups (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with midazolam, dexmedetomidine had better efficacy in the treatment of severe multiple trauma in children and reduce the level of inflammation.

[Report of a case with late-onset ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and DNA sequencing confirmation and literatures review].

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment management of ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD). METHOD: Data of the clinical diagnosis and treatment of a case with OTCD were analyzed, and the domestic and international literature was reviewed. RESULT: (1) The case was a boy, 8 years old; and the initial symptoms were vomiting and reduced consciousness for a day after eating a lot of eggs as previous similar history. The level of blood ammonia was 2 500 µmol/L. The patient was treated with fasting, high-calorie fluid intravenous infusion, reducing blood ammonia. However, the disease further aggravated and the patient died due to brain hernia and central cardiovascular failure. Finally, he was confirmed as OTCD through urine testing by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, plasma amino acid examination (plasma arginine and citrullineurine reduced, orotic acid raised) and genetic testing (OTC c.386G>A p. (Arg129His)). (2) Data of 55 case reports about diagnosis and treatment outcome including 65 OTCD cases' clinical data in domestic and abroad reports in nearly 5 years. Their ages ranged from 3 days to 49 years; the common symptoms were vomiting and encephalopathy; both urine tests were positive in 52 cases; pathogenic genes had less repeated loci and located at Xp21.1 in 42 cases detected by OTC gene test; all of which had gene mutation. CONCLUSION: The acute onset OTCD begins with the symptoms of vomiting and unconsciousness, with rapid rise of blood ammonia level. OTCD may cause high mortality.

[Analysis of serious respiratory complications in PICU in children with measles].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the characteristics of the serious complications of 17 cases with measles in ICU. METHOD: Seventeen cases with measles with serious complications in ICU in Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital were recruited from May 2012 to May 2013. Clinical characteristics, image finding, and prognosis were analyzed retrospectively. IgM antibody was positive in all the 17 cases, which included 9 male cases, 8 female cases, and their age was from 2 months to 10 years. RESULT: All the 17 patients received mechanical ventilation because of severe respiratory distress within 1 week of onset, of which 14 cases were complicated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (acute ARDS), 6 cases of tension pneumothorax, 3 cases were complicated with bronchitis, laryngeal obstruction III degrees, and totally 7 cases died. The survived 10 patients were followed up for 1 year, 1 patient with localized pneumothorax, bronchopleural fistula, 1 case of mild pulmonary fibrosis, 1 case of acute laryngitis with persistent hoarseness, and mild inspiratory dyspnea were found. The remaining 7 cases fully recovered. Fourteen cases failed to inoculate measles vaccine. CONCLUSION: A higher risk of death and poor prognosis were found in children with measles who needed to be treated in PICU, especially for ARDS with pneumothorax. Laryngitis needed long time to cure and had weaning difficulties, and the case associated with pleural effusion or bronchopleural fistula must be treated with surgery, and the patients easily develop secondary bacterial infection.