Vitamin D status in preschool children in Algeria.

It is well established today that an optimal vitamin D intake plays a crucial role in the constitution of optimal osseous mass during childhood, and hence in the prevention of the osteoporosis in adults. The prevalence of the vitamin D deficiency is increasing globally and Algeria is no exception in this regard. Our study is the first to be carried out with healthy children of preschool age in North Africa. AIMS: The study aimed to evaluate the vitamin D status of a pediatric population, during all four seasons of the year, living in the north of Algeria, as well as to estimate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, identifying the potential risk factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was an analytic and cross-sectional study carried out between March 2014 and March 2016 with healthy preschool infants from an urban environment in the town of Hussein Dey. A total of 1016 infants aged 9-72 months were included during this period. The consensual threshold value was 20ng/mL. RESULTS: The sex ratio was of 1.47 (535 boys/481 girls) and the average age of the children was 36.5±1.79 months. The daily average calcium ratio was 395±23 mg/with food contributions in vitamin D at an estimated average of 164 UI/day (4.1µg/day). The average concentration of the total 25-OHD for all four seasons of the year was 18.6±10.4ng/mL with an average rate of parathyroid hormone (PTH) of 30.9±14.6pg/mL. There was a highly significant inverse correlation between the serum level of vitamin D and PTH (r=-0.57; P=0.0001), the point of inflection was situated at 34.1ng/mL. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency follows a seasonal variation that is statistically significant (P=0.0001), and the prevalence is higher during the autumn-winter period. The risk factors identified by multiple logistic regression were autumn-winter season (OR: 7; 95% CI: 3-11; P=0.001), age less than 24 months (OR: 3.8; 95% CI: 3.4-4.4; P=0.0001), high body mass index (OR: 2; 95% CI: 1.2-3.2; P=0.3), darker skin pigmentation (OR: 2.8; 95% CI: 2.2-5.2; P=0.001), duration of sunlight exposure less than 15min (OR: 6.1; 95% CI: 3.6-10.2; P=0.0001), low socioeconomic status (OR: 3.9; 95% CI: 1.5-4.3; P=0.01), calcium intake lower than 500 mg/day (OR: 2.5; 95% CI: 1.8-6; P=0.001), and a weekly dietary intake of vitamin D lower than 200 UI (OR: 2.6; 95% CI: 1.6-4.2; P=0.02). DISCUSSION: No studies have been conducted in north Africa or Algeria concerning healthy preschool children; however, this population has a rapid growth rate and deserves special attention. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the children of this study was higher than that reported in studies of children of the same age living in Europe or America, despite the fact that Algeria is closer to the equator (36° latitude north). CONCLUSION: The changes experienced by Algerian society and the shorter exposure of the population to the sun call for more efforts regarding the detection and treatment of vitamin D deficiency, as well as an update of the vitamin D supplementation schedule.

El síndrome de Lemierre: una patología resurgente: a propósito de una observación pediátrica / Lemierres syndrome: a resurgent pathology about a pediatric observation

El síndrome de Lemierre (SL) es una emergencia diagnóstica y requiere una terapéutica urgente. Se define como una tromboflebitis séptica de la vena yugular interna (VYI) secundaria a una infección orofaríngea. En la mayoría de los casos el germen implicado es el Fusobacterium necrophorum (FN). Afecta tanto al adulto joven como al adolescente pero muy poco al niño. Esta rara afección debe beneficiarse de un diagnóstico precoz. En el caso contrario, se acompaña con un riesgo elevado de mortalidad. Les exponemos en este trabajo, el caso de una niña de 6 años con un SL tras una otitis media aguda asociada a manifestaciones cutáneas de la septicemia. La paciente mejoró bajo una combinación de antibióticos (8 semanas) y anticoagulantes (3 meses).

Lemierre’s syndrome is a rare, acute and severe entity It is characterized by thrombosis of the internal jugular vein and metastatic infections especially lung localization. The main pathogen is Fusobacterium necrophorum. This pathology concerns rarely the child. Early diagnosis is crucial otherwise the mortality will increase. We report of Lemierre’s syndrome in a girl of 6 years old with favourable outcome. Antibiotherapy targeting anaerobes has been rapidly Introduced and maintained 8 weeks. The anticoagulation has been maintained 3 months.

[Blood determination of benzathine-penicillin used in acute joint rheumatism prophylaxis]. / Le dosage sérique de la benzathine-pénicilline utilisée dans la prophylaxie du rhumatisme articulaire aigu.

Our actual work studies the effectiveness in vivo of the Benzathin penicillin that is realized on 88 subjects suffering from a stable rheumatic fever. It has shown that: The first hours after an intramuscular injection, the benzathin penicillin is found at an efficient concentration superior to 0.02 ug/ml at the level of the blood. The highest dose in the blood is obtained the first 24 hours. The amount of antibiotic at the level of the blood is very efficient during 4 weeks.

Correction of attenuation in SPECT with an attenuation coefficient map: a new method.

Attenuation coefficient (mu) maps, measured from transmission scan, are now becoming available. A simple method of attenuation correction is needed for routine implementation, however. Significant attenuation compensation can be mathematically obtained by dividing each actual pixel value of emission projections by the average of all the attenuation factors [exp (-sigma mu)] of all voxels along the same projection ray. This simple method, compatible with filtered back projection algorithms, was tested on simulations of cardiac and cerebral transaxial images on a Vax computer using the RECLBL library. In the models, the different structures received different activity and mu values. Three types of emission projections were generated: the ideal projections obtained by summation of the activity along each projection ray, the corresponding attenuated projections, and the projections corrected for attenuation. Comparison of projections on a pixel by pixel basis showed differences of less than 20% between the corrected and ideal projections. After reconstruction, both absolute and relative quantification were greatly improved by the correction of attenuation. Further validation of the method is in progress with actual patient data.

[Post-streptococcal immunity in the child in acute articular rheumatism (R.A.A.) or recurrent sore throats]. / Immunité post streptococcique chez l'enfant au cours du rhumatisme articulaire aigu (R.A.A.) ou de l'angine à répétition.

It concerns comparative studies between two children groups: One group who had previous RAA. A second group who had anginas only. This work shows the interest to associate two streptococcal serologic tests (ASLO, ASD) in order to increase the number of recent diagnostic streptococcal infectious. The remaining immunity is missing in children less than 5 years old; more than 50% of above 10 years an antistreptococcal answer although they have not streptococcus infections presently.

[Evaluation of the assay of serum fructosamine in the surveillance of diabetes in children and adolescents]. / Evaluation du dosage de la fructosamine sérique dans la surveillance du diabète de l'enfant et de l'adolescent.

Serum fructosamine and glycosylated haemoglobin were measured 4 times over 2 month period (1st, 15th, 30th and 60th days) in 40 young diabetics and in 26 controls. A positive correlation was found between these two parameters at the 15th, 30th and 60th days (0.44 less than r less than 0.61, P less than 0.01). There was a milder correlation between glycosylated haemoglobin and fasting glycemia (r = 0.43), between serum fructosamine and mean glycemia of the last 4 weeks (r = 0.38) and between serum fructosamine and 24 h glycosuria (r = 0.39) (P less than 0.05). Serum fructosamine, which reflects the mean glycemia of the last 3 weeks appears as a useful parameter in diabetic control, in association with glycosylated haemoglobin which reflects the mean glycemia of the last 2 months.