Unsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 index and hospitalization in MISC.

The growing interest in Omega-3 fatty acids as diagnostic markers or new therapeutic approaches also for COVID-19 disease, led us to investigate the presence of potential correlations between Omega-3 fatty acids' levels in whole blood and days of hospitalization or admission to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in 51 children with MIS-C diagnosis following SARS-CoV-2 infection. A statistically significant negative correlation was observed between days of hospitalization and docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-3,DPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and total Omega-3 FA levels. Dividing the study group into quartiles according to Omega-3-Index (O3I), no statistically significant difference was observed with respect to the PICU admission rate. In contrast, the number of days of hospitalization in Q4 (O3I ≥ 2.51 %) was different from the number observed in groups Q1-3 (O3I < 2.51 %), with subjects showing higher O3I needing shorter hospitalizations than the subjects with lower O3I. According to previous study investigating O3I in adults affected by Sars-cov-2 we explored the levels of this nutrients in children with MIS-C. Our exploratory study shows that high DPA, DHA and O3I levels could be effective in reducing the length of hospitalization.

Stress Response During Rapid Maxillary Expansion in Children.

Purpose: To assess the effect of rapid maxillary expansion (RME) on the inflammatory and stress response of patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. Methods: Eighty salivary samples were collected from patients (n=16) during RME at five moments: before the expander placement (T1); 25 minutes after its first activa- tion (T2); seven days after placement, shortly after the patient arrived at the dental clinic (T3); 25 minutes after the appliance activation on day seven (T4) and one month after the last activation of the appliance (T5). Cortisol and nitric oxide levels were evaluated using an immunoassay kit and the Griess method, respectively. Friedman and Wilcoxon tests were used for statistical analysis (P <0.05). Results: Participants' mean age was 11.5 years. There was a significant change in cortisol levels over the study period in the total sample (P<0.01), for the Haas appliance (P=0.01), female sex (P=0.01), younger children (P=0.01), presence of large overbite (P=0.02), presence of posterior crossbite (P =0.006), Class I type occlusion (P=0.02) and mesofacial facial type (P =0.02). Regarding nitric oxide, there was a significant change over the study period in those who wore the Haas appliance (P =0.04). For nitric oxide levels, T1 was significantly higher than T3, T4 and T5 (P <0.05) for those who wore a Haas appliance. Conclusion: The period anticipating the consultation at the waiting reception area was more stressful than the dental procedure in patients undergoing RME. This procedure did not cause alterations in salivary biomarkers related to inflammation.