Clinical course and peculiarities of Parechovirus and Enterovirus central nervous system infections in newborns: a single-center experience.

Parechovirus (HpEV) and Enterovirus (EV) infections in children mostly have a mild course but are particularly fearsome in newborns in whom they may cause aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, and myocarditis. Our study aimed to describe the clinical presentations and peculiarities of CNS infection by HpEV and EV in neonates. This is a single-center retrospective study at Istituto Gaslini, Genoa, Italy. Infants aged ≤ 30 days with a CSF RTq-PCR positive for EV or HpEV from January 1, 2022, to December 1, 2023, were enrolled. Each patient's record included demographic data, blood and CSF tests, brain MRI, therapies, length of stay, ICU admission, complications, and mortality. The two groups were compared to identify any differences and similarities. Twenty-five patients (15 EV and 10 HpEV) with a median age of 15 days were included. EV patients had a more frequent history of prematurity/neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (p = 0.021), more respiratory symptoms on admission (p = 0.012), and higher C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (p = 0.027), whereas ferritin values were significantly increased in HpEV patients (p = 0.001). Eight patients had a pathological brain MRI, equally distributed between the two groups. Three EV patients developed myocarditis and one HpEV necrotizing enterocolitis with HLH-like. No deaths occurred.  Conclusion: EV and HpEV CNS infections are not easily distinguishable by clinical features. In both cases, brain MRI abnormalities are not uncommon, and a severe course of the disease is possible. Hyper-ferritinemia may represent an additional diagnostic clue for HpEV infection, and its monitoring is recommended to intercept HLH early and initiate immunomodulatory treatment. Larger studies are needed to confirm our findings. What is Known: • Parechovirus and Enteroviruses are the most common viral pathogens responsible for sepsis and meningoencephalitis in neonates and young infants. • The clinical course and distinguishing features of Parechovirus and Enterovirus central nervous system infections are not well described. What is New: • Severe disease course, brain MRI abnormalities, and complications are not uncommon in newborns with Parechovirus and Enteroviruses central nervous system infections. • Hyper-ferritinemia may represent an additional diagnostic clue for Parechovirus infection and its monitoring is recommended.

Baseline plasma lipid levels in patients with acute coronary syndrome: Association with 20-year mortality. The ABC-5a* Study on Heart Disease.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between baseline plasma lipid levels during acute coronary syndrome and the outcome has clinical relevance. METHODS: To evaluate their long-term prognostic value, we examined 589 patients admitted with acute coronary syndrome at three hospitals. Baseline plasma lipids were assessed on days 1 and 7. Patients were followed for 20 years or until death. RESULTS: Virtually, all patients completed follow-up; 437 (74%) had died: 24% from coronary artery disease/heart failure (CAD/HF), 21% sudden cardiac death (SCD), 16% from other cardiovascular causes and 39% had non-cardiac death. The incidence rate (IR) of all-cause mortality was not different among patients with baseline plasma lipids less or greater than the median value. The IR of CAD/HF mortality was not significantly higher among patients with greater than median low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglyceride (TG) levels. The IR of non-cardiac death tended to be lower among patients with greater than median total cholesterol (TC) and LDL levels. Using three levels of adjusted Cox survival models, baseline plasma lipids had no consistent independent or inverse association with all-cause mortality, even after excluding patients who received statins. Competitive risk survival models for each cause of death revealed that the only hazard of non-cardiac death was consistently higher among patients with less than or equal to median TC and LDL levels. CONCLUSION: In the present prospective long-term study, after acute coronary syndrome, baseline plasma lipid levels seem not to be associated with long-term global mortality. Only an independent inverse association between TC and LDL and non-cardiac death has been observed.

Association between plasma lipid levels during acute coronary syndrome and long-term malignancy risk. The ABC-4* study on heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggests that patients with coronary artery disease carry an increased risk of developing malignancy, with deleterious effects on long-term prognosis. Our aim was to ascertain whether baseline plasma lipid levels during acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are associated with malignancy in long-term. METHODS: This study included 589 patients admitted with ACS to three centers and discharged alive. Plasma lipid levels were assessed on the first morning after admission. Patients were followed for 17 years or until death. RESULTS: Five hundred seventy-one patients were free from malignancy at enrollment, of them 99 (17.3%) developed the disease during follow-up and 75 (13.1%) died due to it. Compared to patients without malignancy, those with malignancy showed lower plasma levels of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides (TG). The groups showed similar statin use rates at any time in follow-up. The incidence rate of neoplasia and neoplastic mortality was higher in patients with baseline TC or LDL values ≤ median; they showed 85 and 72% increased incidence rate of developing malignancy and 133 and 122% increased incidence rate of neoplastic death respectively. No differences were observed relative to HDL and TG levels. In survival analysis using Cox regression with parsimonious models, patients with baseline TC or LDL values > median, respectively, showed risks of 0.6(95% CI 0.4-0.9; p = 0.01) and 0.6(95%CI 0.4-0.9; p = 0.02) for malignancy onset, and 0.5(95% CI 0.3-0.8; p = 0.005) and 0.5(95% CI 0.3-0.8; p = 0.004) for neoplastic death. Similar results were obtained using competitive risk analysis with parsimonious models. CONCLUSIONS: This long-term prospective study of an unselected real-world patient sample showed that neoplasia onset and mortality are independently associated with low plasma TC and LDL levels at admission for ACS.

Neoplastic disease after acute coronary syndrome: incidence, duration, and features: the ABC-4* Study on Heart Disease.

AIM: To investigate the clinical features and incidence of malignant neoplasia during 17 years of follow-up in an unselected sample of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). METHODS: The Adria, Bassano, Conegliano, and Padova Hospital-4 Study on Heart Disease is an ongoing, prospective study of an unbiased population of patients with ACS. Baseline clinical and laboratory data were obtained during the first 7 days of hospitalization at three different intensive coronary care units. The current study included data from 589 patients with ACS. RESULTS: At enrollment, 19 patients had confirmed neoplasia. During follow-up, 99 additional patients developed malignant neoplastic disease. The incidence rate was 17.8 cases per 1000 person-years, which was about three times higher than that observed in the general population. Patients had a shorter duration of neoplasia when they developed it after enrollment compared with those with preexisting neoplasia [hazard ratio = 2.0 (1.5-2.6), P = 0.001]. Patients with neoplasia who died during follow-up had an earlier onset of neoplasia [hazard ratio = 1.8 (1.1-2.9), P = 0.01] and shorter duration than survivors [hazard ratio = 4.1 (2.4-7.0), P < 0.0001]. The estimated time to diagnosis of neoplasia indicated elderly patients had a significantly higher risk than younger people during the 17 years of follow-up. After the onset of neoplasia, survival time declined more sharply in the elderly than younger people. CONCLUSION: The long-term prospective study showed that patients with ACS have a higher incidence of malignancy than the general population. Those who develop neoplasm after being diagnosed with ACS have a worse prognosis than patients with a preexisting neoplasia.