Neuro-COVID-19 With or Without the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C): A Single-Center Study : COVID-19: Neurologic Manifestations in Children.

This study evaluates the range of neurological manifestation in children with COVID-19 (neuro-COVID-19) both with and without the multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) and the persistence of symptoms after hospital discharge. The study was conducted as a prospective study of children and adolescents under 18 years of age who were admitted to a children's hospital for infectious diseases from January 2021 to January 2022. The children had no previous neurological or psychiatric disorders. Out of the 3021 patients evaluated, 232 were confirmed to have COVID-19 and 21 of these patients (9%) showed neurological manifestations associated with the virus. Of these 21 patients, 14 developed MIS-C, and 7 had neurological manifestations unrelated to MIS-C. There was no statistical difference regarding the neurological manifestations during hospitalization and outcomes between patients with neuro-COVID-19 who had or did not have MIS-C, except for seizures that occurred more frequently in patients with neuro-COVID-19 without MIS-C (p-value = 0.0263). One patient died, and 5 patients still had neurological or psychiatric manifestations at discharge, which persisted for up to 7 months. The study highlights that SARS-CoV-2 infection can affect the central and peripheral nervous system, particularly in children and adolescents with MIS-C, and that it is crucial to be vigilant for long-term adverse outcomes, as the neurological and psychiatric effects of COVID-19 in children are emerging during an important stage of brain development.

The imbalance in the relationship between inflammatory and regulatory cytokines during gestational toxoplasmosis can be harmful to fetuses: A systematic review.

Objective: To evaluate the available information on inflammatory and regulatory plasma mediators in pregnant women (PW) diagnosed with toxoplasmosis. Source: The PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Lilacs databases were evaluated until October 2022. Study eligibility criteria: This review was carried out following the PRISMA and registered on the PROSPERO platform (CRD42020203951). Studies that reported inflammatory mediators in PW with toxoplasmosis were considered. Evaluation methods: After excluding duplicate articles, two authors independently carried out the process of title and abstract exclusion, and a third resolved disagreements when necessary. The full text was evaluated to detect related articles. The extraction table was built from the following data: Author, year of publication, journal name and impact factors, country, study design, number of gestations and maternal age (years), gestational period, diagnosis of toxoplasmosis, levels of inflammatory markers, laboratory tests, and clinical significance. Methodological quality was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute tools. Results: Of the 1,024 studies reported, only eight were included. Of the 868 PW included in this review, 20.2% were IgM+/IgG- and 50.8% were IgM-/IgG+ to T. gondii, and 29.0% uninfected. Infected PW presented higher plasma levels ofIL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17, CCL5, and IL-10. Regarding the methodological quality, four studies obtained high quality. Data from this review pointed out the maintenance of the inflammatory pattern during pregnancy with a closely related to the parasite. Conclusion: Immune status in PW defined the course of the T. gondii infection, where the equilibrium between inflammatory and regulatory cytokines mitigated the harmful placenta and fetus effects. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD420203951.

Impact of six years of routine varicella vaccination on the disease-related hospitalizations at Minas Gerais, Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: The varicella vaccine was first introduced into the Brazilian immunization schedule in September 2013 as a single dose for children aged 15 months. In 2018, a second dose was recommended for individuals between 4 and 6 years old. This study aims to assess the impact of routine varicella vaccination on the number and profile of hospitalized varicella patients during the single dose period, as well as in the first two years after the adoption of the second dose. METHODS: An observational retrospective study was conducted in an infectious disease pediatric hospital, in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Clinical as well as epidemiological data from patients hospitalized due to varicella between 2010 and 2019 were collected. Patients were split into groups based on the vaccine introduction: pre-vaccine period, single dose and two-dose period. They were compared by age, sex, reason for admission, illness-related complications and clinical outcome. RESULTS: There were 1193 admissions due to varicella during the studied period. When compared with the pre-vaccine period, the number of hospitalizations decreased in 61.5% during the single-dose regime, reaching 95.2% in the two-dose period. Hospitalization rates decreased in all age groups, including non-vaccinated individuals such as those younger than 12 months (92.1%). As for reasons of admission, secondary bacterial skin infections were perceived to be the most common cause (>70%). A reduction was also seen in admission of immunocompromised or HIV positive patients (84.8%). CONCLUSION: The collected data shows a significant impact in the number of hospital admissions due to varicella after six years of the implementation of the vaccine, positively affecting both vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals. Further reduction was seen after the second dose was initiated, but its true impact will only be understood fully after a longer period of continuous vaccination.

Risk factors associated with the outcomes of pediatric bacterial meningitis: a systematic review / Fatores de risco associados aos desfechos da meningite bacteriana pediátrica: uma revisão sistemática

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature and answer the following central question: "What are the risk factors associated with worse clinical outcomes of pediatric bacterial meningitis patients?" Methods: The articles were obtained through literary search using electronic bibliographic databases: Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE, and LILACS; they were selected using the international guideline outlined by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Protocols. Results: The literature search identified 1,244 articles. After methodological screening, 17 studies were eligible for this systematic review. A total of 9,581 patients aged between 0 days and 18 years were evaluated in the included studies, and several plausible and important prognostic factors are proposed for prediction of poor outcomes after bacterial meningitis in childhood. Late diagnosis reduces the chances for a better evolution and reinforces the importance of a high diagnostic suspicion of meningitis, especially in febrile pictures with nonspecific symptomatology. S. pneumoniae as a causative pathogen was demonstrated to be related to clinical severity. Conclusions: Early prediction of an adverse outcome may help determine which children require more intensive or longer follow-up and may provide the physician with rationale for parental counseling about their child's prognosis in an early phase of the disease.

Resumo Objetivo O objetivo deste estudo é revisar sistematicamente a literatura e responder à seguinte questão central: "Quais são os fatores de risco associados a piores desfechos clínicos de pacientes pediátricos com meningite bacteriana?". Métodos Os artigos foram obtidos através de pesquisa bibliográfica, nas bases de dados eletrônicas Web of Science, Scopus, Medline e Lilacs, e selecionados com diretriz internacional delineada pela abordagem Prisma (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis). Resultados A pesquisa bibliográfica identificou 1.244 artigos. Após a triagem metodológica, 17 estudos foram considerados elegíveis para esta revisão sistemática. Foram avaliados 9.581 pacientes até 18 anos nos estudos incluídos e vários fatores prognósticos plausíveis e importantes são propostos para a previsão de desfechos piores após meningite bacteriana na infância. O diagnóstico tardio reduz as chances de uma melhor evolução e reforça a importância de uma alta suspeita diagnóstica de meningite, especialmente em quadros febris com sintomatologia inespecífica. S. pneumoniae como patógeno causador demonstrou estar relacionado à gravidade clínica. Conclusões A previsão precoce de um desfecho clínico desfavorável pode ajudar a determinar quais crianças necessitam de uma abordagem mais invasiva ou seguimento mais prolongado e pode fornecer ao médico a justificativa para o aconselhamento dos pais sobre o prognóstico de seu filho em uma fase inicial da doença.

Risk factors associated with the outcomes of pediatric bacterial meningitis: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature and answer the following central question: "What are the risk factors associated with worse clinical outcomes of pediatric bacterial meningitis patients?" METHODS: The articles were obtained through literary search using electronic bibliographic databases: Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE, and LILACS; they were selected using the international guideline outlined by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Protocols. RESULTS: The literature search identified 1,244 articles. After methodological screening, 17 studies were eligible for this systematic review. A total of 9,581 patients aged between 0 days and 18 years were evaluated in the included studies, and several plausible and important prognostic factors are proposed for prediction of poor outcomes after bacterial meningitis in childhood. Late diagnosis reduces the chances for a better evolution and reinforces the importance of a high diagnostic suspicion of meningitis, especially in febrile pictures with nonspecific symptomatology. S. pneumoniae as a causative pathogen was demonstrated to be related to clinical severity. CONCLUSIONS: Early prediction of an adverse outcome may help determine which children require more intensive or longer follow-up and may provide the physician with rationale for parental counseling about their child's prognosis in an early phase of the disease.

Perinatal Yellow Fever: A Case Report.

An outbreak of yellow fever in Brazil made it possible to assess different presentations of disease such as perinatal transmission. A pregnant woman was admitted to hospital with yellow fever symptoms. She was submitted to cesarean section and died due to fulminant hepatitis. On the sixth day, the newborn developed liver failure and died 13 days later. Yellow fever polymerase chain reaction was positive for both.

Descolamento prematuro de placenta / Placental abruption

O descolamento prematura de placenta (DPP) e uma emergencia obstetrica que exige intervencao medica imediata e e responsavel por alto indice de mortalidade perinatal e materna. Incide em aproximadamente 0,5 a 3,0% do total de gestacoes, relacionando-se com mortalidade perinatal em 15% dos casos. A causa primaria da DPP e desconhecida, entretanto associa- se frequentemente com hipertensao arterial sistemica. O diagnostico e essencialmente clinico e o quadra se caracteriza principalmente por sangramento vaginal, dor abdominal e hipertonia uterina. A conduta adotada varia na dependencia das condicoes maternas e fetais. O presente relato expoe um caso envolvendo gestante sem fatores de risco, apresentando manifestacoes clinicas classicas. 0 reconhecimento rapido do descolamento prematura de placenta e a intervencao apropriada garantiram a sobrevivencia materna e neonatal. (AU)

Placental abruption (also known as Abrutio Placentae) is an obstetric emergency that demands prompt medical intervention and is responsible for a high perinatal and maternal mortality rate. It occurs in approximately 0,5 - 3,0% of all pregnancies, resulting in perinatal mortality in about 15% of the occurrences. The main cause that leads to Abrutio Placentae is still unknown, but it is often related to maternal high blood pressure. The diagnostic is made primarily by the clinical evaluation of the patient and the expected symptoms include vaginal bleeding, abdominal ache and hypertonia of the uterus. The medical approach varies depending of both maternal and fetal overall condition. The following report displays a case that happened to a pregnant woman which had apparently no risk whatsoever and ended up presenting the classical clinical manifestations. The rapid diagnostic and appropriate handling of the placental abruption assured the survival of both mother and newborn. (AU)