Predictive Ability of Conventional and Combined Apgar Scores versus Neonatal Resuscitation and Adaptation Score in Early Neonatal Assessment.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the Neonatal Resuscitation and Adaptation Score (NRAS) value compared with the conventional and combined Apgar scores in predicting neonatal morbidity and mortality. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective cohort study was conducted on 289 neonates delivered at the Menoufia University Hospital. Trained physicians measured conventional Apgar score, combined Apgar score, and NRAS for the neonates at 1 and 5 minutes after delivery in the delivery room. Admitted neonates were followed during their stay to detect any adverse outcomes. RESULTS: Morbidities such as the need for neonatal intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation, surfactant and inotropes administration, need for extensive phototherapy, intravenous immunoglobulin or exchange transfusion, anemia, metabolic acidosis, abnormal liver and kidney function tests, coagulopathies, hypoglycemia, development of seizures in the first 72 hours of life, and positive changes in cranial ultrasound were significantly higher in neonates who lie within low or moderate NRAS than conventional and combined Apgar scores (p < 0.05). As predictors of mortality, the low and moderate values of the NRAS had higher positive predictive values at 1 (73.91 and 30.61%) and 5 minutes (88.89 and 50.94%) than the conventional Apgar scores at 1 (49.18 and 20.53%), 5 minutes (81.25 and 41.27%) and the combined Apgar scores at 1 (35.63 and 12.45%) and 5 minutes (53.1 and 41.33%). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that the NRAS is better than conventional and combined Apgar scores in predicting neonatal morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, a depressed 5-minute NRAS is more predictive of mortality than 1-minute score. KEY POINTS: · NRAS is better than conventional and combined Apgar scores in predicting neonatal morbidity.. · NRAS is more predictive of mortality than conventional and combined Apgar scores.. · A depressed 5-minute NRAS is more predictive of mortality than 1-minute score..

Erythroferrone and iron status parameters levels in pediatric patients with iron deficiency anemia.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the link between serum erythroferrone (ERFE) levels and iron status parameters in pediatric patients with iron deficiency anemia. METHODS: The study consisted of 66 children (36 with iron deficiency anemia and 30 healthy age- and gender-matched controls) who were investigated for serum levels of iron, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) using automated chemistry analyzer, serum ferritin using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay and ERFE by specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. RESULTS: Serum erythroferrone levels in iron deficiency anemia patients (191.55 ± 83.74 pg/mL) were significantly higher than those in control group (42.22 ± 16.55 pg/mL) (P < .001). In iron deficiency anemia patients, serum erythroferrone concentrations correlated negatively with hemoglobin concentration (r = -.39; P = .01), serum iron (r = -.63; P < .001), transferrin saturation (r = -.66; P < .001), and serum ferritin (r = -.46; P = .004) while positive correlation was observed between serum erythroferrone concentrations and TIBC (r = .62; P < .001) CONCLUSION: The newly identified erythroferrone hormone may act as physiological hepcidin suppressor in cases with iron deficiency anemia, and so it may serve as a specific promising target of therapy in such cases.

Establishment of Z Score Reference of Growth Parameters for Egyptian School Children and Adolescents Aged From 5 to 19 Years: A Cross Sectional Study.

Background: Growth charts are an important method for evaluating a child's health, growth, and nutritional status. Objective: To establish Lambda-Mu- Sigma (LMS) and Z score references for assessment of growth and nutritional status in Egyptian school children and adolescents. Methods: A total of 34,822 Egyptian school children and adolescents from 5 to 19 years were enrolled in a cross sectional randomized study from December 2017 to November 2019 to create LMS and Z score references for weight, height and body mass index (BMI) corresponding to ages. They were selected from different districts in Egypt. Apparent Healthy children with good nutritional history and not suffering from any chronic diseases were included in the study. Results: Egyptian children of both sexes (54.3% boys and 45.7 % girls) from 5 to 19 years old were studied. Then LMS and Z scores for weight for age, height for age, BMI for age of both sexes were represented in detailed tables and graphs. There was no statistically significant difference between the Egyptian Z score charts and the reference values of WHO for weight, height and BMI corresponding to age (P > 0.05). Conclusion: This is the first national reference for growth and nutritional assessment using LMS and Z score charts in Egyptian school children and adolescents, this tool is essential for healthcare and research.

Development of LMS and Z Score Growth References for Egyptian Children From Birth Up to 5 Years.

Background: The Lambda-Mu-Sigma (LMS) and Z score methods are important for assessment of growth and nutritional status. In Egypt, there is a lack of this tool for monitoring growth in preschool children. Objective: To develop LMS and Z score growth references for assessment of growth and nutritional status for Egyptian children from birth up to 5 years. Methods: A total of 27,537 children [13,888 boys (50.4%) and 13,649 girls (49.6%)] from birth up to 5 years were included in a multistage cross sectional randomized study from different Egyptian geographic districts to create LMS and Z score references for weight, length/height, and body mass index corresponding to age in addition to weight for length/height. Healthy term infants and children, exclusive breast feeding for at least 4 months and not suffering from any chronic diseases were included in this study. Children with dysmorphic features, preterm infants, admitted in neonatal or pediatric intensive care units and having any chronic diseases (hematological, cardiac, hepatic, and renal) were excluded. In addition any health condition that affects child growth including nutritional disorders was also excluded. Un-paired t-test was calculated to compare the means of weight for age, length/height for age, weight for length/height, and BMI for-age z scores of the Egyptian and WHO reference values. Results: Through detailed tables and graphs, LMS and Z scores for weight for age, length/height for age, weight for length/height, and BMI for age of both sexes were represented. Our findings showed no statistically significant difference between reference charts of WHO and Egyptian Z score charts (P > 0.05). Conclusion: This study provides the first reference for Egyptian children from birth up to 5 years based on Z score tool for assessment the growth and nutritional status in various clinical conditions and research, also allows comparison with references of other countries.

Serum stromal-derived-factor-1 (CXCL12) and its alpha chemokine receptor (CXCR4) as biomarkers in neonatal sepsis.

BACKGROUND: Neonatal sepsis remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality both among term and preterm infants. Advances in neonatal care improved survival and reduced complications in preterm infants. Chemokines are chemotactic cytokines that give directional guidance for leukocyte migration during inflammatory process. The chemokine CXCL12 and its receptor CXCR4 are now known to play an important role in inflammatory states. However, its value as a biomarker in neonatal sepsis is unclear. OBJECTIVES: To assess the value of measuring the serum levels of alpha-chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR-4) and stromal-derived-factor-1 (CXCL12) in diagnosis of late onset neonatal sepsis. SUBJECT AND METHODS: Serum levels of CXCL12 and CXCR4 were determined in 38 full term neonates, 23 cases of late onset sepsis (13 males and 10 female), and 15 healthy neonates as control (six males and nine females) by ELISA technique and flow-cytometry. RESULTS: Serum levels of CXCR4 and CXCL12 were significantly higher in neonates with late onset sepsis compared with the non-septic ones. The sensitivity, the specificity, and the overall accuracy of CXCL12 were 100%. The sensitivity of CXCR4 was 87%; the specificity was 80% and the overall accuracy was 84%. CONCLUSIONS: Serum CXCR4 and CXCL12 levels increase significantly in septic neonates and they are valuable marker in diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. Serum concentrations of both chemokines represent promising novel biomarkers for neonatal sepsis.

Beneficial effect of melatonin in the treatment of neonatal sepsis.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of melatonin as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of neonatal sepsis. METHODS: This study is a prospective nonrandomized nonblind case-control study and was carried on 40 neonates with neonatal sepsis diagnosed by both clinical and laboratory criteria. They were enrolled from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Menoufia University Hospitals. These cases were selected during the study period from November 2015 to May 2016 and were divided into two groups: intervention group (number 20 neonates) received melatonin 20 mg as single dose and antibiotics and control group (number 20 neonates) received antibiotics only and then both groups followed by physical examination, complete blood count (CBC), and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) to evaluate the improvement in both groups. RESULTS: Before melatonin administration, there was no significant difference between intervention group and control group with regard to clinical condition, hs-CRP, and other serum parameters. After 24 and 72 hours of melatonin administration, both groups improved with regard to clinical condition, hs-CRP, and serum parameters with significant improvement in intervention group than control group. CONCLUSION: Melatonin could be used in the treatment of neonatal sepsis in both preterm and full-term neonates beside the conventional treatment.

Value of Soluble Transferrin Receptors and sTfR/log Ferritin in the Diagnosis of Iron Deficiency Accompanied by Acute Infection.

There are many causes of anemia; the most common of these are acute and chronic infections, iron deficiency, or both. Identifying the cause is a very important step in management of anemia. So, we evaluated the usefulness of soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) and of the sTfR/log ferritin in the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia accompanied by acute infection. This study was conducted on 131 children aged 2-11 years old from those who attended the pediatric outpatient clinics in Menoufia university hospital. Hematological indices, iron balance and sTfR were evaluated and the sTfR/log F was calculated for each examined child. From the examined children four groups were distinguished: Group I (control): included 34 healthy children with normal iron status (66.7% males, age 4.2 ± 1.2). Group II (IDA): included 38 children diagnosed as iron deficiency anemia (47.4% males, age 4.9 ± 1.6). Group III (IDA + infection): included 26 children with infectious disease (upper respiratory tract infection, otitis media, pneumonia, stomatitis, and urinary tract infection) and anemia meeting criteria of IDA (50% males, age 4.2 ± 0.7). Group IV (anemia + infection): included 33 children with infectious anemia without iron deficiency (56.2% males, age 5.06 ± 1.4). It was proved that sTfR and sTfR/log Ferritin were significantly higher in children with anemia due to iron deficiency, and in those with infection + iron deficiency, versus those with infectious anemia or in healthy children. The use of sTfR and sTfR/log ferritin improves the diagnosis of IDA in pediatric patients, especially in the presence of coexisting acute infection.

Clinical study of Presepsin and Pentraxin3 in critically ill children.

PURPOSE: To assess the value of Presepsin and Pentraxin3 measurement in critically ill children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospective observational study conducted on 80 children admitted into Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and 80 healthy controls. Patients were evaluated for presence of sepsis. Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM) and Pediatric Index of Mortality (PIM2) were calculated. Serum Presepsin and Pentraxin3 were measured within 24 h of admission. RESULTS: Presepsin and Pentraxin3 were significantly higher among the whole patient cohort and among septic patients compared with controls (p < 0.001) but no difference was found between septic and non-septic patients. Pentraxin3, but not Presepsin, was significantly higher among non-survivors compared with survivors (p = 0.048) and was correlated with PIM2. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that Pentraxin3 had an AUC of 0.631 for prediction of mortality which was comparable to that of PRISM and PIM2. Presepsin was associated with a higher rate of mechanical ventilation and longer PICU stay. CONCLUSIONS: Presepsin and Pentraxin3 are acute phase proteins potentially useful for monitoring critically ill children and diagnosing sepsis. Pentraxin3 is associated with mortality but modestly discriminates survivors from non-survivors. Presepsin is associated with certain indicators of disease severity. Larger studies are certainly required.

Establishment of blood pressure nomograms representative for Egyptian children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To define nomograms for blood pressure in Egyptian children and adolescents. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: A total of 60 025 Egyptian children from birth to 19 years were enrolled in this cross-sectional randomised study from December 2015 to March 2017. They were selected from diverse geographical districts in Egypt. Healthy children who fulfilled the inclusion criteria, which included good nutritional history, absence of fever or documented underlying disease at the time of examination, no evidence of haemodynamically significant illness, and no antihypertensive drugs or other chronic drug administration, were included in the study. Body weight, recumbent length (for less than 24 months) and height (from 2 years to 19 years), and blood pressure were measured using standard mercury sphygmomanometers. RESULTS: Blood pressure increases with age in both boys and girls. The 90th percentile of systolic and diastolic blood pressure among Egyptian children was different from other ethnic populations (American and Turkish children) in both sexes. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure showed a positive correlation with weight and height in both sexes (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: We assumed that normal blood pressure curves should be used cautiously during childhood, and it is recommended that every population have its own normal standard curve to define measured blood pressure levels in children. These centiles increased our knowledge and awareness of normal blood pressure among Egyptian children and adolescents. The percentiles will distinguish children and young adolescents with increased blood pressure and will be of value to both medical practice and scientific research.