Increased risk of group B streptococcal sepsis and meningitis in HIV-exposed uninfected infants in a high-income country.

The purpose of this study is to compare group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection incidence in HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) and HIV-unexposed (HU) infants in a Spanish cohort. We conducted a retrospective study in 5 hospitals in Madrid (Spain). Infants ≤ 90 days of life with a GBS infection were included from January 2008 to December 2017. Incidence of GBS infection in HEU and HU children was compared. HEU infants presented a sevenfold greater risk of GBS infection and a 29-fold greater risk of GBS meningitis compared to HU, with statistical significance. Early-onset infection was tenfold more frequent in HEU children, with statistical significance, and late-onset infection was almost fivefold more frequent in the HUE infants' group, without statistical significance. CONCLUSION: HEU infants presented an increased risk of GBS sepsis and meningitis. One in each 500 HEU infants of our cohort had a central nervous system infection and 1 in each 200, a GBS infection. Although etiological causes are not well understood, this should be taken into account by physicians when attending this population. WHAT IS KNOWN: • HIV-exposed uninfected infants are at higher risk of severe infections. • An increased susceptibility of these infants to group B Streptococcus infections has been described in low- and high-income countries, including a higher risk of meningitis in a South African cohort. WHAT IS NEW: • Group B Streptococcal meningitis is more frequent in HIV-exposed uninfected infants also in high-income countries. • Physicians should be aware of this increased risk when attending these infants.

Imported malaria in children in Madrid, Spain, 2007-2013.

BACKGROUND: The majority of malaria cases diagnosed in Europe in the last few years have occurred in people living in non-endemic areas travelling back to their home country to visit friends and relatives (VFRs). Children account for 15-20% of imported malaria, with known higher risk of severe disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective multicentre study was conducted in 24 hospitals in Madrid (Spain) including patients under 16 years diagnosed with malaria (2007-2013). RESULTS: A total of 149 episodes in 147 children were reported. Plasmodium falciparum was the species most commonly isolated. Twenty-five patients developed severe malaria and there was one death related to malaria. VFR accounted for 45.8% of our children. Only 17 VFRs had received prophylaxis, and 4 of them taken appropriately. They presented more frequently with fever (98% vs. 69%), a longer time with fever (55 vs. 26%), delay in diagnosis of more than three days (62 vs. 37%), and more thrombocytopenia (65 vs. 33%) than non-VFRs, and with significant differences (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: VFRs represent a large proportion of imported malaria cases in our study. They seldom took adequate prophylaxis, and delayed the visit to the physician, increasing the length of fever and subsequent delaying in diagnosis. Appropriate preventive measures, such as education and pre-travel advices should be taken in this population.

Pharmacogenomics of insulin-like growth factor-I generation during GH treatment in children with GH deficiency or Turner syndrome.

Individual responses to growth hormone (GH) treatment are variable. Short-term generation of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is recognized as a potential marker of sensitivity to GH treatment. This prospective, phase IV study used an integrated genomic analysis to identify markers associated with 1-month change in IGF-I (ΔIGF-I) following initiation of recombinant human (r-h)GH therapy in treatment-naïve children with GH deficiency (GHD) (n=166) or Turner syndrome (TS) (n=147). In both GHD and TS, polymorphisms in the cell-cycle regulator CDK4 were associated with 1-month ΔIGF-I (P<0.05). Baseline gene expression was also correlated with 1-month ΔIGF-I in both GHD and TS (r=0.3; P<0.01). In patients with low IGF-I responses, carriage of specific CDK4 alleles was associated with MAPK and glucocorticoid receptor signaling in GHD, and with p53 and Wnt signaling pathways in TS. Understanding the relationship between genomic markers and early changes in IGF-I may allow development of strategies to rapidly individualize r-hGH dose.

Serum inhibin B levels before and after varicocelectomy in early adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Whereas no clear relationship has been observed between varicocelectomy and serum inhibin B levels in men, in adolescents comparison between inhibin B levels before and after varicocelectomy is lacking. AIM: To evaluate the effect of varicocele surgical treatment on inhibin B levels in adolescents at the beginning of puberty compared to a group of healthy adolescents. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We studied 28 adolescents in Tanner 2 pubertal stage with a grade III left-sided varicocele (patients) compared to 13 age and pubertal stage-matched healthy adolescents (controls). All patients underwent blood tests to determine serum inhibin B levels before and 6 months after varicocelectomy by Palomo procedure. For comparison we investigated inhibin B levels in controls and repeated this test 6 months later. Testicular ultrasound was performed for patients only. RESULTS: Baseline inhibin B concentrations of patients and controls were 109.90 ± 40.26 and 109.33 ± 38.34 pg/ml, respectively. No significant changes were observed in patients' inhibin B concentrations after varicocelectomy (116.00 ± 42.65 pg/ml), or in controls during the 6 months' follow-up (99.12 ± 30.09 pg/ml). Doppler examination after treatment shows a complete resolution of varicocele in all the patients without alterations in testicular parenchyma. CONCLUSIONS: Varicocelectomy performed on adolescents at T2 pubertal stage might be useful to avoid alteration in inhibin B production and consequently in testicular function. Further studies are necessary to confirm the prognostic value of inhibin B levels and the benefit of early varicocelectomy in preserving the fertility of these adolescents.

Could the savory taste of snacks be a further risk factor for overweight in children?

INTRODUCTION: The quantity, type and composition of snack foods may play a role in the development and maintenance of obesity in children. A high consumption of energy-dense snacks may promote fat gain. AIMS: To assess the type and number of snacks consumed weekly by a large sample of 8- to 10-year-old children, as well as to assess its relationship with body size. RESULTS: The children consumed on average 4 snacks per day. There was no statistical difference in the number of servings per day between obese and nonobese children. However, the mean energy density of the foods consumed was significantly higher for obese and overweight children than for normal weight children [6.8 (0.3) kJ/g, 6.8 (0.16) kJ/g, and 6.3 (0.08) kJ/g, respectively; P < 0.05]. Logistic regression analysis showed that the energy density of the snacks (kJ/g), their savory taste (servings/week), television viewing (hours/day) and sports activity (hours/week) independently contributed to predict obesity in children. However, when the parents' body mass index was included among the independent variables of the regression, only salty foods and sports activity showed an independent association with childhood obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Parents' eating habits and lifestyle influence those of their children, as suggested by the association between parents' obesity and their children's energy-dense food intake at snacktime, the savory taste of snacks and sedentary behavior. However, regardless of parents' body mass index, the preference for savory snacks seems to be associated with overweight in prepubertal children.

A technique of mRNA extraction and labeling from circulating lymphocytes of children treated with growth hormone replacement therapy for microarray analysis.

GH replacement therapy exhibits a wide spectrum of response in terms of growth. Nevertheless, standardized doses are still given in clinical practice. In order to optimize the therapy, it is necessary to identify its markers of responsiveness. Given the presence of GH receptors in the circulating lymphocytes, accessible by means of a simple blood withdrawal, blood becomes the tissue of choice as a source of RNA for in vivo gene expression analysis. Hence, the purpose of the present paper is to develop a method of preparation of RNA from lymphocytes suitable for microarray analysis, focusing on the reduction of the blood volume withdrawal in order to perform the analysis on pediatric subjects. After lymphocyte isolation and total RNA extraction from 6 ml of blood, we carried out an amplification procedure preserving the relative abundance of each transcript. Thereafter, we hybridized the labeled amplified RNA on an oligo chip (Human 30K A, MWGBiotech), but the unsuccessful detection of a good signal to noise ratio indicates that labeled RNA is still insufficient. Therefore, we suggest performing pools of total RNA from different subjects with similar responsiveness to the therapy. It can be speculated that, upon comparison of the obtained data with those derived from pools of controls properly responding to the therapy, specific hallmarks of the condition of low responsiveness, devoid of inter-individual variability, will be evidenced.

[Late onset group B Streptococcus infection: 7 year experience in a tertiary hospital (2000-2006)]. / Infección tardía por estreptococo del grupo B: experiencia en un hospital de tercer nivel (2000-2006).

INTRODUCTION: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a major cause of neonatal infection. Two forms of the disease have been described according to the age of presentation: early, beginning in the first 6 days of life, and late, occurring from day 7 up to 3 months of age. OBJECTIVES: To analyze the epidemiology of the late onset form of GBS disease in a tertiary hospital after implementing preventive strategies aimed to reduce the rate of vertical transmission. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of children diagnosed with late GBS infection between January 2000 and December 2006. Diagnostic criteria included a positive blood culture and/or a positive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture for GBS in any patient aged between 7 and 89 days. RESULTS: 24 patients were identified, most of them presenting after January 2005. Median age was 36.2 days (range 9 to 81). GBS isolates in blood were found in 20 patients, 1 in CSF and 3 in both. Most frequently children presented with fever (70.8 %) and irritability (54.1 %). Five patients (20.8 %) had a cellulitis-adenitis syndrome. Cefotaxime and ampicillin were the most often used antibiotic combination. No ampicillin resistances were found. CONCLUSIONS: The number of children with late GBS disease has increased in our center. Accordingly, the recent recommendations for the prevention of perinatal GBS vertical transmission were not effective for reducing late GBS infection. This may be due to horizontal infections from maternal sources, community or cross infections. It is important to maintain clinical suspicion of late GBS infection and start early antibiotic treatment.

[Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, a current problem]. / Trastorno por déficit de atención e hiperactividad: un problema actual.

INTRODUCTION: Attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity (ADDH), is a condition that affects the normal development of children. The symptoms include difficulty of controlling physical activity, inattention and learning disorders. The ADDH must be diagnosed in accordance with the clinical findings defined in the DSM IV. OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of children diagnosed with ADDH in our hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Biannual observational study. Variables evaluated were: age, sex, personal and family medical history, symptoms, therapy and treatment response. RESULTS: There 83 participants (87 % Male and 13 % Female), of which 32.5 % were diagnosed during the study. Ages ranged from 3-8 years (84 %). There was a family history related to ADDH in 38 % of patients, and personal history of prematurity, acute foetal distress, small for gestational age, convulsions were reported. Association of hyperactivity and attention deficit was found in 65 % of participants. Other related symptoms were cognitive disorder (62 %), language disabilities (41 %) and motor disorders (35 %). Treatment was on-going in 65 % of the patients, 27.7 % of them having adverse effect. Evolution with therapy was favourable in 61 %. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that ADDH is one of the most common childhood psychiatric disorders, mainly affecting boys. There is usually a family history. Failure in school was one of the principal conditions. Association between attention deficit and hyperactivity, mainly hyperactivity, is the most common presentation. Other disorders such as motor and language disabilities are also common in these patients. Methylphenidate showed favourable outcomes in 61 % of the patients studied.

Assisted infant toilet training: is it time for a critical revision?

Toilet training is an essential issue in child education, and its completion represents a developmental milestone. Although for the last 40 years the Western medical community has recommended to start toilet training after 18 months of age, today a growing number of parents are accepting assistant infant toilet training that can begin relatively soon after birth. As currently practiced, assisted infant toilet training emphasizes infant-caregiver communication for the gradual acquisition of bowel and bladder control. Signals emitted by the infant lead the caregiver during elimination assistance. This review will help the reader to understand this new phenomenon.

[Kingella kingae as a common cause of arthritis septic in children]. / Kingella kingae como agente causal frecuente de artritis séptica en Pediatría.

OBJECTIVE: Kingella kingae is a common colonizer of the oropharynx in children that may lead to invasive infection, mainly osteoarticular infections. Invasive infections occur almost exclusively in young children, fundamentally fewer than two years old. K. kingae infections in children are probably underdiagnosed due to the difficulty in growing in routine cultures and the absence of systematic realization of molecular techniques to identify it. It is the most common bacteria involved in childhood osteoarticular infections in recent series and increasingly being recognized in Spain. We report our experience on the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of osteoarticular infections in children in recent years. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of septic arthritis by K. kingae identified by PCR in joint fluid in children during 2010-2016. Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory characteristics are presented. RESULTS: Five arthritis by K. kingae were identified, all of them in ≤6 years old children. Median leukocytes, CRP and ESR were 12950 leukocytes/µL, 4.84 mg/dL and 58 mm/h respectively, and 61,322 leukocytes /µL in joint fluid. All patients evolved favorably. CONCLUSIONS: Osteoarticular infections by K. kingae in children usually present low increase of inflammatory markers despite being invasive infections. The development of PCR in sterile samples has greatly improved the diagnostic yield of K. kingae infections improving the management of osteoarthritis in children.