One Year of Lung Ultrasound in Children with SARS-CoV-2 Admitted to a Tertiary Referral Children's Hospital: A Retrospective Study during 2020-2021.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lung ultrasound (LU) turned out to be a pivotal tool to study the lung involvement in the adult population, but the same was not well evaluated in children. We detected the LU patterns through an integrated approach with clinical−laboratory features in children hospitalized for COVID-19 in relation to the temporal trend of the Italian epidemic. We conducted a retrospective study which took place at a pediatric tertiary hospital from 15 March 2020 to 15 March 2021. We compared the characteristics of the initial phase of the first COVID-19 year­in the spring and summer (15 March−30 September 2020)­and those of the second phase­in the autumn and winter (1 October 2020−15 March 2021). Twenty-eight patients were studied both in the first and in the second phase of the first COVID-19 year. The disease severity score (DSS) was significantly greater in the second phase (p = 0.015). In the second phase of the first COVID-19 year, we detected a more significant occurrence of the following LU features than in the first phase: the irregular pleural line (85.71% vs. 60.71%; p = 0.035), the B-lines (89.29% vs. 60%; p = 0.003) and the several but non-coalescent B-lines (89.29% vs. 60%; p = 0.003). The LU score correlated significantly with the DSS, with a moderate relationship (r = 0.51, p < 0.001). The combined clinical, laboratory and ultrasound approaches might be essential in the evaluation of pulmonary involvement in children affected by COVID-19 during different periods of the pandemic.

Lung Ultrasound to Detect Pneumothorax in Children Evaluated for Acute Chest Pain in the Emergency Department: An Observational Pilot Study.

Background: Spontaneous pneumothorax is a relatively uncommon and poorly studied condition in children. While several protocols have been developed to evaluate the use of lung ultrasound for dyspneic adult patients in the emergency department, no specific guidelines are present for pediatric emergency physicians. Objectives: We prospectively analyzed children with acute chest pain and clinical suspicion of pneumothorax evaluated at the pediatric emergency department. Methods: We consecutively enrolled children aged 5-17 years presenting to the pediatric emergency department with clinically suspected pneumothorax based on sudden onset of acute chest pain. After clinical examination, all children underwent lung ultrasound followed by chest X-ray (reference standard). We enrolled 77 children, of which 13 (16.9%) received a final diagnosis of pneumothorax. Results: The lung point had a sensitivity of 92.3% (95% CI 77.8-100) and a specificity of 100% (95% CI 94.4-100) for the detection of pneumothorax. The "barcode sign" had a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI 75.3-100) and a specificity of 100% (95% CI 94.4-100) for the detection of pneumothorax. Conclusion: Lung ultrasound is highly accurate in detecting or excluding pneumothorax in children with acute chest pain evaluated in the pediatric emergency department. If pneumothorax is suspected, but the lung point is not visible, the barcode sign should always be sought as it could be a form of massive pneumothorax.

Lung ultrasound findings in pediatric community-acquired pneumonia requiring surgical procedures: a two-center prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Lung ultrasound (US) in the evaluation of suspected pediatric pneumonia is increasingly used and has a recognized role in evaluating pleural effusions, although there are no detailed studies specifically addressing its use in the pediatric population. OBJECTIVES: To define lung US findings of severe pediatric community-acquired pneumonia that required surgical procedures during admission. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our prospective case-control study compared lung US findings in patients ages 1 month to 17 years admitted with community-acquired pneumonia that required surgical procedures from findings those who did not. Lung US was performed at admission and always before surgical procedures. Medical treatment, laboratory and microbiological findings, chest X-ray, computed tomography scan and surgical procedures are described. RESULTS: One hundred twenty-one children with community-acquired pneumonia were included; of these, 23 underwent surgical intervention. Compared with the control group, children requiring a surgical procedure had a significantly higher rate of large consolidations (52.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 30.6% to 73.2%), larger and complicated pleural effusions (100%; 95% CI: 85.2% to 100%), and both liquid and air bronchograms (73.9%; 95% CI: 51.6% to 89.8%). CONCLUSION: Larger consolidations, larger and more complicated pleural effusions, and liquid and air bronchograms were associated with surgical treatment.

Lung ultrasound features of children with complicated and noncomplicated community acquired pneumonia: A prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe lung ultrasound (LUS) findings at baseline and 48 hours after the beginning of treatment and evaluate how they correlate with outcome DESIGN: We prospectively analyzed patients from 1 month to 17 years of age with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) evaluated at a tertiary level pediatric hospital. At baseline and 48 hours after the beginning of treatment, history, clinical examination, laboratory testing, chest X-ray, and LUS were performed. RESULTS: One hundred one children were enrolled in the study (13 with complicated CAP). At baseline those who developed complications presented a larger size of the subpleural pulmonary parenchymal lesions (P = .001) often associated with a complex pleural effusion (63.6%, P = .013). Those with an uncomplicated CAP presented an air, arboriform, superficial and dynamic bronchogram, as opposed to complicated CAP which had an air and liquid bronchogram, deep, fixed (P = .001). At the 48-hour control in the noncomplicated CAP group, bronchogram was more frequently superficial and dynamic (P = .050). Pleural effusion disappeared in half cases (P = .050). In all patients, neutrophilic leucocytosis with increased C-reactive protein was detected and decreased at control (P = .001). The linear regression analyses showed the switch from a deep to a superficial bronchogram as the only explanatory variable (r = 0.97, R2 = 0.94, P = .001, t = 10.73). CONCLUSIONS: Our study describe early LUS features of CAP that might be able to predict the development of complicated CAP.

Point-of-care lung ultrasound in infants with bronchiolitis in the pediatric emergency department: a prospective study.

Bronchiolitis is the most common cause of hospitalization of children in the first year of life. The lung ultrasound is a new diagnostic tool which is inexpensive, non-invasive, rapid, and easily repeatable. Our prospective study was conducted in the emergency department and all patients underwent a routine clinical evaluation and lung ultrasound by the pediatricians who defined the clinical and the ultrasound score. We enrolled 76 infants (median age 90 days [IQR 62-183], 53.9% males). In nasopharyngeal aspirates, the respiratory syncytial virus was isolated in 33 patients. Considering the clinical score, children with higher score had a higher probability of requiring respiratory support (p 0.001). At the ultrasound evaluation, there was a significant difference on ultrasound score between those who will need respiratory support or not (p 0.003). Infants who needed ventilation with helmet continuous positive airway pressure had a more severe ultrasound score (p 0.028) and clinical score (p 0.004), if compared with those who did not need it.Conclusion: Our study shows that lung ultrasound in the bronchiolitis may be a useful method to be integrated with the clinical evaluation to better define the prognosis of the individual patient. Multicenter studies on larger populations are necessary to confirm our data. What is Known: • Bronchiolitis is the main cause of lower respiratory tract infection in children younger than 24 months. • Ultrasound can evaluate the lung parenchyma without ionizing radiations. What is New: • Lung ultrasound may be a useful diagnostic tool to define the prognosis of the infants affected by bronchiolitis if performed at the first assessment in the emergency department. • The score obtained at the ultrasound evaluation is higher in those who will need oxygen therapy during admission for more time and in those who will need respiratory support with helmet continuous positive airway pressure.

Laboratory Biomarkers to Facilitate Differential Diagnosis between Measles and Kawasaki Disease in a Pediatric Emergency Room: A Retrospective Study.

This retrospective study was conducted to analyze clinical and laboratoristic parameters to individuate specific differences and facilitate differential diagnosis between Measles and Kawasaki Disease (KD) at first evaluation in an emergency room. We found similar clinical features as duration of fever and number of KD criteria (p > 0.5) but significant differences in white blood cell count, neutrophils, CRP and LDH levels (p < 0.001). LDH value ≥ 800 mg/dl had sensibility of 89% and specificity of 90% for Measles while CRP ≥ 3 mg/dl had sensibility 89% and specificity of 85% for KD. The combined use of CRP, LDH and AST showed accuracy of 86.67%.

Point of care diaphragm ultrasound in infants with bronchiolitis: A prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Bronchiolitis is the most common reason for hospitalization of children worldwide. Many scoring systems have been developed to quantify respiratory distress and predict outcome, but none of them have been validated. We hypothesized that the ultrasound evaluation of the diaphragm could quantify respiratory distress and therefore we correlated the ultrasound diaphragm parameters with outcome. METHODS: Prospective study of infants with bronchiolitis (1-12 months) evaluated in a pediatric emergency department. Ultrasonography examinations of the diaphragm was performed (diaphragm excursion [DE], inspiratory excursion [IS], inspiratory/expiratory relationship [I/E], and thickness at end-expiration [TEE] and at end-inspiration [TEI]; thickening fraction [TF]). RESULTS: We evaluated 61 infants, 50.8 % males. Mean TF was 47% (IQR 28.6-64.7), mean I/E 0.47 (± 0.15), mean DE 10.39 ± 4 mm. There was a linear correlation between TF and oxygen saturation at first evaluation (P = 0.006, r = 0.392). All children with lower values of TF required HFNC and one of them required CPAP. A higher IS was associated with the future need of respiratory support during admission (P = 0.007). IS correlated with the hours of oxygen delivery needed (P = 0.032, r = 0.422). TEI (t = 3.701, P = 0.002) was found to be main predictor of hours of oxygen delivery needed. CONCLUSION: This study described ultrasound diaphragmatic values of previously healthy infants with bronchiolitis. DE, IS, and TEI correlated with outcome. If confirmed in larger studies, bedside ultrasound semiology of the diaphragm can be a new objective tool for the evaluation and outcome prediction of infants with bronchiolitis.

The availability and the adherence to pediatric guidelines for the management of syncope in the Emergency Department.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of the 2009 Italian pediatric clinical guidelines on the management of syncope. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study of patients who presented to the Emergency Department (ED) of Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital with syncope during the 2 years before and then for 2 years after the establishment of the Italian pediatric clinical guidelines. Implementation of the clinical guidelines included educational seminars, additional training of health care workers, and the availability of clinical guidelines and its algorithms on ED examination rooms. RESULTS: We studied a population of 1073 patients (n = 470 vs n = 603). Most patients had neurocardiogenic syncope with a greater increase in postimplementation period (n = 241, 51.3% vs n = 454, 49.8%); we also noticed a parallel reduction of the number of patients with undefined syncope (30% vs 8.3%). We observed an increase in electrocardiogram (n = 328, 69.8% vs n = 512, 85.1%; P < .001), a reduction in electroencephalogram (n = 54, 11.5% vs n = 25, 4.1%; P < .001), and computed tomography scan/magnetic resonance imaging utilization (n = 26, 5.5% vs n = 8, 1.3%; P < .001). In addition, there was a significant reduction of hospital admission rates (n = 195; 41.5% vs n = 116, 19.2%; P < .001). The time period was significantly associated with improvements in all procedures at the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Providing practitioners in the ED with age-oriented clinical guidelines increased the efficiency of clinical management of pediatric syncope. Our study demonstrated that the implementation of pediatric clinical guidelines on syncope improve diagnosis, reduce hospital admissions, and decrease the use of unnecessary diagnostic tests.

Influence of physical activity on cardiorespiratory fitness in children after renal transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Cardiorespiratory fitness is significantly reduced in children with end-stage renal disease. The role of renal transplantation in improving cardiorespiratory fitness has not been thoroughly investigated. METHODS: In this work, we wanted to assess whether, in children after a successful renal transplant, the amount of weekly physical exercise affects cardiorespiratory fitness and left ventricular mass (LVM). The study was conducted on 16 children after renal transplantation and 36 matching healthy controls. Four groups were formed according to the weekly amount of physical exercise; all children received an echocardiogram and underwent a treadmill exercise test according to the Bruce protocol. RESULTS: Cardiorespiratory fitness is worst in renal transplant children with a weekly physical exercise<3 h; renal transplant children with a physical exercise of 3-5 h per week attain a cardiorespiratory fitness comparable to controls with a sedentary lifestyle (<3-h exercise per week); healthy controls with a weekly physical exercise of 3-5 h per week show the highest levels of cardiorespiratory fitness; the LVM assessed via echocardiography follows the same pattern. CONCLUSIONS: In children with a successful renal transplant, a weekly physical exercise of 3-5 h significantly improves the cardiorespiratory fitness and the LVM, up to the level of matching healthy controls with a sedentary lifestyle (<3 h exercise per week).

Renal and cardiovascular effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor plus angiotensin II receptor antagonist therapy in children with proteinuria.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether the combination of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and an angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist offers better control of proteinuria and cardiovascular parameters without causing adverse side effects. METHODS: We enrolled 10 children (mean age: 12.3 +/- 4.06 years) with proteinuria resulting from chronic renal diseases of various causes. The study consisted of 2 phases, 3 months each, for an overall 6-month observation time. During phase 1 (3 months), each child was assigned randomly to treatment with either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist alone. During phase 2, each child was advanced to combination therapy with the addition of an angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist or an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, respectively. Renal function tests, echocardiography, and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring were performed at the beginning of the study (time 0), at 3 months (time 1), and at 6 months (time 2). RESULTS: At time 2, proteinuria (change: -80.21 +/- 10.75%), interventricular septum index (change: -13.63 +/- 18.64%), posterior wall of the left ventricle index (change: -30.71 +/- 20.32%), and left ventricular mass index (change: -28.33 +/- 24.44%) were reduced significantly, compared with time 0 and time 1. No untoward side effects were detected during the study. CONCLUSIONS: In the short term, the combination of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonists for children with proteinuria of renal origin reduced proteinuria significantly, compared with baseline or either drug alone. Furthermore, echocardiographic studies gave evidence of reduction of left ventricular hypertrophy. Additional studies are needed to evaluate long-term results.

Early evidence of lymphoproliferative disorder: post-transplant monitoring of Epstein-Barr infection in adult and pediatric patients.

Transplant patients are at high risk of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD). A strong correlation between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and PTLD is observed in pediatric patients with primary infection after transplant. Because many patients have responded to reversal of immunosuppressive therapy, an early identification of EBV is essential for the reduction of immunosuppression and/or introduction of antiviral therapy to prevent PTLD. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a specific and sensitive method to identify EBV DNA in blood. The aim of our study was to establish a protocol for monitoring EBV infection in transplanted patients for early identification those at high risk of PTLD. Viral presence in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) and serum samples was revealed by Nested PCR; positive specimens were quantified with Real Time PCR (RT-PCR). DNA in PBL was observed in 12 cases and 6 showed EBV in sera. Quantitative analysis showed a wide range of EBV DNA copies in leukocytes that were higher than in sera. Two patients displayed high viral load values in both PBL and sera associated with clinical evidence of PTLD. Our data suggest that the study of the EBV load represents an essential approach in the diagnosis of PTLD and the analysis of serum samples could provide useful information in the post-transplant monitoring of high-risk patients.

How to become an under 11 rescuer: a practical method to teach first aid to primary schoolchildren.

It has been calculated that, on average, 20% of the population should be trained to provide first aid, if a significant reduction of mortality is to be achieved. However, wide dissemination of the principles of emergency care poses a series of difficulties. As a partial solution, we have designed a first aid training course for children aged 8-11 years in their last three courses at primary school. According to the Italian school system, classes in primary school are indicated as I through V, from start to ending. The course addresses three issues: the broken tooth, nose bleeding and paediatric basic life support (PBLS). The course is divided into 17 didactic modules: each module contains a theoretical lecture, a practical demonstration by the trainer and a session for the trainees to practice under supervision. The aim of the study was to evaluate the benefit of teaching emergency procedures including practical sessions for pupils in primary schools. Four hundred and sixty-nine children were enrolled: the evaluation consisted of a 13 question multiple-choice written test taken at the end of the theoretical session and a semi-structured test at one month. Two hundred and seventy-one children attended to the theoretical lesson only, without going through the practical session (Group A), while the remaining 189 children completed the practical training (Group B). The outcome of the evaluation demonstrates that older children (in their V school class) score better than those in their IV and III class (p < 0.001). However, when comparing Group A and Group B in each class, the children that had also been exposed to the practical training (Group B) scored significantly better (V(B) versus V(A) p < 0.001; IV(B) versus IV(A) p < 0.001; III(B) versus III(A) p < 0.01). In conclusion, this proposed method of teaching emergency first aid could be successful in training primary school children. The permanent integration of the subject into the core curriculum of primary schools, and extended to higher school levels, could help in disseminating the culture of emergency care in the general population.