Similar patterns of [18F]-FDG brain PET hypometabolism in paediatric and adult patients with long COVID: a paediatric case series.

PURPOSE: Several weeks after COVID-19 infection, some children report the persistence or recurrence of functional complaints. This clinical presentation has been referred as "long COVID" in the adult population, and an [18F]-FDG brain PET hypometabolic pattern has recently been suggested as a biomarker. Herein, we present a retrospective analysis of 7 paediatric patients with suspected long COVID who were explored by [18F]-FDG brain PET exam. Metabolic brain findings were confronted to those obtained in adult patients with long COVID, in comparison to their respective age-matched control groups. METHODS: Review of clinical examination and whole-brain voxel-based analysis of [18F]-FDG PET metabolism of the 7 children in comparison to 21 paediatric controls, 35 adult patients with long COVID and 44 healthy adult subjects. RESULTS: Despite lower initial severity at the acute stage of the infection, paediatric patients demonstrated on average 5 months later a similar brain hypometabolic pattern as that found in adult long COVID patients, involving bilateral medial temporal lobes, brainstem and cerebellum (p-voxel < 0.001, p-cluster < 0.05 FWE-corrected), and also the right olfactory gyrus after small volume correction (p-voxel = 0.010 FWE-corrected), with partial PET recovery in two children at follow-up. CONCLUSION: These results provide arguments in favour of possible long COVID in children, with a similar functional brain involvement to those found in adults, regardless of age and initial severity.

Key role of pediatricians and disease for influenza vaccination in children with high-risk chronic diseases.

Annual influenza vaccination is recommended for children with chronic diseases. Studies on influenza vaccines, following controversies related to the 2009 H1N1 influenza, are scarce in Europe. Our aim was to evaluate the influenza vaccination coverage in such children in a French tertiary hospital. Secondary objectives were the evaluation of the influenza vaccination coverage trend and the identification of factors influencing the vaccination status. A prospective and descriptive study by questionnaire was performed at the end of 2017 in 402 French hospital outpatients with various underlying chronic diseases eligible to the influenza vaccination. The 2016-2017 vaccination coverage was 46.5%. Figures of 75% or greater were only found in patients with cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease. CART analysis identified vaccination in the previous year, medical recommendation for vaccination, and maternal influenza vaccination as a child's decisive factors for being vaccinated.Conclusion: Influenza vaccination coverage remains insufficient in children receiving hospital follow-up for chronic diseases. Its implementation clearly depends on pediatricians' recommendation to vaccinate and on the type of chronic disease. What is Known: • Despite health policy recommendations, the rate of annual influenza vaccination in children with chronic diseases is low What is New: • Influenza vaccination coverage depends on the type of chronic disease and on the pediatricians' counseling to vaccine.

Pulmonary giant chondromatous hamartoma with multifocal evolution in an infant.

Hamartoma is the most common benign pulmonary tumor in adults, but is rarely described in the pediatric population. Giant chondromatous and progressive forms are even rarer. We report the novel case of a 13-month-old infant hospitalized for giant pulmonary chondromatous hamartoma discovered during a septic episode, rapidly progressive, with severe multifocal lesions, without clear response to several cytotoxic therapies. No predisposition syndrome was identified.

Use of high-flow nasal cannula in infants with viral bronchiolitis outside pediatric intensive care units.

High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is frequently used in infants with acute viral bronchiolitis outside pediatric intensive care units (PICU). A structured questionnaire was sent out to pediatricians of all public French hospitals with pediatric emergency and/or general pediatric departments on their use of HFNC outside PICU (department using HFNC, number of available devices, monitoring, criteria for initiating or stopping HFNC, and personal comments on HFNC). Of the 166 eligible hospitals, 135 answered (96 general and 39 university hospitals; 81.3%), for a total of 217 answering pediatricians. Seventy-two hospitals (53.3%) used HFNC in acute bronchiolitis outside PICU, particularly, general hospitals (59.4% vs 38.5%), and mostly in pediatric general departments (75%). Continuous patient monitoring with a cardiorespiratory monitor was usual (n = 58, 80%). Nursing staff was responsible for 2.7 children on HFNC and checked vital signs 8.6 times per day. Criteria for HFNC initiation and withdrawal were not standardized. Pediatricians had a positive opinion of HFNC and were willing to extend its use to other diseases.Conclusion: Use of HFNC outside PICU in infants with acute bronchiolitis is now usual, but urgently requires guidelines. What is Known: • Acute viral bronchiolitis treatment is only supportive • High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is a respiratory support accumulating convincing clinical evidence in bronchiolitis • This latter treatment is usually proposed in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) What is New: • HFNC are increasingly used outside PICU in bronchiolitis, particularly, in general hospitals and in pediatric general departments • Pediatricians are enthusiastic about this device, but validated criteria for initiation and withdrawal are lacking • Guidelines for the use of HFNC outside PICU are urgently required.

Early Halt of a Randomized Controlled Study with 3% Hypertonic Saline in Acute Bronchiolitis.

BACKGROUND: Albeit not recommended because of contradictory results, nebulized 3% hypertonic saline is widely used for treating acute viral bronchiolitis. Whether clinical differences may be attributed to the type of nebulizer used has never been studied. OBJECTIVES: By modifying the amount of salt deposited into the airways, the nebulizer characteristics might influence clinical response. METHODS: A prospective, randomized, controlled trial included infants hospitalized in a French university hospital for a first episode of bronchiolitis. Each child received 6 nebulizations of 3% hypertonic saline during 48 h delivered with 1 of the 3 following nebulizers: 2 jet nebulizers delivering large or small particles, with a low aerosol output, and 1 mesh nebulizer delivering small particles, with a high aerosol output. The primary endpoint was the difference in the Wang score at 48 h. RESULTS: Only 61 children of 168 were recruited before stopping this study because of severe adverse events (n = 4) or parental requests for discontinuation due to discomfort to their child during nebulization (n = 2). One minor adverse event was noted in 91.8% (n = 56/61) of children. A high aerosol output induced 75% of the severe adverse events; it was significantly associated with the nebulization-induced cough between 24 and 48 h (p = 0.036). Decreases in Wang scores were not significantly different between the groups at 48 h, 9 recoveries out of 10 being obtained with small particles. CONCLUSION: No beneficial effects and possibly severe adverse events are observed with 3% hypertonic saline in the treatment of bronchiolitis.

Resistant Kawasaki disease treated with anti-CD20.

We report the case of a 6-year-old boy who had Kawasaki disease resistant to intravenous immunoglobulin and systemic steroids. Because of an uncontrolled disease course, with significant lesions of the coronary arteries, anti-CD20 treatment was used. Rapid clinical, biological, and cardiac improvement was observed. The patient tolerated the treatment well.

Relevance of Routine Abdominopelvic Ultrasound in Suspected Child Abuse in Children Under 2 years of Age: Review of 15 years of Experience.

In France, the current recommendation is to perform a routine abdominopelvic ultrasound in any child under 2 years of age who is suspected to have been abused. We retrospectively studied the relevance of this practice in our center over the past fifteen years. This was a descriptive, retrospective study of all children under 2 years of age who had been subject to suspected abuse. Abdominal images and reports were reviewed and cross-referenced with possible clinical and biological signs. Four hundred and five children were included between 2006 and 2020, of whom 296 underwent abdominal imaging (2 initial abdominopelvic CT scans, 4 ultrasounds followed by CT scans, and 290 ultrasounds alone). Four examinations revealed traumatic abnormalities related to abuse. These four children all had clinical or biological anomalies. In the absence of clinical or biological signs, no imagery showed any abnormality related to abuse.

Outbreak of Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum infection in cystic fibrosis patients, France.

An increasing body of evidence indicates that nondiphtheria corynebacteria may be responsible for respiratory tract infections. We report an outbreak of Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum infection in children with cystic fibrosis (CF). To identify 18 C. pseudodiphtheriticum strains isolated from 13 French children with CF, we used molecular methods (partial rpoB gene sequencing) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. Clinical symptoms were exhibited by 10 children (76.9%), including cough, rhinitis, and lung exacerbations. The results of MALDI-TOF identification matched perfectly with those obtained from molecular identification. Retrospective analysis of sputum specimens by using specific real-time PCR showed that approximately 20% of children with CF were colonized with these bacteria, whereas children who did not have CF had negative test results. Our study reemphasizes the conclusion that correctly identifying bacteria at the species level facilitates detection of an outbreak of new or emerging infections in humans.

Tropheryma whipplei in children with gastroenteritis.

Tropheryma whipplei, which causes Whipple disease, is found in human feces and may cause gastroenteritis. To show that T. whipplei causes gastroenteritis, PCRs for T. whipplei were conducted with feces from children 2-4 years of age. Western blotting was performed for samples from children with diarrhea who had positive or negative results for T. whipplei. T. whipplei was found in samples from 36 (15%) of 241 children with gastroenteritis and associated with other diarrheal pathogens in 13 (33%) of 36. No positive specimen was detected for controls of the same age (0/47; p = 0.008). Bacterial loads in case-patients were as high as those in patients with Whipple disease and significantly higher than those in adult asymptomatic carriers (p = 0.002). High incidence in patients and evidence of clonal circulation suggests that some cases of gastroenteritis are caused or exacerbated by T. whipplei, which may be co-transmitted with other intestinal pathogens.

Child with liver transplant recovers from COVID-19 infection. A case report.

We present the case of a 55-month-old girl who recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection 5 months after undergoing liver transplantation; she had a co-infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of a COVID-19 infection in a pediatric patient with liver transplantation. Additionally, this is also the first report of confirmed co-infection between COVID-19 and EBV. On the basis of this case, we suggest that liver transplantation is not associated with COVID-19 symptom severity and development. Moreover, COVID-19 and EBV co-infections do not seem to aggravate the clinical outcome.

Nebulisers comparison with inhaled tobramycin in young children with cystic fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: This randomised cross-over pilot study was undertaken in 10 cystic fibrosis children aged 10 to 63 months to describe lung absorption of tobramycin delivered by the PariLC+/PariTurboboyN (Pari GmbH) and the disposable NL9M/AtomisorBoxPlus (Diffusion Technique Française) nebulising systems. METHODS: Each child inhaled 300 mg tobramycin delivered with one or the other apparatus via a facemask in two separate and standardised sessions. Urine was collected for 6 h. Tobramycin concentrations determined by immunoprecipitation were expressed in mg per g of creatinine and compared by a Wilcoxon test for matched pairs. The influences of age, weight and Brasfield score on this parameter were evaluated by correlation tests, and those of sex, previous nebulisation treatment, and crying or coughing were evaluated by Student's t-test. RESULTS: The amount of tobramycin measured in urines was low and variable. Median values for urinary tobramycin concentration were 47.6 mg/g (14.9-79.6) with the PariLC+ and 42.6 mg/g (6.3-112.8) with the NL9M (p=0.6). PariLC+ delivered tobramycin in 22 min and NL9M in 12 min (p=0.005). Crying or coughing dramatically reduced the amount of tobramycin collected. CONCLUSION: This pilot study shows that evaluation of nebulisers based on tobramycin renal excretion is feasible in young children with cystic fibrosis.

Heterogeneity of lung disease associated with NK2 homeobox 1 mutations.

We retrospectively studied the clinical presentation, treatment modalities and outcome in 16 patients with heterozygous NKX2-1 mutation associated with chronic lung disease. Twelve different NKX2-1 mutations, including 4 novel mutations, were identified in the 16 patients. Nine patients presented with brain-lung-thyroid syndrome, 3 had neurological and lung symptoms and 4 had only pulmonary symptoms. Ten patients had neonatal respiratory distress, and 6 of them developed infiltrative lung disease (ILD). The other patients were diagnosed with ILD in childhood (n = 3) or in adulthood (n = 3). The median age at diagnosis was 36 months (IQ 3.5-95). Patient testing included HRCT (n = 13), BALF analysis (n = 6), lung biopsies (n = 3) and lung function tests (n = 6). Six patients required supplemental oxygen support with a median duration of 18 months (IQ 2.5-29). All symptomatic ILD patients (n = 12) benefited from a treatment consisting of steroids, azithromycin (n = 9), and/or hydroxychloroquine (n = 4). The median follow-up was 36 months (IQ 24-71.5). One patient died of respiratory failure at 18 months and another is waiting for lung transplantation. In summary, the initial diagnosis was based on clinical presentation and radiological features, but the presentation was heterogeneous. Definitive diagnosis required genetic analysis, which should be performed, even in absence of neurological or thyroid symptoms.

Anticipatory postural adjustments in a bimanual load-lifting task in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

We investigated the consequences of a progressive damage to the muscular system on the organization of anticipatory postural adjustments (APA) in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). We used a bimanual load-lifting task requiring the stabilization of the forearm position despite its voluntary or imposed unloading. Eight children with DMD from 4 to 11 years of age were compared to eight typically developing (TD) children. Elbow angle and multiple surface EMGs were recorded and assessed the use of APA. The muscle weakness did not impair (1) the proprioceptive afference and the motor efference constituting the unloading reflex; and (2) the use of an anticipatory function in children with DMD. However, APA used for the forearm stabilization were less efficient in the group of children with DMD. We conclude that in DMD the muscular weakness could be a restraint to the efficiency of APA with respect to TD children.

Retrospective study of imported falciparum malaria in French paediatric intensive care units.

OBJECTIVE: The World Health Organization (WHO) severity criteria for paediatric Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria are based on studies in countries of endemic malaria. The relevance of these criteria for other countries remains unclear. We assessed the relevance of these criteria in an industrialised country. DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study. SETTING: Eight French university hospitals, from 2006 to 2012. PATIENTS: Children with Pf malaria admitted to paediatric intensive care units (cases: n=55) or paediatric emergency departments (controls: n=110). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Descriptive analysis of WHO severity criteria and major interventions (mechanical ventilation, blood transfusion, fluid challenge, treatment of cerebral oedema, renal replacement therapy). Thresholds were set by receiver operating characteristics curve analysis. RESULTS: Altered consciousness (71% vs 5%), shock (24% vs 1%), renal failure (20% vs 1%), anaemia <50 g/L (7% vs 2%), acidosis (38% vs 0%), bilirubin level >50 µmol/L (25% vs 8%) and parasitaemia >10% (30% vs 8%) were more frequent in cases (p<0.01). All these criteria were associated with major interventions (p<0.001). Respiratory distress (six cases), and hypoglycaemia (two cases) were infrequent. Thrombocytopenia <50 000/mm3 (46% vs 7%) and anaemia (haemoglobin concentration <70 g/L (41% vs 13%)) were more frequent in cases (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The WHO severity criteria for paediatric Pf malaria are relevant for countries without endemic malaria. The infrequent but severe complications also provide a timely reminder of the morbidity and mortality associated with this condition worldwide. In non-endemic countries haemoglobin <70 g/L and platelet count <50 000/mm3 could be used as additional criteria to identify children needing high level of care.