Age- and Sex-Dynamic Fluctuations and Reference Intervals for Alkaline Phosphatase Among the Spanish Population.

CONTEXT.­: Interpretation of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity is essential for the diagnosis of certain diseases. ALP changes during life and may vary between different populations. OBJECTIVE.­: To establish reference intervals (RIs) and percentile charts for ALP activity in the Spanish population through a multicentric observational study and to compare the RIs to those defined in other countries. DESIGN.­: A total of 662 350 ALP measurements from individuals ages 0 to 99 years from 9 Spanish tertiary care centers collected between 2020 and 2022 were analyzed. This study is the largest published in the literature to date. RESULTS.­: Continuous percentile charts for ALP according to sex and age were established which can be used as RIs. Higher levels are reached during the first weeks of life. In puberty, a differential evolution is observed in both sexes, reaching a peak at 10 to 13 years of age in boys and remaining stable in girls at this age. Significant differences were also observed in adults, higher in men between ages 20 and 49 years and between ages 50 and 79 years in women, as reported in some countries. CONCLUSIONS.­: ALP activity follows an age- and sex-dependent fluctuation with geographic differences. It is important to have appropriate reference values for each population in order to allow for a correct diagnostic interpretation and early diagnosis of diseases related to ALP abnormalities.

Renal Function Impairment in Children With Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection: A Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine the prevalence and severity of glomerular and tubular renal dysfunction by means of urinalysis in infants and toddlers with congenital cytomegalovirus infection (cCMV) and their association with cCMV disease, viruria and antiviral treatment. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was done using the Spanish Registry of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection. First-morning urine samples were collected from January 2016 to December 2018 from patients <5 years old enrolled in Spanish Registry of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection. Samples were excluded in case of fever or other signs or symptoms consistent with acute infection, bacteriuria or bacterial growth in urine culture. Urinary protein/creatinine and albumin/creatinine ratios, urinary beta-2-microglobulin levels, hematuria and CMV viruria were determined. A 0.4 cutoff in the urinary albumin/protein ratio was used to define tubular (<0.4) or glomerular (>0.4) proteinuria. Signs and symptoms of cCMV at birth, the use of antivirals and cCMV-associated sequelae at last available follow-up were obtained from Spanish Registry of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection. RESULTS: Seventy-seven patients (37 females, 48.1%; median [interquartile range] age: 14.0 [4.4-36.2] months) were included. Symptom-free elevated urinary protein/creatinine and albumin/creatinine ratios were observed in 37.5% and 41.9% of patients, respectively, with tubular proteinuria prevailing (88.3%) over glomerular proteinuria (11.6%). Proteinuria in the nephrotic range was not observed in any patients. In multivariate analysis, female gender was the only risk factor for tubular proteinuria (adjusted odds ratio = 3.339, 95% confidence interval: 1.086-10.268; P = 0.035). cCMV disease at birth, long-term sequelae, viruria or the use of antivirals were not associated with urinalysis findings. CONCLUSIONS: Mild nonsymptomatic tubular proteinuria affects approximately 40% of infants and toddlers with mostly symptomatic cCMV in the first 5 years of life.

The role of the T-cell mediated immune response to Cytomegalovirus infection in intrauterine transmission.

INTRODUCTION: Prognostic markers for fetal transmission of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy are poorly understood. Maternal CMV-specific T-cell responses may help prevent fetal transmission and thus, we set out to assess whether this may be the case in pregnant women who develop a primary CMV infection. METHODS: A multicenter prospective study was carried out at 8 hospitals in Spain, from January 2017 to April 2020. Blood samples were collected from pregnant women at the time the primary CMV infection was diagnosed to assess the T-cell response. Quantitative analysis of interferon producing specific CMV-CD8+/CD4+ cells was performed by intracellular cytokine flow cytometry. RESULTS: In this study, 135 pregnant women with a suspected CMV infection were evaluated, 60 of whom had a primary CMV infection and samples available. Of these, 24 mothers transmitted the infection to the fetus and 36 did not. No association was found between the presence of specific CD4 or CD8 responses against CMV at the time maternal infection was diagnosed and the risk of fetal transmission. There was no transmission among women with an undetectable CMV viral load in blood at diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of pregnant women with a primary CMV infection, no association was found between the presence of a CMV T-cell response at the time of maternal infection and the risk of intrauterine transmission. A detectable CMV viral load in the maternal blood at diagnosis of the primary maternal infection may represent a relevant biomarker associated with fetal transmission.

Towards a universal indicator of obstetric complications / Hacia un indicador universal de las complicaciones obstétricas

Knowing the number of obstetric complications is fundamental when auditing the activity of an obstetrics department. The Adverse Outcomes Index is a standardized measure that is easily calculated and could prove useful for evaluating potentially avoidable adverse events in the delivery room. We present the advantages and limitations of this index, which we have adopted in our department and consider an efficient tool in our setting (AU)

Conocer el número de complicaciones obstétricas es fundamental para auditar la actividad de un servicio de obstetricia. El índice de adversidad obstétrica es una medida estandarizada que puede ser fácilmente calculada y ser útil para valorar los eventos adversos potencialmente evitables en una sala de partos. Exponemos las ventajas y limitaciones de este índice que hemos adoptado en nuestra unidad y que valoramos como una herramienta eficiente en nuestro entorno (AU)

[Childhood obesity and sleep-related breathing disorders]. / Obesidad infantil y trastornos respiratorios del sueño.

INTRODUCTION: The increasing prevalence of childhood obesity leads to an increase risk of sleep-disordered breathing and may exacerbate their comorbidities. PURPOSE: To assess the rate of obesity in children with sleep-disordered breathing and to study the possible clinical and epidemiological differences between children with and without overweight in a private hospital in the Mediterranean area. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively studied 340 children between 2 and 10 years. There were 170 children with sleep-disordered breathing (study group) and 170 healthy children (control group). In the problem group, the apnea-hypopnea index was around 7.61 ± 6.3. RESULTS: The comparison of the percentage of cases with a BMI percentile ≥85 (overweight) between problem and control groups (44: 25.9% vs 34: 20%) or with a BMI ≥95 (obesity) (30: 17.6% vs 20: 11.8%) showed no statistically-significant differences. In addition, the comparison of clinical and epidemiological variables in the problem group, cases with (44/170: 25.9%) and without (126/170: 74.1%) overweight, did not show significant differences in any of the parameters analysed. CONCLUSION: In the population studied, it does not appear that the group of children with sleep breathing disorders presents higher rates of obesity, nor does obesity influence its presentation clinically. These results had probably been influenced by the characteristics of the studied population and therefore should not be an obstacle for being attentive to the possible association of respiratory disease to obesity and its negative consequences.

Obesidad infantil y trastornos respiratorios del sueño / Childhood obesity and sleep-related breathing disorders

Introducción: La creciente prevalencia de obesidad infantil genera un incremento del riesgo de desarrollar trastornos respiratorios del sueño y puede agravar sus comorbilidades. Objetivo: Estudio prospectivo para evaluar la tasa de obesidad en niños con trastornos respiratorios del sueño y estudiar las eventuales diferencias clínicas y epidemiológicas entre los niños con y sin exceso de peso en un hospital privado del área mediterránea. Método: Se estudian 170 niños entre dos y 10 años con trastorno respiratorio del sueño y un grupo control de 170 niños sanos. En el grupo problema el índice de apnea-hipoapnea medio es de 7,61±6,3. Resultados: La comparación del porcentaje de casos de percentil del índice de masa corporal (IMC) ≥85 (sobrepeso) entre ambos grupos problema y control (44: 25,9% vs 34: 20%) o los de IMC ≥95 (obesidad) (30: 17,6% vs 20: 11,8%) no muestra diferencias estadísticamente significativas. La comparación de las variables clínicas y epidemiológicas en el grupo problema entre los casos con sobrepeso (44/170: 25,9%) y sin sobrepeso (126/170: 74,1%), tampoco muestra diferencias en ninguno de los parámetros analizados. Conclusión: En el ámbito del estudio no se observa que los niños con trastornos respiratorios del sueño presenten mayor tasa de obesidad ni que ésta condicione clínicamente la forma de presentación. Es probable que el tipo de población de este estudio condicione estos resultados y por tanto no debe ser óbice para no estar atentos a la posible asociación de la afección respiratoria y obesidad por sus consecuencias negativas(AU)

Introduction: The increasing prevalence of childhood obesity leads to an increase risk of sleep disordered breathing and may exacerbate their comorbidities. Purpose: To assess the rate of obesity in children with sleep-disordered breathing and to study the possible clinical and epidemiological differences between children with and without overweight in a private hospital in the Mediterranean area. Materials and methods: We prospectively studied 340 children between 2 and 10 years. There were 170 children with sleep-disordered breathing (study group) and 170 healthy children (control group). In the problem group, the apnea-hypopnea index was around 7.61 ± 6.3. Results: The comparison of the percentage of cases with a BMI percentile ≥85 (overweight)between problem and control groups (44: 25.9% vs 34: 20%) or with a BMI ≥95 (obesity) (30:17.6% vs 20: 11.8%) showed no statistically-significant differences. In addition, the comparison of clinical and epidemiological variables in the problem group, cases with (44/170: 25.9%)and without (126/170: 74.1%) overweight, did not show significant differences in any of the parameters analysed. Conclusion: In the population studied, it does not appear that the group of children with sleep breathing disorders presents higher rates of obesity, nor does obesity influence its presentation clinically. These results had probably been influenced by the characteristics of the studied population and therefore should not be an obstacle for being attentive to the possible association of respiratory disease to obesity and its negative consequences(AU)