A brief tablet-based intervention benefits linguistic and communicative abilities in toddlers and preschoolers.

Young children's linguistic and communicative abilities are foundational for their academic achievement and overall well-being. We present the positive outcomes of a brief tablet-based intervention aimed at teaching toddlers and preschoolers new word-object and letter-sound associations. We conducted two experiments, one involving toddlers ( ~ 24 months old, n = 101) and the other with preschoolers ( ~ 42 months old, n = 152). Using a pre-post equivalent group design, we measured the children's improvements in language and communication skills resulting from the intervention. Our results showed that the intervention benefited toddlers' verbal communication and preschoolers' speech comprehension. Additionally, it encouraged vocalizations in preschoolers and enhanced long-term memory for the associations taught in the study for all participants. In summary, our study demonstrates that the use of a ludic tablet-based intervention for teaching new vocabulary and pre-reading skills can improve young children's linguistic and communicative abilities, which are essential for future development.

Spanish translation and cultural adaptation of the 5-D itch scale in burn patients.

The objective of this study was to make an equivalent and culturally adapted translation of an already existing scale for itching, the 5-D itch scale (5-D IS), developed as a short questionnaire and designed to measure pruritus, in order to be applied in a Spanish-speaking population. The 5-D IS consists of five sections that evaluate duration, degree, direction, disability and distribution of itching. The adequate translation process was performed according to the guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Two forward translations, one backwards translation, harmonization by an expert panel, and cognitive interviews with patients were included. The result was a culturally adapted Spanish version of the 5-D IS which was then field-tested in a burn population with an internal reliability of 0,83, considered good. As pruritus and pain are bothersome symptoms present in more that 90% of burned patients during the rehabilitation phase, this culturally adapted scale allows Spanish speakers clinicians to easily objectivize the severity of pruritus and measure the impact of any intervention or treatment.

Funcionamiento de un quirófano de quemados en pandemia por coronavirus / Operation of an operating room for burns in a pandemic due to coronavirus

La actual pandemia por coronavirus afecta a pacientes de todas las edades y estratos socioeconómicos, los accidentes por quemaduras también. Las cirugías de urgencia y el manejo quirúrgico del gran quemado no pueden ser diferidos, por lo que en el presente artículo mostramos la experiencia y organización del Servicio de Quemados del Hospital de Urgencia de Asistencia Pública para manejar a los pacientes COVID-19 (+) y (­) que se encuentran actualmente en nuestra Unidad.

The current coronavirus pandemic affects patients of all ages and socio-economic strata, burn accidents as well. The emergency surgeries and the surgical management of the large burn cannot be delayed, so in this article we show the experience and organization of the Emergency Hospital Burn Service of Public Assistance to manage patients COVID-19 (+) and (­) who are currently in our Unit.

Situación socioeconómica familiar y neurodesarrollo de prematuros de muy bajo peso al nacer a los dos años de edad / Family socioeconomic situation and neurodevelopment of very low birth weight premature babies at two years of age

La relación entre neurodesarrollo y contexto social ha sido poco estudiada. Este artículo buscó caracterizar a las familias donde crecen los prematuros de muy bajo peso al nacer con nivel socioeconómico bajo y medio bajo y explorar la posible asociación entre las características socio-familiares y el neurodesarrollo a los dos años. Métodos: Prematuros en seguimiento de un hospital público de Santiago de Chile nacidos entre 2009 y 2012 con encuestas retrospectivas sobre aspectos familiares y sociales, y datos de la evolución clínica fueron analizados. Se evaluó la relación entre los datos biológicos y sociales con neurodesarrollo normal o en déficit. Resultados: 162 casos fueron analizados, 32 por ciento fueron considerados con déficit de neurodesarrollo. Las variables biológicas asociadas con el déficit de neurodesarrollo fueron peso al nacer menor a 1000 g. (p < 0,001), uso de ventilación mecánica (p < 0,001), oxígeno dependencia a las 36 semanas edad corregida (EC) (p < 0,001), sepsis tardía (p < 0,001), hemorragia intra-cerebral (p < 0,05), leucomalacia (p < 0,05), hidrocefalia (p < 0,05), convulsiones en período neonatal (p < 0,01) y enterocolitis necrotizante (p < 0,01). Los padres contaban con educación media y superior y se mantuvieron como parejas estables durante el período evaluado. El problema de consumo de alcohol a nivel familiar se asoció con déficit de neurodesarrollo (p<0,05). Conclusiones: Las familias en general tienen los recursos socioeconómicos y de estructura relacionados con desarrollo infantil. Los determinantes biológicos pesaron más que los sociales para el desarrollo infantil.(AU)

Research is scarce on the association between neurodevelopment and social context. This paper aimed to characterize the families of children born preterm, with very low birthweight and of low socioeconomic status, and to explore the relation between socio-familial variables and neurodevelopment when children were two years old. Methods: We used a sample of infants who attended the well-child visits at a public hospital in Santiago de Chile, who were born between 2009 and 2012. Data came from the medical register and a retrospective survey applied to the children's primary caregivers, which covered the social variables. We analyzed the relation between biological and social characteristics of children and their neurodevelopmental deficit. Results: Out of 162 cases, 2 percent were considered to have neurodevelopmental deficit. The biological variables related to neurodevelopmental deficit were extreme low birthweight (p < 0.001), mechanic ventilation (p < 0.001), oxygen therapy at week 36 (p < 0.001), late-onset sepsis (p < 0.001), intraventricular hemorrhage (p < 0.05), leukomalacia (p < 0.05), hydrocephalus (p < 0.05), seizures (p < 0.01) and necrotising enterocolitis (p < 0.01). Most parents had at least complete secondary education and remained and as stable couple during the observed period. Problematic alcohol use by any member of the family was negatively related to the children's neurodevelopmental deficit (p<0.05). Conclusion: Most families have the socioeconomic resources and the family structure typically related with child development. The biological determinants of child development were more important than its social determinants.(AU)

Differences in body composition and resting energy expenditure in childhood in preterm children born with very low birth weight.

BACKGROUND: Rapid early ponderal growth is associated with adverse metabolic risks in young adults born at term. AIM: To determine whether there are differences in body composition, resting energy expenditure (REE) and metabolic variables between preterm children born with very low birth weight (VLBW) either appropriate (AGA) or small (SGA) for gestational age and whether these differences are related to an early period of weight gain. METHODS: 67 VLBW preterm (40 AGA, 27 SGA). Body composition by DEXA, REE by indirect calorimetry and blood sampling at age 6.7 ± 0.5 years. RESULTS: VLBW SGA children were lighter, shorter, had a lower waist and hip circumference, HDL cholesterol and lipid oxidation rates than their AGA counterparts (adjusted for age, sex and BMI). Birth weight correlated negatively with total body and trunk fat mass. In a multivariate linear regression analysis, we found a positive association between weight gain in the first 3 months of life and total and trunk fat at age 6 years and a reciprocal association with REE at age 6 years. In contrast, the weight gain rate at 6-9 months of life was associated with higher REE and lipid oxidation rates at 6 years. A higher weight gain rate at 9-12 months was associated with a higher lean mass at 6 years. CONCLUSION: An early fast-pace weight gain in VLBW infants may have detrimental consequences for metabolic health later on.

Benefits of supplemented preterm formulas on insulin sensitivity and body composition after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate body composition and fasting insulin level in preterm infants receiving preterm formulas (higher protein plus docosahexaenoic acid) for longer periods compared with a recent historical cohort receiving these formulas for shorter periods. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 95 infants fed preterm formula for 6 months or longer (postdischarge formula group) and 87 infants fed preterm formula only during their hospital stay (hospital formula group) were included in this arm of the study. RESULTS: Bone mineral density, content, and lean mass were not different at 1 year and 2 years. However, in the postdischarge formula group, total fat mass (%) was lower by the second year (19.3% ± 5.3% vs 21.7% ± 4.2%; P < .01), trunk fat was lower by the first year (14.7% ± 5.0% vs 16.9% ± 4.9%; P < .005) and at the second year (14.1% ± 5.7% vs 17.2% ± 4.7%; P < .001), and fasting insulin was lower by the first year (13.2% ± 7.1% vs 17.2% ± 13.6% mIU/L; P = .06) and at the second year (13.6% ± 6.1% vs 26.4% ± 14.2%; P < .001). CONCLUSION: Preterm infants fed formulas enriched with docosahexaenoic acid may have a better subsequent metabolic profile.

Language acquisition in premature and full-term infants.

We tested healthy preterm (born near 28 +/- 2 weeks of gestational age) and full-term infants at various different ages. We compared the two populations on the development of a language acquisition landmark, namely, the ability to distinguish the native language from a rhythmically similar one. This ability is attained 4 months after birth in healthy full-term infants. We measured the induced gamma-band power associated with passive listening to (i) the infants' native language (Spanish), (ii) a rhythmically close language (Italian), and (iii) a rhythmically distant language (Japanese) as a marker of gains in language discrimination. Preterm and full-term infants were matched for neural maturation and duration of exposure to broadcast speech. We found that both full-term and preterm infants only display a response to native speech near 6 months after their term age. Neural maturation seems to constrain advances in speech discrimination at early stages of language acquisition.

[Phonological acquisition in preterm infants]. / Adquisición fonológica en niños prematuros.

INTRODUCTION: The stock of phonemes used in the mother tongue is mostly acquired towards the end of the first year of life. Systematic exposure to speech begins, maintains and enhances the learning of native phonemes and lowers sensitivity to non-native ones. Speech deprival gives rise to serious problems in the infant's phonological development, yet little is known about the effects that premature exposure to speech can have on this learning. This study explores this issue by comparing the phonological discrimination of full-term and preterm infants at 12 months of age (corrected age in the preterm infants). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: An analysis was performed to evaluate a sample of 24 preterm babies and two cohorts of full-term infants (26 and 27 children, respectively), all of whom were healthy. Phonological discrimination was assessed using the event-related evoked potentials technique. RESULTS; Full-term and preterm infants achieve the same level of phonological discrimination at the age of 12 months (corrected age in the preterm infants). But it is suggested that preterm infants need to use more memory resources than those required by full-term children. CONCLUSIONS: The phonological acquisition evaluated at one year of age offers similar levels of performance in both full-term and preterm infants.

Determinants of insulin sensitivity and secretion in very-low-birth-weight children.

In prepubertal children, low birth weight is related to reduced insulin sensitivity, particularly if a history of rapid postnatal weight gain is present. We sought to determine whether these associations were also evident in premature, very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) children. We studied 60 VLBW prepubertal children aged 5-7 yr (mean age 5.7 +/- 0.7 yr). Birth weights ranged from 690 to 1500 g (mean 1195 +/- 31 g), with gestational ages between 25 and 34 wk (median 29 wk). A short iv glucose tolerance test was carried out to assess fasting insulin sensitivity and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. The effects of current body mass index, birth weight (SD scores), postnatal growth rates, and indicators of postnatal morbidity were evaluated by analysis of covariance. Twenty children were born small for gestational age, and 40 were appropriate for gestational age. Ninety-eight percent of them had attained a height within target range. Children who were small for gestational age had lower insulin sensitivity than children who were appropriate for gestational age (homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance index 1.24 +/- 0.17 vs. 0.94 +/- 0.08, P < 0.05). Moreover, birth weight SD scores correlated significantly with homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance index (r = -0.326, P = 0.01). This effect persisted after adjustment for current body mass index, gestational age, and perinatal morbidity. In addition, fasting and postload insulin secretion during the short iv glucose tolerance test correlated significantly with early postnatal growth rates, independently of birth weight SD scores. Our findings in a cohort of VLBW prepubertal children indicate that growth in utero as well as postnatal growth rates are independent determinants of subsequent insulin sensitivity and secretion.

Glucose and lipid metabolism in small for gestational age infants at 48 hours of age.

OBJECTIVE: To study the consequences of low birth weight on glucose and lipid metabolism 48 hours after delivery. METHODS: We studied 136 small for gestational age (SGA) and 34 appropriate for gestational age (AGA) term neonates who were born in Santiago, Chile. Prefeeding venous blood was obtained 48 hours after birth for determination of glucose, free fatty acids, beta-hydroxy butyrate, insulin, C-peptide, leptin, sex hormone-binding globulin, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1), and cortisol. RESULTS: SGA newborns had lower glucose (SGA versus AGA, median [interquartile range]: 3.6 mmol/L [2.9-4.1 mmol/L] vs 3.9 mmol/L [3.6-4.6 mmol/L]) and insulin levels (31.3 pmol/L [20.8-47.9 pmol/L] vs 62.5 pmol/L [53.5-154.9]) than AGA infants, and they had higher glucose/insulin ratios (13.9 mg/dL/uIU/mL [8.6-19.1 mg/dL/uIU/mL] vs 8.2 mg/dL/uIU/mL [4.6-14.1 mg/dL/uIU/mL]). SGA infants also had higher levels of IGFBP-1 (5.1 nmol/L [4.4-6.7 nmol/L] vs 2.9 nmol/l [1.4-4.2 nmol/L]), free fatty acids (0.72 mEq/L [0.43-1.00 mEq/L] vs 0.33 mEq/L [0.26-0.54 mEq/L]) and beta-hydroxy butyrate (0.41 mEq/L [0.15-0.91 mEq/L] vs 0.09 mEq/L [0.05-0.13 mEq/L]). Sex-hormone binding globulin levels were not significantly different between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: In early postnatal life, SGA infants display an increased insulin sensitivity with respect to glucose disposal but not with respect to suppression of lipolysis, ketogenesis, and hepatic production of IGFBP-1. It will be important to determine how these differential sensitivities to insulin vary with increasing age.