Gut microbiota and pediatric patients with spina bifida and neurogenic bowel dysfunction.

PURPOSE: Gut microbiota has recently been recognized to be influenced by a broad range of pathologies. Alterations of gut microbiota are known as dysbiosis and have found to be related to chronic constipation, a condition which affects also pediatric patients with spina bifida (SB). METHODS: In this study, gut microbiota richness and composition were investigated by 16S rRNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis in 48 SB patients (mean age, 11.9 ± 4.8 years) with secondary neurogenic constipation and 32 healthy controls (mean age, 18.0 ± 9.6 years). The study also aimed at exploring eventual effects of laxatives and transanal irrigation (TAI) adopted by SB subjects to get relief from the symptoms of neurogenic constipation. RESULTS: Collected data demonstrated that the microbiota richness of SB patients was significantly increased compared to healthy controls, with a higher number of dominant bacteria rather than rare species. The absence of SB condition was associated with taxa Coprococcus 2, with the species C. eutactus and Roseburia, Dialister, and the [Eubacterium] coprostanoligenes group. On the other hand, the SB patients displayed a different group of positively associated taxa, namely, Blautia, Collinsella, Intestinibacter, and Romboutsia genera, the [Clostridium] innocuum group, and Clostridium sensu stricto 1. Bifidobacterium and the [Eubacterium] hallii group were also found to be positively associated with SB gut microbiome. CONCLUSIONS: Among SB patients, the administration of laxatives and TAI did not negatively affect gut microbiota diversity and composition, even considering long-term use (up to 5 years) of TAI device.

Childhood Crohn's disease presenting as chronic constipation.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) include Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). In children signs and symptoms of IBD are often non-specific, diagnosis is more difficult than in adults and systemic manifestation as growth failure and delayed puberty are common. While abdominal pain, rectal bleeding and diarrhoea are usual symptoms, constipation represents an unusual presentation of CD or UC. We report a 9-years-old girl with severe constipation, worsening abdominal pain, intermittent fever, diagnosed as CD. To our knowledge, this is a rare case of CD presenting as chronic constipation in children; we can find, in reviewed recent literature, only few report of similar condition.

Preliminary data on monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (MNE) in a group of children and adolescents prior to the onset of type 1 diabetes (Dt1). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We considered 88 patients with Dt1 with a mean age of 15.2 years over a period of 3 years. All patients were investigated by means of a questionnaire about the occurrence of MNE prior to the onset of Dt1. Each patient had normal urinalysis results, with no glycosuria, a normal urinary flow rate and no day-time symptoms such as urge incontinence or urgency. RESULTS: We found that 24/88 patients (27.2%) were bedwetters before the onset of Dt1. After beginning insulin treatment, 7/24 bedwetters (29.2%) kept presenting MNE. In total, 7 of the initial 88 patients (7.9%) displayed persistent features of MNE. CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of MNE may overlap with symptoms of Dt1 but requires specific medical attention as a separate entity due to its possible persistence even when Dt1 has been controlled by insulin treatment.

Amoxicillin-induced nephritis and tubulitis in a child.

The occurrence of interstitial nephritis in patients receiving antimicrobial therapy has frequently been reported in adults while it has rarely been described in children. We report the case of a patient treated with amoxicillin who presented hallucinations and serosanguineous blisters during treatment and developed renal failure a few days after discontinuation of the drug. On renal biopsy an interstitial nephritis with tubulitis was identified.

Plasma antidiuretic hormone levels in children with spina bifida.

PURPOSE: Urological management of spina bifida patients is controversial. The goals of therapy of neurogenic bladder are continence, prevention of infections and preservation of urinary tract. Desmopressin has been recently used in a spina bifida population that is dry during the day (daytime continence was achieved with clean intermittent catheterization and anticholinergics) but wet at night. The aim of this study was to assess plasma antidiuretic hormone (ADH) levels in these children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 24 patients, 11 males and 13 females (mean age 6.4 years) referred to the Spina Bifida Centre of the Catholic University of Rome, and 57 normal age-matched controls. Morning (07.30-08.00 h) plasma ADH levels were measured using a specific radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: Plasma ADH levels (normal range 5-11 microg/l) did not differ between spina bifida population and healthy controls. Serum ADH had a mean of 6.8 microg/l in affected children and a mean of 7.4 microg/l in the controls. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the use of desmopressin in children with spina bifida should be reserved only in patients with decreased secretion of ADH, or may be useful in patients with persistent nocturnal incontinence to reduce night wetting. Therefore, research with a larger population is needed.