Balto and Togo during the cold winter of Alaska (1925): the two canine heroes in the fight against diphtheria.

In recent years, diphtheria has re-emerged in areas with inadequate vaccination coverage, and Europe has not been spared with several cases among migrants. Diphtheria is a potentially fatal infection caused mainly by toxigenic strains of Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Due to the high mortality rate, especially among young children, the fight against diphtheria is considered one of the first conquests of immunization. In the history of medicine, there is a unique case of an unconventional response to a diphtheria outbreak in which sled dogs were used to overcome the supply difficulties of diphtheria antitoxin. The mass media followed the medical response to the outbreak and raised audience awareness of public health issues. The facts of Nome, Alaska, in 1925 can serve as a catalyst to rethink conventional responses to diphtheria outbreaks in low-income countries today and promote mass media awareness of public health importance.

Candidate Biomarkers for the Detection of Serious Infections in Children: A Prospective Clinical Study.

Serious bacterial infections (SBI) in children are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality, and their early identification remains challenging. The role of laboratory tests in this setting is still debated, and new biomarkers are needed. This prospective, observational, single-center study aims to evaluate the diagnostic role of blood biomarkers in detecting SBI in children presenting with signs of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). A panel of biomarkers was performed, including C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), white blood cell count (WBC), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, human terminal complement complex (C5b-9), Plasmalemma-Vesicle-associated protein 1 (PV-1), Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and Phospholipase A2 (PLA2). Among 103 patients (median age 2.9 years, 60% males), 39 had a diagnosis of SBI (38%). Significant predictors of SBI were CRP (p = 0.001) and ICAM-1 (p = 0.043). WBC (p = 0.035), ANC (p = 0.012) and ANC/WBC ratio (p = 0.015) were also significantly associated with SBI in children without pre-existing neutropenia. ROC curves, however, revealed suboptimal performance for all variables. Nevertheless, a model that combined CRP and ANC/WBC ratio had more in-depth diagnostic accuracy than either of the two variables. Overall, this study confirms the limited usefulness of blood biomarkers for the early diagnosis of SBI. WBC, ANC, ANC/WBC ratio, CRP, and ICAM-1 showed the best, albeit moderate, diagnostic accuracy.

Reduction in pediatric growth hormone deficiency and increase in central precocious puberty diagnoses during COVID 19 pandemics.

BACKGROUND: While several studies have been published so far on the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on health care for non-COVID-19 diseases, to date no study evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the entire field of pediatric endocrinology. This study aimed to evaluate differences in pediatric endocrine stimulation tests after the advent of COVID-19 pandemics. METHODS: Retrospective study with data collection for pediatric endocrine stimulation tests performed in 2019 and 2020 in a tertiary center. RESULTS: Overall, 251 tests were performed on 190 patients in 2020, compared to 278 tests on 206 patients in 2019 (- 10% tests; - 8% children evaluated). A significant reduction was found in tests to diagnose growth hormone deficiency (GHD) (- 35%), while LHRH tests increased (+ 22%). A reduction of 30% in GHD diagnosis was observed. Central precocious puberty (CPP) diagnosis increased by 38% compared to 2019, mainly in females. CONCLUSION: This study found a significant reduction of tests investigating GHD during COVID-19 pandemics. It also showed a clinically meaningful increase in cases of CPP in girls. These results suggest the need for families and pediatricians to monitor children's growth during isolation and enlighten new perspectives towards conditions associated with lockdown restrictions as increased screen time, social isolation, and children's anxiety as possible triggers of CPP.

Should Pediatric Endocrinologists Consider More Carefully When to Perform a Stimulation Test?

Introduction: Pediatric endocrinology rely greatly on hormone stimulation tests which demand time, money and effort. The knowledge of the pattern of pediatric endocrinology stimulation tests is therefore crucial to optimize resources and guide public health interventions. Aim of the study was to investigate the distribution of endocrine stimulation tests and the prevalence of pathological findings over a year and to explore whether single basal hormone concentrations could have saved unnecessary stimulation tests. Methods: Retrospective study with data collection for pediatric endocrine stimulation tests performed in 2019 in a tertiary center. Results: Overall, 278 tests were performed on 206 patients. The most performed test was arginine tolerance test (34%), followed by LHRH test (24%) and standard dose Synachthen test (19%), while the higher rate of pathological response was found in insulin tolerance test to detect growth hormone deficiency (81%), LHRH test to detect central precocious puberty (50%) and arginine tolerance test (41%). No cases of non-classical-congenital adrenal hyperplasia were diagnosed. While 29% of growth hormone deficient children who performed an insulin tolerance test had a pathological peak cortisol, none of them had central adrenal insufficiency confirmed at low dose Synacthen test. The use of basal hormone determinations could save up to 88% of standard dose Synachthen tests, 82% of arginine tolerance + GHRH test, 61% of LHRH test, 12% of tests for adrenal secretion. Conclusion: The use of single basal hormone concentrations could spare up to half of the tests, saving from 32,000 to 79,000 euros in 1 year. Apart from basal cortisol level <108 nmol/L to detect adrenal insufficiency and IGF-1 <-1.5 SDS to detect growth hormone deficiency, all the other cut-off for basal hormone determinations were found valid in order to spare unnecessary stimulation tests.