RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common agent of congenital infection in humans. It is a main cause of neurodevelopmental delay and sensorineural hearing loss in infancy. Since the 2000s, a number of studies have used Valganciclovir as a therapy for children with congenital CMV infection. METHODS: In order to evaluate the efficacy of Valganciclovir in preventing clinical sequelae and its possible side effects, we performed a review of the published literature. This search was completed via PubMed for manuscripts published from January 2007 to December 2021, combining the MeSH words "Valganciclovir", "Congenital", and "Cytomegalovirus". RESULTS: A total of 27 articles were included (12 retrospective studies, 4 prospective studies, 1 randomized controlled trial, and 10 case reports). The clinical features were similar to those already described in the literature. The therapeutic protocols used were very different between the various studies included and neonatal antiviral treatments were only moderately effective. The therapy proved to be well-tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: The quality of the included studies and the sample size were limited due to the rarity of the disease. The use of different therapeutic protocols in terms of starting dates, doses, and durations made it impossible to compare and correctly evaluate the efficacy of the treatments. Randomized controlled trials are needed to establish the correct effective dose with the fewest side effects and the most efficient duration of therapy.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) represent one of the leading causes of morbidity in the world. Children involved in international adoptions constitute a special group of subjects with specific problems and specific healthcare needs. Nevertheless, in current literature there are insufficient data on IPI in this subset of children. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of IPI in a cohort of internationally adopted children and to investigate epidemiologic factors and clinical features related to IPIs. METHODS: A retrospective study involving internationally adopted children <18 years old for which results from 3 fecal parasitologic tests were available, evaluated between September 1, 2008 and April 31, 2018 at a tertiary level university hospital in Rome. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify demographic factors and clinical features associated with IPIs. Two comparisons were performed, the first one according to the positivity of the parasitologic examination of the feces and the second one according to the pathogenicity of the identified strains. RESULTS: Of 584 children evaluated, 346 (59.3%) had a positive parasitologic examination (143 pathogenic parasites and 203 nonpathogenic parasites) and 238 (40.8%) had a negative parasitologic examination. About 28.9% of children were positive for 2 or more parasites. A statistically significant positive association was found between IPIs and age, macroarea of origin (Africa and Latin America), living in institutions before adoption and vitamin D deficiency (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Intestinal parasites represent a widespread infection among internationally adopted children, especially in school-age children and those from Latin America and Africa. Importantly, the parasites found in adopted children were not pathogenic in most cases and did not cause significant alterations in growth, major micronutrient deficits or malnutrition.
