Lung ultrasound features predict admission to the neonatal intensive care unit in infants with transient neonatal tachypnoea or respiratory distress syndrome born by caesarean section.

We aimed to evaluate the reliability of lung ultrasound (LU) to predict admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for transient neonatal tachypnoea or respiratory distress syndrome in infants born by caesarean section (CS). A prospective, observational, single-centre study was performed in the delivery room and NICU of Sant'Orsola-Malpighi Hospital in Bologna, Italy. Term and late-preterm infants born by CS were included. LU was performed at 30' and 4 h after birth. LU appearance was graded according to a previously validated three-point scoring system (3P-LUS: type-1, white lung; type-2, black/white lung; type-3, normal lung). Full LUS was also calculated. One hundred infants were enrolled, and seven were admitted to the NICU. The 5 infants with bilateral type-1 lung at birth were all admitted to the NICU. Infants with type-2 and/or type-3 lung were unlikely to be admitted to the NICU. Mean full-LUS was 17 in infants admitted to the NICU, and 8 in infants not admitted. In two separate binary logistic regression models, both the 3P- and the full LUS proved to be independently associated with NICU admission (OR [95% CI] 0.001 [0.000-0.058], P = .001, and 2.890 [1.472-5.672], P = .002, respectively). The ROC analysis for the 3P-LUS yielded an AUC of 0.942 (95%CI, 0.876-0.979; P<.001), while ROC analysis for the full LUS yielded an AUC of 0.978 (95%CI, 0.926-0.997; P<.001). The AUCs for the two LU scores were not significantly different (p = .261).Conclusion: the 3P-LUS performed 30 min after birth proved to be a reliable tool to identify, among term and late preterm infants born to CS, those who will require NICU admission for transient neonatal tachypnoea or respiratory distress syndrome. What is known • Lung ultrasound (LU) has become an attractive diagnostic tool in neonatal settings, and guidelines on point-of-care LU in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) have been recently issued. • LU is currently used for diagnosing several neonatal respiratory morbidities and has been also proposed for predicting further intervention, such as NICU admission, need for surfactant treatment or mechanical ventilation in preterm infants. What is new • LU performed 30' after birth and evaluated through a simple three-point scoring system represents a reliable tool to identify, among term and late preterm infants born to caesarean section, those with transient neonatal tachypnoea or respiratory distress syndrome who will require NICU admission. • LU performed in the neonatal period confirms its potential role in ameliorating routine neonatal clinical management.

Cut-off limits of the peak GH response to stimulation tests for the diagnosis of GH deficiency in children and adolescents: study in patients with organic GHD.

OBJECTIVE: The diagnosis of GH deficiency (GHD) in children and adolescents is established when GH concentrations fail to reach an arbitrary cut-off level after at least two provocative tests. The objective of the study was to define the optimal GH cut-offs to provocative tests in children and adolescents. DESIGN: Retrospective study in 372 subjects who underwent evaluation of GH secretion. GH and IGF-I were measured by chemiluminescence assay in all samples. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the optimal GH cut-offs and the diagnostic accuracy of provocative tests. METHODS: Seventy four patients with organic GHD (GH peak <10µg/L after two provocative tests) and 298 control subjects (GH response >10µg/L to at least one test) were included in the study. The provocative tests used were arginine, insulin tolerance test (ITT) and clonidine. Diagnostic criteria based on cut-offs identified by ROC analysis (best pair of values for sensitivity and specificity) were evaluated for each test individually and for each test combined with IGF-I SDS. RESULTS: The optimal GH cut-off for arginine resulted 6.5µg/L, 5.1µg/L for ITT and 6.8µg/L for clonidine. IGF-I SDS has low accuracy in diagnosing GHD (AUC=0.85). The combination of the results of provocative tests with IGF-I concentrations increased the specificity. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the ROC analysis showed that the cut-off limits which discriminate between normal and GHD are lower than those commonly employed. IGF-I is characterized by low diagnostic accuracy.

Transition from pediatric to adult care. eight years after the transition from pediatric to adult diabetes care: metabolic control, complications and associated diseases.

BACKGROUND: Transition from pediatric to adult care is a critical process in the life of patients with diabetes. AIM: Primary aim of the study was to compare the metabolic control between pediatric care and adult care at least 5 years in a group of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Secondary aim was to evaluate the presence of complications, associated diseases and psychological-psychiatric disorders. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We obtained data from 73 % (69/94) patients (current mean age 34 years) transferred to local adult centers between 1985 and 2005 at a mean age of 23.8 years. Data were collected for HbA1c, diabetic complications and associated diseases. RESULTS: Mean HbA1c did not change during the pediatric, transition and adult period [8.4 ± 1.8 % (68 ± 18 mmol/mol), 8.3 ± 1.4 % (67 ± 15 mmol/mol) and 8.4 ± 1.3 % (68 ± 14 mmol/mol), respectively]. 13 patients dropped out, after 2-12 years since transition, and their HbA1c mean value at transition was 10.4 %. After a mean of 25.9 years of disease, 35/69 patients (50.7 %) showed retinopathy, and 12/69 patients (17.3 %) nephropathy. Thyroid diseases were the most frequent associated diseases (18.3 %), followed by depression (11.2 %) and benign neoplasms (9.8 %). Drug or alcohol addictions were present in four cases (5.6 %). CONCLUSIONS: After a mean follow-up of 8 years metabolic control after transition did not change significantly in patients constantly attending to adult care centre. Patients with diabetes onset between 20 and 40 years ago were free from complications in 50 % of cases when considering retinopathy and in more than 80 % considering nephropathy. Thyroid problems were the most common associated diseases. Poor metabolic control at transition is associated with higher risk of drop-out and psychosocial morbidity.

Comparison between sensor-augmented insulin therapy with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion or multiple daily injections in everyday life: 3-day analysis of glucose patterns and sensor accuracy in children.

BACKGROUND: Sensor-augmented continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) therapy is superior to CSII therapy alone, but little is known on the effectiveness of sensor-augmented multiple daily injections (MDI) therapy. METHODS: We compared during everyday life mean glucose control and several variability indexes recorded for 3 days by a real-time glucose sensor (Medtronic, Northridge, CA) in two groups of children treated with either CSII or MDI. Fifty-five consecutive subjects were examined: 17 receiving CSII and 38 receiving MDI basal-bolus therapy (age range, 7-22 years). All subjects wore the sensor for 4 days, and 3 days were used for statistical analysis. Mean glucose and SD, coefficient of variation (CV), mean amplitude of glucose excursion (MAGE), mean of daily differences (MODD), continuous overall net glycemic action (CONGA) at 2 and 4 h, blood glucose (BG) rate, area under the curve (AUC) above 180 mg/dL and below 70 mg/dL, Low BG Index (LBGI), and High BG Index (HBGI) were calculated. RESULTS: Patients receiving CSII administered more daily boluses than patients receiving MDI (5.2±1.5 vs. 3.2±0.3, respectively; P=0.001). Mean glucose was lower in the CSII group. AUC above 180 mg/dL and HBGI were higher in the MDI group. CV, CONGA at 2 h, CONGA at 2 h during the day, and HBGI were worse in the MDI group, whereas MODD, LBGI, BG rate, and MAGE were similar. A positive correlation (r=0.95; P<0.05) was found between the paired sensor-meter values. For the glucose values <70 mg/dL, sensitivity was 40%, and specificity was 99%. CONCLUSIONS: In our pediatric patients during everyday life sensor-augmented CSII therapy seemed more effective than sensor-augmented MDI therapy, in terms both of glucose mean values and of intraday variability. Mild hypoglycemic episodes and indexes of low BG values were similar in the two groups, although the latter results may be inaccurate because of low sensor sensitivity at low glucose value.

High rate of regression from micro-macroalbuminuria to normoalbuminuria in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes treated or not with enalapril: the influence of HDL cholesterol.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the frequency of normalization, the persistence of remission, and the impact on normalization of glycemic control and lipid profile, we analyzed data from a retrospective observational cohort study of type 1 diabetic children and adolescents with abnormal urinary albumin excretion (UAE). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: All diabetic children and adolescents (n = 41) who had persistent abnormal UAE in the period of 1984 to 2008 and followed up until 2009 (follow-up duration = 13.1 ± 6.2 years) were included in the study. Nine patients progressed to macroalbuminuria; 24 patients were administered ACE inhibitor treatment. RESULTS: The cumulative prevalence of abnormal UAE was 9%. During follow-up, 14 of 17 untreated and 19 of 24 treated patients reverted to normoalbuminuria. In the remission group compared with the nonremission group, A1C levels during follow-up decreased (7.5 ± 1.0 vs. 9.4 ± 1.2%, P < 0.0001) and serum HDL cholesterol increased (52.7 ± 11.3 vs. 42.7 ± 8.6 mg/dL, P < 0.05). The micro-macroalbuminuric patients had lower HDL cholesterol (51.0 ± 11.4 vs. 62.4 ± 13.6 mg/dL, P < 0.0001) than 134 normoalbuminuric diabetic patients. CONCLUSIONS: Microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria were not permanent in most of our diabetic children and adolescents. If abnormal UAE values are high and persist for >1 year, only long-lasting treatment with ACE inhibitors seems able to induce persistent remission, especially when associated with good metabolic control and high HDL cholesterol levels.