Muerte inesperada del lactante: Análisis de 591 casos / Sudden infant death: 591 cases analysis

Antecedentes: la muerte inesperada del lactante (MIL) sin asistencia, ya sea en domicilio o a su arribo al hospital conlleva a un impedimento en la firma del certificado de defunción y al necesario peritaje forense a los efectos de descartar las causas no naturales. Conocer la causa de muerte es de suma importancia no sólo para las autoridades sanitarias sino para los Pediatras a afectos actuar sobre los factores implicados. Objetivos: el objetivo de esta revisión es analizar las patologías encontradas y las circunstancias que rodearon a la muerte en los casos MIL, a los efectos de identificar factores de riesgo. Métodos: se incluyeron en este estudio 591 menores de un año fallecidos en forma súbita e inesperada, en domicilio o a su arribo a un centro asistencial, ingresados al Programa MIL, entre octubre de 1998 y diciembre de 2015, con intervalo libre 2002-2006. No todos los fallecidos en dicho período en iguales circunstancias fueron enviados para su estudio. Se reunió historia clínica, circunstancias de la muerte y la familia fue entrevistada. Los casos fueron analizados por el grupo interdisciplinario. Se clasificó como: Muerte Explicable cuando se encuentra una causa y Muerte Indeterminada cuando no se encuentra una causa. Estas últimas están constituidas por Síndrome de Muerte Súbita del Lactante (SMSL) y las Zonas Grises (ZG). Se agruparon como ZG aquellos casos en los que no había una causa que con certeza explicara la muerte, pero había factores predisponentes que pudieron causarla o favorecerla. Estas ZG fueron distribuidas en 6 categorías. Para clasificar como SMSL el grupo exige la ausencia de colecho, de decúbito prono, de almohada y de otros entornos factibles de causar sofocación. Resultados: se estudiaron 591 casos. Se identificó una causa de muerte en 339 casos (57.4%). En 252 la muerte fue indeterminada (42.6%). Se encontró infección respiratoria en 29% de los casos (50% de las muertes explicables); anomalía cardíaca en 15%; diarrea con deshidratación en 4.5%; sofocación accidental en 3%; se identificó una causa violenta en 1.5%. Hubo variación entre los dos períodos (1998-2001 y 2007-2015). De los casos indeterminados, 242 correspondieron ZG y 10 a SMSL. En 91% de las ZG menores de 4 meses de edad que tienen el dato evaluable, hubo un entorno de sueño inseguro. El colecho se observó en 72%, principalmente múltiple o asociado a decúbito prono u otros factores de riesgo. En neonatos, el 81% de las ZG evaluables, tuvo un factor de riesgo asociado a las condiciones de sueño. Conclusiones: se identificaron patologías sobre las que es posible actuar desde la prevención (infecciones respiratorias, diagnóstico prenatal de cardiopatías). En los casos indeterminados, se identificaron factores de riesgo modificables desde el primer nivel de atención con la implementación de campañas educativas y recomendaciones sobre sueño seguro dirigidas a la comunidad.

Background: sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) carries an impediment to sign the death certificate. A legal autopsy is mandatory to exclude unnatural death. To know the cause of death in infancy is relevant to health authorities and paediatrics. Objectives: to investigate the pathologies and risk factors in the cases of SUDI studied. Methods: autopsies between October 1998 and December 2015 were analysed. There was a free interval (2002 to 2006). It does not include every case of SUDI in the local population. The clinical records were gathered, the circumstances of death investigated and the family was interviewed. The cases were discussed in a multidisciplinary team. The cases were classified as Explained Death or Undetermined. The undetermined deaths were classified either as Gray Zone (GZ) or SIDS cases. Six categories were considered in GZ. To consider a case as SIDS, a safe sleep environment is required; that means no co-sleeping, no prone sleeping and no pillows use that could eventually cause suffocation. Cases were coded as GZ when a clear cause of death was not identified, but abnormalities were found that could have predisposed or contributed to death. GZ were divided in 6 categories. Results: 591 cases were examined. A cause of death was identified in 339 cases (57.4%). In 252 cases, it was undetermined (42.6%). A respiratory infection was found in 29% of the autopsies (50% of the explained deaths). A cardiac anomaly was found in 15%; dehydration secondary to diarrhoea in 4.5%; suffocation in 3%; a violent cause was identified in 1.5%. There were variations between both periods (1998-2001 and 2007-2015). 252 deaths remained unexplained after the autopsy (42.6%), these were the undetermined cases. 242 were classified as Gray Zone (GZ) and 10 as SIDS cases. 91% of the evaluable GZ cases <4 months old had an unsafe sleeping environment. Co-sleeping was observed in 72% of the evaluable <4 month cases; it was mainly multiple or associated with prone sleeping position. In newborns, 81% of the evaluable ZG cases had a sleep related risk factor. Conclusions: The study improved allowed to identify pathologies amenable to intervention and prevention (respiratory infections, prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease). Sleep related risk factors were identified, amenable to prevention through community education programs.

Tabaco y salud infantil: un aspecto no suficientemente valorado / Cigarette smoking and child health: an issue that has not yet been assessed enough

La campaña que se desarrolla en Uruguay contra el consumo de tabaco enfatiza sobre los efectos nocivos que produce el cigarrillo en la salud de la población adulta que fuma y en fumadores pasivos. La disminución de afecciones cardiovasculares como el infarto de miocardio y del cáncer de pulmón ha mostrado resultados alentadores en relación a la disminución del número de consumidores, si bien aún no se ha logrado el descenso esperado. La campaña enfoca varios aspectos dirigidos a la presentación de los envoltorios, el precio, pero la que ha mostrado mejores resultados ha sido el consejo personal brindado en los consultorios a fumadores, en especial a embarazadas. Desde hace casi una década han surgido publicaciones que demuestran aspectos de la morbilidad infantil asociada al uso de tabaco por mujeres gestantes. En la etapa prenatal se han evidenciado alteraciones del desarrollo del aparato respiratorio, bajo peso al nacer, parto prematuro así como propensión al aborto. Otras investigaciones han observado que un hogar con fumadores, especialmente durante los primeros meses de la vida del niño constituye un ambiente hostil, negativo para lograr condiciones de sueño seguro, práctica que se describe asociada a la disminución del riesgo a sufrir el síndrome de la muerte súbita del lactante. Es evidente que el consumo de tabaco constituye también un problema real para la salud de la población infantil especialmente aquellos más vulnerables. Los pediatras y médicos que atienden niños podrán promover consejos sobre crianza saludable aconsejando a la madre sobre condiciones para sueño seguro y que evite los fumadores intradomiciliarios.

In Uruguay the tobacco control campaign emphasized the adverse effects of smoking for the adult population as well as secondhand smoking. A reduction in cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer has been achieved, although not as much as expected. The campaign addressed the appearance of cigarette boxes and the price of the product. But what proved the most useful resource was the advice given to pregnant women. In the last decade many articles on the consequences of smoking during pregnancy have been published. Fetal loss, low birth weight and preterm delivery have been widely accepted as consequences of maternal smoking. After birth, smoking near the infant is a risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome. Pediatricians, neonatologists and general practitioners that care for infants and children, should advice mothers and family on smoking and health.

Expression of the epidermodysplasia verruciformis-associated genes EVER1 and EVER2 is activated by exogenous DNA and inhibited by LMP1 oncoprotein from Epstein-Barr virus.

EVER1 and EVER2 are mutated in epidermodysplasia verruciformis patients, who are susceptible to human betapapillomavirus (HPV) infection. It is unknown whether their products control the infection of other viruses. Here, we show that the expression of both genes in B cells is activated immediately after Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, whereas at later stages, it is strongly repressed via activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway by latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1). Ectopic expression of EVER1 impairs the ability of EBV to infect B cells.

Concordance assessment between a multiplexed competitive Luminex immunoassay, a multiplexed IgG Luminex immunoassay, and a pseudovirion-based neutralization assay for detection of human papillomaviruse types 16 and 18.

There are two approved vaccines against anogenital human papillomaviruses (HPV) and a nine-valent vaccine is currently under development. Although there are several assays available to measure antibodies elicited by HPV vaccines, there is currently no global standard for HPV antibody assays. In the current study, antibody responses to HPV16 and HPV18 among young men and women vaccinated with a quadrivalent HPV6/11/16/18 (qHPV) vaccine were assessed using three assays: a competitive Luminex immunoassay (cLIA-4) which measures antibodies directed against a single neutralizing epitope, an immunoglobulin G Luminex immunoassay (IgG-9) which measures both neutralizing and non-neutralizing antibodies, and a pseudovirion-based neutralization assay (PBNA) which functionally measures the full spectra of neutralizing antibodies. To assess HPV16 and HPV18 responses, 648 and 623 serum samples, respectively, were selected from three prior clinical trials of the qHPV vaccine. For each HPV type, the functional relationship between pairs of assay methods was estimated using a linear statistical relationship model and Pearson correlation coefficients. For both HPV16 and HPV18, the agreement between the PBNA and IgG-9 (correlation coefficients of 0.95 and 0.93, respectively) was comparable to the agreement between the cLIA-4 and IgG-9 (correlation coefficients of 0.92 and 0.92, respectively). Of 478 and 399 post-dose 3 samples that tested positive in the cLIA-4, 100% and 98% also tested positive in the IgG-9 and PBNA. The proportion of cLIA-4 seronegative post-dose 3 samples that tested positive in both the IgG-9 and PBNA was 68% (19/28) for HPV16 and 58% (71/122) for HPV18. The data demonstrate the three assays are highly correlated and reflect the measurement of neutralizing antibody. This further verifies that the IgG-9 assay, which is used to assess the immune response to an investigational nine-valent vaccine, is similarly sensitive to the PBNA for the detection of HPV16 and HPV18 neutralizing antibodies.

A high-performance thioredoxin-based scaffold for peptide immunogen construction: proof-of-concept testing with a human papillomavirus epitope.

Escherichia coli thioredoxin has been previously exploited as a scaffold for the presentation/stabilization of peptide aptamers as well as to confer immunogenicity to peptide epitopes. Here we focused on other key features of thioredoxin that are of general interest for the production of safer and more effective peptide immunogens, such as a high thermal stability, lack of cross-reactivity and a low-cost of production. We identified thioredoxin from the archaebacterium Pyrococcus furiosus (PfTrx) as a novel scaffold meeting all the above criteria. PfTrx is a highly thermostable and protease-resistant scaffold with a strong (poly)peptide solubilisation capacity. Anti-PfTrx antibodies did not cross-react with mouse, nor human thioredoxin. Untagged PfTrx bearing a previously identified HPV16-L2 peptide epitope was obtained in a >90% pure form with a one-step thermal purification procedure and effectively elicited the production of neutralizing anti-HPV antibodies. We thus propose PfTrx as a superior, general-purpose scaffold for the construction of safe, stable, and low-cost peptide immunogens.

High-throughput pseudovirion-based neutralization assay for analysis of natural and vaccine-induced antibodies against human papillomaviruses.

A highly sensitive, automated, purely add-on, high-throughput pseudovirion-based neutralization assay (HT-PBNA) with excellent repeatability and run-to-run reproducibility was developed for human papillomavirus types (HPV) 16, 18, 31, 45, 52, 58 and bovine papillomavirus type 1. Preparation of 384 well assay plates with serially diluted sera and the actual cell-based assay are separated in time, therefore batches of up to one hundred assay plates can be processed sequentially. A mean coefficient of variation (CV) of 13% was obtained for anti-HPV 16 and HPV 18 titers for a standard serum tested in a total of 58 repeats on individual plates in seven independent runs. Natural antibody response was analyzed in 35 sera from patients with HPV 16 DNA positive cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2+ lesions. The new HT-PBNA is based on Gaussia luciferase with increased sensitivity compared to the previously described manual PBNA (manPBNA) based on secreted alkaline phosphatase as reporter. Titers obtained with HT-PBNA were generally higher than titers obtained with the manPBNA. A good linear correlation (R(2) = 0.7) was found between HT-PBNA titers and anti-HPV 16 L1 antibody-levels determined by a Luminex bead-based GST-capture assay for these 35 sera and a Kappa-value of 0.72, with only 3 discordant sera in the low titer range. In addition to natural low titer antibody responses the high sensitivity of the HT-PBNA also allows detection of cross-neutralizing antibodies induced by commercial HPV L1-vaccines and experimental L2-vaccines. When analyzing the WHO international standards for HPV 16 and 18 we determined an analytical sensitivity of 0.864 and 1.105 mIU, respectively.

The N-terminal region of the human papillomavirus L2 protein contains overlapping binding sites for neutralizing, cross-neutralizing and non-neutralizing antibodies.

The N-terminal region of the human papillomavirus (HPV) L2 protein has been shown to contain immune epitopes able to induce the production of neutralizing and cross-neutralizing antibodies (Gambhira et al., 2007; Kawana et al., 1999). Using bacterial thioredoxin as a scaffold, we managed to enhance the immunogenicity of putative L2 neutralizing epitopes, but only a minor fraction of the resulting immune responses was found to be neutralizing (Rubio et al., 2009). To determine the recognition patterns for non-neutralizing, neutralizing and cross-neutralizing antibodies, we isolated and characterized a panel of 46 monoclonal antibodies directed against different HPV16 L2 epitopes. Four of such antibodies proved to be neutralizing, and two of them, both targeting the amino acid (aa) 20-38 region of L2, were found to cross-neutralize a broad range of papillomaviruses. The epitopes recognized by neutralizing and cross-neutralizing antibodies were mapped at high resolution and were found to be characterized by distinct recognition patterns. Even in the case of the L2 20-38 epitope, cross-neutralization of HPV31 pseudovirions proved to be extremely inefficient, and this was found to be primarily due to the lack of a proline residue at position 30. HPV16 specific amino acids in this region also appear to be responsible for the lack of cross-neutralizing activity, thus suggesting a potential immune escape mechanism. For the aa 71-80 region, instead, the data indicate that restriction of neutralization to HPV16 is due to sequence (or structural) differences laying outside of the epitope. Besides providing new insights on the molecular bases of L2-mediated immune reactivity, the present data may pave the way to novel vaccination approaches specifically evoking cross-neutralizing antibody responses.

Empiema raquídeo en pediatría: dificultades en el diagnóstico y las decisiones terapéuticas / Spinal empyema in children: difficulties in the diagnosis and treatment decisions

El empiema raquídeo es una patología poco frecuente en niños. La sospecha clínica del mismo es fundamental para realizar un diagnóstico temprano e iniciar un tratamiento adecuado y oportuno que cambie el pronóstico vital y funcional del paciente. Sin embargo, el mismo es dificultoso en la mayoría de los pacientes dada la poca expresividad clínica al inicio de la enfermedad. En cuanto al tratamiento, se propone que es médico y quirúrgico, estando en discusión la exclusividad del primero y el momento oportuno para el segundo en algunos casos. Se presenta el caso de un niño de 7 años, que presentó un empiema raquídeo en el contexto de una infección de cuero cabelludo. Su presentación clínica, al igual que lo descripto en la literatura, fue insidiosa. Se inició tratamiento antibiótico, pero el aumento de la colección evidenciada en la resonancia magnética requirió la decomprensión quirúrgica. El paciente evolucionó de manera favorable, sin signos neurológicos deficitarios.

Potent anti-HPV immune responses induced by tandem repeats of the HPV16 L2 (20 -- 38) peptide displayed on bacterial thioredoxin.

The minor capsid protein L2 is a promising candidate for the construction of an anti-human papillomavirus (HPV) broadly protective vaccine for the prophylaxis of cervical cancer. However, L2-derived peptides are usually poorly immunogenic and extensive knowledge on the most relevant (cross)neutralizing epitope(s) is still needed. We systematically examined the immunogenicity and virus neutralization potential of six peptides encompassing the N-terminal (amino acids 1 -- 120) region of HPV16 L2 (20 -- 38; 28 -- 42; 56 -- 75; 64 -- 81; 96 -- 115; 108 -- 120) using bacterial thioredoxin (Trx) as a novel peptide scaffold. Mice antisera generated by 19 different Trx-L2 peptide fusions bearing one or multiple copies of each peptide were analyzed. Internal fusion to thioredoxin conferred strong immunogenicity to all the tested peptides, with a trend toward an increased immunogenicity for the multipeptide vs. the monopeptide forms of the various antigens. All Trx-L2 peptides induced HPV16 neutralizing antibodies in some of the immunized mice, but neutralization titers differed by more than two orders of magnitude. Trx-L2(20 -- 38) antisera were by far the most effective in HPV16 neutralization and did not differ significantly from those induced by a reference polypeptide covering the entire L2 (1 -- 120) region. The same antisera were also the most effective when challenged against the non-cognate HPV 18, 58, 45 and 31 pseudovirions. The data identify L2(20 -- 38) as the best (cross)neutralizing epitope among the six that were examined, and point to thioredoxin fusion derivatives of this peptide as excellent candidates for the formulation of a low-cost, broadly protective HPV vaccine.

DNA-vaccination via tattooing induces stronger humoral and cellular immune responses than intramuscular delivery supported by molecular adjuvants.

Tattooing is one of a number of DNA delivery methods which results in an efficient expression of an introduced gene in the epidermal and dermal layers of the skin. The tattoo procedure causes many minor mechanical injuries followed by hemorrhage, necrosis, inflammation and regeneration of the skin and thus non-specifically stimulates the immune system. DNA vaccines delivered by tattooing have been shown to induce higher specific humoral and cellular immune responses than intramuscularly injected DNA. In this study, we focused on the comparison of DNA immunization protocols using different routes of administrations of DNA (intradermal tattoo versus intramuscular injection) and molecular adjuvants (cardiotoxin pre-treatment or GM-CSF DNA co-delivery). For this comparison we used the major capsid protein L1 of human papillomavirus type 16 as a model antigen. L1-specific immune responses were detected after three and four immunizations with 50 microg plasmid DNA. Cardiotoxin pretreatment or GM-CSF DNA co-delivery substantially enhanced the efficacy of DNA vaccine delivered intramuscularly by needle injection but had virtually no effect on the intradermal tattoo vaccination. The promoting effect of both adjuvants was more pronounced after three rather than four immunizations. However, three DNA tattoo immunizations without any adjuvant induced significantly higher L1-specific humoral immune responses than three or even four intramuscular DNA injections supported by molecular adjuvants. Tattooing also elicited significantly higher L1-specific cellular immune responses than intramuscularly delivered DNA in combination with adjuvants. In addition, the lymphocytes of mice treated with the tattoo device proliferated more strongly after mitogen stimulation suggesting the presence of inflammatory responses after tattooing. The tattoo delivery of DNA is a cost-effective method that may be used in laboratory conditions when more rapid and more robust immune responses are required.

Conceptos, actitudes y prácticas en salud sobre prevención de lesiones en niños menores de 10 años / Children accidents: concepts, attitudes and prevention habits for less than 10 year-old children

Introducción: las lesiones accidentales siguen constituyendo, en el mundo, la primera causa de muerte en niños.Objetivos: conocer cuál es la información sobre prevención de lesiones que tienen los responsables de los niños menores de 10 años, usuarios del MSP que se asisten en el Centro Antonio Giordano y en Policlínica Hospital Saint-Bois. Identificar fuentes de información. Determinar cuáles son las prácticas que utiliza esta población para evitarlos. Material y métodos: estudio descriptivo, prospectivo, cuya población fueron los responsables de los niños que concurrieron a dichos centros de salud. Los datos se procesaron en EPI-INFO. Resultados: se entrevistaron 536 padres. El 56,5% de los encuestados completó educación primaria. El 90% de las madres son amas de casa. El 90% contestó que los accidentes son producto del azar. El 74% recibió información a través de los medios de comunicación audiovisual, 17% a través del personal de salud. El 65,8% refirió que alguno de sus hijos sufrió un accidente. Los lugares en donde ocurrieron los accidentes fueron: hogar 97%, vía pública 3%. En 75% el mecanismo de lesión fue caídas, seguidas por quemaduras, intoxicaciones, electrocuciones y ahogamientos. Conclusiones: a pesar de la enormidad de recursos destinados al tratamiento de las lesiones accidentales, la única forma de disminuir su morbimortalidad y los costos en salud es enfocar el esfuerzo en la prevención. Se destaca el papel protagónico que tienen los medios de comunicación ya que se percibe como la fuente principal de información, por tanto deberían privilegiarse en los planes de salud nacionales asumiéndolo como una responsabilidad prioritaria del Estado. Recalcamos el enfoque preventivo para optimizar las estrategias de promoción de salud.

Introduction: unintentional injuries are the first cause of death in children and adolescents and one of the most important causes of morbility. Objectives: to have information about injury prevention; the person in charge of less than 10 year old children. It took place in two public health centers: Centro Antonio Giordano and Saint-Bois Hospital. To have data about the main source of information. To determine the prevention skills used. Methods: a descriptive and prospective study was done. Parents and people in charge of the children attended at these health centers were included. The data was processed using EPI-INFO. Results: 536 parents were interviewed, 56,5%, finished primary education. 90% of the mothers were housewives, 90% answered that injuries were accidental, but 82% thought they could have been avoided. 74% of the parents received information through massive media, 17% through health personnel. 65,8% reported that one of them suffered unintentional injuries. 97% of the accidents happened at home and only 3% at public places. The mechanisms they happened: 75% by falling down, and the rest were: burning, poisoning, electrocution and drowning. Discussion: prevention is the only way decrease the morbi-mortality and the health cost of this disease by stimulating safe life styles inside and outside the house. Massive media is the most important way to pass information. It should be a national health priority.

Prophylactic DNA immunization against multiple papillomavirus types.

At least 15 different papillomavirus types are causatively associated with the development of tumors in humans. Since the middle of 2006 a protective, virus-like particle based vaccine against the tumor-related HPV types 16 and 18 is commercially available. We investigated the possibility of applying DNA vaccination to obtain protective antibody responses against multiple papillomavirus types. Our data indicate that low amounts of DNA were sufficient to induce neutralizing antibodies in mice although a DNA dose-dependency in respect to the L1-specific antibody titers was observed. Furthermore, we found that immune responses against different PV types could be induced by simultaneous DNA vaccination with a mixture of expression vectors encoding L1 proteins of different papillomavirus types. However, we observed that there was a strong interference when plasmids encoding different L1 genes were used together. HPV 16 responses were repressed by co-administration of HPV 11 and/or BPV 1 L1 expression constructs. Likewise, BPV 1 responses were repressed by co-administration of HPV 16 or HPV 11 L1 plasmids. This interference could be overcome by administration of the different constructs into different sites of the animals or by sequential immunization. Thus, our results suggest that the mode of repression was due to interference with L1 particle assembly and was not a consequence of immunodominance of certain L1 proteins.

Estrategia de atención hospitalaria de niños con infección respiratoria aguda baja / Strategy of hospitalary attention of children with low respiratory tract acute infections

Introducción: en Uruguay las infecciones respiratorias agudas bajas (IRAB) constituyen la primera causa de internación en el Hospital Pediátrico del Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell, aumentando considerablemente la demanda asistencial en los meses fríos. Para hacer frente a esta demanda se implementó en 1999 una estrategia asistencial que se denominó “Plan de invierno” (PI). En el marco de este programa se habilitó en el 2005 una Unidad de Hospitalización para niños con IRAB de probable etiología viral. Como forma de evaluar la contribución de esta Unidad al cumplimiento del PI, se describen los resultados de su funcionamiento y los costos del mismo.Resultados: la Unidad funcionó entre el 15 de junio y el 31 de octubre. Del total de niños hospitalizados por IRAB de probable etiología viral, 625 (29,3%) ingresaron a la Unidad, donde ingresaron además 102 niños con neumonía de probable etiología bacteriana y 112 con otras enfermedades. Se realizó investigación de antígenos de VRS y de adenovirus en aspirado nasofaríngeo en 98% de los niños con IRAB de probable etiología viral, con franco predominio del primero. El uso de la medicación se adecuó a lo recomendado, con un cumplimiento aún insuficiente de las pautas del hospital. La duración media de la estadía fue de 4,3 días y el porcentaje ocupacional de 97%. Se derivaron a centros de cuidados intensivos 39 (6,25%) niños; la mitad requirió asistencia ventilatoria mecánica. Se detectaron cuatro infecciones intrahospitalarias por VRS. No falleció ningún niño en la unidad. El costo total directo de la asistencia en la Unidad fue de $1.358.126,7, a lo que se deben agregar los costos indirectos atribuibles a servicios generales y gastos de funcionamiento. Se describe la distribución del gasto total en recursos humanos, medicamentos e insumos.Conclusiones: la unidad contribuyó de manera importante a mejorar la calidad de la atención de los niños con IRAB que ingresaron...

Introduction: the first cause of hospitalization at the Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell is low respiratory tract infections, especially during winter. An assistance strategy called ¨Plan Invierno¨ (PI) (winter plan) is being implemented since 1999. In the year 2005 a unit for probable viral respiratory tract infections was opened. Costs and functions are described in order to evaluate the contribution of this unit to the plan (PI).Results: the unit functioned from June 15 to October 31. 625 (29,3%) children of the whole hospitalized children with probable viral respiratory tract infection entered at the unit; also 102 children with probable bacterial pneumonia and 112 children with other diseases were included. VRS and Adenovirus investigation through nasal aspiration was done in 98% of the children, where the first one prevailed. Treatment plan was done according to the recommended; however it was insufficiently accomplished. Hospital stay was 4,3 days with a bed occupation of 97%. 39 (6,25%) children required intensive care treatment; half of them required invasive ventilation. 4 VRS intrahospitalary infections were detected. No children died. The assistance cost of the unit was $1.358.126,7; general services and functioning expenses must be added. Total expenses distribution in human resources, drugs and assets are described. Conclusions: the unit contributed mainly in improving the quality of medical attention given to the hospitalized children at the Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell despite some detected flaws. In order to improve the quality and functioning of the winter plan some actions are proposed.

Pseudohipoaldosteronismo transitorio secundario a pielonefritis con reflujo vesicoureteral severo en un lactante

Resumen El pseudohipoaldosteronismo (PHA) secundario transitorio aparece como consecuencia de la resistencia del túbulo renal a la acción de la aldosterona en niños con infecciones del tránsito urinario y/o uropatía obstructiva. Presentamos el caso clínico de un lactante de 4 meses, que se presenta con un segundo episodio de deshidratación, hiperkalemia, hiponatremia y acidosis metabólica habiéndose descartado una hiperplasia suprarrenal congénita mediante valores plasmáticos de ACTH, 17-OH progesterona y cortisol normales. El urocultivo confirmó una infección del tracto urinario (ITU) a enterobacter, y los estudios anatómicos mostraron una ureterohidronefrosis izquierda con reflujo vesicoureteral (RVU) grado V. El centellograma con DMSA mostró un riñón izquierdo hipoplásico, con aporte de 13% a la funcionalidad renal total. El PHA secundario fue confirmado con niveles de renina y aldosterona plasmática elevados. Se realizó tratamiento médico-quirúrgico, con nefrectomía izquierda cursando con buena evolución clínica y normalización de los exámenes de laboratorio.

Summary Secondary transitory pseudohypoaldosteronism (PHA) appears as a consequence of a tubular renal resistance to aldosterone in children with urinary infections and/or obstructive uropathy. The story of a 4 month-old child who had its second episode of dehydration, hyperkalemia, hyponatremia and metabolic acidosis without congenital suprarenal hyperplasia with normal ACTH, 17-hydroxiprogesterone and cortisol is presented. Urine culture showed Enterobacter and the studies revealed a grade V reflux. The DMSA renal scan showed a hypoplasic left kidney with an overall function of 13%. The secondary PHA was confirmed with elevated levels of renin and aldosterone. Medical and surgical treatment was realized with left nephrectomy with good evolution afterwards and normalization of lab studies.

Investigation of the sudden death of infants: a multicenter analysis.

The investigation of sudden death of infants varies, and death rates may depend on local practices of death certification. We studied the extent of the investigation and the final cause of death (COD) in 3 regions: New York, New York, USA (NY); King County, Washington, USA (KC); and Montevideo, Uruguay (MU). We conducted a retrospective review of 543 cases (NY 258, KC 56, MU 229) of previously healthy babies who died suddenly without obvious trauma, at ages 0 to 12 months, over a 3-year period (1998 to 2001). All cases included a complete autopsy and histologic examination. Cases were assessed for completion of special studies (including radiographs, photos, toxicology and metabolic sampling, cultures, and vitreous humor chemistry), measurements, and scene investigation. Specialized pediatric measurements and testing were done less often than routine procedures, and were done less often in cases overall compared with cases certified as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Fifty-five percent of SIDS cases in NYC and 12% of SIDS cases in KC had no scene investigation. Manhattan had a complete workup in 42% of SIDS cases, whereas the remaining sites had fewer that 15% of cases completely worked up. The most common non-natural COD was suffocation at all 3 sites. The overall most common COD were respiratory infection in MU (22%) and SIDS in NY (45%) and KC (86%). We conclude that the sudden death of infants requires special consideration and still lacks consistency. SIDS investigations are not done completely in all cases and rates may depend on regional differences in certifying infant deaths.