A Case Series of Children with Acute Hepatitis and Human Adenovirus Infection.

BACKGROUND: Human adenoviruses typically cause self-limited respiratory, gastrointestinal, and conjunctival infections in healthy children. In late 2021 and early 2022, several previously healthy children were identified with acute hepatitis and human adenovirus viremia. METHODS: We used International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, codes to identify all children (<18 years of age) with hepatitis who were admitted to Children's of Alabama hospital between October 1, 2021, and February 28, 2022; those with acute hepatitis who also tested positive for human adenovirus by whole-blood quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were included in our case series. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment data were obtained from medical records. Residual blood specimens were sent for diagnostic confirmation and human adenovirus typing. RESULTS: A total of 15 children were identified with acute hepatitis - 6 (40%) who had hepatitis with an identified cause and 9 (60%) who had hepatitis without a known cause. Eight (89%) of the patients with hepatitis of unknown cause tested positive for human adenovirus. These 8 patients plus 1 additional patient referred to this facility for follow-up were included in this case series (median age, 2 years 11 months; age range, 1 year 1 month to 6 years 5 months). Liver biopsies indicated mild-to-moderate active hepatitis in 6 children, some with and some without cholestasis, but did not show evidence of human adenovirus on immunohistochemical examination or electron microscopy. PCR testing of liver tissue for human adenovirus was positive in 3 children (50%). Sequencing of specimens from 5 children showed three distinct human adenovirus type 41 hexon variants. Two children underwent liver transplantation; all the others recovered with supportive care. CONCLUSIONS: Human adenovirus viremia was present in the majority of children with acute hepatitis of unknown cause admitted to Children's of Alabama from October 1, 2021, to February 28, 2022, but whether human adenovirus was causative remains unclear. Sequencing results suggest that if human adenovirus was causative, this was not an outbreak driven by a single strain. (Funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.).

Acute Hepatitis and Adenovirus Infection Among Children - Alabama, October 2021-February 2022.

During October-November 2021, clinicians at a children's hospital in Alabama identified five pediatric patients with severe hepatitis and adenovirus viremia upon admission. In November 2021, hospital clinicians, the Alabama Department of Public Health, the Jefferson County Department of Health, and CDC began an investigation. This activity was reviewed by CDC and conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy.

Pre- and Post-therapy Assessment of Clinical Outcomes and White Matter Integrity in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Pilot Study.

Objective: This pilot study aims to identify white matter (WM) tract abnormalities in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) toddlers and pre-schoolers by Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), and to correlate imaging findings with clinical improvement after early interventional and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapies by Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP). Methods: DTI scans were performed on 17 ASD toddlers/pre-schoolers and seven age-matched controls. Nine ASD patients had follow-up MRI 12 months following early intervention and ABA therapy. VB-MAPP was assessed and compared at diagnosis, 6 and 12 months after therapies. Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) was used to measure fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial (RD) diffusivity. Results: VB-MAPP scores improved at 6 and 12 months after early intervention and ABA therapy compared to scores at baseline. TBSS analysis showed significant FA decrease and/or RD increase in ASD patients before therapy vs. controls in inferior fronto-occipital fasciculi, uncinate fasciculi, left superior fronto-occipital fasciculus, forceps minor, left superior fronto-occipital fasciculus, right superior longitudinal fasciculus, corona radiate bilaterally, and left external capsule. A significantly FA increase in 21 tracts and ROIs is reported in post- vs. pre-therapy DTI analysis. Conclusion: DTI findings highlighted ASD patient WM abnormalities at diagnosis and confirmed the benefits of 12 months of early intervention and ABA therapy on clinical and neuro imaging outcomes.

Automatic Thalamus Segmentation on Unenhanced 3D T1 Weighted Images: Comparison of Publicly Available Segmentation Methods in a Pediatric Population.

The anatomical structure of the thalamus renders its segmentation on 3DT1 images harder due to its low tissue contrast, and not well-defined boundaries. We aimed to investigate the differences in the precision of publicly available segmentation techniques on 3DT1 images acquired at 1.5 T and 3 T machines compared to the thalamic manual segmentation in a pediatric population. Sixty-eight subjects were recruited between the ages of one and 18 years. Manual segmentation of the thalamus was done by three junior raters, and then corrected by an experienced rater. Automated segmentation was then performed with FSL Anat, FIRST, FreeSurfer, MRICloud, and volBrain. A mask of the intersections between the manual and automated segmentation was created for each algorithm to measure the degree of similitude (DICE) with the manual segmentation. The DICE score was shown to be highest using volBrain in all subjects (0.873 ± 0.036), as well as in the 1.5 T (0.871 ± 0.037), and the 3 T (0.875 ± 0.036) groups. FSL-Anat and FIRST came in second and third. MRICloud was shown to have the lowest DICE values. When comparing 1.5 T to 3 T groups, no significant differences were observed in all segmentation methods, except for FIRST (p = 0.038). Age was not a significant predictor of DICE in any of the measurements. When using automated segmentation, the best option in both field strengths would be the use of volBrain. This will achieve results closest to the manual segmentation while reducing the amount of time and computing power needed by researchers.

Thalamic volume and dimensions on MRI in the pediatric population: Normative values and correlations: (A cross sectional study).

BACKGROUND: Diagnoses of thalamic atrophy in children are based on experts' judgments. No normative measures exist for aiding objective diagnoses. Our aim was to determine normative two-dimensions(2D) and volume measurements of the thalamus in normally developing children. METHODS: MRI images of 245 patients were retrospectively collected. Only participants with normal brain MRIs were included in this cross-sectional study. Anterior-posterior (AP), transverse (T), and craniocaudal (C) diameters were measured. Volumetric masks of the thalamus were manually drawn, whereas volumetric measurements of the brain were automated. RESULTS: 124 patients were male (50.6%). We tabulated our measurements from birth until 18 years old. No significant differences in the thalamus measurements are found between the two hemispheres nor between sexes. The most remarkable increase in the thalamus volume and AP dimension is noted in the first four years of life, following which the values seem to stabilize. Craniocaudal diameters seem to increase in the first year of life, whereas transverse diameters increase until the age of 14 before plateauing. CONCLUSION: We report normative values of the thalamus in 2D and 3D from birth until 18 years of age. A rapid increase in the thalamic size is noted during the first four years of life followed by stabilization.

Gadolinium effect on thalamus and whole brain tissue segmentation.

PURPOSE: Gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) effect on automated segmentation algorithms of subcortical gray matter (GM) is not fully known. The aim of this study is to determine gadolinium effect on the segmentation of the thalamus and whole brain tissue using different automated segmentation techniques. METHODS: Eighty-four multiple sclerosis (MS) patients underwent an MRI acquisition of two 3DT1-weighted sequences with and without gadolinium injection among which 10 were excluded after image quality check. Manual thalamic segmentation considered as gold standard was performed on unenhanced T1 images. volBrain and FSL-Anat were used to automatically segment the thalamus on both enhanced and unenhanced T1 and the degree of similitude (DICE) values were compared between manual and automatic segmentations. Whole brain tissue segmentation (GM, white matter (WM), and lateral ventricles (LV)) was also performed using SIENAX. A paired samples t test was applied to test the significance of DICE value differences between the thalamic manual and automatic segmentations of both enhanced and unenhanced T1 images. RESULTS: Significant differences (FSL-Anat 1.474% p < 0.001 and volBrain 1.990% p < 0.001) in DICE between thalamic manual and automatic segmentations on both enhanced and unenhanced images were observed. Automatic tissue segmentation showed a mean DICE of 81.5%, with LV having the lowest DICE value (74.2%). When compared to tissue segmentations, automatic thalamic segmentations by FSL-Anat or volBrain demonstrated a higher degree of similitude (FSL-Anat = 91.7% and volBrain = 90.7%). CONCLUSION: Gadolinium has a significant effect on subcortical GM segmentation. Although significant, the observed subtle changes could be considered acceptable when used for region-based analysis in perfusion or diffusion imaging.