pediatrics, neonatology, neurology

BACKGROUND: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurobehavioral disorder. Treatments for ADHD include pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapy. However, pharmacological treatments have side effects such as poor appetite, sleep disturbance, and headache. Moreover, nonpharmacological treatments are not effective in ameliorating core symptoms and are time-consuming. Hence, developing an alternative and effective treatment without (or with fewer) side effects is crucial...

BACKGROUND: Preterm newborns require the use of the best and most current strategies to treat and prevent both acute pathology and associated sequelae. This study aimed to compare the differences in the management of preterm newborns over 10 years in a tertiary hospital in Spain and its impact on height, weight, and neurological development in the medium term. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, observational, and analytical study examining the management and clinical variables in preterm newborns under 32 weeks of gestational age who were born in our hospital in 2011 and 2021...

INTRODUCTION: Extremely preterm infants (EPIs) have high morbidity and mortality, and are recommended to be born in a tertiary perinatal center (inborn). However, many EPIs in central China are born in lower-level hospitals and transferred postnatally, the outcomes of which remain to be investigated. METHODS: EPIs admitted to the Department of Neonatology, Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Hubei Province from January 2013 to December 2022 were retrospectively recruited and divided into the control (inborn) and transfer groups (born in other hospitals)...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the relative measurement of birth weight (BW) and head circumference (HC) in preterm infants is associated with neurological outcomes. METHODS: The EPIPAGE-2 Study included 3473 infants born before 32 weeks' gestation, classified based on their Z-score of BW and HC on the Fenton curves as concordant (≤1 SD apart) or discordant (>1 SD difference). We defined four mutually exclusive categories: discordant smaller BW (sBW) with BW<HC, discordant smaller HC (sHC) with HC<BW, concordant measurement (CM) with BW and HC concordant and both >-1SD and concordant small measurement (CsM) with BW and HC concordant and both ≤-1SD...

BACKGROUND: The Rare Pediatric Disease (RPD) Priority Review Voucher (PRV) Program was enacted in 2012 to support the development of new products for children. Prior to requesting a voucher, applicants can request RPD designation, which confirms their product treats or prevents a rare disease in which the serious manifestations primarily affect children. This study describes the trends and characteristics of these designations. Details of RPD designations are not publicly disclosable; this research represents the first analysis of the RPD designation component of the program...

Medically complex infants experiencing NICU stays can be difficult to manage, exhibiting refractory agitation, disengagement, or both-all signs of delirium, which can present in a hypoactive, hyperactive, or mixed form. Though documented in other settings, delirium is under-recognized in NICUs. Pediatric studies show that a high percentage of patients with delirium are under the age of 12 months. Delirium is associated with increased ventilation days, hospital days, and costs. It negatively affects neurodevelopment and social interaction...

IMPORTANCE: Sepsis is a leading cause of death among children worldwide. Current pediatric-specific criteria for sepsis were published in 2005 based on expert opinion. In 2016, the Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3) defined sepsis as life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection, but it excluded children. OBJECTIVE: To update and evaluate criteria for sepsis and septic shock in children...

Pediatric movement disorders (PMD) neurologists care for infants, children, and adolescents with conditions that disrupt typical movement; serving as important subspecialist child neurologists in both academic and private practice settings. In contrast to adult movement disorders neurologists whose "bread and butter" is hypokinetic Parkinson disease, PMD subspecialty practice is often dominated by hyperkinetic movement disorders including tics, dystonia, chorea, tremor, and myoclonus. PMD neurology practice intersects with a variety of subspecialties, including neonatology, developmental pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine, epilepsy, child & adolescent psychiatry, psychology, orthopedics, genetics & metabolism, and neurosurgery...

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to develop a risk scoring system as a predictor of 24-month neurodevelopmental outcomes (cognitive, language, and motor) for neonates treated with therapeutic hypothermia for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). METHODS: This was a chart review of infants with HIE treated with therapeutic hypothermia who were admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the University of Michigan between 2009 and 2019 and followed in the neonatal developmental clinic until 24 months of age...

BACKGROUND: The clinical presentations of abusive head trauma can abruptly worsen, so the occurrence of seizures and changes of EEG can be variable according to patients' conditions. Since the changes of EEG background waves reflect the cortical function of children, we aimed to find out whether the timing of EEG background, epileptiform discharges and seizure patterns were associated with the outcomes of patients with AHT. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Using seizure type and acute stage electroencephalographic (EEG) characteristics to assess adverse neurological outcomes in children with seizures secondary to abusive head trauma (AHT)...

BACKGROUND: The short-term prognosis of central nervous system in congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) survivors has been determined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but its relationship with acute management is unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between the intubation period and the Global Brain Abnormality Score (GBAS) in CDH survivors using brain MRI. METHODS: Fifty-seven patients with CDH who were hospitalized at a single NICU between January 2004 and December 2019 were retrospectively reviewed...

The last year saw intensive efforts to advance knowledge in pediatric medicine. This review highlights important publications that have been issued in the Italian Journal of Pediatrics in 2022. We have chosen papers in the fields of allergy, anesthesiology, cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, genetics, global health, infectious diseases, metabolism, neonatology, neurology, oncology, pulmonology. Novel valuable developments in epidemiology, pathophysiology, prevention, diagnosis and treatment that can rapidly change the approach to diseases in childhood have been included and discussed...

Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) is a bedside tool for continuous monitoring of brain activity with the possibility of real-time interpretation. Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography is routinely used in Canadian tertiary NICUs; however, its use in Level 2 NICUs has been limited. A bedside aEEG program was introduced in a Level 2 NICU in order to help facilitate the timely transfer of neurologically compromised infants and keep mother-infant dyads together where reassurance of appropriate neurological status could be attained...

OBJECTIVE: To characterize 1) the prevalence of mental health discussions regarding parents and 2) facilitators of and barriers to parent disclosure of mental health needs to clinicians. STUDY DESIGN: Parents of infants with neurologic conditions in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units (ICUs) participated in a longitudinal decision-making study from 2018 through 2020. Parents completed semi-structured interviews upon enrollment, within one week after a conference with providers, at discharge, and six months post-discharge...

BACKGROUND: Povidone-iodine (10%; PI) and 2% chlorhexidine in 70% isopropyl alcohol (CHG-IA) solutions are among the most widely used disinfectants in the neonatal intensive care units. This study compares the use of these disinfectants and helps decide which is superior to the other for neonatal use. METHODS: All term and preterm infants born and hospitalized in Bursa Uludag University Hospital between July 2018-March 2020 were included. The infants were randomized into two disinfectant groups before birth...

BACKGROUND: Free bilirubin jaundice is a frequent pathology in the neonatal period. The major complication is neurological toxicity, the most severe form of which is kernicterus. Overall, 5%-10% of jaundiced neonates require treatment. The first-line treatment is phototherapy, with intensive phototherapy being the gold standard. Other equipment is also available, including the BiliCocoon Bag®. It is a safe and controlled therapy that can be performed in the mother's room in the maternity ward, thereby avoiding separation and allowing for breast- or bottle-feeding during treatment...

BACKGROUND: Palliative care, in pediatric age, is a comprehensive approach to treatment that guarantees patients and their families a whole healing process from diagnosis to death. The techniques used for neurologic patients in the field of palliative care can enhance the quality of care provided to all patients with neurologic disorders and support their families. OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to analyze palliative care protocols in use in our departments, describing the palliative course in our clinical setting and to present a proposal that allows implementation of hospital palliative care patients with neurologic diseases with a long-term prognosis...

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 infection and perinatal neurologic outcomes are still not fully understood. However, there is recent evidence of white matter disease and impaired neurodevelopment in newborns following maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. These appear to occur as a consequence of both direct viral effects and a systemic inflammatory response, with glial cell/myelin involvement and regional hypoxia/microvascular dysfunction. We sought to characterize the consequences of maternal and fetal inflammatory states in the central nervous system of newborns following maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection...

INTRODUCTION: Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) became the standard of care treatment for neonates with moderate and severe neonatal encephalopathy (NE) in most industrialized countries about 10 years ago. Although TH is effective in reducing mortality and the incidence of severe developmental disabilities, the recent literature converges in reporting frequent cognitive and behavioural difficulties at school entry in children with NE-TH. Although these challenges are deemed minor compared with cerebral palsy and intellectual disability, their impacts on a child's self-determination and family's well-being are quite significant...

BACKGROUND: Infants and children with feeding difficulties have swallowing dysfunction and high risk of aspiration, which could be silent without choking, resulting in recurrent pneumonia and long-term respiratory morbidity. Videofluoroscopic swallow study (VFSS) is a useful tool for real-time visualization of the swallowing process and airway aspiration. This study reported a single-institutional 10-year experience of VFSS in pediatric patients with feeding difficulties and the efficacy of swallowing therapy...