Clinical assessment children

BACKGROUND: Tropical cyclones are associated with acute increases in mortality and morbidity, but few studies have examined their longer-term health consequences. We assessed whether tropical cyclones are associated with a higher frequency of symptom exacerbation among children with asthma in the following 12 months in eastern United States counties, 2000-2018. METHODS: We defined exposure to tropical cyclones as a maximum sustained windspeed >21 meters/second at the county center and used coarsened exact matching to match each exposed county to one or more unexposed counties...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that primarily affects the joints in children. Notably, it is known to co-occur with uveitis. Adalimumab, a monoclonal anti-TNF antibody, is effective in treating both conditions. A deeper understanding of the pharmacokinetics (PK) of adalimumab in JIA is crucial to advance in more personalized treatment approaches. The objective of this study is to evaluate the population PK profile of adalimumab in JIA and to explain causes for its variability...

OBJECTIVES: The main purpose of this study was evaluation of the effectiveness of secondary furlow palatoplasty with buccal myomucosal flap (FPBF) for the treatment of velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) in patients with a cleft palate who were treated with two flap palatoplasty (TFP) in their primary palate repair. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-three medically free children aged 4-8 years with non-syndromic and previously repaired cleft palate via TFP participated in the study...

PURPOSE: We assessed factors that affect the utilization of sperm cryopreservation before 2021, when patients covered expenses, and the influence on quality of life. METHODS: Between 2011 and 2021, testicular cancer survivors (TCS) at our clinic completed a questionnaire, including EORTC QLQ-TC26, covering sperm cryopreservation, sociodemographic details, post-treatment births, and artificial insemination. RESULTS: After 5.7 ± 3...

Background: Liver fibrosis is an important clinical endpoint of progression of autoimmune liver disease (AILD); its monitoring would benefit from noninvasive imaging tools. Objective: To assess the relationship between MR elastography (MRE) liver stiffness measurements and histologic liver fibrosis, as well as to evaluate the performance of MRE and biochemical-based clinical markers for stratifying histologic liver fibrosis severity, in children and young adults with AILD. Methods: This retrospective study used an existing institutional registry of children and young adults diagnosed with AILD [primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), ASC (autoimmune sclerosing cholangitis), or AIH (autoimmune hepatitis)]...

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) leads to reduced muscle mass and strength in children resulting in a decrease in functional capacity. The objectives of this cross-sectional observational study were to evaluate and compare the functional capacity and muscle strength in children with CKD stage I - V (group A), on dialysis (stage VD) (group B), and kidney transplant recipients (KTR) (group C) in Indian children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 60 children, 20 each in groups A, B, and C were enrolled...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the organization of specialized outpatient clinics, according to the Secondary Outpatient Care Unit (SOCU) model according to the health care planning (HCP) methodology. METHODS: This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study, which used secondary data from the PlanificaSUS project. It was carried out in 16 outpatient clinics specialized in maternal and child care, distributed in the five Brazilian geographic regions. A structured questionnaire was used for self-assessment on the implementation of 12 parameters in two moments, in 2019 and in 2020...

BACKGROUND: Because of controversial results from clinical studies comparing different dental local anesthesia methods in children, the primary objective of this randomized, split-mouth, crossover, controlled trial was to compare pain intensity during local anaesthesia (LA) performed with a computer-controlled LA delivery system (C-CLADS) versus a conventional syringe (CONV). Secondary objectives included comparisons during dental treatment. METHODS: Participants (4-8 years) with tooth pair requiring similar treatment were recruited from five French hospitals...

In this brief report, we provide an analysis of the influence of a novel CYP2C haplotype (CYP2C:TG) on proton pump inhibitor (PPI) pharmacokinetics (PK) in children. The CYP2C:TG haplotype has been proposed to be associated with increased CYP2C19 activity. We sought to determine if this CYP2C:TG haplotype resulted in similar alterations in metabolism for proton pump inhibitors, which are primarily metabolized by CYP2C19. In a cohort of 41 children aged 6-21 participating in a PPI pharmacokinetic study, effects of the CYP2C:TG allele were assessed by fitting two linear regression models for each of the six PK outcomes assessed, the second of which accounted for the presence of the CYP2C:TG allele...

OBJECTIVES: Prior studies on the psychological well-being in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD) have reported controversial results. Our aim was to compare the psychological well-being and lifestyle factors in patients with PIBD and their controls and to assess the role of contributing disease characteristics. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 60 PIBD patients aged 6-17 years (26 with Crohn's disease [CD], 34 with ulcerative colitis [CD] or unclassified colitis [IBD-U]) from two university hospitals in Finland, and their age- and sex-matched healthy controls...

A long-standing practice in clinical and developmental psychology research on childhood maltreatment has been to consider prospective, official court records to be the gold standard measure of childhood maltreatment and to give less weight to adults' retrospective self-reports of childhood maltreatment, sometimes even treating this data source as invalid. We argue that both formats of assessment - prospective and retrospective - provide important information on childhood maltreatment. Prospective data drawn from court records should not necessarily be considered the superior format, especially considering evidence of structural racism in child welfare...

Child obesity is a growing global issue. Preventing early development of overweight and obesity requires identifying reliable risk factors for high body mass index (BMI) in children. Child eating behavior might be an important and malleable risk factor that can be reliably assessed with the parent-report Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ). Using a hierarchical dataset (children nested within child care centers) from a representative cohort of Swiss preschool children, we tested whether eating behavior, assessed with a 7-factor solution of the CEBQ, and BMI at baseline predicted the outcome BMI after 1 year, controlling for socioeconomic status ( n  = 555; 47% female; mean age = 3...

BACKGROUND: Women charged with violent offences may be referred by courts for forensic psychiatric assessment to determine whether mental disorder or intellectual disability impacts their fitness to stand trial and/or criminal responsibility. The profile of these women is a poorly researched area in South Africa. AIM: This study examined the socio-demographic, offence-related, and clinical profile of South African women charged with violent offences referred for forensic assessment...

Multiple genome sequencing studies have identified genetic abnormalities as major causes of severe intellectual disability (ID). However, many children affected by mild ID and borderline intellectual functioning (BIF) lack a genetic diagnosis because known causative ID genetic mutations have not been identified or the role of genetic variants in mild cases is less understood. Genetic variant testing in mild cases is necessary to provide information on prognosis and risk of occurrence. In this study, we report two sibling patients who were 5 years 9 months old and 3 years 3 months old and presented to the hospital due to developmental delay...

Behavioural disturbances are often observed, but (to our knowledge) not systematically assessed, in children who are in post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Therefore, we aimed to develop a prototype scale that measures the full range of behavioural disturbances exhibited by school-aged children in PTA. Quantitative and qualitative feedback was collected via online surveys. First, experts (n = 7) evaluated the relevance and developmental appropriateness of 37 behavioural items, extracted from the scoping literature review...

BACKGROUND: A Blauth IIIB hypoplastic thumb is a significant functional and cosmetic problem for the developing hand in children. The gold standard in treatment is amputation and index pollicization. Despite the good functional results, some parents do not consent to the operation, mainly for cosmetic reasons. OBJECTIVES: The aim is to present a detailed description and features of the technique used in our department for stabilization of a hypoplastic thumb type Blauth IIIB with a non-vascularized proximal interphalangeal joint from the toe...

BACKGROUND: Bites caused by European vipers are rare medical emergencies but can occasionally cause life-threatening complications. Viper venom causes local symptoms, which can be accompanied by systemic manifestations in severe cases. The local effects of snakebites include edema and, more rarely, necrosis and compartment syndrome. The consequences of envenomation are often more pronounced in children due to their smaller body size. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a 6-year-old girl who experienced multiple viper bites in the lower limb in northwest Italy...

BACKGROUND: Leptospirosis, an important zoonotic bacterial disease, commonly affects resource-poor populations and results in significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The value of antibiotics in leptospirosis remains unclear, as evidenced by the conflicting opinions published. METHODS: We conducted a search in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases for studies. These studies included clinical trials and retrospective studies that evaluated the efficacy or safety of antibiotics for leptospirosis treatment...

BACKGROUND: Neurodevelopmental trajectories of preterm children may have changed due to changes in care and in society. We aimed to compare neurodevelopmental trajectories in early and moderately late preterm children, measured using the Developmental (D)-score, in two cohorts born 15 years apart. METHODS: We included early preterm and moderately late preterm children from two Dutch cohorts (LOLLIPOP, 2002-2003 and ePREM, 2016-2017). ePREM counterparts were matched to LOLLIPOP participants by gestational age and sex...

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the safety and clinical outcome of bleomycin electrosclerotherapy (BEST) for treating extracranial slow-flow malformations. METHODS: In this retrospective investigation of a multicenter cohort presenting symptomatic slow-flow malformations, patient records were analyzed with respect to procedural details and complications. A treatment-specific, patient-reported questionnaire was additionally evaluated, obtained 3-12 months after the last treatment, to assess the subjective outcomes, including mobility, aesthetic aspects, and pain, as well as the occurrence of postprocedural skin hyperpigmentation...