Jorge L Sánchez, Doris M Salgado, Martha Rocío Vega, Sebastián Castro-Trujillo, Carlos F Narváez
{"title":"Utility of the WHO dengue guidelines in pediatric immunological studies.","authors":"Jorge L Sánchez, Doris M Salgado, Martha Rocío Vega, Sebastián Castro-Trujillo, Carlos F Narváez","doi":"10.1093/tropej/fmae014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/tropej/fmae014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Dengue is a significant health problem due to the high burden of critical infections during outbreaks. In 1997, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified dengue as dengue fever (DF), dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). It was revised in 2009 (updated in 2015), and the new guidelines recommended classifying patients as dengue without warning signs (DNS), dengue with warning signs (DWS), and severe dengue (SD). Although the utility of the revised 2009 classification for clinical studies is accepted, for immunological studies it needs to be clarified. We determined the usefulness of the 2009 classification for pediatric studies that analyze the circulating interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8, two inflammatory cytokines. Plasma levels of IL-6 and IL-8 were evaluated in the acute and convalescent phases by flow cytometry in children with dengue classified using the 1997 and 2009 WHO guidelines. The plasma levels of IL-6 and IL-8 were elevated during the acute and decreased during convalescence, and both cytokines served as a good marker of acute dengue illness compared to convalescence. There were no differences in the plasma level of the evaluated cytokines among children with different clinical severity with any classification, except for the IL-8, which was higher in DWS than DNS. Based on the levels of IL-8, the 2009 classification identified DWS plus SD (hospital-treated children) compared to the DNS group [area under the curve (AUC): 0.7, p = 0.028]. These results support the utility of the revised 2009 (updated in 2015) classification in studies of immune markers in pediatric dengue.</p>","PeriodicalId":17521,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Tropical Pediatrics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141603815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kimberly Davy, Elena Koskinas, Chris Watson, Mark Ledwidge, Balwani Mbakaya, Master Chisale, Joe Gallagher
{"title":"Respiratory syncytial virus-associated pneumonia in primary care in Malawi.","authors":"Kimberly Davy, Elena Koskinas, Chris Watson, Mark Ledwidge, Balwani Mbakaya, Master Chisale, Joe Gallagher","doi":"10.1093/tropej/fmae013","DOIUrl":"10.1093/tropej/fmae013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To identify the prevalence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in a cohort of children under 5 years of age with World Health Organization (WHO)-defined pneumonia and the factors associated with developing severe RSV-associated community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in primary care in a single centre in Northern Malawi.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The BIOmarkers TO diagnose PnEumonia (BIOTOPE) study was a prospective cohort study conducted from March to June 2016 that took place in a primary care centre in Northern Malawi. Data from this study was used to identify the characteristics of children under 5 years of age who presented with RSV and WHO-defined CAP. Means, standard deviations, medians and ranges were calculated for continuous variables. A univariate logistic regression was performed to examine the potential predictor variables.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Four hundred and ninety-four infants presented with CAP and were eligible for inclusion in the study; RSV infection was detected in 205 (41.6%) of the infants. Eight factors were associated with increased risk for RSV CAP in the univariate model: age, born at term, presenting for care in June, crowded living environment, not being exclusively breastfed, not having received zinc or vitamin A supplementation in the last six months. Infants with RSV were more likely to have an oxygen saturation ≤92% compared to infants with other causes of pneumonia and more likely to have severe pneumonia as defined by the WHO.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study supports that RSV-associated CAP is linked to modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors; further research is indicated to determine which interventions would be most impactful. Developing and implementing an infant or maternal vaccine could be a cost-effective way to prevent RSV-associated CAP and mortality in developing nations. More research is needed to understand seasonal patterns of CAP and research over extended periods can offer valuable insights on host, environmental and pathogen-specific factors that contribute to RSV-associated CAP.</p>","PeriodicalId":17521,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Tropical Pediatrics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11257717/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141723823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Correction to: Combating antimicrobial resistance through vaccines in children from low- and middle-income countries-a call for research.","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/tropej/fmae012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/tropej/fmae012","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":17521,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Tropical Pediatrics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141076117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Combating antimicrobial resistance through vaccines in children from low- and middle-income countries-a call for research.","authors":"Cosmina Gingăraş, Elizabeth Collins","doi":"10.1093/tropej/fmae009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/tropej/fmae009","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":17521,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Tropical Pediatrics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140739275","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
İ. Bodur, Orkun Aydın, R. Yaradılmış, M. M. Güneylioğlu, A. Güngör, Bilge Akkaya, A. Göktuğ, B. Öztürk, C. Karacan, N. Tuygun
{"title":"Emergency medical service use at a pediatric center in Turkey, during the COVID-19 pandemic period.","authors":"İ. Bodur, Orkun Aydın, R. Yaradılmış, M. M. Güneylioğlu, A. Güngör, Bilge Akkaya, A. Göktuğ, B. Öztürk, C. Karacan, N. Tuygun","doi":"10.1093/tropej/fmae007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/tropej/fmae007","url":null,"abstract":"AIM\u0000This study aimed to evaluate aspects of pediatric patients presenting to a hospital in Turkey via emergency ambulance services, including incidence of visits to the hospital, acuity of illness and most common diagnoses, during the one-year period before and after the onset of the coronavrrus dsease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.\u0000\u0000\u0000METHODS\u0000This was a retrospective and single center analysis of children, transported by Emergency Medical Services to the Emergency Department (ED) of a children's hospital in Turkey, between 10 March 2019 and 11 March 2021.\u0000\u0000\u0000RESULTS\u0000Percentage of high acuity group (68.1% vs.76.9%) during pandemic period was significantly lower than prepandemic period (p < 0.001). On the contrary, the percentage of patients using emergency ambulance service with a low level of acuity increased during the pandemic period compared to the prepandemic period (31.9% vs. 23.1%) (p < 0.001). A significant decrease was observed in the cases of lower respiratory tract infections, febrile status epilepticus and excessive alcohol use during the pandemic period. No significant differences were found hospitalizations requiring PICU and mortality in ED during the pandemic period.\u0000\u0000\u0000CONCLUSION\u0000During the COVID-19 pandemic; also, a decrease in admissions was observed for those with high-risk conditions. On the contrary, an increase was detected in patients with low acuity levels. Efforts should be made to ensure access to safe and quality emergency care during the pandemic.","PeriodicalId":17521,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Tropical Pediatrics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140740928","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Familial hemiplegic migraine in Indian children-a tertiary center experience.","authors":"L. Saini, Pradeep Kumar Gunasekaran, Sarbesh Tiwari, Bharat Choudhary, Sujatha Manjunathan, Ashna Kumar","doi":"10.1093/tropej/fmae008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/tropej/fmae008","url":null,"abstract":"Familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM), an autosomal dominant subtype of hemiplegic migraine, is a channelopathy presenting with severe headache, visual field defect, paresthesia, unilateral motor deficit, encephalopathy, seizures and aphasia. This cross-sectional study was conducted over 10 months in children aged 1-18 years suspected of hemiplegic migraine at a tertiary care pediatric hospital. Fourteen children were screened and five children with genetically confirmed FHM were included. The symptoms in the study population were paroxysmal hemiparesis (5/5), headache (5/5) and focal seizures (1/5). The hemiplegia episodes lasted from 4 h to 7 days. The mean age at the onset of neurological symptoms was 6.8 ± 0.7 years and the mean age at diagnosis was 12.8 ± 1.7 years, with a mean delay of 6.1 ± 1.9 years for the diagnosis. Neuroimaging during acute episodes revealed accentuated gray, white differentiation in the contralateral cerebral hemisphere with mild effacement of sulcal spaces in T2/fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images. Genetic testing revealed ATP1A2 mutations (FHM2) in 4/5 and SCN1A (FHM3) in 1/5 patients. All of them (5/5) were initiated on oral topiramate and had favorable treatment responses with a mean follow-up duration of 7 ± 1.4 months. Diagnosis of FHM is mainly clinical and can be confirmed by genetic analysis. Perfusion and diffusion-weighted MRI should be considered during acute headache episodes, as it is mostly normal in symptom-free periods. Routine MRI sequences like T1 weighted, T2 weighted, FLAIR and contrast remain normal even during acute attacks.","PeriodicalId":17521,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Tropical Pediatrics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140737469","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yu-Qi Liu, Wei-Hua Yuan, Yue Tao, Lian Zhao, Wan-Liang Guo
{"title":"Development of a machine learning model and nomogram to predict seizures in children with COVID-19: a two-center study.","authors":"Yu-Qi Liu, Wei-Hua Yuan, Yue Tao, Lian Zhao, Wan-Liang Guo","doi":"10.1093/tropej/fmae011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/tropej/fmae011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to use machine learning to evaluate the risk factors of seizures and develop a model and nomogram to predict seizures in children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).</p><p><strong>Material and methods: </strong>A total of 519 children with COVID-19 were assessed to develop predictive models using machine learning algorithms, including extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), random forest (RF) and logistic regression (LR). The performance of the models was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values. Importance matrix plot and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) values were calculated to evaluate feature importance and to show the visualization results. The nomogram and clinical impact curve were used to validate the final model.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Two hundred and seventeen children with COVID-19 had seizures. According to the AUC, the RF model performed the best. Based on the SHAP values, the top three most important variables in the RF model were neutrophil percentage, cough and fever duration. The nomogram and clinical impact curve also verified that the RF model possessed significant predictive value.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our research indicates that the RF model demonstrates excellent performance in predicting seizures, and our novel nomogram can facilitate clinical decision-making and potentially offer benefit for clinicians to prevent and treat seizures in children with COVID-19.</p>","PeriodicalId":17521,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Tropical Pediatrics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140853036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alex de Voux, Wellington Maruma, Mabore Morifi, Modiehi Maduma, Joy Ebonwu, Khadeejah Sheikh, Sithembile Dlamini-Nqeketo, Tendesayi Kufa
{"title":"Gaps in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis: a review of reported cases, South Africa, January 2020-June 2022.","authors":"Alex de Voux, Wellington Maruma, Mabore Morifi, Modiehi Maduma, Joy Ebonwu, Khadeejah Sheikh, Sithembile Dlamini-Nqeketo, Tendesayi Kufa","doi":"10.1093/tropej/fmae010","DOIUrl":"10.1093/tropej/fmae010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Congenital syphilis (CS) is preventable through timely antenatal care (ANC), syphilis screening and treatment among pregnant women. Robust CS surveillance can identify gaps in this prevention cascade. We reviewed CS cases reported to the South African notifiable medical conditions surveillance system (NMCSS) from January 2020 to June 2022.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>CS cases are reported using a case notification form (CNF) containing limited infant demographic and clinical characteristics. During January 2020-June 2022, healthcare workers supplemented CNFs with a case investigation form (CIF) containing maternal and infant testing and treatment information. We describe CS cases with/without a matching CIF and gaps in the CS prevention cascade among those with clinical information.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>During January 2020-June 2022, 938 CS cases were reported to the NMCSS with a median age of 1 day (interquartile range: 0-5). Nine percent were diagnosed based on clinical signs and symptoms only. During January 2020-June 2022, 667 CIFs were reported with 51% (343) successfully matched to a CNF. Only 57% of mothers of infants with a matching CIF had an ANC booking visit (entry into ANC). Overall, 87% of mothers were tested for syphilis increasing to 98% among mothers with an ANC booking visit. Median time between first syphilis test and delivery was 16 days overall increasing to 82 days among mothers with an ANC booking visit.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Only 37% of CS cases had accompanying clinical information to support evaluation of the prevention cascade. Mothers with an ANC booking visit had increased syphilis screening and time before delivery to allow for adequate treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":17521,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Tropical Pediatrics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11087667/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140908999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Efficacy and safety of short- vs. standard-course antibiotics for culture-negative neonatal sepsis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.","authors":"Risha Devi, Mayank Priyadarshi, Poonam Singh, Suman Chaurasia, Sriparna Basu","doi":"10.1093/tropej/fmae002","DOIUrl":"10.1093/tropej/fmae002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing a short course of antibiotics (2-4 days), to a standard course (5-7 days), for the treatment of culture-negative neonatal sepsis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Relevant databases were searched for RCTs comparing short- vs. standard-course of antibiotics for culture-negative sepsis. The primary outcomes were mortality and treatment failure, defined as the reappearance of clinical signs suggestive of sepsis within 7 days of stoppage of antibiotics. Secondary outcomes included neurological impairment, duration of hospital stay, need for oxygen, respiratory support and double-volume exchange transfusion (DVET).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Seven RCTs were included in the review with 729 neonates >30 weeks gestational age at birth. No mortality occurred in either of the groups (2 studies; 276 neonates). Treatment failure rates were similar in the short- and standard-course antibiotic groups [7 studies; 729 neonates; risk ratio (RR) = 1.01; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.55 to 1.86; very low certainty]. The short course of antibiotics resulted in a shorter hospital stay [3 studies; 293 neonates; mean difference (MD), -2.46 days; 95% CI, -3.16 to -1.75]. There was no difference in the need for oxygen supplementation (2 studies; 258 neonates; RR, 1.40; 95% CI, 0.40 to 4.91), any respiratory support (2 studies; 258 neonates; RR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.92 to 1.17) or DVET (2 studies; 258 neonates; RR, 1.29; 95% CI, 0.56 to 2.95).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Very-low certainty evidence suggests that a short antibiotic course, compared to a standard course, does not affect treatment failure rates in culture-negative neonatal sepsis. There is a need for well-designed RCTs powered enough to assess critical outcomes such as mortality and neurological sequelae to generate stronger evidence and inform guidelines.</p><p><strong>Prospero registration number: </strong>CRD42023437199.</p>","PeriodicalId":17521,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Tropical Pediatrics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139707079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Kangaroo mother care and its effects on the digestive system of preterm infants.","authors":"Shabih Manzar","doi":"10.1093/tropej/fmae006","DOIUrl":"10.1093/tropej/fmae006","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":17521,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Tropical Pediatrics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140184706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}