European journal of pediatrics
-
Pneumococcal/lobar pneumonia and empyema have an important impact on the health of children worldwide. There has been no epidemiological study of pneumococcal/lobar pneumonia and empyema in Taiwan, a middle-income Asian population. Using Taiwan's National Health Insurance database, we collected and analyzed data obtain from medical care claims related to pneumococcal/lobar pneumonia and empyema for children below the 18 years old from 1997 to 2004. ⋯ The odds ratio of the case fatality among pneumococcal/lobar pneumonia patients complicated with empyema to those without was 118 (95% confidence interval 28-492). In conclusion, the population-based incidences of pneumococcal/lobar pneumonia and empyema among children under five in Taiwan were 44.9 and 10.5 episodes per 100,000 children-year, respectively, and 4- to 5-year-old children had the highest incidences of both pneumococcal/lobar pneumonia and empyema. This population might benefit from a universal pneumococcal vaccination program which might cover about 70% of invasive pneumococcal diseases in Taiwanese children under 5 years old.
-
Base deficit and serum lactate concentrations may be important prognostic indicators in preterm infants. We sought to (1) determine the relationship between day 1 serum lactate values and base deficit and (2) determine the relationship between day 1 biochemical parameters and adverse outcome in preterm infants <32 weeks. This was a retrospective study of all patients less than 32 weeks gestation admitted to neonatal intensive care unit over a 6-month period. ⋯ Persistently elevated or worsening lactates were associated with adverse outcome. There is a strong correlation between lactate values and base deficit on day 1 of life. Serial lactate measurements greater than 5.6 mmol/l predict adverse outcome and may aid the clinician in bedside decision making.
-
Review Case Reports
Thoracolumbar intervertebral disc calcifications in an 8-year-old boy: case report and review of the literature.
An 8-year-old boy presented himself with a nontraumatic acute onset of thoracolumbar pain with an antalgic scoliosis. His past medical history did not reveal any infectious disorder. The back pain kept him from sleep and sports. ⋯ Magnetic resonance imaging changes diminished in 2 months. Intervertebral disc calcification in children is a rare benign disorder which mostly affects the cervical spine. This is the first case, to our knowledge, of symptomatic intervertebral disc calcification involving the lumbar spine up to lumbar disc 2-3.
-
Gastrinoma is a hormone-secreting tumor associated with the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. It is quite rare among children, and it is also uncommon in locations other than the pancreas and the duodenum in the pediatric group. Here, we describe an adolescent male, presenting with recurrent secretory diarrhea and abdominal cramping pain, who had a solitary gastrinoma in the lesser sac, close to the stomach. The prognosis was good after complete resection.
-
Comparative Study
Measuring health-related quality of life in Hungarian children attending a cardiology clinic with the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory.
The aim of the study was to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of Hungarian children attending a pediatric cardiology outpatient unit with the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) questionnaire. The PedsQL Generic Core Scales and Cardiac Module were administered to 254 families including 195 children during a pediatric cardiology outpatient visit, and 525 families including 373 children from the general population were examined by the PedsQL Generic Core Scale by a postal survey. The relationships between PedsQL scores and patient characteristics were analyzed. ⋯ Comparing our results with previous ones on U. S. pediatric cardiologic samples, we found significantly lower scores mainly for the physical functioning and heart symptoms subscales. This HRQoL study with an internationally well-validated instrument on children with heart disease in a Central European country highlights certain aspects of the health-care system and brings the possibility for the assessment of pediatric cardiology outcomes in a more comprehensive way.