European journal of pediatrics
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We aimed to determine the status of and factors associated with adolescent health care delivery and training in Europe on behalf of the European Paediatric Association-UNEPSA. ⋯ The results of the present study show that there is a need for the reconstruction and standardisation of adolescent health care delivery and training in European countries. The European Paediatric Association-UNEPSA could play a key role in the implementation of the proposals suggested in this paper.
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This review summarizes current knowledge on vitamin K for the paediatrician. Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, present in plants as phylloquinone and produced by bacteria as menaquinone. It is acting as a co-factor for gamma-glutamyl carboxylase. This enzyme is responsible for post-translational modification of some glutamate side chains to gamma-carboxyglutamate. The majority of gamma-carboxylated proteins function in blood coagulation; others play a role in calcium homeostasis. ⋯ Further work is needed before firm recommendations can be made regarding dose in preterm infants and in patients with fat malabsorption/cholestasis or regarding the role of vitamin K in the prevention of osteoporosis.
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Review Case Reports
Acute paraplegia due to spinal arteriovenous fistula in two patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia.
Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by recurrent epistaxis, cutaneous telangiectasia, and visceral arteriovenous malformations (AVM). Of these, spinal AVM is a rare manifestation that concerns mainly children. ⋯ The prognosis of spinal AVM mainly depends on the presence or not of medullar signs and symptoms and on the delay before treatment. In conclusion, any child with a family history of HHT should be considered at risk for spinal AVM in order to improve management of such complications and to decrease the risk of neurological sequellae.
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Naloxone is a pure opioid antagonist specifically indicated for respiratory depression due to opioid exposure. There is not enough data on safety of naloxone, especially in extremely preterm neonates. We report the case of a preterm neonate (gestation 27 weeks and 3 days, birth weight 485 g) who developed cardiac arrest following treatment with naloxone (dose 100 mcg/kg) for a tenfold morphine overdose on day 7 while being ventilated for respiratory distress syndrome. ⋯ Reports of similar adverse effects of the drug in adults as well as data from animal models raise concerns about safety of naloxone, especially in preterm neonates, given the lack of data on the pharmacokinetics of the drug in this high-risk population. Possible explanations for the adverse event under such a scenario include an idiosyncratic reaction, hypoxia, direct myocardial depressant effect and sympathoadrenal interactions. Awareness of this rare but potentially lethal complication of naloxone is necessary to optimise the response to such an adverse event.
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We report the case of a 13-year-old boy with Costello syndrome and chronic constipation who received phosphate-containing Fleet-pediatric enemas at regular intervals. The day before admission he was given four enemas for severe constipation. Within 24 h the boy had developed severe hyperphosphatemia (phosphate 17.75 mmol/L), hypertonic dehydration (sodium 171 mmol/L) and severe hypocalcemia (calcium 0.56 mmol/L). ⋯ Children with developmental delay often display bowel dysfunction and chronic constipation and are therefore high-risk patients. The accepted opinion-that these enemas are not absorbed and therefore systemically inactive-is not true. Physicians should be aware of the potentially lethal complications of this treatment, which is part of everyday clinical practice.