Acta Paediatrica

AIM: To establish differences in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adults born term and those born very preterm (VPT) and/or with a very low birth weight (VLBW). METHODS: Our systematic review is preregistered under PROSPERO-ID CRD42018084005. Studies were eligible for inclusion if their authors had stated the HRQoL of adults (18 years or older) born VPT (<32 weeks of gestation) or VLBW (<1500 g of birth weight) had been measured, if written in English, and if they reported a comparison with a control group or valid norms...

AIM: To describe incomplete distal renal tubular acidosis (iDRTA) in pediatric patients, a term used for the diagnosis of patients who do not develop spontaneous overt metabolic acidosis but are unable to acidify the urine in response to an ammonium chloride load. METHODS: Tests used to explore urinary acidification were revised. In addition, publications in English extracted from 161 entries yielded by a PubMed database search, using "incomplete distal renal tubular acidosis" as keyword, were reviewed...

There is an urgent need to understand why the course of the coronavirus that started in late 2019 (COVID-19) is affecting different groups of individuals with varying severity during the ongoing global pandemic. Greater knowledge of the disease, which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), will help us to prioritise our limited health resources. Because the virus is new, and no vaccine is yet available, everyone is naïve and susceptible to being infected with SARS-CoV2...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

AIM: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected hundreds of thousands of people. Data on symptoms and prognoses in children are rare. METHODS: A systematic literature review was carried out to identify papers on COVID-19, which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), using the Medline and EMBASE databases between 1 January and 18 March 2020. RESULTS: The search identified 45 relevant scientific papers and letters...

AIM: Birth injuries are rare complications that can have a significant impact on neonates and their families. This population-based study describes the rates and trends of all birth injuries in Finland over a 21-year period. METHODS: The study is based on a national Medical Birth Register that includes all liveborn neonates of more than 22 gestational weeks or 500 grams who were born in Finland between 1997 and 2017. The ICD-10 codes of the birth injuries were obtained from the Finnish Medical Birth Register and the Care Register for Health Care...

AIM: Children with epilepsy often have concomitant diagnoses. Dried blood spot samples for drug monitoring can be collected by parents at home as an alternative to traditional sampling. This mixed-method study aimed to understand the parents' perspectives on blood self-sampling from their children and to identify factors contributing to successful sampling. METHOD: Parents who had collected a sample from their child during a visit to the neuropediatric clinic were asked to fill in a questionnaire...

AIM: We examined the impact of introducing high-flow nasal oxygen therapy (HFNT) on children under five with post-extubation respiratory failure in a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in Peru. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study compared clinical outcomes before and after initial HFNT deployment in the PICU at Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño in Lima in June 2016. We compared three groups: 29 received post-extubation HFNT and 17 received continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) from 2016-17 and 12 historical controls received CPAP from 2012-16...

Studies in adults show that family history of diabetes correlates with the increase of serum triglyceride levels (1) and that hypertriglyceridaemia is associated to insulin insensitivity (2). These findings suggest that hypertriglyceridaemia is an early biomarker of inadequate insulin secretion and action; results that highlight the role of triglyceride as an early marker of insulin insensitivity and metabolic risk.

AIM: To investigate the independent relationships between baseline characteristics and incident wheeze in adolescents, with particular regard to gender. METHODS: Adolescents (N = 959), aged 12-15 years, answered a standardised respiratory questionnaire and underwent height and weight measurements at baseline. Four years later, 96% of the subjects completed a similar questionnaire. The present study included the adolescents without self-reported wheeze at baseline (n = 795; 394 girls)...

The study was designed to document the incidence of non-immune hydrops fetalis (NIHF) at birth and characterise associated outcomes and obstetric complications. Data on more than 1.9 million births were extracted from the Swedish Birth Register for 1997-2015. Pregnancies not affected by NIHF served as controls. National registers on mortality and hospitalisations provided follow-up information. There were 309 cases of NIHF at birth corresponding to an incidence of 1.6 per 10,000, lower than in previous studies...

AIM: Create a Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA)-based intervention to increase adolescent and infant speech and improve 12-month language outcomes. METHODS: Randomized control trial of adolescent (15-19 years) mother-infant pairs comparing language-motor (intervention) and motor (control) groups. Intervention included reviewing language-motor curriculums, formative feedback on 4 LENA recordings (baseline, post-curriculum, 4 and 12-months) and 16-weekly language-motor texts...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

In the fetal and neonatal periods, a wide variety of primary neurological disorders occur, as well as a large number of neurological complications acquired during postnatal critical care. It is estimated that at least 30% of newborn infants admitted to neonatal intensive care will have neurological disorders or complications during their admission.(1-3) In addition, neonatal clinical practices, as well as the NICU environment, including sensory and emotional stimulation, can impact neurodevelopmental outcomes...

AIM: Evaluate effect and costs of pertussis vaccination at Vietnam national children's hospital. METHODS: Pertussis cases were defined by positive laboratory tests of children under 5 years January 2015 - June 2018, data on patient characteristics, clinical data and hospitalization costs were collected through patient records. . RESULTS: Of 909 inpatients, 400 (44%) were <2 months, the age for first DPT vaccination, mechanical ventilation was more common than in children >2 months (9% vs 4%, OR=2...

AIM: To evaluate the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and muscular strength in a nationally-representative sample of U.S. youth. METHODS: Participants (n = 3,350) were 6-18 year olds from 2011-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Relative handgrip strength was quantified using age- and sex-specific z-scores. Poor strength was defined as those < 25th percentile. Multivariate general linear and logistic models were used to compare strength and poor strength status by clinically relevant groupings of 25OHD...

AIM: There is a lack of authorized medicines for paediatric patients and improved drug development is necessary. The aim of this study was to evaluate the need for infrastructure and support for paediatric clinical trials in Sweden. METHODS: A web-based survey was sent to doctors and nurses involved in the care of neonates, children and adolescents assessing the current situation and future needs for paediatric clinical trials in Sweden. Questions regarding premises, competence, organization, support for paediatric clinical trials and Good clinical-practice-training were addressed...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

I read with great interest the article by Bibl et al. entitled 'Randomised simulation trial found an association between rescuers' height and weight and chest compression quality during paediatric resuscitation' (1). Differences in the quality of chest compression according to a rescuer's physical characteristics are an important issue because these differences could directly affect a cardiac arrest patient's outcome.

AIM: To identify children with complex medical needs by examining their patterns of hospital care. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective population-based study on 18 577 patients aged 6 to 12 years from the Haukeland University Hospital register over a 3-year period (from 2013 to 2015). Data were structured to examine the temporal patterns and sequences of referrals, care episodes and diagnoses, including across medical specialties. RESULTS: Over a third of patients had repeated referrals, and 14...