Acta Paediatrica

AIM: We aimed to describe the characteristics and outcomes of infants with bronchiolitis who received high-flow nasal cannula oxygen (HFNC) following a two-tiered approach. METHODS: This retrospective study included 211 infants below 12 months of age needing oxygen therapy for bronchiolitis, between 2012 and 2017, on the general paediatric ward of the tertiary Paediatric Hospital of Padova, Italy. HFNC was used as first-line therapy for moderate to severe disease and as rescue therapy for deterioration on low-flow oxygen...

Universal and targeted parenting support programmes have been carried out for many years in developed countries such as Sweden and they have been reported to have positive short-term effects on the development of positive parenting skills and to improve the behaviour of children (1). However, providing tailored programmes that reach immigrant parents is a public health challenge for society, due to rapid increases in immigration over the last few years. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

AIM: To analyse levels and profiles of autism symptoms in children with Down syndrome (DS) with and without diagnosed autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to specifically study the groups with severe Intellectual disability (ID). METHODS: From a population-based cohort of 60 children with DS (age 5-17 years) with 41 participating children, scores obtained from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) Module-1 algorithm were compared between those with and without diagnosed ASD...

AIM: To determine whether non-obese prepubertal children with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) present changes in lipid metabolism, and adipokines, and to assess the short-term effects of growth hormone (GH) treatment on these parameters. METHODS: Prospective observational follow-up and case-control (36 GHD children and 38 healthy children) study lasting 6 months. Means of values from groups were compared, control group vs GHD baseline group, and GHD baseline group vs GHD after 6 months of GH replacement therapy...

We thank Spiers et al (1) for their interest in our paper (2) in Acta Paediatrica, which showed that using a new case presentation technique, SITUPS, improved the oral case presentations by medical students in a paediatric emergency department. The SITUPS mnemonic reminds students about six items: summarise the case, identify relevant family or social issues, think through possible differential diagnoses, uncover areas of uncertainty to ask your instructor, plan the management of the patient and select an issue for self-directed learning...

Persistent elevation in pulmonary artery pressure is frequently observed in severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and it has been suggested that being born preterm is a likely independent risk factor for a novel form of cardiomyopathy (1). Also, preterm birth is associated with higher resting systolic blood pressure later in life than term birth. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

AIM: To describe motor function and associated impairments, particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in school-aged children with cerebral palsy (CP). METHODS: Population-based study of all children with CP born 1999-2006 from the county of Västra Götaland, Sweden; 264 children (141 males, 123 females). Information was obtained from the CP Register of western Sweden (data collected at 4-8 years of age) and all medical records at 10-17 years of age...

Fe del Mundo (1911-2011) was an outstanding paediatrician who shaped modern child healthcare in the Philippines, so that it reflected the broader determinants of health and met the specific needs of children, adolescents and their families. She worked hard to provide access to high-quality paediatric and child health expertise and multidisciplinary community outreach teams. She also promoted public education and standardised, sustainable training for healthcare professionals. This article is protected by copyright...

AIM: Shared reading leads to better language and executive functions. This study was designed to examine the effect of dialogic reading compared to screen-exposed intervention on executive functions using behavioural and electroencephalogram measures. METHODS: The effect of six weeks of dialogic reading intervention on executive functions was examined in 16 children (seven females, 61.73 months, sd 7.07, min-max 50-170) vs 16 children exposed to screen (six females, 64...

AIM: Hearing loss in infants is often diagnosed late, despite universal screening programmes. Risk factors of hearing impairment in high-risk neonates, identified from population-based studies, can inform policy around targeted screening. Our aim was to determine the prevalence and the risk factors of hearing loss in a high-risk neonatal population. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of neonates hospitalized at the University Hospital Cologne, Germany from January 2009 to December 2014 and were part of the newborn hearing screening program...

AIM: Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine that is involved with bronchiolitis and asthma. We evaluated associations between four IL-10 polymorphisms, namely rs1800871, rs1800872, rs1800890 and rs1800896, and post-bronchiolitis asthma in young adolescents. METHODS: The cohort were 125 children hospitalised for bronchiolitis at Tampere University Hospital, Finland, in 2000-2004, at under six months of age. At 11-13 years, asthma diagnoses and asthma-presumptive symptoms, allergic rhinitis and use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) were registered...

The recent review by Axelsson in Acta Paediatrica (1) concluded that bone age cannot be used in asylum proceedings to assess whether someone is an adult, due to the effects of chronic stress. It is not obvious how this conclusion was reached, since the review did not study bone maturation or the relevant age group. Instead, the assertion rested on the finding that certain disparate environmental or biochemical factors have been associated with the accelerated onset of early developmental milestones, such as adrenarche and menarche or increased testicular volume in 5-10-year-olds...

AIM: The aim of this study was to examine whether the self-reported use of analgesics is associated with being a victim of bullying. METHODS: This cross-sectional, school-based survey included all students in grades 6 (11 years old), 8 (13 years old) and 10 (15 years old) in Iceland (response rate: 84%; n = 11 018). The students filled out an anonymous standardised questionnaire: the Icelandic Contribution to the International Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Study...

AIM: Preterm births (<32 weeks of gestational age) are associated with cognitive problems that are difficult to diagnose in infancy but potentially detectable at preschool age. This review aimed to evaluate the extent to which total intelligence quotient (IQ) and neuropsychological functions at ages three to five years differ between children born at <32 weeks gestational age or <1,500 g birth weight and children born at term. The secondary aim was to determine if cognitive performance differs between extremely preterm (EPT)/extremely low birth weight (ELBW) children and very preterm (VPT) or very low birth weight (VLBW) children...

AIM: To compare parental reports of position found in sudden unexpected deaths in infancy (SUDI) to autopsy reports of lividity, to more accurately classify infant sleep position. METHODS: Cases of SUDI in Queensland between 2010 and 2014 were reviewed to determine the position in which infants were reported to have been placed and found. This was compared to the distribution of post-mortem lividity at autopsy. Evidence of lividity present during early death scene investigation was also recorded...

AIM: This population-based study assessed the incidence of rickets in infants up to age of one born in Sweden from 1997-2014. We also examined maternal and perinatal factors and co-morbidity. METHODS: We used Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare registers and data from Statistics Sweden. The outcome measure was an International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, code for rickets. RESULTS: There were 273 cases of rickets, with an incidence of 14...

AIM: To determine survival of infants with major congenital anomalies (CA) and assess the effect of co-existing anomalies and gestational age. METHODS: All liveborn infants with major CA born in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, 2004-2009 were identified from the NSW Register of Congenital Conditions. Deaths were identified via record-linkage to death registrations and five-year survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier methods. RESULTS: There were 8,521 liveborn infants with CA of whom 617 (7...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

AIM: To evaluate the accuracy of our new rapid point-of-care (POC) test for lung maturity. The method as we describe in an accompanying article, was developed with the purpose of improving the outcome from respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). The test enables the delivery of surfactant in infants with immature lungs already at birth, and ensures that infants with mature lungs are not treated unnecessarily. METHODS: Fresh gastric aspirate (GAS) was sampled at birth in a cohort of preterm infants with gestational ages ranging between 24 to 31 completed weeks for lung-surfactant measurement as lecithin-sphingomyelin ratio (L/S)...