Acta Paediatrica

AIM: This research aimed to understand the influence of age, gender, height and body mass index (BMI) on balance ability in children aged four to 12 years. The secondary aim was to develop normative values for three balance tests on the Balance Master system. METHODS: Children were recruited in 2017 through community advertising. Balance testing occurred at three recreational centres in Frankston, Victoria, Australia. Data were collected by the Rhythmic Weight Shift, modified Clinical Test of Sensory Integration and Limits of Stability balance tests of the Balance Master equipment...

Communicating a terminal prognosis is challenging for patients, families and healthcare professionals. However, positive effects have been reported when children are told about their diagnosis and prognosis, including fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression and enhanced adherence to treatment (1). When research about prognostic communication was first published in the 1950s and 1960s, it recommended protecting children from bad news. By the late 1960s, a more open approach was recommended and by the late 1980s the advice was to always tell children...

AIM: The aim was to examine if breastfeeding practices were associated with body mass index (BMI) and risk of overweight or obesity in third grade (eight years) of elementary school. METHODS: In a regional cohort we related BMI z-scores and presence of overweight or obesity at eight years of age with ever being breastfed and with duration of exclusive and partial breastfeeding after adjusting for potential confounders. Parents completed questionnaires on breastfeeding and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors at school entry, and public health nurses measured height and weight...

AIM: Elevated total cholesterol (TC) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) are risk factors for cardiovascular disease however little is known about their determinants in infants. We aimed to describe TC and HbA1c concentrations in infants aged 8-14 months, and explore the relation between infant TC, HbA1c, breastfeeding, infant diet, and maternal TC and HbA1c. METHODS: In this cross-sectional pilot study, mothers of infants aged 6 and 12 months were invited to complete a food frequency questionnaire and to take home-based dried blood spot samples from themselves and their infants...

AIM: To assess local and individual factors that should be consideration in the design of a pulse oximetry screening strategy in New Zealand's midwifery-led maternity setting. METHODS: An intervention study was conducted over 2 years. Three hospitals and 4 primary maternity units participated in the study. Post-ductal saturation levels were measured on well infants with a gestation of ≥35 weeks. Infant activity and age (hours) at the time of the test were recorded...

AIM: To investigate whether a high birth weight was associated with an increased proportion of body fat or with impaired glucose tolerance in adulthood. METHODS: Our cohort comprised 27 subjects with birth weights of 4,500 g or more, and 27 controls with birth weights within ±1 standard deviation scores, born at Uppsala University Hospital 1975-1979. The subjects were 34-40 years old at the time of study. Anthropometric data was collected, and data on body composition was obtained by air plethysmography and bioimpedance and was estimated with a three compartment model...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

AIM: This study assessed the impact of illness perceptions, emotional responses to the disease and its management, and patient characteristics on the adherence to optimal insulin pump management in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: From May to December 2013 and May 2015 to September 2016 we investigated 90 adolescents (50% boys),12 to 18 years with type 1 diabetes. We analysed the association of optimal adherence to insulin pump therapy to age, gender, diabetes duration, results of questionnaires relating to fear and problems of self - testing, illness perceptions, emotional distress and family conflicts...

AIM: This paper aimed to analyse the association between small for size at birth, stunting, recovery from stunting, and pubertal development in a rural Bangladeshi cohort. METHODS: The participants were 994 girls and 987 boys whose mothers participated in the Maternal and Infant Nutrition Interventions in Matlab trial. The birth cohort was followed from birth to puberty 2001-2017. Pubertal development according to Tanner was self-assessed. Age at menarche was determined and in boys, consecutive height measurements were used to ascertain whether pubertal growth spurt had started...

Severe primary paediatric immunodeficiency syndromes are rare and potentially fatal unless suspected, diagnosed and treated early. We provide clinical guidance and support for on call consultant paediatricians working in secondary level hospitals on how to recognise and manage children with these conditions. Our paper addresses four conditions that risk the most severe outcomes if they are not adequately cared for during on call periods, such as weekends: severe combined immunodeficiency, haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, severe congenital neutropaenia and chronic granulomatous disease...

Breastfeeding is considered to be one of the most important ways of promoting public health worldwide and is an investment in the health of future generations. Exclusive breastfeeding with just human milk is the optimal feeding mode for the first six months of life and it provides the strongest benefits for the health of the child and mother (1). That is why it is important to study the factors that could promote or reduce exclusive breastfeeding duration. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved...

AIM: We retrospectively evaluated the hospital reimbursement rates for inpatient bronchiolitis treatment and then compared them to the RAFAELA® nursing intensity scores. METHODS: We selected all 44 bronchiolitis patients treated in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and then for each PICU-treated patient two patients treated on the ward (n=88) under 12 months of age in 2010-2015. The data included medical histories, hospital reimbursement rates using the Nordic Diagnosis Related Groups (NordDRG) or expense categories and the RAFAELA® scores...

AIM: It is not clear if perinatal acidosis can predict poor outcomes in extremely preterm infants and we investigated associations between intrapartum hypoxia and mortality and neurodevelopmental outcomes. METHODS: We used nationwide data on 705 infants from the Extremely Preterm Infants in Sweden Study, delivered at 22-26 weeks of gestation during 2004-2007. Comprehensive neurodevelopmental assessments were performed on survivors at 2.5 (n=456) and 6.5 (n=441) years of corrected age...

AIM: We evaluated what determined breastfeeding problems in a non-selected mother-infant cohort, with special reference to tongue-tie and improvements in breastfeeding following frenulotomy. METHODS: This 2014-2015 prospective, observational study was carried out in a tertiary level maternity unit affiliated to the University of Freiburg, Germany, using a breastfeeding questionnaire, standardised breastfeeding scores and the Assessment Tool For Lingual Frenulum Function (ATLFF)...

Antimicrobial resistance has been associated with increased mortality and long-term hospitalisation. The European Centre for Disease Prevention has reported that a high percentage of Greek patients affected by Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were resistant to carbapenem, (1). It is important to assess risk factors for carbapenem resistance to Gram-negative bacteria in hospital-acquired bloodstream infections, as some could be eliminated in vulnerable patients. Very few paediatric studies have focused on carbapenem resistance, especially in critically ill children, and there are limited impact data (2)...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

AIM: We investigated whether the daily salt intake of children with nocturnal enuresis influenced their response to 1-desamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin therapy. METHODS: This study comprised 129 children (67.4% boys) with a median age of 9.2 years (range 7.2-10.4) with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis who were seen at Kansai Medical University Hospital, Osaka, Japan, from 2013-2017. Urinary sodium concentrations were determined using a spot urine test and the children were divided into appropriate (n = 55) and excessive salt intake (n = 74) groups based on Japanese Government guidelines...

The diagnosis and management of congenital heart disease (CHD), the most common inborn defect, has been a tremendous success story of modern medicine. In the 1950s survival of children born with CHD was only approximately 15%, whereas nowadays more than 90% of these children survive well into adulthood. Consequently the prevalence of patients with CHD has shifted away from infancy and childhood towards adulthood. Adult CHD cardiology is now encompassing not only young or middle-aged adults but also patients with CHD over 60 years old...

AIM: We investigated the association between early amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) and cognitive outcome in very preterm infants at early school-age. METHODS: This prospective cohort study, conducted in the Department of Neonatology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, from 2009-2012, comprised infants born at less than 32 weeks of gestation, who underwent continuous aEEG recording during the first four days of life. Cognitive outcome was assessed with the Kaufman-Assessment Battery for Children at five years...

AIM: The main objectives of this research was to: a) examine the test-retest reliability of aquaticity test (study 1), b) investigate the efficacy of "swimming lesson", during the physical education course, in the aquaticity (study 2) and c) examine enjoyment from the "swimming lesson" (study 3) in primary school students of the 3rd grade. METHODS: In the first study, 23 students performed 2 assessment sessions for the evaluation of aquaticity, separated by 1 week...