Children

BACKGROUND: The gold standard gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulation test uses the response to intravenously injected gonadorelin to diagnose central precocious puberty (CPP). However, gonadorelin is not always readily available. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the diagnostic efficacy of the subcutaneous triptorelin test and the optimal blood sampling time for diagnosis of CPP. METHODS: This study retrospectively examined the medical records of 220 girls who had undergone either the triptorelin or gonadorelin test and compared their clinical characteristics...

Diarrhea and fever are prevalent childhood illnesses with potentially severe consequences, especially when they co-occur. This study investigates the prevalence and determinants of diarrhea, fever, and their coexistence among children under-five in Bangladesh. Data from the 2017-2018 Bangladesh Demography and Health Survey (BDHS) were analyzed using multivariable stepwise logistic regression with backward selection. This study found that 5.0% for diarrhea, 34.0% for fever, and 3.0% for the coexistence of both illnesses...

UNLABELLED: The rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Arab countries necessitates evidence-based interventions. Assistive technology (AT) presents a promising approach. However, data on the pervasiveness of AT use and its effectiveness for individuals with ASD, specifically within Arab countries, remain scarce. OBJECTIVE: To review the current literature on the AT interventions and outcomes reported for individuals with ASD in Arab countries. METHODS: A scoping review adhering to PRISMA guidelines was undertaken to explore the utilization of AT, segmented into three categories: low-technology (low-tech), mid-technology (mid-tech), and high-technology (high-tech) devices...

Finding infant rib fractures was for many years an almost undisputed proof that physical child abuse took place. Yet, these rib fractures are virtually always occult and asymptomatic and are only identified when looked for, usually with X-rays, from physical child abuse accusations related to, e.g., suspicion of the shaken baby syndrome. In a recent systematic literature review (searched in Cochran, Embase, PubMed and Sociological Abstracts), Güvensel questioned the diagnostic accuracy of rib fractures to be caused by abuse, due to lack of sufficient scientific evidence...

In the early years of schooling, peer groups are key to fostering students' overall learning and development. Yet it has been found that around 10% of children suffer from peer rejection in the classroom, with this problem entailing negative consequences both in the short and long term. The problem proves difficult for adults to detect, which usually leads to a delay in measures being taken to intervene and prevent it. This study applies an experimental design with pre-test and post-test measurements in two groups-experimental and control-in order to address the problem of rejection in the early years of schooling...

BACKGROUND: Bullying is a hostile behavior repeated over a time period, affecting children and adolescents in different social settings, mainly small and stable ones like school, with negative effects on mental and physical health. In this study, we aimed to provide the degree of impairment of different variables related to health and well-being in bullying conditions, with attention to sex differences. METHODS: Data were obtained from 5390 adolescents (mean age 13...

Children's emotional abilities have been shown to be related to academic performance, peer acceptance, and in-school adjustment. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of innovative emotion training designed to promote the emotional abilities of 316 preschool/kindergarten children aged from 3 to 6 years old enrolled in public schools in the first three levels (L1, L2, and L3). Another objective was to examine the transfer effects on language comprehension and mathematics abilities. The emotion training (eight sessions) focused on the identification, comprehension, and expression of emotions and were co-constructed with teachers...

Health conditions in a developing state such as Ethiopia are precarious; in addition to the extreme spread of infectious diseases such as AIDS, oral health is also affected by the scarce knowledge and possibility of treatment. This analysis considered 77 children aged 7 to 11 from a primary school in Guraghe in Ethiopia. The presence of plaque, calculus, and caries was evaluated. For each caries, the affected tooth and the site of onset were considered. Plaque was detected in 39% of the children, calculus in 22%, and dental caries in 48% of the patients...

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a major respiratory condition mainly affecting premature infants. Although its occurrence is global, risk factors may differ regionally. This study, involving 3111 infants with birth weight ≤ 1500 gm or gestational age (GA) < 30 weeks, aimed to identify risk factors for BPD and BPD/mortality in Taiwan using data from the Taiwan Neonatal Network. The BPD criteria were based on the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development standards. Average GA was 27...

BACKGROUND: Interceptive orthodontic treatment aims to eliminate factors that prevent the harmonious development of the maxillary and mandibular arches during childhood, and elastodontic appliances (EAs) represent a group of devices with an increasingly important role. This systematic narrative hybrid review (HR) aims to provide an overview of the clinical indications for the use of EAs according to the available evidence and to identify potential research areas for unexplored applications...

The stimulus, stress, and behavioral and mental response (SSB) model proposes that various stimuli induce stress and behavioral responses, which may, in turn, lead to health problems [...].

Early-term neonates (with a gestational age (GA) of 37 and 0/7 weeks to 38 and 6/7 weeks) face higher morbidities, including respiratory and neurodevelopmental issues, than full-term (39 and 0/7 weeks to 40 and 6/7 weeks) infants. This study explores whether hyperbilirubinemia necessitating phototherapy also differs between these groups. A retrospective study was conducted on neonates born from January 2021-June 2022, excluding those with specific conditions. Evaluated factors included GA, birth weight, bilirubin levels, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, and feeding type, with phototherapy given as per AAP guidelines...

Extracardiac rhabdomyomas are rare benign mesenchymal tumors diagnosed upon radiological and hystologic investigations and the treatment of choice is surgical exertion. There aren't any similar cases managed conservatively reported in literature as in our case, to the best of our knowledge. We present a rare case of fetal cheek rhabdomyoma diagnosed in a healthy 2 months-old boy, with asymptomatic mass over the left masseter. The lesion could not be removed, due to the size and dimensions and the young age of the patient...

Pollen-food allergy syndrome (PFAS) is a common IgE-mediated allergic condition resulting from cross-reactions between pollen and plant food allergens, primarily those in the PR-10 subfamily. Mostly symptoms are limited to the mouth and throat causing oral allergy syndrome (OAS). Systemic reactions are extremely rare. We report an 11-year-old boy who experienced a unique anaphylactic reaction after consuming raw carrot juice. The patient exhibited symptoms within one minute, including abdominal pain, facial and eyelid swelling, dyspnea, a macular rash, choking sensation and drowsiness...

Adolescence is a critical period for engaging in health risk behaviors. Migrant adolescents may face unique challenges due to acculturation stress. This study aims to monitor substance use and problem gambling among migrant adolescents living in Italy. Data from the 2017/18 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children survey in Italy were analyzed. The 18,794 participants included 15-year-olds, categorized as native or migrants, with ethnic backgrounds from Western, Eastern European, or non-Western/non-European countries...

Narratives skills are associated with long-term academic and social benefits. While students with disabilities often struggle to produce complete and complex narratives, it remains unclear which aspects of narrative language are most indicative of disability. In this study, we examined the association between a variety of narrative contents and form indices and disability. Methodology involved drawing 50 K-3 students with Individual Education Programs (IEP) and reported language concerns from a large diverse sample ( n = 1074)...

Global rates of adolescent obesity have led the World Health Organization to consider the disease a pandemic that needs focus. In search of new anti-obesity agents, Crocus sativus, popularly known as saffron, is a nutraceutical agent, praised for its beneficial effects. The study aimed to investigate the possible effect of Kozanis saffron administration on weight management of obese prediabetic adolescents. Seventy-four obese prediabetic adolescents participated in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of three arms, randomly assigned to receive either Kozanis saffron ( n = 25, 60 mg/day), metformin ( n = 25, 1000 mg/day) or a placebo ( n = 24), for twelve weeks...

A significant portion of hearing-impaired children have additional disabilities, but data about the maturation of their auditory cortex are scarce. In these children, behavioral tests are often unreliable, and objective tests are needed for diagnostics and follow-up. This study aimed to explore auditory cortical maturation and language development, and the usability of an objective electroencephalogram-based biomarker in children with multiple disabilities. In 65 hearing aid and cochlear implant users (36 females; 36 with multiple disabilities; 44...

Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) is a ribosomopathy characterized by bone marrow erythroid hypoplasia, which typically presents with severe anemia within the first months of life. DBA is typically attributed to a heterozygous mutation in a ribosomal protein (RP) gene along with a defect in the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) maturation or levels. Besides classic DBA, DBA-like disease has been described with variations in 16 genes (primarily in GATA1 , followed by ADA2 alias CECR1 , HEATR3 , and TSR2 ). To date, more than a thousand variants have been reported in RP genes...

Bronchial asthma is a chronic disease related to the atopic condition in most cases but also to other factors (such as infectious diseases; social, economic, environmental, and occupational conditions; exposure to biological irritants; and/or chemical aggressions) [...].