PET IN CHILDREN

Dogs are common in Tonga, where they exist in a close relationship with humans as pets and guard dogs and often are free-roaming due to limited property fencing and the need to scavenge for food. Little is known about the health status of these dogs and the type and level of pathogens carried by them. In this study, blood and fecal samples were analyzed to identify the presence of endoparasites and determine packed cell volume (PCV) values for dogs in Tonga. The current data deficit in this area made it necessary to develop a methodology and collect preliminary data to assist with future research in Tonga...

Dog caregiver reporting on the spectrum of fearful-aggressive behaviours often describes 'unpredictable' or 'exaggerated' responses to a situation/animal/person. A possible explanation for these behavioural responses considers that the dog is reacting to triggered memories for which the dog has a negative association. For many dogs undergoing veterinary behavioural treatment or rehabilitation through a canine rescue organisation, the assessing clinician relies on "proxy" reporting of the history/background by a caregiver (dog owner, foster carer, or shelter personnel)...

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous pollutants that affect various environmental matrices, including air, water, soil, food, and beverages. In India, there is limited research on microplastics in bottled drinking water, which is a significant route of MP exposure to the human body. To date, the data on the occurrence of MPs in national and local bottled water brands have not been studied and compared. Therefore, the current study focuses on the contamination of MPs in bottled water from different national and local brands procured from the market of Nagpur, India...

This study aimed to examine the feasibility of utilizing radiomics models derived from 18 F-FDG PET/CT imaging to screen for T-cell lymphoma in children with lymphoma. All patients had undergone 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans. Lesions were extracted from PET/CT and randomly divided into training and validation sets. Two different types of models were constructed as follows: features that are extracted from standardized uptake values (SUV)-associated parameters, and CT images were used to build SUV/CT-based model. Features that are derived from PET and CT images were used to build PET/CT-based model...

Differential diagnosis of focal brainstem lesions detected on MRI is challenging, especially in young children. Formerly, brainstem gliomas were classified mainly based on MRI features and location. However, since 2016, the World Health Organization's brainstem lesion classification requires tissue biopsy to reveal molecular characteristics. Although modern techniques of stereotactic or navigation-guided biopsy ensure accurate biopsy of the lesion with safety, biopsy of brainstem lesions is still generally not performed...

OBJECTIVES: Physeal drilling and curettage (PDC) and percutaneous epiphysiodesis using transphyseal screws (PETS) are among the most widely used techniques to treat leg-length discrepancy (LLD). This study compared the efficacy and outcomes between PETS alone and PETS combined with PDC (PETS + PDC). METHODS: Retrospective study of children who underwent epiphysiodesis of the proximal tibia or distal femur with either PETS or PETS + PDC between 2008 and 2018 at a single institution...

Introduction A chronic diverse inflammatory disease, asthma affects millions of people worldwide. To control asthma, standardized care is essential. Children with asthma who receive appropriate care have lower emergency room (ER) visits and hospital stays as well as a higher quality of life than children who do not receive appropriate care. We aim to evaluate the predictive variables of hospitalization and ER visits in children with asthma. Methodology In 2022 and 2023, a cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on children with asthma and their caregivers who were attending primary health care clinics in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia...

BACKGROUND: The association between pet exposure in infancy, early childhood eczema, and FLG mutations remains unclear. METHODS: This was a birth cohort study performed in Tokyo, Japan. The primary outcome was current eczema based on questionnaire responses collected repeatedly from birth to 5 years of age. Generalized estimating equations and generalized linear modeling were used to evaluate the association. RESULTS: Data from 1448 participants were used for analyses...

Exposure to indoor air pollution (IAP) is a leading environmental risk for respiratory diseases. We investigated the relationship between respiratory symptoms and polluting indoor activities such as smoking, cooking and contact with pets among children in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. A cross-sectional survey applied a multistage sampling method in 24 randomly selected secondary schools across the city. Approximately 15,000 students completed self-administrated questionnaires on risk factors and respiratory health outcomes within the preceding 12 months...

PURPOSE: To characterize physiologic uptake of 18 F FDG in children undergoing PET/CT as a step to informing efforts to optimize FDG PET image quality in children. METHODS: This retrospective study included 193 clinically indicated 18 F FDG PET/CT examinations from 139 patients. 3D spherical regions of interest (ROIs) in the liver and in the thigh muscle (an area of uniform low-level uptake) were used to measure counts and mean standardized uptake value by body weight (SUVmean-bw)...

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a monoclonal proliferative disease that can affect multiple organs. It is a rare disorder, and children are the most commonly affected. Its classification depends on whether the disease is localized (usually bone or skin) or systemic. We present the case of a 49-year-old woman with a previous diagnosis of LCH in 2018 with only cutaneous involvement, managed with topical corticosteroids. After developing hypertransaminasemia, a PET-CT scan was performed, showing dissemination of the disease with bone, hepatosplenic and gynecological involvement...

In low-resource settings, a reliable bedside score for timely identification of children at risk of dying, could help focus resources and improve survival. The rapid bedside Liverpool quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (LqSOFA) uses clinical parameters only and performed well in United Kingdom cohorts. A similarly quick clinical assessment-only score has however not yet been developed for paediatric populations in sub-Saharan Africa. In a development cohort of critically ill children in Malawi, we calculated the LqSOFA scores using age-adjusted heart rate and respiratory rate, capillary refill time and Blantyre Coma Scale, and evaluated its prognostic performance for mortality...

Congenital mesoblastic nephroma is an extremely rare, low-grade malignant renal tumor in children. A 10-month-old boy and a 4-month-old girl were admitted to our hospital with a huge abdominal mass. For staging of the mass, 18F-FDG PET/CT and PET/MR were performed showing a huge heterogeneous abdominal mass accompanied by extensive heterogeneous aggregation. Both of them were highly suspected to be Wilms tumor, the most common renal malignant tumor in children. However, histopathological examination after surgery confirmed congenital mesodermal nephroma...

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of asthma among children has been on the rise worldwide, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. Our study was conducted to determine the prevalence of asthma and its related risk factors among school-age children in the Jazan Region, Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The study was a cross-sectional prospective study that used Phase I ISAAC protocol and was conducted from March to June 2023. The sample size was calculated to be 1600 among school-age children in the Jazan Region Saudi Arabia...

BACKGROUND: Children are especially vulnerable to Toxocara infection and its severe complications; however, there have not been any published data on the disease prevalence and treatment effectiveness in the population of Vietnamese children. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of toxocariasis and explore factors associated with Toxocara infection in children aged 3-15 y in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using a multistage cluster sampling approach in public schools...

The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of cadmium (Cd) in the organs of game animals from areas with different degrees of industrialisation and to assess its intake following the consumption of the livers of these animals. The material for this study consisted of liver and kidney samples taken from roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ), red deer ( Cervus elaphus ), and wild boar ( Sus scrofa ) from five regions differing in land use and industrialisation. Compared to the kidneys, the liver was an indicator of the current state of the environment and Cd intake, while the kidney was used to assess the long-term accumulation of Cd in the body...

This study examines the effect of volunteering within a Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl) premiere accredited center by exploring the experiences of volunteers leading horses in adaptive riding lessons. Adaptive Riding lessons are horseback riding lessons for individuals ages four through the lifespan, with special needs, varying from cognitive, physical, social-emotional, or other challenges. Volunteers directly impact the rider-horse bond by increasing accessibility to horseback riding for individuals with disabilities, fostering a meaningful bond between the rider and horse...

Caregiving is recognised as a source of stress with potential for negative health impacts as well as positive outcomes and development of resilience. For young carers, children, and adolescents providing care for close family members, adaptation through resilience is crucial, yet work using a resilience approach is limited. This study explored protective factors and pathways to resilience in a sample of young carers, through application of the socioecological model in caring relationships. An in-depth qualitative approach was used, with in-person interviews facilitated by auto-driven photo elicitation...

Yersiniosis is a common zoonotic enteric disease among humans, which has been linked to pigs and contaminated food, especially pork. The epidemiology of yersiniosis is still obscure, and studies on yersiniosis in pets are very scarce. In this study, we performed pheno- and genotypic characterisation of 50 Yersinia strains isolated from pets in Finland between 2012 and 2023. Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3/ST135, the most common type in human yersiniosis, was also the most common type (68%) found in clinical faecal samples in our study...

Primary pediatric lung tumors are uncommon and have many overlapping clinical and imaging features. In contrast to adult lung tumors, these rare pediatric neoplasms have a relatively broad histologic spectrum. Informed by a single-institution 13-year retrospective record review, we present an overview of the most common primary pediatric lung neoplasms, with a focus on the role of positron emission tomography (PET), specifically 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET and 18  Ga-DOTATATE PET, in the management of primary pediatric lung tumors...