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Question: Although children with postacute sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (PASC) may experience persistent symptoms that affect their quality of life (QoL), a screening tool for identifying high-risk children is lacking. Finding: Kinder Lebensqualität fragebogen (KINDL) and Children's Somatic Symptom Inventory-24 (CSSI-24) were significantly correlated. An optimal KINDL cutoff score (74.75) detected those at high risk of a reduced QoL. Meaning: Integrating KINDL and CSSI-24 into routine pediatric outpatient care may enable timely identification and interventions for children at risk of PASC-related impairments. |
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Question: How does the gut microbiota profile of infants with biliary atresia (BA) differ from that of infants with non-BA cholestasis and healthy infants in the Indonesian population? Finding: The unique fecal microbiome composition of the BA group differed significantly from that of the other 2 groups. Meaning: There is an urgent need to improve dysbiosis in BA and non-BA cholestasis to prevent worsening liver injury in cholestasis. |
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Question: What are the roles of linezolid, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and corticosteroids in pediatric invasive group A streptococcal infection (iGAS)? Can any improve outcomes beyond beta-lactams and clindamycin? Finding: Two of 46 patients with iGAS died. Nearly all received beta-lactams plus clindamycin. Linezolid was effective in refractory cases. IVIG and corticosteroids had variable efficacies. Meaning: Linezolid may be valuable in refractory cases. IVIG may be considered in severe presentations. The role of corticosteroids remains less clearly defined. |
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· A total of 159 children with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH; 60.3% female, 13.2% type 2 AIH) were identified. According to a global study, the estimated annual incidence of AIH in Egypt is 1.28 cases per 100,000 inhabitant-years. · No studies to date have examined the serum levels of copper or ceruloplasmin in children with AIH. Therefore, here we investigated whether serum copper and ceruloplasmin levels are useful for identifying liver fibrosis in children with AIH. · Serum copper and ceruloplasmin levels may provide important information for the identification of advanced liver fibrosis in children with AIH. |
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The B-cell lymphoma protein 2 family proteins Bak and Bcl- Xl, important markers of apoptosis, may contribute to primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Thus, their expression may serve as biomarkers for the diagnosis and monitoring of pediatric ITP. Targeting these pathways may improve platelet survival, particularly in treatment-resistant cases. Personalized treatments based on apoptotic profiles can optimize therapy and reduce the unnecessary use of immunosuppressive drugs. |
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Question: Is helmet therapy more effective than conservative management in treating positional plagiocephaly? Finding: Both approaches reduced cranial asymmetry with comparable correction speed. Helmet therapy showed a trend toward greater severity reduction. Meaning: Early treatment initiation was the strongest predictor of improvement. Helmet therapy may offer additional benefit in more severe cases. |
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Question: What are the nationwide trends and mortality risk factors of nutritional versus hereditary rickets among children in Asia? Finding: In 2012–2018, the incidence of rickets steadily increased, whereas mortality rates declined. Mortality is associated with a low household income, anemia, chronic kidney disease, secondary hyperparathyroidism, and a prolonged hospital stay. Meaning: Early diagnosis and targeted interventions addressing social and medical vulnerabilities are critical to reducing ricket-related mortality. |
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Question: What is the success rate of conservative treatment for pediatric chylothorax, and when should surgical intervention be employed? Finding: Overall success rate of conservative treatment was 83.3%. Surgically related etiologies and lower peak pleural fluid drainage rates were significantly associated with successful conservative management of pediatric chylothorax. Meaning: If chylous drainage persists at ≥10 mL/kg/day beyond 2 weeks of optimal conservative treatment, surgical intervention should be considered. |
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Question: What are the roles of thyroid hormones and endothelin in South Indian children with asthma? Finding: Thyroid hormone and endothelin levels were significantly elevated in South Indian children with asthma; poorly controlled cases exhibited the highest levels. Elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone and endothelin levels were correlated with asthma severity. Meaning: Serum endothelin is a potential surrogate marker for asthma severity that could aid the assessment and management of childhood asthma. |
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Question: What are the biochemical and clinical correlates of hyperhomocysteinemia in pediatric β-thalassemia, and how does it relate to vitamin status, oxidative stress, and splenectomy? Finding: Most pediatric β-thalassemia patients exhibited severe hyperhomocysteinemia, which was strongly associated with folate and B12 deficiencies and influenced oxidative stress patterns, particularly in splenectomized individuals. Meaning: These findings suggest that routine monitoring and correction of B-vitamin deficiencies may mitigate hyperhomocysteinemia-related risks in pediatric thalassemia. |
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Question: Is there an association between adenosine deaminase (ADA) G22A and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RN) genetic polymorphisms and pediatric metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD)? Finding: The GG genotype and G allele of ADA G22A were significantly associated with obesity but not pediatric MAFLD, while the *1/*2 genotype of the IL-1RN gene was significantly associated with obesity and pediatric MAFLD. Meaning: The IL-1RN gene may contribute to pediatric MAFLD. |
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Question: Can neutrophil elastase (NE) levels predict infection— the primary cause of mortality—among children with hematological malignancies and febrile neutropenia (FN)? Finding: Elevated levels of NE were found in children with chemotherapy-induced FN and a bacterial infection. Meaning: Increased NE levels and prolonged FN are important factors associated with mortality risk. |
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Question: Does high-protein enteral nutrition better increase the average nitrogen balance (NB) and decrease the intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) level of critically ill postoperative children than standard-protein enteral nutrition? Finding: The study demonstrated a significant increase in average NB but no significant decrease in I-FABP levels in the high- versus low-protein group. Meaning: These findings suggest that high-protein enteral nutrition can improve NB in critically ill postoperative children, thereby supporting their recovery. |
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Question: Why is the early detection of Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis in children important? Finding: The early detection of H. pylori-related gastritis is crucial for its effective management, especially in pediatric patients with dyspepsia. Meaning: The use of miRNA signatures could detect early gastritis, enabling timely H. pylori eradication treatment to mitigate growth delays and cancer risk. |
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Question: What are the recent trends and determinants of breastfeeding in South Korea? Finding: Breastfeeding rates in South Korea declined significantly from 2007 to 2021, with lower rates observed in preterm, low-birthweight, and multiple-birth infants as well as rural or lower-income households. Meaning: Targeted interventions, including prenatal education, postnatal support, and community-based programs, are required to address disparities and improve breastfeeding rates. |
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Question: Can probiotics BB/LA reverse gut dysbiosis in preterm neonates? Finding: BB/LA supplementation induced more diverse beta diversity and increased relative abundances of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and decreased relative abundance Clostridium. Meaning: Early BB/LA supplementation could reverse gut dysbiosis in preterm neonates. |
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Question: What are the key challenges affecting pediatric cardiologists and cardiac surgeons in Korea? Finding: Excessive workloads, low procedural volumes, and legal risks contribute to high burnout. Regional disparities limit skill maintenance and threaten workforce sustainability. Meaning: Targeted policies ensuring fair workloads, legal protections, and regional support are essential to stabilizing the pediatric cardiac workforce and maintaining high-quality care. |
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Question: Does treating iron deficiency (ID) using intravenous iron in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) feature long-term safety and efficacy? Finding: Intravenous iron supplementation was safe and effective. However, the ID recurrence rate was higher than expected. Meaning: Proactive screening and treatment of ID in pediatric IBD are essential. The Ganzoni formula likely underestimates the iron requirements of pediatric patients. Prospective trials are needed to optimize iron treatment dosing. |
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Question: Does consolidative allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) after chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy improve outcomes of children and young adult patients with relapsed/refractory hematologic malignancies? Finding: The meta-analysis showed reduced relapse rates and favorable survival trends with allo-SCT despite low evidence quality. Meaning: Consolidative allo-SCT after CAR T-cell therapy may enhance survival; however, further clinical studies are needed. |
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Question: What pharmacological strategies can limit ischemia-reperfusion injury in pediatric patients with testicular torsion? Finding: In a rat model of testicular torsion, linezolid reduced oxidative stress, inflammation, and tissue injury via the Toll-like receptor 4/mitogen-activated protein kinase/nuclear factor kappa beta pathway. Meaning: Linezolid may offer a pharmacological approach to attenuate testicular damage in pediatric patients with testicular torsion, warranting further clinical investigation. |
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This study assessed the effects of vitamin C on children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Vitamin C supplementation improved clinical symptoms within 48–72 hours compared to placebo but did not reduce the length of hospital stay (LOS). These findings suggest that vitamin C is beneficial for managing CAP severity, but does not affect LOS. |
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Question: Do macrophage migration-inhibitory factor (MIF) and growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) levels and their gene polymorphisms affect RDS among preterm babies? Finding: Significantly higher serum MIF and GDF-15 levels were observed in patients with severe respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). The mutant G- and C-alleles of GDF-15 rs4808793 C>G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and MIF rs755622 G>C SNP were present at significantly higher frequencies in preterm neonates with RDS. Meaning: MIF and GDF-15 play a significant role in neonatal RDS and its severity. |
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Question: Vasovagal syncope (VVS) and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) are representative forms of neurally mediated syncope. What influences the occurrence of each? Finding: Autonomic function test results did not differ, but cerebral blood flow during diastole on transcranial doppler differed between VVS and POTS. Meaning: Differences in diastolic cerebral blood flow velocity play an important role in VVS and POTS. |
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Question: Are pediatric patients with heart disease who are receiving diuretics at risk of thiamin deficiency (TD)? Finding: Fifteen percent of the patients had TD. TD was associated with inadequate dietary thiamin intake and increasing age. Meaning: The thiamin pyrophosphate effect should be assessed in those with high risk of TD. Dietary counseling should be emphasized to ensure adequate dietary thiamin intake. |
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Question: Does a respiratory severity score (RSS)-guided postnatal corticosteroid protocol improve respiratory outcomes of extremely preterm (EP) infants without worsening neurodevelopmental outcomes? Finding: The protocol enabled targeted and early steroid use, thereby reducing severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia without affecting mortality or causing neurodevelopmental impairments. Meaning: The RSS-guided protocol may offer a more precise and individualized postnatal corticosteroid therapy for EP infants. |
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Background: Liposomal iron, a novel oral formulation of ferric pyrophosphate that demonstrates improved gastrointestinal absorption and bioavailability with fewer side effects than conventional iron, represents a significant advancement in the treatment of iron-deficiency anemia (IDA).
Purpose: To conduct an in-depth comparative study of liposomal SunActive and conventional iron supplements (iron polymaltose complex) for treating IDA in children aged 2–12 years Methods: This... |
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Question: Could hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) be an alternative to enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for type VI mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS VI)? Finding: HSCT is generally not offered due to reports of high toxicity and mortality. However, we detected fewer complications and graft-versus-host disease cases and no deaths with HSCT. Meaning: HSCT is both less expensive than ERT and permanent; thus, it should be considered an alternative treatment for MPS VI. |
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CO2 insufflation has been used instead of air insufflation to reduce postprocedure pain and discomfort in adults; however, adequately powered studies in children are scarce. This randomized controlled trial of 200 children showed that CO2 insufflation reduces postprocedure pain and discomfort during pediatric colonoscopy with no signs of CO2 retention. CO2 insufflation is safe and causes less pain in children. |
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Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are associated with various somatic symptoms measured using a visual analogue scale and the Children’s Somatic Symptoms Inventory-24 questionnaire. Children with FGIDs exhibited more significant somatic symptoms than controls during acute illnesses. Gastrointestinal (GI) and non-GI manifestations are significantly more common in children with FGIDs. |
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Question: Are serum amyloid A (SAA) and proadrenomedullin (proADM) levels early markers in critically ill children with sepsis? Finding: This prospective case-control study included 65 critically ill children with sepsis admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit and 31 controls. SAA and proADM levels were significantly higher in patients versus controls. Meaning: SAA and proADM are promising biomarkers for diagnosing and predicting outcomes in pediatric sepsis. |
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