Stefanos Gardikis

Identification of Children and Adolescents at Risk for Renal Scarring After a First Urinary Tract Infection: A Meta-analysis With Individual Patient Data

IMPORTANCE No studies have systematically examined the accuracy of clinical, laboratory, and imaging variables in detecting renal scarring in children and adolescents with a first urinary tract infection. OBJECTIVES To identify independent prognostic factors for the development of renal scarring and to combine these factors in prediction models that could be useful in clinical practice. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE and EMBASE. STUDY SELECTION We included patients aged 0 to 18 years with a first urinary tract infection who underwent follow-up renal scanning with technetium Tc 99m succimer at least 5 months later. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS We pooled individual patient data from 9 cohort studies. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES We examined the association between predictor variables assessed at the time of the first urinary tract infection and the development of renal scarring. Renal scarring was defined by the presence of photopenia on the renal scan. We assessed the following 3 models: clinical (demographic information, fever, and etiologic organism) and ultrasonographic findings (model 1); model 1 plus serum levels of inflammatory markers (model 2); and model 2 plus voiding cystourethrogram findings (model 3). RESULTS Of the 1280 included participants, 199 (15.5%) had renal scarring. A temperature of at least 39°C, an etiologic organism other than Escherichia coli, an abnormal ultrasonographic finding, polymorphonuclear cell count of greater than 60%, C-reactive protein level of greater than 40 mg/L, and presence of vesicoureteral reflux were all associated with the development of renal scars (P ≤ .01 for all). Although the presence of grade IV or V vesicoureteral reflux was the strongest predictor of renal scarring, this degree of reflux was present in only 4.1% of patients. The overall predictive ability of model 1 with 3 variables (temperature, ultrasonographic findings, and etiologic organism) was only 3% to 5% less than the predictive ability of models requiring a blood draw and/or a voiding cystourethrogram. Patients with a model 1 score of 2 or more (21.7% of the sample) represent a particularly high-risk group in whom the risk for renal scarring was 30.7%. At this cutoff, model 1 identified 44.9% of patients with eventual renal scarring. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Children and adolescents with an abnormal renal ultrasonographic finding or with a combination of high fever (≥39°C) and an etiologic organism other than E coli are at high risk for the development of renal scarring.

Comparative Efficacies of Procalcitonin and Conventional Inflammatory Markers for Prediction of Renal Parenchymal Inflammation in Pediatric First Urinary Tract Infection

OBJECTIVES To compare the reliability of procalcitonin (PCT) with conventional laboratory parameters in predicting for renal parenchymal inflammation (RPI). METHODS The study cohort consisted of 57 children who were admitted for a first-episode urinary tract infection. All patients underwent measurement of the leukocyte count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and serum PCT. RPI was evaluated by technetium-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scintigraphy within 7 days of admission. If the first DMSA findings were abnormal, another analysis was performed 6 months later. The cutoff points for ESR, CRP, and PCT were established by comparing the areas under their receiver operating characteristic curves. Statistical analysis was performed using 1-way analysis of variance. RESULTS Of the 57 children, 27 were diagnosed with RPI on the basis of positive DMSA results. The ESR, CRP, and PCT levels were significantly greater (P < .001) in the patients with RPI than in those without RPI. In contrast, the leukocyte count was the same in both groups (P > .05). PCT was a more sensitive and specific marker for differentiating upper and lower urinary tract infection than ESR and CRP. Persistent lesions at the site of previous RPI were found in 12 patients in the follow-up DMSA analysis, with total regression evident in the remaining 15. The PCT levels were significantly greater in those with persistent renal lesions than in those with total regression (P = .005). CONCLUSIONS Serum PCT is a more reliable biologic marker than the ESR, CRP, or leukocyte count for the early prediction of RPI in children with a first episode of urinary tract infection. In addition, the greater the elevation of PCT at admission, the more positive the correlation for subsequent permanent renal damage.

Asthma, lung function and sensitization in school children with a history of bronchiolitis.

Background: The purpose of the present retrospective study was to investigate the association of school‐age asthma with acute‐bronchiolitis and examine the influence of potential risk factors.

Acute abdomen in children due to extra-abdominal causes.

Background: Acute abdominal pain in children is a common cause for referral to the emergency room and for subsequent hospitalization to pediatric medical or surgical departments. There are rare occasions when the abdominal pain is derived from extra‐abdominal organs or systems. The aim of the present study was to establish the most common extra‐abdominal causes of acute abdominal pain.

Urological symptoms of acute appendicitis in childhood and early adolescence

We present 15 cases of acute appendicitis in ten boys and five girls (age 3–15 years) with cardinal symptomatology coming from the urogenital tract, who were treated in our departments. All the patients presented with right renal colic, dysuria, frequency and urinary retention. The symptoms were attributed to an ongoing appendix inflammatory process in close proximity to the right distal ureter and urinary bladder. All the patients were successfully operated, and postoperative courses were uneventful. As the present patient group is the largest reported to date, a classification of the pathophysiology in relation to the clinical presentation is proposed.

Suprapubic catheter knotting: an unusual complication.

We describe a case of true knotting of a suprapubic catheter in a 25-month-old boy who underwent surgery for urethrocutaneous fistula as a complication of a distal penile hypospadias repair. This unusual complication was probably attributable to an excessive length of catheter being inserted into the bladder, thereby allowing it to bend onto itself.

Effect of passive smoking on lung function and respiratory infection

ObjectiveTo study the effect of environmental tobacco smoke to children’s health and more specifically to the development of respiratory tract infections and also its influence to their respiratory function.MethodsWe studied 586 children from the district of west Thrace in Greece aged 5–14 years, randomly selected from 20 primary and 10 secondary schools in regards their exposure to tobacco smoke, and its possible relation with respiratory tract infections. We assessed respiratory function by spirometry. Epidemiological data were also analysed.ResultsChildren who were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke had higher risk for upper and lower respiratory tract infections in comparison to children who lived in a smoke free environment (3 fold and 2 fold, respectively. Their lung function was also reduced with decreased values of FEV1, FEF50, PFR (values p<0.001).ConclusionPassive smoking has an unfavorable effect in respiratory function of children and predisposes them to respiratory tract infections. Every effort should be undertaken in order to avoid exposure of children to environmental tobacco smoke.

Night Sweats, Stress Activation and Coeliac Disease

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits noncommercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). Brief Report

Acute appendicitis in preschoolers: a study of two different populations of children

ObjectiveTo assess the incidence and the risk factors implicated in acute appendicitis in preschoolers in our region.MethodsOver a 7-year period, 352 children underwent appendectomy for suspected acute appendicitis. Of these, data for 23 children were excluded because no inflammation of the appendix was found on subsequent histology. Of the remaining 329, 82 were ≤ 5 years old (i.e., preschool children) and 247 were 5-14 years old. These two groups of children were further divided according to their religion into Muslims and Christian Orthodox: 43 of the children aged ≤ 5 years were Muslims and 39 were Christian Orthodox. A household questionnaire was designed to collect data concerning age, gender, type of residence area, living conditions, vegetable consumption, and family history of surgery for acute appendicitis as preschool children. The removed appendices were also assessed histologically for the amount of lymphoid tissue.ResultsAcute appendicitis of preschoolers developed more frequently in Muslims (39.4%) than in Christians (17.7%; p < 0.001). The lack of inside toilet facilities at home, overcrowded living conditions, living in rural areas, and the amount of appendix lymphoid tissue were significantly more frequent among the Muslim preschool children (p < 0.05), while there were no statistically significant differences between Muslim and Christian children with regard to gender, the family history of acute appendicitis, or the vegetable consumption (p > 0.05).ConclusionsIn our region, the percentage of preschool-aged Muslim children with acute appendicitis was remarkably high. One possible explanation for this finding could be the higher amount of lymphoid tissue in the wall of the appendix in Muslim preschool children together with their low standard of hygiene.

Local peritonitis as the first manifestation of Crohn's disease in a child.

Crohns disease (CD) can occur anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus and sometimes it presents in a nonspecific manner. Herein we describe a case of local peritonitis as the first manifestation of CD in an 11-year-old girl, and the subsequent method of treatment.