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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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Question: What can be used to create a reliable supply of somatic cells for induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generation and standardize procedures for building an iPSC bank for researching pediatric neurogenetic disorders? Findings: Noninvasively acquired urine cells are a desirable cell source for iPSC reprogramming. Meaning: An iPSC bank can be created from diverse patient cell sources and offer a useful resource for translating research results into clinical therapy for pediatric neurogenetic disorders. |
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Question: What are the outcomes of jaundiced neonates when phototherapy is discontinued at 2 different total serum bilirubin (TSB) thresholds? Findings: The study involved 80 neonates, comparing a recommended TSB threshold and a lower threshold for phototherapy discontinuation. Results showed a 14.3% reinstitution rate of treatment, with no adverse outcomes. Meaning: Careful posttreatment monitoring is essential when discontinuing phototherapy, and future research should consider updated guidelines like those from the American Academy of Pediatrics. |
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Question: What is the burden of neural tube defects (NTDs) in a tertiary care neonatal intensive care unit in Bangladesh? Finding: The overall incidence of NTD was 6.4 (range, 4.59–11.2) per 1,000 live births, and the meningomyelocele complex was the most frequent location. Meaning: The high incidence of NTD found in a leading tertiary care multidisciplinary referral hospital in Bangladesh may not reflect that of the wider population. |
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Question: Can pediatric autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) be effectively managed using first-line steroids? Finding: In this single-center study, pediatric patients with AIHA achieved normal hemoglobin levels within 16.5 days (range, 9.0–22.0 days) of first-line steroid treatment and maintained effective responses for 2 months. Meaning: These outcomes highlight the efficacy of steroid treatment in pediatric versus adult AIHA and underscore the need for multicenter trials to establish standardized treatment guidelines. |
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Question: Is it role of microRNA-410 (miRNA-410) and microRNA-498 (miRNA-498) in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)? Findings: miRNA-498 and miRNA-410 can be auxiliary diagnostic and prognostic tools for neonatal HIE. Meaning: we can use miRNA-498 and miRNA-410 as markers and indicator for HIE. |
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Question: Does the gut microbiota differ between very low birth weight (VLBW) infants with versus without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)? Finding: Common respiratory pathogens were notably elevated in the BPD group, whereas anaerobic and butyrate-producing taxa, key components of postbiotics, were dominant in the non-BPD group. Meaning: In gut-lung communication, the interplay between the intestinal and respiratory systems may implicate pro- and postbiotics in VLBW infants with BPD. |
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Question: Postinfectious bronchiolitis obliterans (PIBO) is a chronic respiratory disease that typically develops in children after a severe respiratory infection. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is often comorbid in patients with PIBO. Finding: Corticosteroid pulse therapy effectively manages PIBO with or without comorbid BPD, significantly reducing exacerbations and decreasing the daily requirement for inhaled corticosteroids. Meaning: Therapeutic effects of corticosteroid pulses are rapid and sustained over time, in both groups. |
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Question: Is there a nonlinear relationship between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and asthma in children and adolescents? Finding: NLR showed a nonlinear association with asthma, with an NLR threshold of 2.23 identifying individuals at higher risk. Meaning: An NLR<2.23 may serve as a potential biomarker for asthma risk assessment and management in pediatric populations, thereby offering a simple tool for the early identification of at-risk individuals. |
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Question: Can adrenomedullin (ADM) or interleukin-6 (IL-6) detect late-onset neonatal sepsis (LOS) at admission (area under the curve [AUC]>0.90) as an early diagnostic marker? Finding: Only IL-6 consistently distinguished survivors from nonsurvivors (AUC>0.90) on admission and antibiotic treatment days 3 and 7. C-reactive protein level identified infections from day 3 but failed to predict outcomes (AUC<0.70). Meaning: IL-6 level can improve LOS diagnosis and prognosis. |
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Question: What is the acceptance rate for coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination among parents of children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)? Finding: One-third of parents were hesitant to vaccinate their child. Parental willingness to vaccinate themselves, older patient age, and belief in the vaccine's potency were associated with vaccine acceptance. Meaning: These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to improve vaccine acceptance among parents of children with SLE. |
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· Infection remains a leading cause of death in febrile neutropenia (FN). · Mid-regional pro-adrenomedullin (MR-ProADM) levels are higher among patients with FN and a bacterial infection. · A longer FN duration and hospital stay length as well as elevated C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, and MR-ProADM levels are significant risk factors for mortality. |
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