Prevalence and Risk Factors of Neurologic Manifestations in Hospitalized Children Diagnosed with Acute SARS-CoV-2 or MIS-C

Background: Our objective was to characterize the frequency, early impact, and risk factors for neurological manifestations in hospitalized children with acute severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Methods: Multicenter, cross-sectional study of neurological manifestations in children aged <18 years hospitalized with positive SARS-CoV-2 test or clinical diagnosis of a SARS-CoV-2-related condition between January 2020 and April 2021. Multivariable logistic regression to identify risk factors for neurological manifestations was performed. Results: Of 1493 children, 1278 (86%) were diagnosed with acute SARS-CoV-2 and 215 (14%) with MIS-C. Overall, 44% of the cohort (40% acute SARS-CoV-2 and 66% MIS-C) had at least one neurological manifestation. The most common neurological findings in children with acute SARS-CoV-2 and MIS-C diagnosis were headache (16% and 47%) and acute encephalopathy (15% and 22%), both P < 0.05. Children with neurological manifestations were more likely to require intensive care unit (ICU) care (51% vs 22%), P < 0.001. In multivariable logistic regression, children with neurological manifestations were older (odds ratio [OR] 1.1 and 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07 to 1.13) and more likely to have MIS-C versus acute SARS-CoV-2 (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.45 to 3.24), pre-existing neurological and metabolic conditions (OR 3.48, 95% CI 2.37 to 5.15; and OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.66, respectively), and pharyngeal (OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.64) or abdominal pain (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.00); all P < 0.05. Conclusions: In this multicenter study, 44% of children hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2-related conditions experienced neurological manifestations, which were associated with ICU admission and pre-existing neurological condition. Posthospital assessment for, and support of, functional impairment and neuroprotective strategies are vitally needed

REVIEW ON FEATURE SELECTION TECHNIQUES AND ITS IMPACT FOR EFFECTIVE DATA CLASSIFICATION USING UCI MACHINE LEARNING REPOSITORY DATASET

Feature selection goal is to get rid of redundant and irrelevant features. The problem of feature subset selection is that of finding a subset of the original features of a dataset, such that an induction algorithm run on data containing only selected features makes a classifier to generate with the highest possible accuracy. High dimensional data can contain a high degree of irrelevant and redundant features which may greatly degrade the performance of learning algorithms. The performance of different feature selectors such as CFS, Chi-Square, Information Gain, Gain Ratio, One R and Symmetrical Uncertainty were evaluated on two different popular classification algorithms namely Decision Tree and Naive Bayesian method. A significant improvement in the performance of DT and NB classifier was shown after reducing the number of both irrelevant and redundant features by the use of different feature ranking methods

Physiologic Characteristics of Hyperosmolar Therapy After Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury

All work was performed at the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital. Objective: Investigate injury severity, neuroimaging, physiology, and outcomes with bolus hyperosmolar therapy (HT) of 3% hypertonic saline or mannitol. Methods: Retrospective cohort analysis was performed. Physiologic variables included intracranial pressure (ICP), arterial blood pressure (ABP), and heart rate (HR). Volume-pressure compensation (PVC) indices included ICP pulse amplitude (AMP) and correlation of AMP and ICP (RAP). Cerebrovascular pressure reactivity (CVPR) indices included pressure reactivity index (PRx), pulse amplitude index (PAx), wavelet PRx (wPRx), and correlation of AMP and cerebral perfusion pressure (RAC). Heart rate variability (HRV) indices included heart rate standard deviation (HRsd), heart rate root mean square of successive differences (HRrmssd) and low-high frequency ratio (LHF). Outcome was assessed using Glasgow Outcomes Scale Extended Pediatrics, 12-months post-injury. Generalized estimating equations was applied to investigate associations of physiologic changes and pre-treatment indices with HT efficacy. Repeated measures analysis of variance was applied to investigate changes after HT without intracranial hypertension (ICH). Wilcoxon rank-sum was applied to investigate HT responsiveness with age, injury severity, neuroimaging, and outcomes. Results: Thirty children received bolus HT. ICH reduction after HT was associated with reduced ICP (p = 0.0064), ABP (p = 0.0126), PRx (p = 0.0063), increased HRsd (p = 0.0408), and decreased pretreatment RAC (p = 0.0115) and wPRx (p = 0.0072). HT-responsive patients were older and had improved outcomes (p = 0.0394). HT without ICH was associated with increased ICP (P < 0.0001) and ABP (P < 0.0001), increases in all HRV indices and decreases in all PVC indices. Conclusion: After pediatric TBI, efficacious HT is associated with decreased ICP and ABP, pre-treatment indices suggesting efficient CVPR, and potentially improved outcomes. © Copyright © 2021 Wellard, Kuwabara, Adelson and Appavu.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Pediatric Acute Stroke Protocols in the United States and Canada

OBJECTIVE: To describe existing pediatric acute stroke protocols to better understand how pediatric centers might implement such pathways within the context of institution-specific structures. STUDY DESIGN: We administered an Internet-based survey of pediatric stroke specialists. The survey included questions about hospital demographics, child neurology and pediatric stroke demographics, acute stroke response, imaging, and hyperacute treatment. RESULTS: Forty-seven surveys were analyzed. Most respondents practiced at a large, freestanding children\u27s hospital with a moderate-sized neurology department and at least 1 neurologist with expertise in pediatric stroke. Although there was variability in how the hospitals deployed stroke protocols, particularly in regard to staffing, the majority of institutions had an acute stroke pathway, and almost all included activation of a stroke alert page. Most institutions preferred magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over computed tomography (CT) and used abbreviated MRI protocols for acute stroke imaging. Most institutions also had either CT-based or magnetic resonance-based perfusion imaging available. At least 1 patient was treated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV-tPA) or mechanical thrombectomy at the majority of institutions during the year before our survey. CONCLUSIONS: An acute stroke protocol is utilized in at least 41 pediatric centers in the US and Canada. Most acute stroke response teams are multidisciplinary, prefer abbreviated MRI over CT for diagnosis, and have experience providing IV-tPA and mechanical thrombectomy. Further studies are needed to standardize practices of pediatric acute stroke diagnosis and hyperacute management