Epidemiology and Surgical Management of Foreign Bodies in the Liver in the Pediatric Population: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Retention of foreign bodies (FB) in the liver parenchyma is a rare event in children but it can bring a heavy burden in terms of immediate and long-term complications. Multiple materials can migrate inside the liver. Clinical manifestations may vary, depending on the nature of the foreign body, its route of penetration and timing after the initial event. Moreover, the location of the FB inside the liver parenchyma may pose specific issues related to the possible complications of a challenging surgical extraction. Different clinical settings and the need for highly specialized surgical skills may influence the overall management of these children. Given the rarity of this event, a systematic review of the literature on this topic was conducted and confirmed the pivotal role of surgery in the pediatric population

Epidemiology and Surgical Management of Foreign Bodies in the Liver in the Pediatric Population: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Retention of foreign bodies (FB) in the liver parenchyma is a rare event in children but it can bring a heavy burden in terms of immediate and long-term complications. Multiple materials can migrate inside the liver. Clinical manifestations may vary, depending on the nature of the foreign body, its route of penetration and timing after the initial event. Moreover, the location of the FB inside the liver parenchyma may pose specific issues related to the possible complications of a challenging surgical extraction. Different clinical settings and the need for highly specialized surgical skills may influence the overall management of these children. Given the rarity of this event, a systematic review of the literature on this topic was conducted and confirmed the pivotal role of surgery in the pediatric population

Total esophagogastric and cologastric dissociation in neurologically normal children: systematic review.

Total esophagogastric dissociation (TEGD) was first described by Bianchi as a definitive procedure for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in neurologically impaired children. In the last 20 years, different centers extended the indication to neurologically normal (NN) patients with GERD associated with congenital or acquired esophageal anomalies. The aim of this paper is to analyze the role of TEGD in this cluster of patients. A PubMed and Google Scholar search was conducted. All cases of NN children who underwent TEGD for GERD were collected. Patient characteristics and outcomes were analyzed. Complications were classified according to Clavien-Dindo classification. Forty-eight children were identified. In 56.25%, TEGD was the first anti-reflux procedure, while in 43.75% it was performed after failed fundoplications. Mean follow-up was 5.5 years. Mortality related to surgery was 2.08%. All of the survivors improved their condition, with resolution of GERD and weight gain. In addition, 50% of children weaned off enteral nutrition, with 14.6% having their gastrostomy removed, while 41.67% maintained partial enteral supplementation. Respiratory symptoms almost disappeared in 54.17% of patients. This review suggests that TEGD can also be considered for NN children where conventional methods seem insufficient to control reflux and preserve pulmonary function. Nevertheless, long-term follow-up is still required

prenatal diagnosis and surgical innovations in congenital diaphragmatic hernia evaluation of pre and post operative management

Introduction. Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is still today considered a challenge from surgeons. Considerable progress in prenatal diagnosis, intensive care unit of neonates and surgical techniques, with the possibility to perform minimally access surgery, widely increased survival rates. The aim of this study is to analyze our series about long and short-term outcomes, also considering the progress made by minimally invasive techniques. Methods. The study was performed at Pediatric Surgery of Siena. It is a retrospective study that analyzed all patients with CDH (Bochdalek) treated in the last 14 years, from 2000 to 2013. Sex, side of the defect, presence of prenatal diagnosis, age of onset and symptoms, associate malformation, herniated organs, surgical technique and site of surgery, complications, recurrences, survival and followup were analyzed. Results. We included 23 patients. Five of them, were ruled out because of affected by diaphragmatic eventration or acquired diaphragmatic hernia. Forteen patients (77%) presented left CDH and 4 patients (23%) a right one. The male female ratio were 14:4. Prenatal diagnosis was performed in 5 patients (27,5%) at a mean gestational age of 29 weeks. Forteen patients (77%) had an early onset of symptoms (first day of life). Most common symptoms were respiratory distress and cyanosis; 4 patients (23%) had a late onset of symptoms, at a mean age of 9 months, and most common symptoms were failure to thrive and vomiting. Seven patients (39%) had associated malformation: common mesenterium (5 pts-71%). The colon was the most commonly herniated organ, present in 15 patients (83%), followed by small intestine in 13 patients (72%), stomach in 11 patients (61%), spleen in 9 patients (50%) and liver in 4 patients (23%). Seventeen patients (94,5%) underwent open surgery: 10 of them (59%) underwent a subcostal laparotomy approach, 7 of them (41%) underwent a supraumbelical laparotomy approach; 1 patient (5%) underwent minimally access surgery with thoracoscopy access. We performed performed surgery in the intensive care unit in 3 patients (16,5%). Six patients (33%) developed minor postoperatory complications. No patient had recurrence. Four patients died so we report a mortality rate of 23%. A follow-up investigation, with an average duration of 87 months, it is still going on in 5 patients (27,5%). Conclusions. The our survival rate was 77% and it reflects the encouraging reported data in the recent literature. These results are due to the reliability of the new resuscitation strategies, such as high-frequency oscillatory ventilation and the use of NO, the ability to perform surgery in the neonatal intensive care unit and, especially, to successfully perform minimally invasive surgery in newborn. The improvement of the survival showed the increasing of long-term morbidity end the requirement of a multidisciplinary followup. For these reasons, a multidisciplinary pathway for the management of young patients has been created, to follow them in a standardized way as early as the prenatal diagnosis

Training during the COVID-19 lockdown : knowledge, beliefs, and practices of 12,526 athletes from 142 countries and six continents

OBJECTIVE Our objective was to explore the training-related knowledge, beliefs, and practices of athletes and the influence of lockdowns in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). METHODS Athletes (n = 12,526, comprising 13% world class, 21% international, 36% national, 24% state, and 6% recreational) completed an online survey that was available from 17 May to 5 July 2020 and explored their training behaviors (training knowledge, beliefs/attitudes, and practices), including specific questions on their training intensity, frequency, and session duration before and during lockdown (March–June 2020). RESULTS Overall, 85% of athletes wanted to “maintain training,” and 79% disagreed with the statement that it is “okay to not train during lockdown,” with a greater prevalence for both in higher-level athletes. In total, 60% of athletes considered “coaching by correspondence (remote coaching)” to be sufficient (highest amongst world-class athletes). During lockdown, < 40% were able to maintain sport-specific training (e.g., long endurance [39%], interval training [35%], weightlifting [33%], most (83%) training for “general fitness and health maintenance” during lockdown. Athletes trained alone (80%) and focused on bodyweight (65%) and cardiovascular (59%) exercise/training during lockdown. Compared with before lockdown, most athletes reported reduced training frequency (from between five and seven sessions per week to four or fewer), shorter training sessions (from ≥ 60 to < 60 min), and lower sport-specific intensity (~ 38% reduction), irrespective of athlete classification. CONCLUSIONS COVID-19-related lockdowns saw marked reductions in athletic training specificity, intensity, frequency, and duration, with notable within-sample differences (by athlete classification). Higher classification athletes had the strongest desire to “maintain” training and the greatest opposition to “not training” during lockdowns. These higher classification athletes retained training specificity to a greater degree than others, probably because of preferential access to limited training resources. More higher classification athletes considered “coaching by correspondence” as sufficient than did lower classification athletes. These lockdown-mediated changes in training were not conducive to maintenance or progression of athletes’ physical capacities and were also likely detrimental to athletes’ mental health. These data can be used by policy makers, athletes, and their multidisciplinary teams to modulate their practice, with a degree of individualization, in the current and continued pandemic-related scenario. Furthermore, the data may drive training-related educational resources for athletes and their multidisciplinary teams. Such upskilling would provide athletes with evidence to inform their training modifications in response to germane situations (e.g., COVID related, injury, and illness).A specific funding was provided by the National Sports Institute of Malaysia for this study.The National Sports Institute of Malaysia.https://www.springer.com/journal/40279am2023Sports Medicin

COVID-19 lockdown : a global study investigating athletes’ sport classification and sex on training practices

PURPOSE : To investigate differences in athletes’ knowledge, beliefs, and training practices during COVID-19 lockdowns with reference to sport classification and sex. This work extends an initial descriptive evaluation focusing on athlete classification. METHODS : Athletes (12,526; 66% male; 142 countries) completed an online survey (May–July 2020) assessing knowledge, beliefs, and practices toward training. Sports were classified as team sports (45%), endurance (20%), power/technical (10%), combat (9%), aquatic (6%), recreational (4%), racquet (3%), precision (2%), parasports (1%), and others (1%). Further analysis by sex was performed. RESULTS : During lockdown, athletes practiced body-weight-based exercises routinely (67% females and 64% males), ranging from 50% (precision) to 78% (parasports). More sport-specific technical skills were performed in combat, parasports, and precision (∼50%) than other sports (∼35%). Most athletes (range: 50% [parasports] to 75% [endurance]) performed cardiorespiratory training (trivial sex differences). Compared to prelockdown, perceived training intensity was reduced by 29% to 41%, depending on sport (largest decline: ∼38% in team sports, unaffected by sex). Some athletes (range: 7%–49%) maintained their training intensity for strength, endurance, speed, plyometric, change-of-direction, and technical training. Athletes who previously trained ≥5 sessions per week reduced their volume (range: 18%–28%) during lockdown. The proportion of athletes (81%) training ≥60 min/session reduced by 31% to 43% during lockdown. Males and females had comparable moderate levels of training knowledge (56% vs 58%) and beliefs/attitudes (54% vs 56%). CONCLUSIONS : Changes in athletes’ training practices were sport-specific, with few or no sex differences. Team-based sports were generally more susceptible to changes than individual sports. Policy makers should provide athletes with specific training arrangements and educational resources to facilitate remote and/or home-based training during lockdown-type events.https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/ijspp-overview.xmlhj2023Sports Medicin

Difficult vascular access in children with Short Bowel Syndrome: What to Do Next?

Short Bowel Syndrome and intestinal failure are chronic and severe conditions that may require life-long parenteral nutrition in children. Survival of these children rely on the correct functioning of central venous catheters; therefore, careful management, prevention, and treatment of complications is of paramount importance. Despite a growing awareness of preserving the vascular real estate, a certain number of patients still experience a progressive and life-threatening exhaustion of vascular access. We searched the literature to highlight the current management of children with vascular exhaustion, specifically focusing on vascular access salvage strategies and last-resource alternative routes to central veins. Given the paucity of data, results are reported in the form of a narrative review

A novel unequal error protection scheme for 3-D video transmission over cooperative MIMO-OFDM systems

Currently, there has been intensive research to drive three-dimensional (3-D) video technology over mobile devices. Most recently, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and cooperative diversity have been major candidates for the fourth-generation mobile TV systems. This article presents a novel unequal error protection (UEP) scheme for 3-D video transmission over cooperative MIMO-OFDM systems. Several 3-D video coding techniques are investigated to find the best method for 3-D video transmission over the error-prone wireless channels. View plus depth (VpD) has been found the best technique over other techniques such as simulcast coding (SC) and mixed-resolution stereo coding (MRSC) in terms of the performance. Various UEP schemes are proposed to protect the VpD signals with different importance levels. Seven video transmission schemes for VpD are proposed depending on partitioning the video packets or sending them directly with different levels of protection. An adaptive technique based on a classified group of pictures (GoP) packets according to their protection priority is adopted in the proposed UEP schemes. The adaptive method depends on dividing GoP to many packet groups (PG's). Each PG is classified to high-priority (HP) and low-priority (LP) packets. This classification depends on the current signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the wireless channels. A concatenating form of the rate-variable low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes and the MIMO system based on diversity of space-time block codes (STBC) is employed for protecting the prioritized video packets unequally with different channel code rates. For channel adaptation, the switching operations between the proposed schemes are employed to achieve a tradeoff between complexity and performance of the proposed system. Finally, three protocols for 3-D video transmission are proposed to achieve high video quality at different SNRs with the lowest possible bandwidth