Prognostic Importance of D-Dimer Level in Acute Infantile Hemorrhagic Edema

Acute infantile hemorrhagic edema is characterized by a triad of purpuric rash, fever and edema. The disease has a fulminant onset, a benign course and spontaneous resolution in a couple of weeks. It differs from Henoch-Schonlein purpura with several features such as being seen at less than 2 years of age, size of cutaneous lesion and mostly being limited to skin, rare recurrence and gastrointestinal-renal involvement. Our patient had typical acute infantile hemorrhagic edema symptoms and undetectably high D-dimer levels at the beginning. During the course of treatment, the patient's D-dimer level diminished dramatically and it went back to normal by the end of the therapy. Since this observation has not been reported before, it was considered appropriate to present. It is known that there is no specific therapy to this disease. The use of antihistaminics and systemic corticosteroids are debatable and they were reported not to change the course of disease. However, our patient responded well to systemic corticosteroid therapy, and this is seen in decreased D-dimer level. We believe that D-dimer level may be a follow-up marker for the severity of the disease and response to the therapy

Neonatal Brucellosis: Two Cases with Two Different Transmissions

Brucellosis remains as an endemic infection of humans in many parts of the world; Latin America, Asia including Middle East and Mediterranean region including Turkey. Neonatal brucellosis is very rare and clinical manifestations as well as transmission route are not well-defined. The neonate can be either infected transplacentally, or by ingestion of mother's secretions and blood during delivery, or by ingestion of breast milk. Here, we present two cases with two different transmission route and clinical findings. First case is a premature infant born after 31 weeks of gestation and hospitalized for respiratory distress in addition to hepatosplenomegaly and leukocytosis. Brucella species were isolated from the initial blood culture obtained just after birth. Clinical and laboratory findings improved with decreased ventilatory support after replacement of antibiotherapy with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) and rifampicin. Second case was a 28 days old, term infant. Her sibling was diagnosed as brucellosis and during evaluation of the family members, her mother was found to have brucellosis just before delivery. Initial evaluation of the baby after birth was totally normal. Beside medical advice, she was breastfed and in the 4th week of life she was found to have leucopenia and neutropenia, and brucella tube agglutination test turned to be positive. After antibiotherapy, laboratory findings were normalized. Breastfeeding was ceased during the treatment periods of both mothers. Both families were from rural regions of Turkey, who were using unpasteurized dairy products. Both patients were treated with TMP-SMX and rifampicin for 6 weeks without any complication. Brucella spp must be sought as a causative agent in the differential diagnosis of intrauterine and neonatal infections in endemic countries. Family members of patients from rural areas of the country must be questioned about traditional food consumption, as findings of neonatal brucellosis are various and vague

A Multicentered Study on Epidemiologic and Clinical Characteristics of 37 Neonates With Community-acquired COVID-19

Can, Emrah/0000-0002-2163-6564; Reis, AlessanRSS/0000-0001-8486-7469WOS: 000573923900002PubMed: 32932329Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) primarily affects adults and spares children, whereas very little is known about neonates. We tried to define the clinical characteristics, risk factors, laboratory, and imagining results of neonates with community-acquired COVID-19. Methods: This prospective multicentered cohort study included 24 neonatal intensive care units around Turkey, wherein outpatient neonates with COVID-19 were registered in an online national database. Full-term and premature neonates diagnosed with COVID-19 were included in the study, whether hospitalized or followed up as ambulatory patients. Neonates without severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) via reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction testing or whose mothers had been diagnosed with COVID-19 during pregnancy were excluded. Results: Thirty-seven symptomatic neonates were included. the most frequent findings were fever, hypoxemia, and cough (49%, 41%, 27%, respectively). Oxygen administration (41%) and noninvasive ventilation (16%) were frequently required; however, mechanical ventilation (3%) was rarely needed. Median hospitalization was 11 days (1-35 days). One patient with Down syndrome and congenital cardiovascular disorders died in the study period. C-reactive protein (CRP) and prothrombin time (PT) levels were found to be higher in patients who needed supplemental oxygen (0.9 [0.1-8.6] vs. 5.8 [0.3-69.2]p= 0.002, 11.9 [10.1-17.2] vs. 15.2 [11.7-18.0]p= 0.01, respectively) or who were severe/critical (1.0 [0.01-8.6] vs. 4.5 [0.1-69.2]p= 0.01, 11.7 [10.1-13.9] vs. 15.0 [11.7-18.0]p= 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: Symptomatic neonates with COVID-19 had high rates of respiratory support requirements. High CRP levels or a greater PT should alert the physician to more severe disease.Turkish Neonatal SocietyThe Turkish Neonatal Society funded the online registration system of the study. Funders had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis and interpretation, writing of the report, and decision to publish of the article. the corresponding author has full access to all the data in the study and takes final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript. M.K.K. wrote the first draft of the manuscript, no honorarium, grant, or other form of payment was given to anyone to produce the manuscript. To the best of our knowledge, no conflict of interest, financial or other, exists. There are no prior publications or submissions with any overlapping information, including studies and patients

Epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of neonates with late-onset COVID-19: 1-year data of Turkish Neonatal Society

The literature on neonates with SARS-CoV-2 is mainly concerned with perinatal cases, and scanty data are available about environmentally infected neonates. To fill knowledge gaps on the course and prognosis of neonatal cases, we analyzed 1-year data from the Turkish Neonatal Society in this prospective cohort study of neonates with postnatal transmission. Data from 44 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), of neonates with positive RT-PCR results at days 5-28 of life, were extracted from the online registry system and analyzed. Of 176 cases, most were term infants with normal birth weight. Fever was the most common symptom (64.2%), followed by feeding intolerance (25.6%), and cough (21.6%). The median length of hospitalization was 9 days, with approximately one quarter of infants receiving some type of ventilatory support. Myocarditis (5.7%) was the most common complication during follow-up. Among the clinical findings, cough (odds ratio [OR]: 9.52, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.17-21.71), tachypnea (OR: 26.5, 95% CI: 9.59-73.19), and chest retractions (OR: 27.5, 95% CI: 5.96-126.96) were associated with more severe clinical disease. Also, there were significant differences in the C-reactive protein level, prothrombin time (PT), partial thromboplastin time, international normalized ratio, and days in the NICU (p = 0.002, p = 0.012, p = 0.034, p = 0.008, and p 0.001, respectively) between patients with mild-moderate and severe-critical presentations. A PT above 14 s was a significant predictor of severe/critical cases, with a sensitivity of 64% and specificity of 73%. Conclusions: Our data showed that late-onset COVID-19 infection in neonates who need hospitalization can be severe, showing associations with high rates of ventilatory support and myocarditis. Cough, tachypnea, and retractions on admission suggest a severe disease course

A multicenter study on epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 125 newborns born to women infected with COVID-19 by Turkish Neonatal Society (vol 46, pg 631, 2020) - [Correction]

WOS: 000561728300002PubMed: 32827274[No abstract available

Epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of neonates with late-onset COVID-19: 1-year data of Turkish Neonatal Society

The literature on neonates with SARS-CoV-2 is mainly concerned with perinatal cases, and scanty data are available about environmentally infected neonates. To fill knowledge gaps on the course and prognosis of neonatal cases, we analyzed 1-year data from the Turkish Neonatal Society in this prospective cohort study of neonates with postnatal transmission. Data from 44 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), of neonates with positive RT-PCR results at days 5-28 of life, were extracted from the online registry system and analyzed. Of 176 cases, most were term infants with normal birth weight. Fever was the most common symptom (64.2%), followed by feeding intolerance (25.6%), and cough (21.6%). The median length of hospitalization was 9 days, with approximately one quarter of infants receiving some type of ventilatory support. Myocarditis (5.7%) was the most common complication during follow-up. Among the clinical findings, cough (odds ratio [OR]: 9.52, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.17-21.71), tachypnea (OR: 26.5, 95% CI: 9.59-73.19), and chest retractions (OR: 27.5, 95% CI: 5.96-126.96) were associated with more severe clinical disease. Also, there were significant differences in the C-reactive protein level, prothrombin time (PT), partial thromboplastin time, international normalized ratio, and days in the NICU (p = 0.002, p = 0.012, p = 0.034, p = 0.008, and p < 0.001, respectively) between patients with mild-moderate and severe-critical presentations. A PT above 14 s was a significant predictor of severe/critical cases, with a sensitivity of 64% and specificity of 73%

A multicenter study on epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 125 newborns born to women infected with COVID-19 by Turkish Neonatal Society

Limited data are available on pregnant women with COVID-19 and their neonates. We aimed to evaluate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of newborns born to women infected with COVID-19. A multicenter cohort study was conducted among newborns born to mothers with COVID-19 in 34 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Turkey. Pregnant women (n = 125) who had a positive RT-PCR test and their newborns were enrolled. Cesarean section, prematurity, and low-birthweight infant rates were 71.2%, 26.4%, and 12.8%, respectively. Eight of 125 mothers (6.4%) were admitted to an intensive care unit for mechanical ventilation, among whom six died (4.8%). Majority of the newborns (86.4%) were followed in isolation rooms in the NICU. Four of 120 newborns (3.3%) had a positive RT-PCR test result. Although samples taken on the first day were negative, one neonate became positive on the second day and the other two on the fifth day. Sample from deep tracheal aspirate was positive on the first day in an intubated case