Streptococcus pneumoniae colonisation in children and adolescents with asthma: Impact of the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and evaluation of potential effect of thirteen-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

none14noBackground: The main aim of this study was to evaluate Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage in a group of school-aged children and adolescents with asthma because these results might indicate the theoretical risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) of such patients and the potential protective efficacy of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13). Methods: Oropharyngeal samples were obtained from 423 children with documented asthma (300 males, 70.9 %), and tested for the autolysin-A-encoding (lytA) and the wzg (cpsA) gene of S. pneumoniae by means of real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: S. pneumoniae was identified in the swabs of 192 subjects (45.4 %): 48.4 % of whom were aged = 15 years (p < 0.001). Carriage was significantly less frequent among the children who had received recent antibiotic therapy (odds ratio [OR 0.41]; 95 % confidence interval [95 % CI] 0.22-0.76). Multivariate analyses showed no association between carriage and vaccination status, with ORs of 1.05 (95 % CI 0.70-1.58) for carriers of any pneumococcal serotype, 1.08 (95 % CI 0.72-1.62) for carriers of any of the serotypes included in 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7), and 0.76 (95 % CI 0.45-1.28) for carriers of any of the six additional serotypes of PCV13. Serotypes 19 F, 4 and 9 V were the most frequently identified serotypes in vaccinated subjects. Conclusions: These results showed that carriage of S. pneumoniae is relatively common in all school-aged children and adolescents with asthma, regardless of the severity of disease and the administration of PCV7 in the first years of life. This highlights the problem of the duration of the protection against colonisation provided by pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, and the importance of re-colonization by the same pneumococcal serotypes included in the previously used vaccine.Esposito, Susanna; Terranova, Leonardo; Patria, Maria Francesca; Marseglia, Gian Luigi; Miraglia del Giudice, Michele; Bodini, Alessandro; Martelli, Alberto; Baraldi, Eugenio; Mazzina, Oscar; Tagliabue, Claudia; Licari, Amelia; Ierardi, Valentina; Lelii, Mara; Principi, NicolaEsposito, Susanna; Terranova, Leonardo; Patria, Maria Francesca; Marseglia, GIAN LUIGI; Miraglia del Giudice, Michele; Bodini, Alessandro; Martelli, Alberto; Baraldi, Eugenio; Mazzina, Oscar; Tagliabue, Claudia; Licari, Amelia; Ierardi, Valentina; Lelii, Mara; Principi, Nicol

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease in children: two case reports and a review of the literature

Abstract Background Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease is a rare, idiopathic and generally self-limiting cause of lymphadenitis of unknow etiology with a low recurrence rate. The typical clinical signs are cervical lymphadenopathy, fever, and symptoms of respiratory infection, and less frequently chills, night sweats, arthralgia, rash, and weight loss. Case presentation Here we describe two case reports of Kikuchi Fujimoto disease presenting in Milan within the space of a few months. The first involved the recurrence of KFD in a young boy from Sri Lanka; the second was a rare case of severe KFD complicated by HLH. Conclusions Pediatricians must consider KFD in the differential diagnosis of fever of unknown origin in children, even in western countries. Although rare, recurrence and severe complications are possible. Where symptoms suggest KFD, a systematic diagnostic approach is key. Since no guidelines on the management of KFD are available, further studies should be conducted to investigate the therapeutic options and long term outcome in children

Role of High-Resolution Chest Computed Tomography in a Child with Persistent Tachypnoea and Intercostal Retractions: A Case Report of Neuroendocrine Cell Hyperplasia

Background: Chronic interstitial lung diseases in children (chILD) are a heterogeneous group of disorders that can represent a clinical challenge for pediatric pneumologists. Among them, neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia of infancy (NEHI) is a diffuse lung disease prevalent in the first years of life that spontaneously improves over time. The clinical presentation of NEHI is indistinguishable from other interstitial lung diseases, so a correct and non-invasive diagnosis by chest computed tomography (CT) without lung biopsy might not be simple. Case presentation: An 8-month-old male infant presented with a history of chronic tachypnoea and dyspnoea since 6 months of age. The patient was born at term, with APGAR scores of 9 and 10 at 1 and 5 min, respectively. Since his second month of life, the patient suffered from abnormal breathing, which was characterized by mild tachypnoea and costal retractions that worsened during breastfeeding, crying, and respiratory infections. Bilateral inspiratory crackles, preferential to the lung bases, without oxygen desaturation were detected. A chest X-ray showed a diffuse over-inflation of the lungs, but laboratory tests did not reveal any abnormalities. High-resolution chest CT documented patchy areas of ground-glass opacity involving the right upper lobe, middle lobe, and lingula, and showed mosaic areas of air-trapping, suggesting a diagnosis of NEHI. The infant was discharged without therapy and gradually improved over time. At 1 year of age, the patient was eupnoeic and chest auscultation had normalized. Conclusions: NEHI is an interstitial disease of infancy characterized by tachypnoea from the first months of life, with a good prognosis and for which a rational diagnostic approach is crucial for making a specific, early diagnosis. Initially, clinical suspicions can be confirmed with reasonable accuracy by a CT scan of the chest. Other more invasive and more expensive investigations should be reserved for selected cases that do not show a spontaneous, favourable clinical evolution

Association between radiological findings and severity of community-acquired pneumonia in children

Background: There are few published data concerning radiological findings and their relationship with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) severity. The aim if this study was to assess radiographic findings in children with CAP of different severity in order to evaluate whether some parameters are associated with severe CAP. Methods. We analysed the characteristics of parenchymal densities in 335 chest radiographs of otherwise healthy children (173 males; mean age \ub1 standard deviation, 7.5 \ub1 4.5 years) admitted to our Emergency Room for CAP. Upon admission, chest radiographs were obtained in the two standard projections, and the children with severe or mild/moderate CAP were compared in order to identify any correlations between CAP severity and the radiological findings. Results: Seventy-six of the 335 enrolled children (22.7%) fulfilled the criteria for severe CAP. In comparison with the children with mild/moderate CAP, in severe CAP there was a significantly greater frequency of a bilateral multifocal distribution (p = 0.01), the simultaneous involvement of 653 sites (p = 0.007), and the involvement of the right hilum (p = 0.02). The same results were confirmed in the multiple logistic regression model. Conclusions: This study shows that radiological findings such as a multifocal bilateral distribution, the simultaneous involvement of at least three sites, and right hilar consolidation are associated with severe CAP in otherwise healthy children, and could be considered markers of disease severity in children with CAP

Pediatric Sleep Respiratory Disorders: A Narrative Review of Epidemiology and Risk Factors

Sleep is a fundamental biological necessity, the lack of which has severe repercussions on the mental and physical well-being in individuals of all ages. The phrase “sleep-disordered breathing (SDB)” indicates a wide array of conditions characterized by snoring and/or respiratory distress due to increased upper airway resistance and pharyngeal collapsibility; these range from primary snoring to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and occur in all age groups. In the general pediatric population, the prevalence of OSA varies between 2% and 5%, but in some particular clinical conditions, it can be much higher. While adenotonsillar hypertrophy (“classic phenotype”) is the main cause of OSA in preschool age (3–5 years), obesity (“adult phenotype”) is the most common cause in adolescence. There is also a “congenital–structural” phenotype that is characterized by a high prevalence of OSA, appearing from the earliest ages of life, supported by morpho-structural abnormalities or craniofacial changes and associated with genetic syndromes such as Pierre Robin syndrome, Prader-Willi, achondroplasia, and Down syndrome. Neuromuscular disorders and lysosomal storage disorders are also frequently accompanied by a high prevalence of OSA in all life ages. Early recognition and proper treatment are crucial to avoid major neuro-cognitive, cardiovascular, and metabolic morbidities

Cytokines Profile and Lung Function in Children with Obesity and Asthma: A Case Control Study

The existence of common inflammatory biomarkers linking obesity and asthma in children has been hypothesized. Nevertheless, laboratory and clinical characteristics of children with obesity and asthma are still poorly defined. The primary aim of the present study is to investigate the lung function and the cytokine profile, in children with obesity and asthma. In this prospective, cross-sectional pilot study, pulmonary function tests, biochemical parameters, and serum cytokines levels were compared in three groups of 28 children each, matched for age and sex. Obese children showed normal forced spirometry values except an increased distal airway resistance in subjects with obesity and no asthma. Both groups including obese children showed higher leptin and IL-10 levels and lower adiponectin and TNF-alpha levels compared to children with no obesity and asthma. IL-33 and TGF-beta1 levels were higher in children with obesity and asthma vs. children with normal weight and asthma. Finally, IL-6 was undetectable in approximately 70% of obese children with no asthma, in 57% obese asthmatic children and in 100% of children with normal-weight and asthma. Children with obesity and asthma show the most striking cytokine profile, suggesting a pro-inflammatory role of fat mass in asthma development

Children with recurrent pneumonia and non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis

Background: Recurrent pneumonia (RP) is one of the most frequent causes of pediatric non-cystic fibrosis (CF) bronchiectasis (BE) and a consequent accelerated decline in lung function. The aim of this study was to analyse the clinical records of children with RP in attempt to identify factors that may lead to an early suspicion of non-CF BE. Methods: We recorded the demographic and clinical data, and lung function test results of children without CF attending our outpatient RP clinic between January 2009 to December 2013 who had undergone chest high-resolution computed tomography ≥8 weeks after an acute pneumonia episode and ≤6 months before enrolment. Results: The study involved 42 patients with RP: 21 with and 21 without non-CF BE. The most frequent underlying diseases in both groups were chronic rhinosinusitis with post-nasal drip and recurrent wheezing (81 % and 71.4 % of those with, and 85.7 % and 71.4 % of those without BE). FEV1 and FEF25-75 values were significantly lower in the children with non-CF BE than in those without (77.9 ± 17.8 vs 96.8 ± 12.4, p = 0.004; 69.3 ± 25.6 vs 89.3 ± 21.9, p = 0.048). Bronchodilator responsiveness was observed in seven children with BE (33.3 %) and two without (9.5 %; p = 0.13). Conclusions: Reduced FEV1 and FEF25-75 values seem associated with an increased risk of developing non-CF BE in children with RP. This suggests a need for further studies to confirm the diagnostic usefulness use of spirometry in such cases