Typography and dyslexia: A preliminary study on university students

Specific fonts for people with dyslexia are designed under the assumption that text readability can benefit from decreased letter confusability. We asked university students (18-33 yr), either diagnosed with developmental dyslexia (DD= 8) or normal (N= 31) to perform several tasks on materials printed in 7 different fonts. The subjective ranking of fonts was not a strong predictor of individual performance in objective task

Ozone Therapy for Early Childhood Caries (ECC) Treatment: An In Vivo Prospective Study

The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of ozone therapy in (1) increasing the compactness of decayed dentin (main aim), (2) reducing dentin hypersensitivity, (3) decreasing the salivary bacterial count, and (4) improving the quality of life in ECC-affected children during a 3-month follow-up. A total of 20 subjects uncooperative with conventional restorative treatment were treated with a 60 s ozone application/week (OzoneDTA(R)) for 4 weeks. Patients were evaluated at T0 = baseline; T1 = after ozone cycle and T2, T3, T4 = 1, 2, 3-month follow-up, respectively. Dentin compactness was evaluated according to the Affected Dentine Scale (ADS) proposed by the authors; dentin hypersensitivity was recorded with the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale (WBFPRS); salivary bacteria were measured with the Saliva Check Mutans Test and quality of life with the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS). ADS values and salivary bacteria count results were analyzed using non-parametric tests. Statistically significant differences were detected for both parameters between T0 and T1 (p < 0.01). At T1, dentin hypersensitivity was resolved and quality of life improved. Ozone therapy is a simple and painless approach, which might be useful for controlling caries' progression in uncooperative children until appropriate cooperation is achieved

Essential Infantile Esotropia: A Course of Treatment From Our Experience

Background: Essential infantile esotropia (EIE) is the most common type of childhood esotropia. Although its classical approach is surgical, less invasive techniques have been proposed as an adjunct or alternative to traditional surgery. Among them, chemodenervation with botulinum toxin (BT) has been investigated, showing variable and sometimes conflicting results.& nbsp;Objectives: To compare the outcomes of bilateral BT injection and traditional surgery in a pediatric population with EIE in order to optimize and standardize the therapeutic approach. Other purposes are to evaluate whether early intervention may prevent the onset of vertical ocular deviation (which is part of the clinical picture of EIE) and/or influence the development of fine stereopsis, and also to assess changes in refractive status over time among the enrolled population.& nbsp;Methods: A retrospective consecutive cohort study was conducted in 86 children aged 0-48 months who underwent correction of EIE. The primary intervention in naive subjects was either bilateral BT injection (36 subjects, "BT group ") or strabismus surgery (50 subjects, "surgery group ").& nbsp;Results: Overall, BT chemodenervation (one or two injections) was effective in 13 (36.1%) subjects. With regard to residual deviation angle, the outcomes at least 5 years after the last intervention were overlapping in children receiving initial treatment with either injection or surgery; however, the success rate of primary intervention in the surgery group was higher, and the average number of interventions necessary to achieve orthotropia was smaller. Both early treatment with chemodenervation and surgery at a later age were not found to prevent the onset of vertical ocular deviation, whereas, surprisingly, the percentage of subjects developing fine stereopsis was higher in the surgery group. Finally, with regard to the change in refractive status over time, most of the subjects increased their initial hyperopia, whereas 10% became myopic.& nbsp;Conclusions: Our data suggest that a single bilateral BT injection by age 2 years should be considered as the first-line treatment of EIE without vertical component; whereas, traditional surgery should be considered as the first-line treatment for all other cases and in subjects unresponsive to primary single BT injection

Coeliac disease in the ERA of the new ESPGHAN and BSPGHAN guidelines: a prospective cohort study

To evaluate the consequences of the last European Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) and British Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (BSPGHAN) guidelines for the diagnosis of coeliac disease (CD) by means of a prospective study

Meconium-stained amniotic fluid: a risk factor for postpartum hemorrhage

Background/aim Clinical data with respect to the impact of meconium on the risk of maternal hemorrhage are scarce. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to determine whether meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF) represents a risk factor for postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) after vaginal delivery in a large unselected population. Patients and methods A retrospective cohort study evaluated 78,542 consecutive women who had a vaginal delivery between 24th and 44th weeks of gestation. The women who had undergone cesarean section were excluded to avoid possible bias. Postpartum blood loss was measured with graduated blood sack. Postpartum blood loss between 1,000 and 2,000 mL and >2,000 mL were classified as moderate and severe PPH, respectively. Results A total of 74,144 patients were available for analysis. According to the color of amniotic fluid (AF), two groups of patients were identified: MSAF (n=10,997) and clear AF (n=63,147). The rates of severe and massive PPH were found to be significantly higher in the MSAF group than that of clear AF group (OR=1.3, 95% CI: 1.2\u20131.5, p<0.001 and OR=2.5, 95% CI: 1.5\u20134.2, p<0.001). Operative vaginal delivery rate was found to be higher in the MSAF group than that of clear AF group, but the difference was only borderline significant (OR=1.5, 95% CI: 1.0\u20132.2, p=0.05). There were no significant differences between the MSAF and the clear AF groups with respect to episiotomies, second- or third-degree perineal tears, vaginal\u2013perineal thrombus, cervical lacerations, vaginal births after cesarean section, twin deliveries, and placental retention rates. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first clinical study that has investigated the role of MSAF as a risk factor for PPH after vaginal delivery in an unselected population. Our results suggest that MSAF is significantly associated with higher risk of moderate and severe PPH than clear AF

Intranasal dexmedetomidine and intranasal ketamine association allows shorter induction time for pediatric sedation compared to intranasal dexmedetomidine and oral midazolam

Background: Non-painful diagnostic procedures require an inactive state for a prolonged time, so that sedation is often needed in younger children to perform the procedures. Our standard of care in this setting consists of the association between oral midazolam (0.5 mg/kg) and intranasal dexmedetomidine (4 mcg/kg). One of the limits of this approach is that the onset of action is quite delayed (up to 55 min) and poorly predictable. We chose to compare this association with intranasal-ketamine and intranasal-dexmedetomidine.Methods: This is a "pre-post" study. The study population included the first forty children receiving sedation with the "new" combination intranasal ketamine (3 mg/kg) and intranasal dexmedetomidine (4 mcg/kg) compared to a historical cohort including the last forty children receiving sedation with our standard of care combination of intranasal dexmedetomidine (4mcg/kg) and oral midazolam (0,5 mg/kg).Results: The association intranasal dexmedetomidine and intranasal ketamine allowed for a significantly shorter sedation induction time than the combination intranasal dexmedetomidine and oral midazolam (13,5 min versus 35 min). Both group's cumulative data showed a correlation between age and sedation effectiveness, with younger children presenting a higher success rate and shorter induction time (p 0,001).Conclusions: This study suggests that the ketamine and dexmedetomidine intranasal association may have a shorter onset of action when compared to intranasal dexmedetomidine and oral midazolam

Nutrient intakes in an Italian population of infants during the complementary feeding period

Objective: To describe the nutrient intakes of an Italian cohort of infants at 6, 9 and 12 months of age. Design: Dietary data were collected using a food diary at three follow-ups (6, 9 and 12 months of age of infants). The infants' dietary data were used to estimate nutrient intakes using the Italian food composition database integrated with data from nutritional labels and the literature. The mean and standard deviation, median and interquartile range, minimum and maximum, and 5th, 25th, 75th and 95th percentiles were calculated for the daily intake of twenty-eight nutrients, with sex differences evaluated using parametric/non-parametric statistical methods. Setting: A prospective population-based birth cohort.SubjectInfants (n 400) living in the urban area of Trieste (Italy). Results: The sex distribution was fairly balanced at each follow-up. The mean daily intakes of energy and the other twenty-seven nutrients considered were greater in males at all follow-ups. In particular, a significant statistical difference was observed in higher male consumption of cholesterol at 9 months and in energy and carbohydrate intakes at 12 months (P < 0·05). The mean daily intake of proteins was greater than that recommended by the Italian Dietary Reference Values at all follow-ups. Conclusions: These preliminary results provide a useful basis for understanding the nutrient intake patterns of infants in this area of Italy during the first year of life

Impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown on the relationship with parents and peers in a cohort of adolescents with somatic symptom disorder

To investigate the coping strategies of a group of adolescents with somatic symptom disorder compared to non-somatic symptom disorder peers during the COVID-19 related lockdown.This cross-sectional study is the second part of a previously published study showing an improved trend in depression and anxiety in a group of patients with somatic symptom disorder compared to non-somatic symptom disorder peers. An anonymous semi-structured survey was distributed to two groups of Italian adolescents to measure the impact of quarantine on their daily life and coping strategies.We recruited 115 adolescents, 58 (50.4%) mean age 15.3, with a recent diagnosis of somatic symptom disorder and 57 (49.6%) mean age 15.8, control peers.The aim of this study was to detect differences in coping strategies and relationships with parents and peers, during the lockdown period in a group of adolescents with somatic symptom disorder and low disease burden when compared with a non-somatic symptom disorder group.The relationship with parents significantly worsened in 4 (6.9%) of adolescents with somatic symptom disorder compared to 12 (21.1%) adolescents in the non-somatic symptom disorder group (p = 0.048). The relationship with peers significantly improved in 13 (22.4%) of adolescents with symptom disorder versus 3 (5.3%) of peers of the non- somatic symptom disorder group (p = 0.013).Adolescents with somatic symptom disorder with a low burden of physical symptoms experienced less deterioration in their relationships with parents and peers than the non-somatic symptom disorder group

First-time success with needle procedures was higher with a warm lidocaine and tetracaine patch than an eutectic mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine cream

AIM: More than 50% of children report apian during venepuncture or intravenous cannulation and using local anaesthetics before needle procedures can lead to different success rates. This study examined how many needle procedures were successful at the first attempt when children received either a warm lidocaine and tetracaine patch or an eutectic mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine (EMLA) cream. METHODS: We conducted this multicentre randomised controlled trial at three tertiary-level children's hospitals in Italy in 2015. Children aged three to 10 years were enrolled in an emergency department, paediatric day hospital and paediatric ward and randomly allocated to receive a warm lidocaine and tetracaine patch or EMLA cream. The primary outcome was the success rate at the first attempt. RESULTS: The analysis included 172 children who received a warm lidocaine and tetracaine patch and 167 who received an EMLA cream. The needle procedure was successful at the first attempt in 158 children (92.4%) who received the warm patch and in 142 children (85.0%) who received the cream (p = 0.03). The pain scores were similar in both groups. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the first-time needle procedure success was 7.4% higher in children receiving a warm lidocaine and tetracaine patch than EMLA cream