NLR, a simple and easily obtainable parameter, is a potential predictive marker of GI bleeding in children with HSP.

BackgroundUrinary tract infection (UTI) is the most common bacterial infection in infants. Renal parenchymal involvement is an important prognostic factor; however, early detection of parenchymal involvement in UTI may be difficult during infancy. This study aimed to assess whether a recently established biomarker of UTI, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), can serve as a useful marker for the detection of cortical defects (CD) and to determine the appropriate diagnostic cut-off value of NGAL in infants with febrile UTI.MethodsInfants hospitalized for febrile UTI were divided into two groups according to the presence of cortical defects on dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scintigraphy. Among 64 enrolled infants, 43 (67%) had CD (UTI-CD) and 21 (33%) had no CD (UTI-ND). The white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, and plasma NGAL (pNGAL) levels were determined before antibiotic therapy and compared between the two groups.ResultspNGAL level was significantly higher in the UTI-CD group than in the UTI-ND group (340 µg/L vs 214 µg/L, P=0.002). Multivariate analysis showed that pNGAL level was the only independent predictor of CD (odds ratio 2.759, P=0.039). In the ROC curve analysis, pNGAL showed the highest area under the curve (0.745; 95% confidence interval, 0.561–0.821; P=0.014). The appropriate cut-off value of pNGAL was 267 µg/L (sensitivity, 72.1%; specificity, 71.4%).ConclusionspNGAL was found to be a useful marker for early prediction of renal parenchymal involvement in infants with febrile UTI.

Adequate fluid management is an important therapeutic goal of dialysis. Recently, bioelectrical impedance methods have been used to determine body fluid status, but pediatric reports are rare. To determine the accuracy of bioelectrical impedance methods in the assessment of body fluid statusof children undergoing hemodialysis (HD), 12 children on HD were studied. A multi-frequency bioimpedance analysis device (Inbody S10) and bioimpedance spectroscopy device (BCM) were used to evaluate fluid status. Fluid removal during a HD session (assessed as body-weight change, ΔBWt) was compared with the difference in total body water determined by each device (measured fluid difference, ΔMF), which showed strong correlation using either method (Pearson's coefficient, r = 0.772 with Inbody S10 vs. 0.799 with BCM). Bioimpedance measurement indicated fluid overload (FO; ΔHS greater than 7%) in 34.8% with Inbody S10 and 56.5% with BCM, and only about 60% of children with FO by bioimpedance methods showed clinical symptoms such as hypertension and edema. In some patients with larger weight gain Inbody S10-assessed overhydration (OH) was much smaller than BCM-assessed OH, suggesting that BCM is more relevant in estimating fluid accumulation amount than Inbody S10. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the use of body composition monitors to assess fluid status in Korean children receiving HD.

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Syphilis infection has re-emerged after years of declining incidence. The prevalence of congenital syphilis (CS) has increased in Korea and other countries during the last few decades. Untreated infants develop symptoms such as rhinorrhea, anemia, jaundice, cutaneous lesions, hepatosplenomegaly, and pseudoparalysis within weeks or months. Significant renal disease is uncommon in CS, and clinical renal involvement varies from mild transient proteinuria to frank nephrosis. We report a 2-month-old infant with CS who presented with only nephrotic syndrome (NS). The previously healthy infant presented with NS and showed no other syphilitic manifestations. Remission of the NS was achieved with adequate penicillin treatment. No recurrence of proteinuria was observed during the 1 year of follow-up. Although rare, this long forgotten disease continues to affect pregnant women, resulting in prenatal or postnatal mortality. We still consider the possibility of syphilitic nephropathy and therefore serologic testing for congenital NS.