No abstract

Measurements of exhaled breath temperature are highly reproducible, yet influenced by several factors. Corrected values, i.e. normalized exhaled breath temperature, could help us to assess the effect of therapy with inhaled corticosteroids. More studies are needed to improve the usefulness of the exhaled breath temperature measured with the tidal breathing technique in children.

Pediatric osteomyelitis is an insidious disease that can lead to permanent sequelae, the management of which still relies on lengthy intravenous antibiotic therapy. The purpose of this study is to report and describe the clinical course and outcome of pediatric bacterial osteomyelitis in our experience. We reported the clinical, diagnostic, and treatment characteristics of all cases of osteomyelitis in children younger than 18 years of age who were hospitalized between January 2010 and December 2021 at the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome, Italy, we compared patients with and without complications at follow-up, to identify any predictive factor for sequelae. The study sample included 319 cases of pediatric bacterial osteomyelitis. The median age was 7.77 years. Males (60.8%) were more affected than females. The most affected bones were the femur, tibia, and spine. Etiology was identified in 40.1% of cases, with S.aureus as the most common causative agent. Sequelae were reported in 43 cases (13.5%). The main predictors of sequelae were sepsis on admission and hypergammaglobulinemia. Our results show that a severe presentation with sepsis and hypergammaglobulinemia on admission may be associated with a higher frequency of late sequelae. Early recognition and aggressive treatment of this subgroup of patients may lead to a reduction in complications.

Background: Child malnutrition is still a concern in marginalized groups of populations, such as immigrants living in very low socio-economic conditions. Roma children are within the most hard-to-reach populations, susceptible to undernutrition and growth retardation. In the city of Rome (Italy), the Hospital “Bambino Gesù”, in collaboration with the Catholic Association Community of Saint’Egidio, is dedicating, free services for the health and nutritional needs of vulnerable people. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on immigrant children visited at different ages (0-11 years old). Records including nutritional and growth assessment were collected from 2016 up to May 2020. Malnutrition was classified following the WHO 2006 standards. Data for Roma children living in extra-urban camps and non-Roma immigrant children living in urban areas was analyzed, odds ratios and univariate binary regressions were performed to investigate the risk of malnutrition within the two groups.Results: A sample of 414 children (57% under-five; 51.9% Roma), was included in the database. In the under-five children, underweight accounted for 7.6%, stunting for 11.7%, and wasting for 2.9%. The first year of life was the most crucial for nutritional status. Compared to the counterpart, Roma children accounted for nearly the total rate of malnutrition (wasting 4.8% vs. 1%; stunting 21.4% vs. 2%; underweight 14.2% vs. 1%). Univariate logistic regression confirmed under-five Roma children being at the highest risk of stunting at 12 months (OR: 16.1; CI 2-132; p=0.01). When considering the 176 school-aged children, undernutrition affected most Roma children (13% vs 1.9%), followed by stunting (5.8% vs 0.9%). Univariate logistic regression confirmed that Roma school-aged children were more likely to be underweight (OR: 7.8; CI 1.6-37.6; p=0.01). Conclusions: Malnutrition in immigrant children is still of high concern in Italy. Its prevalence in Roma children living in extra-urban camps exceeds that of immigrant children living in urban areas and the rates of underweight, stunting and wasting of Roma children living in the Balkans. This exacerbating condition highlights the need of better assisting this fragile population that is at most risk of poverty, food insecurity and social exclusion in Italy, particularly during this pandemic crisis.