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Like OI and mean airway pressure, EVLWi on admission to PICU is predictive of survival and of time needed on mechanical ventilation.

Recent studies suggest a role for prefrontal cortex abnormalities in the pathogenesis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We evaluated young drug-naive ADHD outpatients without MRI structural abnormalities to detect prefrontal cortex regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) functional dysregulation; correlation between age and rCBF; and correlation between symptoms profile and rCBF. Functional brain activities (i.e. rCBF), neuropsychological attention performance and symptom profile were evaluated respectively by single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) scan, Stroop Test and the Child Attention Problem Rating Scale. There was a decreased rCBF in the left dorso lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) compared to the right DLPFC of the subjects. In addition, there were positive correlations between age and relative rCBFs of the dorsolateral and orbital prefrontal cortex, and negative correlations between age and absolute rCBFs of the dorsolateral and orbital prefrontal cortex. Finally, higher levels of right relative rCBF and lower levels of left relative rCBF were predictors of higher severity of clinical symptom expression and neuropsychological attention impairment. The results of this study highlight the role of the DLPFC blood flow impairment in the pathogenesis of ADHD even in young subjects without structural abnormalities.

We report on a paediatric case of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, where myocardial hypertrophy proved a consequence of noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium. Deletion of PKD1 and PKD2, the genes responsible for polycystic renal disease, has been linked also to disorganized myocardial arrangement in experimental animals. Two adults with polycystic kidney disease and myocardial hypertrophy in whom a careful diagnostic workup led to a diagnosis of non-compaction of the ventricular myocardium have been reported in the literature. Nephrologists must be aware of the possible association between the two diseases because early recognition of the disease may help in preventing the onset of complications.