ARTICLES 1525 Qualità of Life IntroductionImmune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by isolated thrombocytopenia (peripheral blood platelet count <100x10 9 /L) in the absence of other disorders associated with thrombocytopenia.1 Only 20-25% of children with ITP will develop chronic disease, currently defined as thrombocytopenia <100x10 9 /L lasting for more than 12 months. 1 In the case of no or mild bleeding the management consists of careful observation and restriction of activities that carry a risk of severe bleeding, regardless of platelet count. 2Severe bleeding, occurring in only 3-6% of children, 3 requires treatment with corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin or anti-D immunoglobulin, either alone or in combination.Despite the transient and often benign course of the disease, many clinicians observe that ITP has a significant impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). 4 Recently published management guidelines state that HRQoL issues should be taken into account while making decisions on management in childhood ITP.2,5 However, these statements are based on clinical experience rather than results of research since HRQoL studies in childhood ITP are scarce. Recently, several clinical studies addressing HRQoL in children with ITP have been performed, 6-11 but large prospective studies with longitudinal generic as well as disease-specific HRQoL measurements are lacking.For this reason we decided to study HRQoL as part of a prospective study in children with newly diagnosed ITP: the TIKI study (Therapy with or without Intravenous Immunoglobulin for Kids with acute ITP), a multicenter randomized clinical trial to determine whether early administration of intravenous immunoglobulin can prevent a chronic course of the disease. In this study, children receive either a single dose of intravenous immunoglobulin or careful observation and treatment only in the case of severe bleeding. The final results of the primary outcome of this study are awaited and have not been published yet. The aim of the current HRQoL study was to relate generic as well as disease-specific HRQoL scores of children with newly diagnosed ITP to type of treatment, bleeding severity and clinical course of the disease, to analyze changes in HRQoL scores over time and to compare generic HRQoL scores of children with newly diagnosed ITP with already published data from a reference group of Dutch school children. 12 Methods PatientsChildren aged 3 months to 16 years with newly diagnosed ITP, a platelet count below 20x10 9 /L and with mild to moderate bleeding were eligible for inclusion in the TIKI study. Despite its generally transient and benign course, childhood immune thrombocytopenia has a large impact on health-related quality of life. Recently published guidelines state that quality of life should be taken into account while making decisions on management in childhood immune thrombocytopenia. We, therefore, assessed healthrelated quality of life in children with newly diagnosed immune thrombocytopeni...

Background Perinatal asphyxia and resulting hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a major cause of death and long-term disability in term born neonates. Up to 20,000 infants each year are affected by HIE in Europe and even more in regions with lower level of perinatal care. The only established therapy to improve outcome in these infants is therapeutic hypothermia. Allopurinol is a xanthine oxidase inhibitor that reduces the production of oxygen radicals as superoxide, which contributes to secondary energy failure and apoptosis in neurons and glial cells after reperfusion of hypoxic brain tissue and may further improve outcome if administered in addition to therapeutic hypothermia. Methods This study on the effects of AL lopurinol in addition to hypothermia treatment for hypoxic-ischemic B rain I njury on N eurocognitive O utcome (ALBINO), is a European double-blinded randomized placebo-controlled parallel group multicenter trial (Phase III) to evaluate the effect of postnatal allopurinol administered in addition to standard of care (including therapeutic hypothermia if indicated) on the incidence of death and severe neurodevelopmental impairment at 24 months of age in newborns with perinatal hypoxic-ischemic insult and signs of potentially evolving encephalopathy. Allopurinol or placebo will be given in addition to therapeutic hypothermia (where indicated) to infants with a gestational age ≥ 36 weeks and a birth weight ≥ 2500 g, with severe perinatal asphyxia and potentially evolving encephalopathy. The primary endpoint of this study will be death or severe neurodevelopmental impairment versus survival without severe neurodevelopmental impairment at the age of two years. Effects on brain injury by magnetic resonance imaging and cerebral ultrasound, electric brain activity, concentrations of peroxidation products and S100B, will also be studied along with effects on heart function and pharmacokinetics of allopurinol after iv-infusion. Discussion This trial will provide data to assess the efficacy and safety of early postnatal allopurinol in term infants with evolving hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. If proven efficacious and safe, allopurinol could become part of a neuroprotective pharmacological treatment strategy in addition to therapeutic hypothermia in children with perinatal asphyxia. Trial registration NCT03162653, www.ClinicalTrials.gov , May 22, 2017.

OBJECTIVES:\ud Autoinflammatory diseases cause systemic inflammation that can result in damage to multiple organs. A validated instrument is essential to quantify damage in individual patients and to compare disease outcomes in clinical studies. Currently, there is no such tool. Our objective was to develop a common autoinflammatory disease damage index (ADDI) for familial Mediterranean fever, cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes, tumour necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic fever syndrome and mevalonate kinase deficiency.\ud METHODS:\ud We developed the ADDI by consensus building. The top 40 enrollers of patients in the Eurofever Registry and 9 experts from the Americas participated in multiple rounds of online surveys to select items and definitions. Further, 22 (parents of) patients rated damage items and suggested new items. A consensus meeting was held to refine the items and definitions, which were then formally weighted in a scoring system derived using decision-making software, known as 1000minds.\ud RESULTS:\ud More than 80% of the experts and patients completed the online surveys. The preliminary ADDI contains 18 items, categorised in the following eight organ systems: reproductive, renal/amyloidosis, developmental, serosal, neurological, ears, ocular and musculoskeletal damage. The categories renal/amyloidosis and neurological damage were assigned the highest number of points, serosal damage the lowest number of points. The involvement of (parents of) patients resulted in the inclusion of, for example, chronic musculoskeletal pain.\ud CONCLUSIONS:\ud An instrument to measure damage caused by autoinflammatory diseases is developed based on consensus building. Patients fulfilled a significant role in this process

Children with moderate HIE had smaller hippocampal volumes than controls, with a trend toward smaller volumes following mild HIE. Reduced hippocampal volumes were associated with poorer long-term visuospatial memory.

Worldwide neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a common cause of mortality and neurologic disability, despite the implementation of therapeutic hypothermia treatment. Advances toward new neuroprotective interventions have been limited by incomplete knowledge about secondary injurious processes such as cerebral hyperperfusion commonly observed during the first 1–5 days after asphyxia. Cerebral hyperperfusion is correlated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcome and it is a process that remains poorly understood. In order to provide an overview of the existing knowledge on the pathophysiology and highlight the gaps in current understanding of cerebral hyperperfusion in term animals and neonates with HIE, we performed a systematic research. We included papers scoping for study design, population, number of participants, study technique and relevant findings. Methodological quality was assessed using the checklist for cohort studies from The Joanna Briggs Institute. Out of 2,690 results, 34 studies were included in the final review—all prospective cohort studies. There were 14 studies of high, 17 moderate and 3 of low methodological quality. Data from the literature were analyzed in two main subjects: (1) Hemodynamic Changes subdivided into macro- and microscopic hemodynamic changes, and (2) Endogenous Pathways which was subdivided into N-methyl-D-aspartate/Mitogen activated protein kinase (NDMA/MAPK), Nitric Oxide (NO), prostanoids and other endogenous studies. Cerebral hyperperfusion in term neonates with HIE was found to be present 10–30 min after the hypoxic-ischemic event and was still present around day 10 and up to 1 month after birth. Cerebral hyperperfusion was also characterized by angiogenesis and cerebral vasodilation. Additionally, cerebral vasodilation was mediated by endogenous pathways such as MAPK through urokinase Plasminogen Activator (uPA), by neuronal NO synthase following NMDA and by prostanoid synthesis. Future research should elucidate the precise role of NMDA, MAPK and prostanoids in cerebral hyperperfusion. Moreover, research should focus on possible interventions and the effect of hypothermia on hyperperfusion. These findings should be taken into account simultaneously with brain imagining techniques, becoming a valuable asset in assessing the impact in neurodevelopmental outcome.