We present three cases of pericarditis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae diagnosed in children. The presenting symptoms were fever, dyspnea, tachycardia, and hepatomegaly. Chest X-rays showed an enlarged heart silhouette and echocardiographic examination revealed a pericardial effusion in all cases. S. pneumoniae was recovered from the pericardial fluid and/or blood in all cases. Systemic antibiotic treatment and dopaminergic agents were used; all patients recovered completely. Another 10 cases of S. pneumoniae pericarditis in children reported since 1980 are presented. Most cases had preceding respiratory symptoms and had a good outcome. While rare and life-threatening, pericarditis caused by S. pneumoniae has a good outcome if diagnosed early and treated adequately.

Spirulina is a phytosynthetic filamentous cyanobacterium with microscopic dimensions, which naturally grows in the highly-salted alkaline lakes of Africa, Mexico, America, and Asia. Several bioactive peptides extracted from Spirulina were demonstrated to possess antimicrobial, antiviral, antitumor, immunomodulatory, antiallergic and antihypertensive properties. It has been reported that the consumption of Spirulina could prevent or manage metabolic syndrome components. In women, metabolic disorders are more prevalent during menopause. Postmenopausal women present higher waist circumference, increased blood pressure, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperglycemia, and decreased HDL-cholesterol values, leading to an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Therefore, in order to prevent cardiovascular diseases, it is essential to manage the components of the metabolic syndrome during the postmenopausal period. As recent reports indicated the efficiency of Spirulina supplementation in the management of the metabolic syndrome components, our study aims to review all the clinical trials conducted on this topic. Our main objective is to have a better understanding of whether and how this cyanobacterium could manage the abnormalities included in the metabolic syndrome and if it could be used as a therapeutic approach in postmenopausal women with this condition. We selected relevant articles from PubMed, Google Scholar and CrossRef databases, and a total number of 20 studies met our criteria. All included clinical trials indicated that Spirulina has positive effects in managing metabolic syndrome components. Spirulina is a valuable cyanobacterium that can be used as a food supplement for the management of metabolic syndrome, and it is able to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. The optimal dose and period of administration remain a debated subject, and future investigations are required. Considering the beneficial effects reported against each component of the metabolic syndrome, Spirulina could also be effective in the postmenopausal period, when this syndrome is the most prevalent, but there is a strong need for human clinical trials in order to sustain this observation.

Background: Obesity and overweight have increased prevalence in children during the last decades all over the world. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight/obesity through the 12-18 year old schoolchildren in Brasov district and to describe eating patterns and the possible relationship between overweight/obesity and eating pattern. Material and Method: There were recruted 250 children for a cross-sectional study in Brasov district, Romania. Alimentary habit, snaking, meal frequencies were declared by the subjects using a retrospective questionnaire. Parents were asked to give information about family history regarding the presence of cardio-vascular risk factors. There were measured weight and height for all children and it was calculated body mass index calculated using international standard cutoff points (International Obesity Task Force values). It was also evaluated the level of phisical activityfor each children. Results: Positive family hystory for cardio-vascular risk factor, eating pattern and physical activity were associated with overweight. Healthy eating pattern including fresh fruits and vegetables loses ground in favour of fast-food as the age increases. Conclusions: The main finding was that, eating pattern in schoolchildren should worry both parents and school authorities. The family influence on children̓ s eating pattern decreases as the age grow, the busy school program determine lack of phisical activities and failure of and the healthy alimentation. The prevalence of overweight was high and connected with dietary behaviour, independent associations were evident between eating patterns and overweight, indicating the need of the need for a common intervention on nutrition both from the family and from the educators.

Abstractsearly asymptomatic or late symptomatic therapy. We describe our experience in changing from prophylactic indomethacin to late symptomatic treatment with ibuprofen. Methods We collected data on all babies admitted < 28 weeks' gestation and/or < 1000g from an electronic patient database. We compared PDA diagnosis management, demographics and clinical outcomes in two six month time periods: period 1 was when we used a prophylaxis strategy with indomethacin and period 2 when we changed to late symptomatic treatment with ibuprofen. Results Abstract 1148

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