Iodine excess may impair thyroid function and trigger adverse health consequences for children. This study aims to describe iodine status among breastfed infants with high iodine exposure in the Saharawi refugee camps Algeria, and further assess thyroid function and iodine status among the children three years later. In 2010, a cross-sectional study among 111 breastfed children aged 0–6 months was performed (baseline study). In 2013, a second cross-sectional study (follow-up study) was conducted among 289 children; 213 newly selected and 76 children retrieved from baseline. Urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and breast milk iodine concentration (BMIC) were measured at baseline. UIC, thyroid hormones and serum thyroglobulin (Tg) were measured at follow-up. At baseline and follow-up, 88% and 72% had excessive iodine intakes (UIC ≥ 300 µg/L), respectively. At follow-up, 24% had a thyroid hormone disturbance and/or elevated serum Tg, including 9% with subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH), 4% with elevated fT3 and 14% with elevated Tg. Children with SCH had poorer linear growth and were more likely to be underweight than the children without SCH. Excessive iodine intakes and thyroid disturbances were common among children below four years of age in our study. Further, SCH seemed to be associated with poor growth and weight.

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ObjectivesThere are many mobile health applications (apps) now available and some that use in some way laboratory medicine data. Among them, patient-oriented are of the lowest content quality. The aim of this study was to compare the opinions of non-laboratory medicine professionals (NLMP) with those of laboratory medicine specialists (LMS) and define the benchmarks for quality assessment of laboratory medicine apps.MethodsTwenty-five volunteers from six European countries evaluated 16 selected patient-oriented apps. Participants were 20–60 years old, 44% were females, with different educational degrees, and no professional involvement in laboratory medicine. Each participant completed a questionnaire based on the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) and the System Usability Scale, as previously used for rating the app quality by LMS. The responses from the two groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman correlation.ResultsThe median total score of NLMP app evaluation was 2.73 out of 5 (IQR 0.95) compared to 3.78 (IQR 1.05) by the LMS. All scores were statistically significantly lower in the NLMP group (p<0.05), except for the item Information quality (p=0.1631). The suggested benchmarks for a useful appear: increasing awareness of the importance and delivering an understanding of persons’ own laboratory test results; understandable terminology; easy to use; appropriate graphic design, and trustworthy information.ConclusionsNLMP’ evaluation confirmed the low utility of currently available laboratory medicine apps. A reliable app should contain trustworthy and understandable information. The appearance of an app should be fit for purpose and easy to use.

Sepsis in short-bowel syndrome (SBS) is in part due to bacterial translocation (BT). Parenteral nutrition (PN) is often necessary in SBS and promotes BT. The aim of this study was to asses the effect of the presence or absence of ileocecal valve (ICV) on BT in parenterally-fed rats with massive intestinal resection. Sixty-five adult Wistar rats underwent central venous cannulations and were randomly assigned to one of five groups receiving for ten days five treatment regimes: Sham (n = 17) standard rat chow + i.v. saline. PN (n = 17) fasting + PN. Res-Sham (n = 10) standard rat chow + i.v. saline + 80% gut resection. Res-PN (n = 11) fasting, PN + 80% gut resection. Res-ICV-PN (n = 10) fasting, PN + 80% gut resection including ICV. At the end of the experiment they were euthanized and mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), spleen and peripheral and portal blood specimens were recovered and cultured. BT was found in 47% of PN animals, 91% of Res-PN rats, 100% of Res-Sham group and 60% of Res-ICV-PN animals, but not in Sham ones. 97% of BT+ animals had positive cultures in MLN and/or portal blood, whereas germs beyond liver were detected in 30% of Res-Sham, 37% of PN, 50% of Res-PN and 0% of Res-ICV-PN rats. The present study confirms that both massive intestinal resection and PN promote BT. In addition, it shows that animals deprived of ICV have lower incidence of BT in this setting than those with it and that the germs do not reach in them peripheral blood in the same proportions as in ICV-intact animals. These results suggest that the presence of an intact ICV favor BT in parenterally-fed rats with massive intestinal resection.