This is the first report of maternal hypercalcemia caused by a CYP24A1 mutation, showing that not only infants are at risk for this complication. Our findings emphasize the importance of recognition, genetic diagnosis and proper treatment of this recently identified hypercalcemic disorder in this era of widespread vitamin D supplements.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) differs between preterm and older infants and children in terms of prevalence, clinical presentation, causative organism, and rate of underlying renal anomalies. Data on risk factors of UTI in preterm infants are limited. The aim of this study was to characterize UTI both clinically and microbiologically in premature infants and to define possible risk factors and the role of breastfeeding in its development. This case-control study was conducted in a tertiary-care neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) between 1995 and 2003. The study group included all premature infants (<37 weeks' gestation) diagnosed with UTI. Pre-, peri-, and postnatal data on demographic, clinical, laboratory, and imaging variables were collected from the medical records and microbiology laboratory log and compared with a gestational age- and birth weight-matched infants without UTI (control group). The ratio of control infants to cases was 2:1. Of the 6198 premature infants admitted to the NICU during the study period, 56 (0.9%) were included in the study group. The main causative organism was Klebsiella spp. Logistic regression analysis identified gender [odds ratio (OR) 2.96, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.28-6.85, P < 0.0001] and the presence of a peripheral intravenous catheter on the day of infection to be significantly associated with UTI, while breast milk was associated with a lower risk of infection (OR 0.314, 95% CI 0.140-0.707, P < 0.009).

Our findings support the applicability of VCD measurement in the estimation of hydration status in paediatric haemodialysis patients. The combination of clinical parameters and measurement of IVCD may enable more accurate evaluation of hydration of children on haemodialysis.

New-onset post-transplantation food allergy has been described mainly after liver transplantation, and its pathogenesis was attributed to the immunomodulatory effects of tacrolimus therapy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association of food allergy with solid organ transplantation in our center. The medical records of children who underwent kidney transplantation and children who underwent liver or liver and kidney transplantation from 1986 to 2005 were reviewed. A total of 189 children (124 after kidney transplantation, 65 after liver or liver and kidney transplantation) received tacrolimus as part of the immunosuppressive regimen. New-onset post-transplantation food allergy was documented in four of them: two with liver transplants and two with combined kidney and liver transplants. The absence of new-onset food allergy in the children with isolated kidney transplants is compatible with other reports in the literature. This study supports the concept that the functioning liver itself, and not only tacrolimus immunosuppression, is a main contributor to food allergy in this patient population.