Objective To evaluate the secondary attack rate (SAR) in children and adolescents, contacts of essential activities workers who were infected by SARS‐CoV‐2; and to describe associated clinical and epidemiological data. Methods A cross‐sectional study conducted in children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years of age, that were household contacts of parents and other relatives who were infected by SARS‐CoV‐2 in the city of Goiânia, Central Brazil, from March to October 2020. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected from all participants. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs were collected and tested for SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA using real‐time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). Factors associated with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and SAR were analyzed using Poisson regression. Results A total of 267 children and adolescents were investigated. The prevalence of SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA by the real‐time RT‐PCR test and/or the presence of COVID‐19 associated symptoms (anosmia/ageusia and flu syndrome) was 25.1% (95.0% Confidence Interval [95.0% CI] = 20.3‐30.6). More than half (55.1%) of the participants had sygns and symptoms. The most prevalent signs and symptoms in positive individuals were nasal congestion (62.7%), headache (55.2%), cough (50.8%), myalgia (47.8%), runny nose (47.8%), and anosmia (47.8%). The Poisson model showed that the following signs or symptoms were associated with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection: fever, nasal congestion, decreased appetite, nausea, anosmia, and ageusia. Families that had more than one infected adult, in addition to the index case, presented greater transmissibility to children and adolescents. Conclusions Our results contribute to the hypothesis that children and adolescents are not important sources of transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 in the home environment during a period of social distancing and school closure; even though they are susceptible to infection in the household (around ¼ of our study population).

Background: Epidemiological studies have shown an increased prevalence of high blood pressure in pediatric patients. Today we know that risk factors can be detected during childhood and may help in preventing the disease.

SUMMARY This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the action of the Lactobacillus Plantarum probiotic as a immunomodulatory and hypolipidemic agent in dyslipidemic nephrotic children and adolescents. METHODS: This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in pediatric, compensated or partially compensated nephrotic syndrome and dyslipidemic subjects undergoing regular outpatient follow-up. Serum lipid and TNF-α (proinflammatory) and IL-10 (anti-inflammatory) cytokine variations were evaluated. Cytokines were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: In the probiotic group there was a tendency to reduce TNF-α levels and increase IL-10 levels when compared to controls. Regarding the lipid profile, there was a decrease in serum triglyceride (6.0 mg / dL) and total cholesterol (41.5 mg / dL) levels in the probiotic group when compared to baseline levels, while in the control group there was an increase in serum triglyceride (49.5 mg / dL) and total cholesterol (8.0 mg / dL) levels, respectively. CONCLUSION: Preliminary results suggest that L. Plantarum showed an immunomodulatory and hypolipidemic effect in nephrotic and dyslipidemic pediatric subjects.

BackgroundDyslipidemia is a major risk factor in triggering cardiovascular events, which can lead to the death of millions of people around the world. Thus, several pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic strategies have been developed in recent decades with the objective of improving lipid profiles, including the use of probiotics. Therefore, the purpose of this protocol is to describe the steps that will guide the construction of an overview to demonstrate the scientific evidence of the efficacy of probiotics in improving the lipid profile of dyslipidemic individuals and to propose specific recommendations regarding their use.MethodsThe search will be conducted in the following databases: MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, PROSPERO, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, Google Scholar, and CADTH. Reviewers will select systematic evaluations and data analyses from randomized clinical trials that evaluated the effects of probiotics on lipid profiles. The studies will be analyzed for methodology quality by the AMSTAR 2 tool and risk of bias by ROBIS. The data will be extracted by three independent reviewers based on a data extraction sheet, which will include the most relevant variables for the analysis and interpretation of the results. The variables will be categorized and described in narrative form or in tables.DiscussionThere are some systematic reviews about the use of probiotics to prevent and/or treat dyslipidemia; however, their outcomes related to the ability of probiotics to improve lipid profiles are conflicting. So, an overview on this topic is needed to clarify this important issue.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42017080328Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13643-018-0826-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.