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Allergy Feb 2024The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is updating the Guidelines on Food Allergy Diagnosis. We aimed to undertake a systematic review of the... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is updating the Guidelines on Food Allergy Diagnosis. We aimed to undertake a systematic review of the literature with meta-analyses to assess the accuracy of diagnostic tests for IgE-mediated food allergy. We searched three databases (Cochrane CENTRAL (Trials), MEDLINE (OVID) and Embase (OVID)) for diagnostic test accuracy studies published between 1 October 2012 and 30 June 2021 according to a previously published protocol (CRD42021259186). We independently screened abstracts, extracted data from full texts and assessed risk of bias with QUADRAS 2 tool in duplicate. Meta-analyses were undertaken for food-test combinations for which three or more studies were available. A total of 149 studies comprising 24,489 patients met the inclusion criteria and they were generally heterogeneous. 60.4% of studies were in children ≤12 years of age, 54.3% were undertaken in Europe, ≥95% were conducted in a specialized paediatric or allergy clinical setting and all included oral food challenge in at least a percentage of enrolled patients, in 21.5% double-blind placebo-controlled food challenges. Skin prick test (SPT) with fresh cow's milk and raw egg had high sensitivity (90% and 94%) for milk and cooked egg allergies. Specific IgE (sIgE) to individual components had high specificity: Ara h 2-sIgE had 92%, Cor a 14-sIgE 95%, Ana o 3-sIgE 94%, casein-sIgE 93%, ovomucoid-sIgE 92/91% for the diagnosis of peanut, hazelnut, cashew, cow's milk and raw/cooked egg allergies, respectively. The basophil activation test (BAT) was highly specific for the diagnosis of peanut (90%) and sesame (93%) allergies. In conclusion, SPT and specific IgE to extracts had high sensitivity whereas specific IgE to components and BAT had high specificity to support the diagnosis of individual food allergies.
Topics: Female; Animals; Cattle; Humans; Child; Middle Aged; Egg Hypersensitivity; Food Hypersensitivity; Skin Tests; Immunoglobulin E; Allergens; Arachis; Diagnostic Tests, Routine; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 38009299
DOI: 10.1111/all.15939 -
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases Jan 2023Recent insights supporting the safety of live-attenuated vaccines and novel studies on the immunogenicity of vaccinations in the era of biological disease-modifying...
OBJECTIVES
Recent insights supporting the safety of live-attenuated vaccines and novel studies on the immunogenicity of vaccinations in the era of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in paediatric patients with autoimmune/inflammatory rheumatic diseases (pedAIIRD) necessitated updating the EULAR recommendations.
METHODS
Recommendations were developed using the EULAR standard operating procedures. Two international expert committees were formed to update the vaccination recommendations for both paediatric and adult patients with AIIRD. After a systematic literature review, separate recommendations were formulated for paediatric and adult patients. For pedAIIRD, six overarching principles and seven recommendations were formulated and provided with the level of evidence, strength of recommendation and Task Force level of agreement.
RESULTS
In general, the National Immunisation Programmes (NIP) should be followed and assessed yearly by the treating specialist. If possible, vaccinations should be administered prior to immunosuppressive drugs, but necessary treatment should never be postponed. Non-live vaccines can be safely given to immunosuppressed pedAIIRD patients. Mainly, seroprotection is preserved in patients receiving vaccinations on immunosuppression, except for high-dose glucocorticoids and B-cell depleting therapies. Live-attenuated vaccines should be avoided in immunosuppressed patients. However, it is safe to administer the measles-mumps-rubella booster and varicella zoster virus vaccine to immunosuppressed patients under specific conditions. In addition to the NIP, the non-live seasonal influenza vaccination should be strongly considered for immunosuppressed pedAIIRD patients.
CONCLUSIONS
These recommendations are intended for paediatricians, paediatric rheumatologists, national immunisation agencies, general practitioners, patients and national rheumatology societies to attain safe and effective vaccination and optimal infection prevention in immunocompromised pedAIIRD patients.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Child; Vaccines, Attenuated; Rheumatic Diseases; Vaccination; Immunosuppressive Agents; Antirheumatic Agents; Autoimmune Diseases
PubMed: 35725297
DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2022-222574 -
Digestive and Liver Disease : Official... Jan 2022Neonatal and infantile cholestasis (NIC) can represent the onset of a surgically correctable disease and of a genetic or metabolic disorder worthy of medical treatment....
Neonatal and infantile cholestasis (NIC) can represent the onset of a surgically correctable disease and of a genetic or metabolic disorder worthy of medical treatment. Timely recognition of NIC and identification of the underlying etiology are paramount to improve outcomes. Upon invitation by the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), an expert working grouped was formed to formulate evidence-based positions on current knowledge about the diagnosis of NIC. A systematic literature search was conducted to collect evidence about epidemiology, etiology, clinical aspects and accuracy of available diagnostic tests in NIC. Evidence was scored using the GRADE system. All recommendations were approved by a panel of experts upon agreement of at least 75% of the members. The final document was approved by all the panel components. This position document summarizes the collected statements and defines the best-evidence diagnostic approach to cholestasis in the first year of life.
Topics: Cholestasis; Evidence-Based Medicine; Female; Gastroenterology; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Newborn, Diseases; Male; Practice Guidelines as Topic
PubMed: 34688573
DOI: 10.1016/j.dld.2021.09.011 -
Medicine Jan 2020Sedoanalgesia secondary iatrogenic withdrawal syndrome (IWS) in paediatric intensive units is frequent and its assessment is complex. Therapies are heterogeneous, and...
BACKGROUND
Sedoanalgesia secondary iatrogenic withdrawal syndrome (IWS) in paediatric intensive units is frequent and its assessment is complex. Therapies are heterogeneous, and there is currently no gold standard method for diagnosis. In addition, the assessment scales validated in children are scarce. This paper aims to identify and describe both the paediatric diagnostic and assessment tools for the IWS and the treatments for the IWS in critically ill paediatric patients.
METHODS
A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. This review included descriptive and observational studies published since 2000 that analyzed paediatric scales for the evaluation of the iatrogenic withdrawal syndrome and its treatments. The eligibility criteria included neonates, newborns, infants, pre-schoolers, and adolescents, up to age 18, who were admitted to the paediatric intensive care units with continuous infusion of hypnotics and/or opioid analgesics, and who presented signs or symptoms of deprivation related to withdrawal and prolonged infusion of sedoanalgesia.
RESULTS
Three assessment scales were identified: Withdrawal Assessment Tool-1, Sophia Observation Withdrawal Symptoms, and Opioid and Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Score. Dexmedetomidine, methadone and clonidine were revealed as options for the treatment and prevention of the iatrogenic withdrawal syndrome. Finally, the use of phenobarbital suppressed symptoms of deprivation that are resistant to other drugs.
CONCLUSIONS
The reviewed scales facilitate the assessment of the iatrogenic withdrawal syndrome and have a high diagnostic quality. However, its clinical use is very rare. The treatments identified in this review prevent and effectively treat this syndrome. The use of validated iatrogenic withdrawal syndrome assessment scales in paediatrics clinical practice facilitates assessment, have a high diagnostic quality, and should be encouraged, also ensuring nurses' training in their usage.
Topics: Child; Humans; Iatrogenic Disease; Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
PubMed: 32000360
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000018502 -
Circulation Oct 2020
Topics: Advanced Cardiac Life Support; Age Factors; American Heart Association; Cardiology; Cardiology Service, Hospital; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; Consensus; Emergencies; Emergency Service, Hospital; Evidence-Based Medicine; Heart Arrest; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Neonatology; Risk Factors; Treatment Outcome; United States
PubMed: 33081528
DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000902 -
Anaesthesia Jan 2021Regional anaesthesia in children has evolved rapidly in the last decade. Although it previously consisted of primarily neuraxial techniques, the practice now...
Regional anaesthesia in children has evolved rapidly in the last decade. Although it previously consisted of primarily neuraxial techniques, the practice now incorporates advanced peripheral nerve blocks, which were only recently described in adults. These novel blocks provide new avenues for providing opioid-sparing analgesia while minimising invasiveness, and perhaps risk, associated with older techniques. At the same time, established methods, such as infant spinal anaesthesia, under-utilised in the last 20 years, are experiencing a revival. The impetus has been the concern regarding the potential long-term neurocognitive effects of general anaesthesia in the young child. These techniques have expanded from single shot spinal anaesthesia to combined spinal/epidural techniques, which can now effectively provide surgical anaesthesia for procedures below the umbilicus for a prolonged period of time, thereby avoiding the need for general anaesthesia. Continuous 2-chloroprocaine infusions, previously only described for intra-operative regional anaesthesia, have gained popularity as a means of providing prolonged postoperative analgesia in epidural and continuous nerve block techniques. The rapid, liver-independent metabolism of 2-chloroprocaine makes it ideal for prolonged local anaesthetic infusions in neonates and small infants, obviating the increased risk of local anaesthetic systemic toxicity that occurs with amide local anaesthetics. Debate continues over certain practices in paediatric regional anaesthesia. While the rarity of complications makes comparative analyses difficult, data from large prospective registries indicate that providing regional anaesthesia to children while under general anaesthesia appears to be at least as safe as in the sedated or awake patient. In addition, the estimated frequency of serious adverse events demonstrates that regional blocks in children under general anaesthesia are no less safe than in awake adults. In infants, the techniques of direct thoracic epidural placement or caudal placement with cephalad threading each have distinct advantages and disadvantages. As the data cannot support the safety of one technique over the other, the site of epidural insertion remains largely a matter of anaesthetist discretion.
Topics: Adolescent; Anesthesia, Conduction; Child; Child, Preschool; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Pediatrics
PubMed: 33426659
DOI: 10.1111/anae.15283 -
Journal of the American Association of... Dec 2021Ease of access to technology by the pediatric individual has brought with it new challenges for parents and guardians as they grapple to understand and formulate healthy...
BACKGROUND
Ease of access to technology by the pediatric individual has brought with it new challenges for parents and guardians as they grapple to understand and formulate healthy boundaries between their child and the media. This transition into a media-forward generation has triggered a new wave of research discussing the relationship between early media exposure and the developing pediatric mind; media and the parent-child relationship; and recommendations for healthy boundaries from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) as well as the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and American Psychological Association (APA).
OBJECTIVES
This systematic review was written for the purposes of equipping physicians and nurse practitioners to be the bridge between research and their patients. Parents and guardians often do not have access to the same evidence-based resources as health care providers, and to be able to implement the latest recommendations in their home, they must first be introduced to them.
DATA SOURCES
The search engines used were PubMed and CINAHL.
CONCLUSIONS
Review of literature reveals the effect of socioeconomic status, parental education, and ethnicity on pediatric screen time habits. There are also clear positive and negative effects on the developing pediatric mind and undeniable influences on the parent-child relationship. To enhance patient outcomes, the AAP, the AACAP, and the APA have presented recommendations for healthy media use.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Early introduction of healthy media boundaries to the pediatric client will ultimately allow for the development of a physically, mentally, and socially healthier, more media-aware generation.
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Humans; Parents; Pediatrics; Screen Time; United States
PubMed: 35363225
DOI: 10.1097/JXX.0000000000000682 -
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) Jul 2023: Group B streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of infections in neonates with high fatality rates. GBS is caused by the streptococcus bacterium known as... (Review)
Review
: Group B streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of infections in neonates with high fatality rates. GBS is caused by the streptococcus bacterium known as streptococcus agalactiae, which is highly contagious and can be transmitted from pregnant women to infants. GBS infection can occur as an early onset or late-onset infection and has different treatment strategies. Antibiotics are effective in treating GBS infections at early stages. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the clinical characteristics and treatment strategies for GBS, with a focus on antibiotics. : The findings of this review were reported in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and a flow diagram of the study selection process, a summary of the included studies, a description of the study characteristics, a summary of the results, a discussion of the implications of the findings, and a conclusion are included. Overall, the authors followed a rigorous methodology to ensure that this review is comprehensive and inclusive of relevant studies on GBS infection and its treatment. : Overall, 940 studies were reviewed and only the most relevant 22 studies were included in the systematic review. This review describes the characteristics of patients in different studies related to early onset GBS disease and presents various treatment strategies and outcomes for GBS infection in pediatrics. The studies suggest that preventive measures, risk-based intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis, and maternal vaccination can significantly reduce the burden of GBS disease, but late-onset GBS disease remains a concern, and more strategies are required to decrease its rate. Improvement is needed in the management of the risk factors of GBS. A conjugate vaccine with a serotype (Ia, Ib, II, III, and V) has been proven effective in the prevention of GBS in neonates. Moreover, penicillin is an important core antibiotic for treating early onset GBS (EOD). : This systematic review summarizes the treatment comparison for GBS infections in neonates, with a primary focus on antibiotics. IAP (intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis) according to guidelines, antenatal screening, and the development of a conjugate vaccine may be effective and could lower the incidence of the disease.
Topics: Infant; Infant, Newborn; Humans; Female; Pregnancy; Child; Streptococcus agalactiae; Vaccines, Conjugate; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Streptococcal Infections; Pediatrics
PubMed: 37512090
DOI: 10.3390/medicina59071279 -
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical... May 2022Previous reports suggested that food proteins present in human milk (HM) may trigger symptoms in allergic children during breastfeeding, but existing evidence has never...
BACKGROUND
Previous reports suggested that food proteins present in human milk (HM) may trigger symptoms in allergic children during breastfeeding, but existing evidence has never been reviewed systematically.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the probability of food proteins in HM to trigger allergic reactions in infants with IgE-mediated food allergy.
METHODS
Electronic bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE) were systematically searched from inception to November 3, 2021. The data regarding the levels of food proteins detected in HM were extracted and compared with data from the Voluntary Incidental Trace Allergen Labelling (VITAL 3.0) guide to assess the probability of food-allergic individuals to experience immediate type allergic reactions on ingesting HM.
RESULTS
A total of 32 studies were identified. Fourteen studies assessed excretion of cow's milk proteins into HM, 9 egg, 4 peanut, and 2 wheat; 3 measured levels of cow's milk and egg proteins simultaneously. We found that levels of all food proteins across the studies were much lower than the eliciting dose for 1% of allergic individuals (ED01) in most of the samples. The probability of an IgE-mediated allergic reaction in a food-allergic infant breastfed by a woman consuming the relevant food can be estimated as ≤1:1000 for cow's milk, egg, peanut, and wheat.
CONCLUSIONS
To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review that assesses and summarizes evidence on food proteins in HM and potential for IgE-mediated allergic reactions. Our data suggest that the probability of IgE-mediated allergic reactions to food proteins in HM is low.
Topics: Allergens; Animals; Arachis; Breast Feeding; Cattle; Female; Food Hypersensitivity; Humans; Hypersensitivity, Immediate; Immunoglobulin E; Infant; Milk Hypersensitivity; Milk Proteins; Milk, Human; Probability
PubMed: 35123103
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaip.2022.01.028 -
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Feb 2020Linezolid is an antibiotic used to treat infections caused by drug-resistant gram-positive organisms, including vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, multi-drug...
Linezolid is an antibiotic used to treat infections caused by drug-resistant gram-positive organisms, including vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, multi-drug resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The adverse effects of linezolid can include thrombocytopenia and neuropathy, which are more prevalent with higher exposures and longer treatment durations. Although linezolid is traditionally administered at a standard 600 mg dose every 12 hours, the resulting exposure can vary greatly between patients and can lead to treatment failure or toxicity. The efficacy and toxicity of linezolid are determined by the exposure achieved in the patient; numerous clinical and population pharmacokinetics (popPK) studies have identified threshold measurements for both parameters. Several special populations with an increased need for linezolid dose adjustments have also been identified. Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) is a clinical strategy that assesses the response of an individual patient and helps adjust the dosing regimen to maximize efficacy while minimizing toxicity. Adaptive feedback control and model-informed precision dosing are additional strategies that use Bayesian algorithms and PK models to predict patient-specific drug exposure. TDM is a very useful tool for patient populations with sparse clinical data or known alterations in pharmacokinetics, including children, patients with renal insufficiency or those receiving renal replacement therapy, and patients taking co-medications known to interact with linezolid. As part of the clinical workflow, clinicians can use TDM with the thresholds summarized from the current literature to improve linezolid dosing for patients and maximize the probability of treatment success.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bayes Theorem; Drug Dosage Calculations; Drug Interactions; Drug Monitoring; Half-Life; Humans; Linezolid; Liver Failure; Metabolic Clearance Rate; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Models, Biological; Pediatrics; Renal Insufficiency; Renal Replacement Therapy; Tuberculosis
PubMed: 31652190
DOI: 10.1097/FTD.0000000000000710