scholarly journals Genomic analyses of human adenoviruses unravel novel recombinant genotypes associated with severe infections in pediatric patients

Author(s):  
Joyce Odeke Akello ◽  
Richard Kamgang ◽  
Maria Teresa Barbani ◽  
Franziska Suter-Riniker ◽  
Christoph Aebi ◽  
...  

Human Adenoviruses (HAdVs) are highly contagious pathogens of clinical importance, especially among the pediatric population. Studies on comparative viral genomic analysis of cases associated with severe and mild infections due to HAdV are limited. Using whole-genome sequencing (WGS), we investigated whether there were any differences between circulating HAdV strains associated with severe infections (meningitis, sepsis, convulsion, sudden infant death syndrome, death, and hospitalization) and mild clinical presentations in pediatric patients hospitalized between the years 1998 and 2017 in a tertiary care hospital group in Bern, Switzerland covering a population base of approx. 2 million inhabitants. The HAdV species implicated in causing severe infections in this study included HAdV species C genotypes (HAdV1, HAdV2, and HAdV5). Clustering of the HAdV whole-genome sequences of the severe and mild cases did not show any differences except for one sample (isolated from a patient presenting with sepsis, meningitis, and hospitalization) that formed its own cluster with HAdV species C genotypes. This isolate showed intertypic recombination events involving four genotypes, had the highest homology to HAdV89 at complete genome level, but possessed the fiber gene of HAdV1, thereby representing a novel genotype of HAdV species C. The incidence of potential recombination events was higher in severe cases than in mild cases. Our findings confirm that recombination among HAdVs is important for molecular evolution and emergence of new strains. Therefore, further research on HAdVs, particularly among susceptible groups, is needed and continuous surveillance is required for public health preparedness including outbreak investigations.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce Odeke Akello ◽  
Richard Kamgang ◽  
Maria Teresa Barbani ◽  
Franziska Suter-Riniker ◽  
Christoph Aebi ◽  
...  

AbstractHuman adenoviruses (HAdVs) are highly contagious pathogens of clinical importance, especially among the pediatric population. Studies on comparative viral genomic analysis of cases associated with severe and mild infections due to HAdV are limited. Using whole-genome sequencing (WGS), we investigated whether there were any differences between circulating HAdV strains associated with severe infections (meningitis, sepsis, convulsion, sudden infant death syndrome, death, and hospitalization) and mild clinical presentations in pediatric patients hospitalized between the years 1998 and 2017 in a tertiary care hospital group in Bern, Switzerland covering a population base of approx. 2 million inhabitants. The HAdV species implicated in causing severe infections in this study included HAdV species C genotypes (HAdV1, HAdV2, and HAdV5). Clustering of the HAdV whole-genome sequences of the severe and mild cases did not show any differences except for one sample (isolated from a patient presenting with sepsis, meningitis, and hospitalization) that formed its own cluster with HAdV species C genotypes. This isolate showed intertypic recombination events involving four genotypes, had the highest homology to HAdV89 at complete genome level, but possessed the fiber gene of HAdV1, thereby representing a novel genotype of HAdV species C. The incidence of potential recombination events was higher in severe cases than in mild cases. Our findings confirm that recombination among HAdVs is important for molecular evolution and emergence of new strains. Therefore, further research on HAdVs, particularly among susceptible groups, is needed and continuous surveillance is required for public health preparedness including outbreak investigations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 2219-2225
Author(s):  
Rabeea Sharif ◽  
Muhammad Aamir ◽  
Faisal Shakeel ◽  
Shah Faisal ◽  
Jamshaid Ali Khan

Purpose: To assess the frequency and possible predictors of off-label drug use in ambulatory pediatric units of four tertiary healthcare institutions in a Pakistani city.Methods: A prospective study was conducted at the pediatric ambulatory department of four tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar, Pakistan. A total 1589 patients were included in the study which to evaluate their prescriptions for off-label drug use with the aid of Thomson Healthcare Micromedex DRUGDEX database.Results: A total of 79 different drugs were prescribed 5668 times to pediatric patients. A high rate of offlabel drug use (71.8 %) was observed in this study. Compared to corresponding reference categories, infants (OR 4.134, 95 % CI 2.076-8.235) and children (OR 1.857, 95 % CI 0.967-3.568) were more likely to receive off-label prescriptions. However, pediatric patients receiving less than four drugs (OR 0.414, 95 % CI 0.312-0.548) were less likely to receive off-label prescriptions.Conclusion: A high incidence of off-label drug use has been observed in the ambulatory pediatric population studied, especially in infants. More research is needed to identify and evaluate the contributory factors to off-label use of drugs in ambulatory pediatric population in developing countries to achieve optimal drug therapy for pediatrics. Keywords: Pediatric population, Ambulatory, Off-label drug use


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 2152
Author(s):  
Mukul Singh ◽  
Manju Kumari

Background: Thyroid nodules are commonly present in adult population but are rare in pediatric age group. Inspite of being rare, thyroid nodule have a higher chance of malignancy in children. Thus, pediatric patients presenting with thyroid nodule found clinically or incidentally should be worked up to rule out any possibility of malignancy. The besthesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology (TBSRTC) is widely used for reporting in adults. The present study aims to use TBSRTC for pediatric thyroid lesions reporting.Methods: All pediatric patients with age ≤ 18 years presenting with thyroid nodule during January 2018 to April 2019 were included in the study, fine needle aspiration (FNA) was done and findings were compared with histology. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 18.Results: 42 pediatric patient were included in the study, out of which 2.38% were malignant and suspicious for nmalignant each and 83% were benign.Conclusion: TBSRTC is quite sensitive and specific reporting guideline in pediatric population as in adult population with 100% accuracy in diagnosing benign and malignant cases. This is useful for avoiding unnecessary surgeries.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Al Nuhait ◽  
Laila C. Abu Esba ◽  
Khalid Al Harbi ◽  
Meshary Al Meshary ◽  
Rami T. Bustami

Background. Vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam (PTZ) are commonly used as empirical therapy for patients with health care associated infections. Vancomycin has been recognized as a nephrotoxic agent and in a few cases in the literature PTZ has been associated with interstitial nephritis nevertheless; the combination of these agents has routinely been used for many years. However, there have been some observational studies that showed high rates of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients receiving vancomycin and PTZ concomitant treatment compared to patients receiving vancomycin alone. The incidence of AKI in adult patients receiving vancomycin and PTZ concomitant treatment was reported in these studies to be relatively high. Similar studies in pediatric patients are lacking. Method. We conducted a single center retrospective chart review of 248 pediatric patients receiving one of the following treatments: vancomycin alone 36 patients, vancomycin/PTZ 62 patients, vancomycin/ceftazidime 99 patients, and vancomycin/ceftriaxone 51 patients. Result. Our results showed a low incidence of AKI in patients on vancomycin/PTZ concomitant treatment where overall incidence was only (4.8%) three cases and only one of them (2.0%) in a patient receiving the vancomycin/ceftriaxone concomitant treatment. No cases of AKI present in patients receiving vancomycin with ceftazidime or vancomycin alone. There were no statistically significant differences between the four treatment groups in terms of AKI incidence, vancomycin trough, and use of nephrotoxins. Conclusion. Overall, the incidence of AKI was low in our study sample with no statistically significant increased risk when PTZ was used in combination with vancomycin in a pediatric population. However, further investigation with an equal larger sample size is needed to confirm our findings.


Author(s):  
Chalattil Bipin ◽  
Manoj K. Sahu ◽  
Sarvesh P. Singh ◽  
Velayoudam Devagourou ◽  
Palleti Rajashekar ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives This study was aimed to assess the benefits of early tracheostomy (ET) compared with late tracheostomy (LT) on postoperative outcomes in pediatric cardiac surgical patients. Design Present one is a prospective, observational study. Setting The study was conducted at a cardiac surgical intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary care hospital. Participants All pediatric patients below 10 years of age, who underwent tracheostomy after cardiac surgery from January2019 to december2019, were subdivided into two groups according to the timing of tracheostomy: “early” if done before 7 days or “late” if done after 7 days postcardiac surgery. Interventions ET versus LT was measured in the study. Results Out of all 1,084 pediatric patients who underwent cardiac surgery over the study period, 41 (3.7%) received tracheostomy. Sixteen (39%) patients underwent ET and 25 (61%) underwent LT. ET had advantages by having reduced risk associations with the following variables: preoperative hospital stay (p = 0.0016), sepsis (p = 0.03), high risk surgery (p = 0.04), postoperative sepsis (p = 0.001), C-reactive protein (p = 0.04), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP; p = 0.006), antibiotic escalation (p = 0.006), and antifungal therapy (p = 0.01) requirement. Furthermore, ET was associated with lesser duration of mechanical ventilation (p = 0.0027), length of ICU stay (LOICUS; p = 0.01), length of hospital stay (LOHS; p = 0.001), lesser days of feed interruption (p = 0.0017), and tracheostomy tube change (p = 0.02). ET group of children, who had higher total ventilation-free days (p = 0.02), were decannulated earlier (p = 0.03) and discharged earlier (p = 0.0089). Conclusion ET had significant benefits in reduction of postoperative morbidities with overall shorter mechanical ventilation, LOICUS, and LOHS, better nutrition supplementation, lesser infection, etc. These benefits may promote faster patient convalescence and rehabilitation with reduced hospital costs.


Author(s):  
Qaiser Jahan ◽  
K. Pallavi ◽  
R. Hamshika ◽  
Varun Talla ◽  
Jupally Venkateshwar Rao ◽  
...  

Background: Improper drug usages expose patients to drug-related problems (DRPs) and can be the cause of patient morbidity and even mortality, especially frequent in hospitalized patients and pediatric groups. Objective: The objective of the present study was to identify and assess the drug-related problems in the pediatric department of tertiary care hospitals. Methods: The cross-sectional, observational study was carried out for six months included pediatric in-patients of age ≤15 years of either gender in pediatric units of tertiary care hospitals of India. The enrolled pediatric patients were observed for any drug-related problem that were further recorded and classified using the DRP registration format taken from Cipolle et al. The assessment of therapy was done by using positional statements from standard organizations and guidelines. Main outcome measure: Incidences of drug-related problems and their assessment and root cause analysis. Results: A total of 970 DRPs were identified in 296 patients, with an overall incidence of 49.3%. The incidence of DRPs was maximum in the age group of 2-12 years of children (51.2%). Patients who took six or more drugs were around eight (OR:8.41 , 95% CI: 5.22 to 13.55) times more likely to have DRPs compared to those patients who took less than six drugs. The incidences of DRPs were more in patients who were hospitalized for ≥ 7 days. Conclusion: The present study revealed significantly higher incidences of DRPs in hospitalized pediatric patients necessitating the involvement of clinical pharmacists in the pediatric department of tertiary care hospitals.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document