Seasonal Changes in Vitamin D Levels of Healthy Children in Mid-Latitude, Asian Urban Area / 대한소아소화기영양학회지

Purpose@#This study aimed to investigate the seasonal changes in vitamin D levels in a healthy pediatric population living in mid-latitude East Asian urban areas. @*Methods@#A pediatric population was selected from single secondary hospital visitors.Clinical data and serum vitamin D levels were collected retrospectively. Statistical analyses were performed based on the month of the blood sampling date, subject age, and vitamin D supplementation history. The data were categorized into three subgroups based on serum vitamin D levels—adequate (≥30 ng/mL), insufficient (20–29 ng/mL), and deficient (<20 ng/mL). @*Results@#Of the 481 patients, 172 had vitamin D supplementation history. More than 70% of the total study population had inadequate vitamin D levels (<30 ng/mL). The non-supplemented group and the supplemented group showed significantly uneven monthly distribution of the adequate, insufficient, and deficient subgroups. Only the nonsupplemented group showed significantly different average vitamin D levels in the summer months compared to the winter months. In the non-supplemented group, vitamin D levels were the lowest in March, the highest in August and September. Significant relevance was noted between vitamin D supplementation status and vitamin D serum level in February and March. There was no significant difference between different age groups in terms of the distribution of vitamin D levels. @*Conclusion@#Currently-widespread vitamin D replacement methods seem to have some effect on increasing the overall serum vitamin D levels, specifically during late winter when natural serum vitamin D levels plunge. However, they are unable to fully compensate the seasonal fluctuation.

Seasonal Changes in Vitamin D Levels of Healthy Children in Mid-Latitude, Asian Urban Area / 대한소아소화기영양학회지

Purpose@#This study aimed to investigate the seasonal changes in vitamin D levels in a healthy pediatric population living in mid-latitude East Asian urban areas. @*Methods@#A pediatric population was selected from single secondary hospital visitors.Clinical data and serum vitamin D levels were collected retrospectively. Statistical analyses were performed based on the month of the blood sampling date, subject age, and vitamin D supplementation history. The data were categorized into three subgroups based on serum vitamin D levels—adequate (≥30 ng/mL), insufficient (20–29 ng/mL), and deficient (<20 ng/mL). @*Results@#Of the 481 patients, 172 had vitamin D supplementation history. More than 70% of the total study population had inadequate vitamin D levels (<30 ng/mL). The non-supplemented group and the supplemented group showed significantly uneven monthly distribution of the adequate, insufficient, and deficient subgroups. Only the nonsupplemented group showed significantly different average vitamin D levels in the summer months compared to the winter months. In the non-supplemented group, vitamin D levels were the lowest in March, the highest in August and September. Significant relevance was noted between vitamin D supplementation status and vitamin D serum level in February and March. There was no significant difference between different age groups in terms of the distribution of vitamin D levels. @*Conclusion@#Currently-widespread vitamin D replacement methods seem to have some effect on increasing the overall serum vitamin D levels, specifically during late winter when natural serum vitamin D levels plunge. However, they are unable to fully compensate the seasonal fluctuation.

Single-center experience of the Korean-Developmental Screening Test for infants and children / 소아과

PURPOSE: We investigated the number of test takers of the Korean-Developmental Screening Test (K-DST) in a single children's hospital within a year, according to age, referral rate, and follow-up percentage. METHODS: For this study, 4,062 children who visited and received K-DST at Woorisoa Children's Hospital between January and December 2015 were enrolled. Seven test sets were used according to the Korean National Health Screening Program for infants and children in the following age groups: 4 to 6, 9 to 12, 18 to 24, 30 to 36, 42 to 48, 54 to 60, and 66 to 71 months. The results of the K-DST were categorized into 4 groups as follows: further evaluation (1SD). RESULTS: The test participants' population and follow-up population were concentrated before the age of 24 months (2,532, 62.3%). The children most commonly referred for further evaluation were those in the 30- to 41-month age group. A mismatch was found between the results of the K-DST and the additional questions. Most of the infants and children with suspicious developmental delays showed catch-up development in their follow-up tests (43 of 55, 78.2%). CONCLUSION: The use of K-DST should be encouraged, especially among children aged over 24 months. Multiple-choice question format for the additional questions is recommended to avoid confusion. We suggest a nationwide study to evaluate and revise the K-DST.

Two cases of Smith-Magenis syndrome / 소아과

SmithMagenis syndrome (SMS) is a rare disorder with multiple congenital anomalies caused by a heterozygous interstitial deletion involving chromosome 17p11.2, where the retinoic acid-induced 1 (RAI1) gene is located, or by a mutation of RAI1. Approximately 90% of the patients with SMS have a detectable 17p11.2 microdeletion on fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH). SMS is characterized by mental retardation, distinctive behavioral features, craniofacial and skeletal anomalies, speech and developmental delay, and sleep disturbances. Although there are some intervention strategies that help individuals with SMS, there are no reported specific interventions for improving the outcome in children with SMS. Here, we report two cases of SmithMagenis syndrome.

A Case of Acute Renal Failure due to Rhabdomyolysis Associated with Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a rare, but a potentially life threatening condition associated with the use of antipsychotics. The most frequent signs and symptoms of NMS include fever, muscle rigidity, autonomic dysfunction such as tachycardia, tachypnea, and labile blood pressure. Acute complications of NMS include disseminated intravascular coagulation, sepsis, seizure, myocardial infarction, acute renal failure due to rhabdomyolysis and death. We report a rare case of acute renal failure due to rhabdomyolysis associated with neuroleptic malignant syndrome.

The Relationship between Thymic Size and Vesicoureteral Reflux in Infants with Febrile Urinary Tract Infection

PURPOSE: Thymus is a lymphoproliferative organ that changes size in various physiological states in addition to some pathological conditions. Thymus is susceptible to involution, and shows a dramatic response to severe stress. Thymic measurements may be helpful in various diseases. UTI (urinary tract infection) is most common bacterial infection in infants and VUR (vesicoureteral reflux) is a common abnormality associated with UTI. In our study, the size of thymus was compared on the premise that a greater stress is exerted on the body when UTI is accompanied by VUR, than when occurs on its own. METHODS: Thymic size was measured on standard chest anteroposterior radiographs and expressed as the ratio between the transverse diameter of the cardiothymic image at the level of the carina and that of the thorax (CT/T). The medical records of 99 febrile urinary tract infection infants without other genitourinary anomalies except VUR were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Among 99 patients with febrile UTIs, 25 were febrile UTI without VUR and 74 with VUR. For the UTI with VUR group, there was a significant decrease in the thymic size compared to the those without VUR group (0.382+/-0.048 vs 0.439+/-0.079, P<0.05). However, there were no differences in the duration of fever and WBC, CRP between the UTI with VUR and UTI without VUR. In addition, there were no differences in the cardiothymic/thoracic ratios between renal defects and renal scars in febrile UTI patients. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that the shirinkage of thymus was more frequently found in the UTI patients with VUR. Therefore, awareness of the risks associated with thymic size is important for the appropriate work up and management of UTI patients.

Clinical Significance of Bicarbonate Gap in Pediatric Patients with Acute Gastroenteritis

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical value of bicarbonate gap (BG) in acute gastroenteritis by comparison of clinical manifestations and laboratory findings. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 135 patients who had acute gastroenteritis. We classified them into two groups: BG-5 (group B). We made a comparative study for clinical manifestations, serum electrolyte, albumin, protein, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, anion gap (AG), delta anion gap (deltaAG) and delta bicarbonate (deltaHCO3-) between the two groups. RESULTS: The duration of hospitalization and diarrhea was significantly longer in group A than group B. In laboratory findings, serum sodium, serum total CO2, total protein, AGcorrected and deltaAG were lower in group A than group B. deltaHCO3- and chloride were higher in group A than group B. CONCLUSION: BG may be a sensitive predictor enough to access the severity of acute gastroenteritis.