ABSTRACT
Purpose@#To analyze growth patterns over 2 years after birth according to preterm infant birth weight and length percentiles. @*Methods@#Anthropometric measurements of 82 preterm infants were retrospectively reviewed. Preterm infants with birth weight or length below the 10th percentile were classified as small for gestational age (SGA) (n=19) and those between the 10th and 89th percentile as appropriate for gestational age (AGA) (n=63). The association between the length standard deviation score (SDS) at 2 years of corrected age and clinical factors were analyzed. @*Results@#The length SDS of the SGA group was significantly increased at 6 months (-1.30±1.71) and 24 months (-0.97±1.06) of corrected age. The length SDS was lower in the SGA group than those in the AGA group at 6 months (-1.30±1.71 vs. -0.25±1.15, P=0.004), 18 months (-0.97±1.39 vs. -0.03±1.29, P=0.015), and 24 months (-0.97±1.06 vs. -0.29±1.12, P=0.022,). The percentage of children with a length SDS of <-2 (growth failure) at 24 months was 15.8% in the SGA group and 4.8% in the AGA group (P=0.108). Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that length at 24 months of corrected age was negatively correlated with birth length below the 10th percentile (coefficient β=-0.91, P=0.001) and duration of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) (coefficient β=-0.01, P=0.001). @*Conclusion@#Despite the fact that catch-up growth occurs during the early period of infancy in a large portion of preterm SGA infants, a significant portion of these infants show growth failure at 24 months of age. Growth over 2 years after birth is affected by birth length and duration of stay in the NICU in preterm children.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This prospective study aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of lamivudine in children with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. METHODS: During July 2003 through October 2015, children with chronic hepatitis B who visited our institution were included in this study. Fifty-five patients, who received first-line treatment of lamivudine (3 mg/kg, 100 mg maximum) for over three months, were enrolled. After initiating lamivudine, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), HBV-DNA, and HBV markers were followed up at 1 month, 3 months, and every 3 months, thereafter. The treatment endpoint was determined as 1) normalization of ALT, 2) HBeAg seroconversion, and 3) anti-HBe positivity for twelve consecutive months. RESULTS: Thirty-one male (56.4%) and 24 female (43.6%) patients were included. The mean age at treatment initiation was 8.1 years. The mean duration of treatment was 23.4 months. ALT normalization was found in 98.2% (54 of 55). Anti-HBe seroconversion was found in 70.6% (36/51). Loss of HBsAg was found in 10.9% (6/55). All biochemical responses occurred under age seven. The rate of virologic response (defined as HBV-DNA <2,000 IU/mL) at six months after treatment initiation was 78.7% (37/47). At twelve months after reaching treatment endpoint, 87.2% (34/39) maintained their virologic response. Resistance to lamivudine was found in 16.4% (9/55). CONCLUSIONS: Lamivudine treatment in Korean pediatric patients with chronic hepatitis B showed better outcomes compared with other studies that implemented similar protocols in foreign populations. Further studies are needed to investigate the efficacy of newly recommended antiviral drugs on the Korean pediatric population.