ABSTRACT
Consideration of the mental health and emotional wellbeing is an important component of health care for all young people, irrespective of setting. Mental health disorders are common during adolescence and young adulthood and young people with rheumatic musculoskeletal diseases (RMD) are not exempt. For such young people, risks of poor outcomes are related to both mental health as well as their RMD. Times of change during adolescence and young adulthood-transitions-are potentially vulnerable life stages for young people with RMD and warrant specific attention in health care provision. Such transitions include those occurring at puberty, during education, training, and employment, socially with moves away from the parental home, as well as from child to adult-centered health services. There is great potential for rheumatology professionals to support young people with RMD at these transitions in view of their frequent encounters and ongoing therapeutic relationships. In this review, we aim to assess the impact of mental health on RMD during adolescence and young adulthood with particular reference to transitional care provision and how rheumatology professionals can be involved in addressing mental health issues during this time of change.
ABSTRACT
The effect of COVID-19 by SARS-CoV-2 on the paediatric population remains an evolving mystery. Early reports from China stated that children seem to be unharmed by its dangerous effects, yet more recently there has been evidence of a systemic inflammatory response in a small number of children who are affected. We discuss a 5-week-old male infant who presented atypically with severe COVID-19 infection. To our knowledge, he is the youngest reported case in the UK to require mechanical ventilation and intensive care treatment as a direct result of COVID-19 following horizontal transmission. This case has generated several learning points with regard to atypical presentations of COVID-19 and identifying a potential cohort of 'at risk' infants. We also highlight a number of new challenges that have arisen for paediatricians and anaesthetists providing airway management for infants with SARS-CoV-2.