The relationship between viruses and clinical findings in hospitalized children diagnosed with acute lower respiratory tract infection

Objective: In this retrospective study, we aimed to identify viral agents in children hospitalized with ALRTI and to show the relationship between viral agents and clinical characteristics. Material and Methods: Two hundred and fifty five children (55.7% male) who were diagnosed with ALRTI and hospitalized between March 2016 and February 2017 were included in the study. Clinical characteristics of the patients who were examined to detect respiratory tract viruses with PCR analysis in nasopharyngeal swab samples were evaluated by using medical records. The patients were divided into three groups according to their age: under two years old, between 2-6 years old, and between 6-18 years old. Newborns were not included in the study.

Transient Sinus Bradycardia in Children with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome Associated with COVID-19

Objective: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) may cause cardiovascular involvement and dysrhythmia. Although a variety of arrhythmias may be seen, sinus bradycardia was rarely reported. The aim of this study is to determine the frequency and clinical course of bradycardia in children with MIS-C. Material and Methods: Medical records of patients who were diag-nosed with MIS-C between August 2020 and March 2021 were retro-spectively evaluated. MIS-C diagnosis was made according to US Cen-ters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria. All patients who had sinus bradycardia were included in the study. Results: Transient sinus bradycardia was observed in 7 of 40 (17.5%) patients (2 girls, 5 boys) with MIS-C. The median age was 10.8 years (range, 5.4-13.8 years). All patients were initially treated with intravenous immu-noglobulin (IVIG) and six out of the seven patients also received intravenous methylprednisolone (MPZ). Sinus bradycardia developed a median of four days (range, 2-6 days) after MIS-C diagnosis and continued for a median of four days (range, 2-6 days). In six of the seven patients, bra-dycardia was detected a median of 42 hours (range, 11-74 hours) after MPZ treatment and resolved a median of 36 hours (range, 20-50 hours) after tapering MPZ dosage. Electrocardiogram (ECG) of patients showed sinus bradycardia. All patients were asymptomatic and awake when bra-dycardia was observed. No patients had any underlying structural heart defect or electrolyte abnormalities. Bradycardia episodes resolved without any specific intervention. Conclusion: Sinus bradycardia may occur due to the cardiac involvement of MIS-C itself or as a possible side effect of MPZ therapy, which can resolve without any specific treatment.