Feeding patterns and growth trajectories in breast-fed and formula-fed infants during the introduction of complementary food / Patrones de alimentación y trayectorias de crecimiento en niños con lactancia materna y con leche de fórmula durante la introducción de la alimentación complementaria

Introduction: several investigations have identified breastfeeding as a protective factor for rapid infant weight gain and childhood obesity while other studies have found that this protective effect could be the result of confounding factors. Objectives: to assess the associations between lactation practices (breast-fed vs formula-fed infants) during the introduction of complementary food period, as well as the following: a) patterns of food intake; and b) trajectories of growth at six, nine and 12 months (z-score of weight, height and body mass index [BMI] and changes in these z-scores from six to 12 months). Methods: two hundred and three infants randomly selected from Spanish Primary Health Centres were measured. Parents recorded all infant's food consumption for three days (g/day). Linear regression models were applied. Results: breast-fed infants had a lower intake of cereals, fruit baby food, vegetables with meat/fish and a total intake of food compared to formula-fed infants at nine months of age. After adjusting for sex, parental education and total food intake, breastfed children continued to have lower intake of cereals (-5.82, 95% CI: -9.22, -2.43), and lower total food intake (-301.23, 95% CI: -348.50, -253.96). Breast-fed infants had a lower change in z-score of weight, height and BMI from six to 12 months of age and these differences remained when adjusting for all confounders. Conclusions: formula-fed infants during the complementary feeding period have a higher food intake and show higher rates of rapid infant weight gain compared to breast-fed infants. These differences in growth trajectories depending on breastfeeding maintenance and food intake during early life must be considered in adiposity risk evaluation

Introducción: varios estudios han identificado la lactancia materna como un factor protector frente a la ganancia rápida de peso y la obesidad infantil, mientras que otros estudios han encontrado que este efecto protector podría ser el resultado de la interferencia de factores de confusión. Objetivos: evaluar las asociaciones entre el tipo de lactancia (leche materna versus lactantes alimentados con fórmula) durante la introducción de la alimentación complementaria, así como: a) los patrones de ingesta de alimentos; y b) las trayectorias de crecimiento a los seis, nueve y 12 meses (z-score de peso, estatura e índice de masa corporal (IMC) y variaciones en estos z-score entre los seis y los 12 meses. Métodos: se midieron 203 neonatos seleccionados en centros de salud primaria españoles. Los padres registraron el consumo de alimentos de todos los bebés durante tres días (g/día). Se aplicaron modelos de regresión lineal. Resultados: los bebés alimentados con leche materna tuvieron una menor ingesta de cereales, alimentos para bebés a base de frutas, verduras con carne/pescado, así como una menor ingesta total de alimentos en comparación con los bebés alimentados con fórmula a los nueve meses de edad. Después de realizar el ajuste por sexo, educación de los padres y consumo total de alimentos, los niños alimentados con leche materna continuaron teniendo una menor ingesta de cereales (-5,82, IC 95%: -9,22, -2,43) y una ingesta total de alimentos más baja (-301,23, IC 95%: -348,50, -253,96). Los bebés alimentados al pecho tuvieron un menor incremento en la puntuación z-score de peso, talla e IMC entre los seis y los 12 meses de edad y estas diferencias se mantuvieron cuando se ajustaron para todos los factores de confusión. Conclusiones: los lactantes alimentados con fórmula durante el periodo de alimentación complementaria tienen una mayor ingesta de alimentos y muestran tasas más altas de ganancia de peso en comparación con los lactantes alimentados con leche materna. Estas diferencias en las trayectorias de crecimiento en función del mantenimiento de la lactancia materna y la ingesta de alimentos durante los primeros años de vida deben considerarse en la evaluación del riesgo de adiposidad

Single-organ cutaneous small-vessel vasculitis according to the 2012 revised International Chapel Hill Consensus Conference Nomenclature of Vasculitides: a study of 60 patients from a series of 766 cutaneous vasculitis cases.

OBJECTIVE: Cutaneous vasculitis (CV) encompasses a wide group of entities characterized by inflammation of skin blood vessels. The term single-organ vasculitis was recently coined by the 2012 Chapel Hill Consensus Conference (CHCC) to define vasculitis affecting a single organ. To our knowledge there are no published reports on single-organ cutaneous small vessel vasculitis (SoCSVV). Our aim was to characterize this entity from a wide series of patients with CV. METHODS: We analysed cases of SoCSVV from a series of 766 patients with CV from a single university referral centre. According to 2012 CHCC, the following conditions were required to define SoCSVV: (i) skin biopsy showing characteristic leucocytoclastic vasculitis and (ii) vasculitis limited to skin. RESULTS: We included 60 patients (26 women and 34 men) with a mean age of 56 years. The main precipitating factors for SoCSVV were drugs [26 patients (52%)] and previous infection [17 patients (34%)]. The main clinical manifestations were palpable purpura (81.7%) and fever (18.3%). The most frequent laboratory findings were leucocytosis and elevated ESR. Nearly one-quarter of patients with SoCSVV required pharmacological therapy. Corticosteroids (15%) and NSAIDs (13.3%) were the main agents prescribed. After a median follow-up of 4 months, complete recovery was observed in all the patients, although relapses occurred in 8% of patients. CONCLUSION: SoCSVV defined according to the 2012 CHCC may be considered a benign disease usually associated with drugs and/or a previous infection.

Reappraisal of the 1990 American College of Rheumatology criteria for the classification of cutaneous vasculitis: an analysis based on 766 patients.

OBJECTIVES: The term cutaneous vasculitis (CV) includes a wide and heterogeneous group of entities. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) established a set of criteria to classify vasculitis in 1990. Our aim was to further investigate into the applicability of these criteria for the classification of patients with primary CV. METHODS: We analysed a large and unselected series of patients with CV attended to a university referral centre from January 1976 to December 2011. Patients were classified according to the methodology and criteria proposed by the ACR1990 core data set. Patients were also classified according to the same ACR 1990 database as proposed by Michel et al. in 1992 to differentiate Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) from hypersensitivity vasculitis (HV). RESULTS: We assessed 766 patients (346 women and 420 men) with a mean age of 34 years. Patients with cutaneous lesions in the setting of conditions different from primary CV were excluded. According to the 1990 ACR criteria, 405 (63.1%) of the 642 patients with primary CV were classified as having HSP and 230 (35.8%) as HV. However, 119 (18.5%) patients fulfilled the ACR 1990 criteria for both entities. In addition, 7 (1.1%) did not meet the ACR 1990 criteria for any of them and, therefore, they were considered as non-classified vasculitis. When patients with primary CV were tested for the Michel et al. criteria, 392 (61.1%) were classified as having HSP and 250 (38.9%) as HV. Frequent discordance between the ACR 1990 and the Michel et al. criteria was observed. It ranged between 18.4 and 21.7% for HSP and 32.2 to 38% for HV. CONCLUSIONS: According to our data, the ACR 1990 criteria are of limited value for the classification of patients with primary CV.

Henoch-Schönlein purpura in northern Spain: clinical spectrum of the disease in 417 patients from a single center.

The severity of clinical features and the outcomes in previous series of patients reported with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) vary greatly, probably due to selection bias. To establish the actual clinical spectrum of HSP in all age groups using an unselected and wide series of patients diagnosed at a single center, we performed a retrospective review of 417 patients classified as having HSP according to the criteria proposed by Michel et al. Of 417 patients, 240 were male and 177 female, with a median age at the time of disease diagnosis of 7.5 years (interquartile range [IQR], 5.3-20.1 yr). Three-quarters of the patients were children or young people aged 20 years or younger (n = 315), and one-quarter were adults (n = 102). The most frequent precipitating events were a previous infection (38%), usually an upper respiratory tract infection, and/or drug intake (18.5%) shortly before the onset of the vasculitis. At disease onset the most common manifestations were skin lesions (55.9%), nephropathy (24%), gastrointestinal involvement (13.7%), joint symptoms (9.1%), and fever (6.2%). Cutaneous involvement occurring in all patients, mainly purpuric skin lesion, was the most common manifestation when the vasculitis was fully established, followed by gastrointestinal (64.5%), joint (63.1%), and renal involvement (41.2%). The main laboratory findings were leukocytosis (36.7%), anemia (8.9%), and increased serum IgA levels (31.7%). The most frequent therapies used were corticosteroids (35%), nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (14%), and cytotoxic agents (5%). After a median follow-up of 12 months (IQR, 2-38 mo), complete recovery was observed in most cases (n = 346; 83.2%), while persistent, usually mild, nephropathy was observed in only 32 (7.7%) cases. Relapses were observed in almost a third of patients (n = 133; 31.9%).In conclusion, although HSP is a typical vasculitis affecting children and young people, it is not uncommon in adults. The prognosis is favorable in most cases, depending largely on renal involvement.

Revisiting clinical differences between hypersensitivity vasculitis and Henoch-Schönlein purpura in adults from a defined population.

OBJECTIVES: Hypersensitivity vasculitis (HV) and Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) are the most common entities included within the category of cutaneous vasculitis (CV). Palpable purpura and histological changes characterised by the presence of leukocytoclastic vasculitis are common in both conditions. Therefore, considerable overlap between them is often seen. It is especially true when the CV occurs in adults. To further establish clinical differences between these two conditions, in the present study we assessed the main clinical differences between HV and HSP in a wide and unselected series of adults with CV from a defined population. METHODS: We reviewed the clinical records of 297 consecutive adults (age >20 years) seen at a single centre between January 1975 and December 2012 that were classified as having HSP or HV according to the criteria proposed by Michel et al. (J Rheumatol 1992; 19: 721-8). RESULTS: Based on the inclusion criteria, 102 adult patients (71 men/31 women) were classified as HSP and 195 (104 men/91 women) as HV. The mean age was similar in both groups (55.8±16.5 years in HSP and 56.8±18.3 years in HV). Precipitating events, usually an upper respiratory tract infection and/or drug intake, were more frequently observed in HV. Both at the beginning of the disease and when the CV was established clinical manifestations were more frequent in patients with HSP than in those with HV. It was the case for gastrointestinal (57.4% vs. 6.8%; p<0.001), joint (51.5% vs. 36.6%; p=0.01) and renal involvement (86.3% vs. 18.3%; p<0.001). Corticosteroid (56.7% vs. 22%; p<0.001) and cytotoxic drug (19.4% vs. 3.2%; p<0.001) use was also more common in patients with HSP. After a median follow-up of 15.5 (interquartile range- IQR; 3-37) months in HSP and 4 (IQR; 2-12) months in HV, the outcome was better in HV than in HSP. In this regard, complete recovery (72.6% vs. 85.4%; p=0.01) was more commonly observed in HV while residual renal involvement (15.3% vs. 4.2%; p<0.001) was more common in HSP. The disease relapsed in 35.3% of patients with HSP and in 24.4% with HV (p=0.07). CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm the claim that these two diseases presenting with similar cutaneous involvement are certainly two separate entities with greater systemic involvement and less favourable outcome in HSP.

Urticarial vasculitis in northern Spain: clinical study of 21 cases.

Urticarial vasculitis (UV) is a subset of cutaneous vasculitis (CV), characterized clinically by urticarial skin lesions of more than 24 hours' duration and histologically by leukocytoclastic vasculitis. We assessed the frequency, clinical features, treatment, and outcome of a series of patients with UV. We conducted a retrospective study of patients with UV included in a large series of unselected patients with CV from a university hospital. Of 766 patients with CV, UV was diagnosed in 21 (2.7%; 9 male and 12 female patients; median age, 35 yr; range, 1-78 yr; interquartile range, 5-54 yr). Eight of the 21 cases were aged younger than 20 years old. Potential precipitating factors were upper respiratory tract infections and drugs (penicillin) (n = 4; in all cases in patients aged <20 yr), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (n = 1), and malignancy (n = 1). Besides urticarial lesions, other features such as palpable purpura (n = 7), arthralgia and/or arthritis (n = 13), abdominal pain (n = 2), nephropathy (n = 2), and peripheral neuropathy (n = 1) were observed. Hypocomplementemia (low C4) with low C1q was disclosed in 2 patients. Other abnormal laboratory findings were leukocytosis (n = 7), increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate (n = 6), anemia (n = 4), and antinuclear antibody positivity (n = 2). Treatment included corticosteroids (n = 12), antihistaminic drugs (n = 6), chloroquine (n = 4), nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (n = 3), colchicine (n = 2), and azathioprine (n = 1). After a median follow-up of 10 months (interquartile range, 2-38 mo) recurrences were observed in 4 patients. Apart from 1 patient who died because of an underlying malignancy, the outcome was good with full recovery in the remaining patients. In conclusion, our results indicate that UV is rare but not exceptional. In children UV is often preceded by an upper respiratory tract infection. Urticarial lesions and joint manifestations are the most frequent clinical manifestation. Low complement serum levels are observed in a minority of cases. The prognosis is generally good, but depends on the underlying disease.

The spectrum of paraneoplastic cutaneous vasculitis in a defined population: incidence and clinical features.

Cutaneous vasculitis may be associated with malignancies, and may behave as a paraneoplastic syndrome. This association has been reported in a variable proportion of patients depending on population selection. We conducted the current study to assess the frequency, clinical features, treatment, and outcome of paraneoplastic vasculitis in a large unselected series of 766 patients with cutaneous vasculitis diagnosed at a single university hospital. Sixteen patients (10 men and 6 women; mean age ± standard deviation, 67.94 ± 14.20 yr; range, 40-85 yr) presenting with cutaneous vasculitis were ultimately diagnosed as having an underlying malignancy. They constituted 3.80% of the 421 adult patients. There were 9 hematologic and 7 solid underlying malignancies. Skin lesions were the initial clinical presentation in all of them, and the median interval from the onset of cutaneous vasculitis to the diagnosis of the malignancy was 17 days (range, 8-50 d). The most frequent skin lesions were palpable purpura (15 patients). Other clinical manifestations included constitutional syndrome (10 patients) and arthralgia and/or arthritis (4 cases). Hematologic cytopenias (11 cases) as well as immature peripheral blood cells (6 cases) were frequently observed in the full blood cell count, especially in those with vasculitis associated with hematologic malignancies. Specific treatment for vasculitis was prescribed in 10 patients; nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (4 patients), corticosteroids (3 patients), chloroquine (1 patient), antihistamines (1 patient), and cyclophosphamide (1 patient). Ten patients died due to the malignancy and 6 patients recovered following malignancy therapy. Patients with paraneoplastic vasculitis were older, more frequently had constitutional syndrome, and less frequently had organ damage due to the vasculitis than the remaining patients with cutaneous vasculitis. In summary, cutaneous paraneoplastic vasculitis is an entity not uncommonly encountered by clinicians. The most common underlying malignancy is generally hematologic. In these cases the presence of cytopenias and immature cells may be red flags for the diagnosis of cancer. In patients with paraneoplastic cutaneous vasculitis, the prognosis depends on the underlying neoplasia.