ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Interferon (IFN) is standard therapy for chronic viral hepatitis in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the side effects of alpha-interferon (IFN) in 94 consecutive children (58 males; age range, 3 to 14 years) affected by chronic viral hepatitis treated with different schedules ranging from 3 to 10 MU and from 3 to 12 months, and the impact of this therapy on health-related quality of life. METHODS: Side effects were evaluated with clinical and laboratory examinations and were recorded on a diary card. The health-related quality of life was evaluated with a modified version of the Sickness Impact Profile. RESULTS: All patients experienced at least one adverse reaction to IFN treatment; 80% had more than five side effects. There were no life-threatening reactions. Three children experienced severe reactions (febrile seizure, severe hypertransaminasemia and relapsing episodes of epistaxis, respectively) that required permanent IFN withdrawal. Another child had a febrile seizure requiring temporary IFN withdrawal. In seven children the neutrophil count fell below 1000/mm3 and promptly increased when IFN was temporarily discontinued. The remaining children had mild or moderate clinical and/or laboratory adverse reactions. Age, sex, viral etiology of chronic hepatitis and response to therapy were not significantly associated with the appearance of side effects. The pre-IFN health-related quality of life was good in all children; it deteriorated significantly during IFN therapy and returned to basal standards within 3 months after IFN withdrawal. No patient required suspension of IFN therapy because of worsening of health-related quality of life. CONCLUSION: Children have a low risk of developing severe IFN-induced side effects. Adverse reactions and worsening of health-related quality of life were tolerable and did not seem to be a limiting factor for IFN therapy in young candidates.
Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/adverse effects , Hepatitis B, Chronic/drug therapy , Hepatitis C, Chronic/drug therapy , Interferon-alpha/adverse effects , Adolescent , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Child , Child, Preschool , Drug Administration Schedule , Female , Humans , Interferon-alpha/therapeutic use , Male , Quality of Life , Sickness Impact ProfileABSTRACT
A case-control study was conducted to study the association between breast-feeding and inguinal hernia. The case group was significantly less often breast fed than control subjects (odds ratio, 0.49; 95% confidence interval, 0.29 to 0.83) and exclusive breast-feeding was associated with a significant dose-response risk reduction. The association was not confounded by birth weight, maternal education, type of birth, number of other children in the family, or gender. Breast-feeding may represent a protective factor against inguinal hernia.
Subject(s)
Breast Feeding , Hernia, Inguinal , Case-Control Studies , Female , Hernia, Inguinal/epidemiology , Humans , Incidence , Infant , Infant Welfare , Infant, Newborn , Italy/epidemiologySubject(s)
Appendicitis/prevention & control , Breast Feeding , Acute Disease , Case-Control Studies , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Risk Factors , Time FactorsSubject(s)
Breast Feeding , Multiple Sclerosis/etiology , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Italy/epidemiology , Male , Multiple Sclerosis/epidemiology , Risk Factors , Time FactorsABSTRACT
A case-control study showed that, compared with infants who had never been fed human milk, breast-fed infants had a relative risk of intussusception of 6.0 (95% confidence interval, 1.8 to 20.4) when breast-feeding at admission was exclusive and of 2.3 (95% confidence interval, 0.8 to 6.6) when it was partial. Exclusive breast-feeding may be a risk factor for intussusception in infancy.
