ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is a major cause of hospitalization during the winter among infants and young children. In 2002 palivizumab was introduced to high-risk infants for RSV hospitalization in Japan. It is important to characterize the hospitalized children due to RSV infection after the introduction of palivizumab. METHODS: A survey was conducted to collect the data from the hospitalized children at 12 participating hospitals during the winter of 2007. RESULTS: From October 2007 through April 2008, 8163 children were admitted to participating hospitals, with RSV infection accounting for 811 of those hospitalizations. Mean age in children with RSV infection at hospitalization was 12.4 ± 12.7 months, and children under 24 months of age accounted for 86.4%. The mean gestational age of those at birth was 38.0 ± 2.6 weeks, with 82.4% of the children born at term. Palivizumab was administered in 24 cases of RSV infection, while there were 28 patients who were not treated with palivizumab, even though they met the indication for palivizumab. Death, in a total of five cases, occurred in children who were not treated with palivizumab. CONCLUSIONS: Palivizumab has been widely used in high-risk infants who were covered by health insurance, and most of the hospitalized children with RSV infection in the study hospitals were not treated with palivizumab.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/therapeutic use , Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/drug therapy , Respiratory Syncytial Viruses/immunology , Antibodies, Viral/analysis , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Infant, Premature , Infant, Premature, Diseases/drug therapy , Infant, Premature, Diseases/epidemiology , Infant, Premature, Diseases/virology , Japan/epidemiology , Male , Palivizumab , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/epidemiology , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/virology , Retrospective Studies , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To elucidate whether thrombocytopenia in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome patients is associated with the hemizygosity of glycoprotein Ib-beta and to clarify the correlation of phenotype and genotype of this gene in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome patients with thrombocytopenia. METHODS: Platelet number, mean platelet volume, platelet agglutination, and the protein level of glycoprotein Ib-beta were measured in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome patients and controls. Phenotypes other than that of thrombocytopenia were also analyzed in these patients. RESULTS: The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome patients with thrombocytopenia had a larger mean platelet volume, lower agglutination to ristocetin, and lower protein level of glycoprotein Ib-beta than control patients. The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome patients with thrombocytopenia showed an increased risk of developing schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS: Thrombocytopenia in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome patients is associated with decreased expression of glycoprotein Ib-beta because of the hemizygosity. 22q11.2 deletion syndrome patients with thrombocytopenia require total management, especially for schizophrenia.
Subject(s)
Chromosome Deletion , Chromosomes, Human, Pair 22 , Platelet Glycoprotein GPIb-IX Complex/genetics , Thrombocytopenia/genetics , Adolescent , Adult , Blotting, Western , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence , Male , Phenotype , Platelet Count , Sequence Analysis, DNA , Thrombocytopenia/bloodABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: We investigated the possible use of serum hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels as a predictive indicator for the occurrence of coronary artery lesions (CAL) in Kawasaki disease (KD). Serum HGF and VEGF levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 41 patients with KD and 25 afebrile controls. Serum HGF levels of patients in the acute phase of KD were significantly higher than those of afebrile controls (Pc < 0.05) and decreased to lower levels during recovery (P < 0.0001). Univariate analysis showed significant correlations between occurrence of CAL and five variables: duration of fever (P=0.018), serum C-reactive protein concentration (P = 0.024), albumin concentration (P=0.009). serum VEGF level (P=0.009) and serum HGF level (P=0.035). Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that serum HGF and VEGF levels and presence of oedema were major risk factors for the occurrence of CAL. For prediction of the development of CAL, we established a new risk classification system with these three variables, which showed a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 94.4%. CONCLUSION: these data show that hepatocyte growth factor, together with vascular endothelial growth factor, might play an important role in the pathophysiology of Kawasaki disease and their serum levels could be a powerful predictor for the development of coronary artery lesions.
