Characteristics and Presentations of Hospitalized Children Due to 3 Predominate COVID-19 Variants Within a Health Care Network.

Objective of this article is to describe differences in the demographic and clinical characteristics, severity of illness, and outcomes in pediatric patients with different SARS-CoV-2 variants. We conducted a retrospective study of pediatric patients admitted with COVID-19 during the 3 large waves of infection within a health network in New Jersey. We included demographic characteristics, clinical features, and outcomes and compared the data with respect to the different variants. Of 351 total patients included in this study, 74 were admitted during wave 1, 94 during wave 2, and 181 during wave 3. The median age of patients decreased from wave 1 (11.5 years) to wave 3 (3 years) (P = .0034). 87.7% of the patients were unvaccinated. The overall incidence of admissions due to pneumonia related to COVID-19 decreased in wave 3. COVID-19 bronchiolitis or croup admissions occurred mostly in wave 3. There was no significant difference in the number of patients requiring intensive care in any particular wave. Length of stay decreased across the waves (P < .0001). Treatments required did not vary between the waves except for a decrease in antibiotic use with each subsequent wave (P < .0001). The impact of COVID-19 on the pediatric population differs from the adult population, and the overall number of hospitalized children has mirrored the peak in cases observed during each infection wave. Our study illustrates the changes in clinical presentation and severity observed with the different coronavirus variants.

Additional Surgeries after Bladder Augmentation in Patients with Spina Bifida in the 21st Century.

PURPOSE: We determined the long-term risks of additional surgery after bladder augmentation in a modern spina bifida cohort accounting for differential followup. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients with spina bifida who were born after 1972 and were followed at our institution after augmentation surgery performed between 1979 and 2018. Outcomes included diversion, bladder stones, perforation, reaugmentation, laparotomy for bowel obstruction, and benign and malignant bladder tumors. Survival analysis was used for the entire cohort and the modern cohort (detubularized and reconfigured ileocystoplasty beginning in 2000). RESULTS: A total of 413 patients were included in the study. At a median followup of 11.2 years 80.9% of the patients had undergone ileocystoplasty and 44.1% had undergone 370 additional surgeries. Ten-year risk of any reoperation was 43.9%, with 17.4% of patients undergoing 2 or more and 9.9% undergoing 3 or more additional surgeries. Outcomes included conversion to a diversion (2.7% at 10-year followup) and bladder stones (28.2% with recurrence in 52.4%) irrespective of detubularized reconfigured status (p ≥0.20). Bladder perforation risk was 9.6% for patients undergoing vs 23.7% for those not undergoing detubularized reconfigured ileocystoplasty (p=0.01). Similarly reaugmentation rate was 5.3% for patients undergoing vs 15.2% for those not undergoing detubularized reconfigured ileocystoplasty (p=0.001). Finally, 10-year reperforation risk was 32.1% for patients undergoing vs 73.8% for those not undergoing detubularized reconfigured ileocystoplasty (p=0.053). Other risks included bowel obstruction (4.5% with recurrence in 15.8%), nephrogenic adenoma (2.2% with regrowth in 48.2%) and malignancy (0.0% at 20 years). For 222 patients in the modern cohort (median followup 9.1 years) 10-year risk of any reoperation was 46.0%, which consisted of diversion in 4.0%, stones in 32.9% (recurrence in 44.5%), perforation in 8.8% (recurrence in 42.2%), reaugmentation in 4.3%, obstruction in 4.9% (recurrence in 10.0%), adenoma in 4.7% (regrowth in 40.0%) and cancer in 0.0%. CONCLUSIONS: Bladder augmentation is long-lasting. While benefiting continence and renal outcomes, this operation frequently requires additional surgeries, necessitating close followup. Since survival analysis based risks of alternative management options such as incontinent diversion are unavailable, comparisons with augmentation are unfeasible.

Dispositional optimism and cognitive functioning following traumatic brain injury.

Objective: The association of dispositional optimism with health-related factors has been well established in several clinical populations, but little is known about the role of optimism in recovery after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Given the high prevalence of cognitive complaints after TBI, the present study examined the association between optimism and cognitive functioning after TBI. Methods: 171 individuals with complicated mild, moderate or severe TBI completed a series of questionnaires via structured interview and self-report, including a self-report assessment of dispositional optimism, the revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R), and an objective assessment of cognition, the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT). Multiple hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationships between optimism and cognitive functioning. Results: Dispositional optimism was significantly and positively associated with post-TBI cognitive functioning after controlling for the effects of age, race, injury severity, health status, and positive and negative affect. Conclusion: Dispositional optimism may promote higher levels of cognitive functioning in people who sustained a TBI. Research is warranted to examine whether interventions that promote optimism in clinical and social encounters can enhance cognitive recovery in individuals with TBI.