A New Score for the Diagnosis of Complicated Appendicitis in Children - Complicated Appendicitis Pediatric Score.

Aim: This study aims to construct and validate a new score for diagnosis of complicated appendicitis in children, complicated appendicitis pediatric score (CoAPS), to guide residents' clinical decision-making on choosing the correct patients for immediate surgery, reducing the emergency negative surgeries. Methods: This prospective observational study enrolled two cohorts of patients 5-15 years old. Four hundred and seven consecutive patients were enrolled for the derivation cohort. Demographic data, clinical features, and histopathology data were collected. The outcome measure was the histological diagnosis of gangrenous appendicitis with or without perforation. The score was next validated in a separate cohort of 312 consecutive patients who were classified according to their risk of complicated appendicitis. The diagnostic performance of the score and the potential for the risk stratification to select patients for diagnostic imaging, emergency operative management, and reduce emergency negative operation rates were quantified. Results: A positive "jumping up" test, vomiting, white blood cell >13.5 × 10^3/ml, lymphocytes <18%, and C-reactive protein >50 mg/dl were independent predictors for complicated appendicitis. The final prediction model exhibited an area under the curve of 0.890 (95% confidence interval: 0.859-0.922). The low-risk group demonstrated high sensitivity (90.4%) for complicated appendicitis, while scores 6 or more were very specific (95%) for the disorder. Describing the potential utility of the score, emergency ultrasound imaging would have been postponed in 14.5% of patients (P = 0.0016), and emergency negative explorations would have been cut by 87%. Conclusion: The CoAPS score could guide residents in emergency management of children with complicated appendicitis reducing hospitalizations and urgent surgeries.

The Jumping Up (J-Up) Test: Making the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis Easier in Children.

We evaluate a new clinical test, jumping up (J-up) test, to diagnose easier appendicitis in children. A total of 407 patients, aged 5 to16 years, with right lower quadrant abdominal pain were asked to jump rising both hands and trying to reach a toy hanging down from the ceiling of the examination room. Bieri pediatric Face Pain Scale was used for recording the pain response. J-up test has sensitivity of 87% and specificity of 70%. A positive J-up test combined with leukocytosis (white blood cells count >12 000/mm3), neutrophilia >75%, neutrophil/lymphocyte >2, and C-reactive protein >5 mg/dL, achieved a posttest probability of appendicitis of 85%. A negative J-up test combined with the aforementioned blood markers within normal range had a posttest probability for non-appendicitis of 92%. J-up test is a reliable clinical test, which could be used even by an inexperienced doctor. Combined with classical blood markers, it could successfully predict which child is in urgent need or not of surgery.

Experiencing sexuality in youth living in Greece: contraceptive practices, risk taking, and psychosocial status.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess initiation of sexual activity and contraception methods used among Greek adolescents. To determine the association of adolescents' emotional and behavioral status with their sexual activity. DESIGN: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted. SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: The population (N = 1074, age 14-16) consisted of a random sample, stratified according to locality and population density, of 20 public junior high and high schools located in the urban district of Athens, Greece. INTERVENTIONS: Anonymous self-reported questionnaires were used to assess sexual activity choices and contraception methods. The Youth Self-Report questionnaire was used to evaluate the psychosocial competencies and difficulties of Greek adolescents. MEASURES: Analyses included frequencies with chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression analysis. MAIN OUTCOME: Factors that may influence sexual engagement of Greek adolescents were assessed. RESULTS: Of the adolescents who completed the questionnaire 21.8% reported having experienced sexual intercourse. The male/female ratio was 3/1 (P < .001) and the mean age of sexual debut was 14.5 ± 0.9 years. Condoms were the most preferred contraceptive method (79.9%), followed by withdrawal (38.9%). Emergency contraception was used by 9.6% of participants. Adolescents with separated, divorced or with a deceased parent, and non-Greek nationality have higher possibility of being sexually active. Adolescents who reported sexual intercourse had significantly higher score of thought problems (ß = 1.07, SE = 0.35, P = .002), attention difficulties (ß = 0.67, SE = 0.29, P = .022), delinquent behavior problems (ß = 2.37, SE = 0.34, P < .001), aggressive behavior (ß = 1.97, SE = 0.48, P < .001), and externalizing problems (ß = 4.18, SE = 0.78, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Engagement in sexual activities was significantly associated with psychosocial difficulties among adolescents living in Greece.

Phenotypic assessment of Neisseria meningitidis isolates obtained from patients with invasive meningococcal disease in Greece, 1993-2003: implications for serogroup B vaccines based on PorA serosubtype antigens.

Serogroup B is the major isolate from patients with invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in Greece. This study used the whole cell enzyme-linked immuosorbent assay (ELISA) with monoclonal antibodies to screen Neisseria meningitidis isolates obtained from patients with IMD between 1993 and 2003 to determine if serosubtypes included in the hexavalent Por A OMP vaccines being tested in northern Europe were prevalent in Greece. During this period there were significant changes in the proportions of serogroups B and C isolated from patients. Serogroup C was predominant in 1996-1997 but fell sharply with corresponding increases in serogroup B. Of the 591 isolates sent to the National Meningitis Reference Laboratory in Athens during this period, 325 (55%) were serogroup B. Among those tested for serosubtype, porA proteins used for the vaccine being tested in Britain were detected on 85/284 (30%) strains and for the vaccine being tested in the Netherlands 175/284 (62%). P1.14 (58/284, 20%) the predominant serosubtype among the Greek isolates, is not present in either vaccine formulation; 23/284 (8%) strains did not react with any of the monoclonal antibodies. Our results indicate that introduction of the vaccines currently being evaluated in northern Europe would not be warranted in the Greek population.

Rhinovirus viremia in children with respiratory infections.

RATIONALE: Viremia has been implicated in many viral infections; however, viremia due to rhinovirus (RV; rhinoviremia) has been considered not to occur in normal individuals. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether RV enters the bloodstream and identify the possible risk factors. METHODS: Nasopharyngeal washes (NPWs) of 221 children with respiratory infections were examined for the presence of RV by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Blood from 88 children, whose NPW was RV-positive, and 31 of RV-negative control subjects was subsequently examined for the presence of RV in the blood by semi-nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Rhinoviremia was then correlated with clinical characteristics of the disease. RESULTS: RV was detected in the blood of 10 out of 88 NPW RV-positive cases (11.4%): 7 of 28 children with asthma exacerbations (25.0%), 2 of 26 with common cold (7.7%), 1 of 25 with bronchiolitis (4.0%), and 0 of 9 with pneumonia (0%). All NPW RV-negative cases were negative in the blood. The proportion of rhinoviremia in children with asthma exacerbation was significantly higher compared with children suffering from the other diseases (25 vs. 5%, p = 0.01). Significant risk factors were: sampling

Failure to eradicate Group A beta-haemolytic streptococci (GABHS) from the upper respiratory tract after antibiotic treatment.

The clinical efficacy, safety and bacteriological eradication of Group A beta-haemolytic streptococci (GABHS) from the throat was studied after treatment of streptococcal tonsillopharyngitis with three commonly used oral antibiotics in a prospective, open labelled, comparative, randomised trial of 265 evaluable patients seen in one centre. All three antibiotics were administered in the recommended doses; penicillin V q8 hourly and clarithromycin q12 hourly were given for 10 days and cefprozil q12 hourly for 5 days. Clinical results and adverse events were similar for all three antibiotics used, with a prompt clinical outcome of >95%. Cefprozil had the best bacteriological eradication rate (failed to eradicate: 13.2, 15.1, 2.3; relapses: 13.2, 11.4, 5.7%, for penicillin, clarithromycin and cefprozil, respectively). Oral penicillin remains a clinically effective and safe antibiotic for the treatment of streptococcal pharyngitis. However, compliance and convenience for parents and children when they are asked to follow a 10 days course, especially when the patient has improved from the second or third day, together with the high incidence of bacteriological eradication failures, is an issue.

Association of rhinovirus infection with increased disease severity in acute bronchiolitis.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major pathogen responsible for acute bronchiolitis in infancy. However, evaluation of the relative importance of rhinovirus or multiple viral infections has been hampered by the lack of sensitive diagnostic methodologies. Therefore, in this study we used the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for 11 respiratory pathogens to assess the etiology in infants with acute bronchiolitis and correlate it with clinical characteristics of the disease. Viruses were detected in 73.7% of patients. RSV was identified in 72.4% of virologically confirmed cases, rhinovirus in 29%, whereas multiple infections represented 19.5% of cases, most of which (69%) were combinations of rhinovirus with RSV. In a logistic regression model controlling for age, sex, birth weight, presence of fever, and day of disease on admission, the presence of rhinovirus was found to increase by approximately five-fold, the risk for severe disease. Multiple pathogens had a similar trend in the univariate analysis, which was eliminated in the multivariate model. Multiple virus cases were admitted to the hospital later in the course of their disease than unique pathogen cases, suggesting successive infections. In conclusion, rhinovirus is second only to RSV as a causative agent of bronchiolitis and is associated with more severe disease. The presence of more than one pathogen may influence the natural history of acute bronchiolitis.

Serotyping and antibiotic resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from pediatric infections in central Greece.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the distribution of serogroups/serotypes and antibiotic resistance pattern of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from pediatric infections in central Greece. METHODS: In total, 306 S. pneumoniae strains isolated from children, aged from 18 days to 14 years (median 18 months), during a 21-month period, from different specimen sources, were studied. Susceptibility testing was carried out by the Kirby---Bauer method and by the Etest, and serotyping by the Quellung reaction. RESULTS: Of the S. pneumoniae isolates, 3.9% were highly resistant to penicillin (PR), while 17.6% were intermediately resistant (IPR). PR and IPR isolates were found to be, in general, more resistant to other antibiotics than penicillin-susceptible isolates. The PR and IPR isolates belonged to the serogroup/serotypes 19, 23, 9, 6 and 14 (in descending order of frequency). The penicillin-susceptible isolates belonged to 20 different groups/serotypes, the most common being 19, 6, 14, 9, 3, 23 and 1 (in descending order of frequency). Serogroup 23 was often found to be multiresistant. CONCLUSIONS: Resistance to penicillin in S. pneumoniae isolates is relatively low and differs according to the specimen type. All the pneumococcal serogroups/serotypes isolated from the children were found to be included in the 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine. Most of the children with a pneumococcal infection, however, were less than 2 years old and could not be protected by the existing vaccine.