Alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient: An early marker to predict the severity of community-acquired pneumonia in children.

To study the clinical significance of alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient (PA-aO2) for children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). A prospective study was carried out from January 2020 to June 2023, Overall, 100 patients were included in the study, 35 had severe pneumonia, whereas, 65 had non-severe pneumonia. Clinical and laboratory data were retrospectively collected at the time of hospital admission and during hospitalization. Patients were divided into severe and non-severe groups. PA-aO2 was significantly higher among children with severe pneumonia, as determined by WHO, PRESS (P < .001). PA-aO2 was significantly higher among children with mechanical ventilation, shock, sepsis, and mortality. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis for PA-aO2 showed that the area under the curve was 0.76 (P value < .05), with a sensitivity of 84.3% and a specificity of 67.9%. Our study suggests that PA-aO2 level has a predictive value for detecting community-acquired pneumonia severity in children.

Amphiregulin in lung diseases: A review.

Amphiregulin is a member of the EGFR family, which is involved in many physiological and pathological processes through its binding with EGFR. Studies have found that amphiregulin plays an important role in the occurrence and development of lung diseases. This paper mainly reviews the structure and function of amphiregulin and focuses on the important role of amphiregulin in lung diseases.

The potential role of serum lipoprotein in children with sepsis.

To determine whether serum lipoprotein is correlated with sepsis on the day of admission and help with early warning, identification, and intervention for sepsis. This retrospective study involved all children admitted to our pediatric intensive care unit from January 2021 to June 2023. Clinical data of involved patients were collected via inquiring databases of our hospital. The Pediatric Risk of Mortality and Pediatric Index of Mortality II scores were calculated, multivariate analysis was conducted to evaluate the independence of the association between serum lipoprotein and the risk of sepsis on the day of admission. This study involved 88 children (48 with sepsis, 40 non-sepsis). The sepsis group had a lower level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The CRP, white blood cell, and procalcitonin (PCT) were considerably higher than the non-sepsis group. After adjusting for covariates, logistic regression analysis suggested that the CRP, PCT, HDL, Pediatric Risk of Mortality score, Pediatric Index of Mortality II score and LDL were independent risk factors for sepsis. Moreover, the AUC of CRP, PCT, HDL, and LDL were 0.58, 0.76, 0.82, and 0.86, respectively. Our results may indicate that serum lipoprotein is correlated with sepsis on the day of admission and may help with early warning, identification, and intervention for sepsis.

A case of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: A case report.

RATIONALE: Multisystemic inflammatory syndrome is a syndrome of multisystem involvement caused by a novel coronavirus infection that can lead to cardiogenic shock and death in children. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 4-year-old girl was diagnosed with multiple organ and multiple system involvement after Kawasaki disease. DIAGNOSIS: Novel coronavirus infection-associated multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children was considered. INTERVENTIONS: The patients received aspirin, methylprednisolone and gammaglobulin to treat multisystem inflammatory syndrome. OUTCOMES: After treatment, the child recovered and was discharged from the hospital. LESSONS: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome is often mistaken for Kawasaki disease, fortunately, their treatments are similar, the purpose of this case is to remind clinicians of the need for early management of children with multisystem failure following novel coronavirus infection, increase the detection rate, and save the life of the child.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio are early predictors of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

To determine whether neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are correlated with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) on the first day of prematurity and to help with early warning, identification, and intervention in the development of BPD. From January 2017 to June 2022, newborns who were diagnosed with BPD conducted a retrospective cohort study. Complete blood cells were measured within the first 24 hours of life in preterm neonates of 32 gestational weeks with BPD as the observation group and non-BPD infants as the control group. In all groups, the NLR and PLR levels were measured. Both univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the data. In this research 76 cases of non-BPD and 48 cases of BPD were used as controls. Compared with the non-BPD group, the NLR and PLR levels were considerably higher in the BPD group. Logistic regression analysis suggested that NLR and PLR were independent risk factors for BPD (OR [odds ratio]: 3.786; 95% CI [confidence interval]: 1.75-8.16; P < .05; OR: 3.391; 95% CI: 1.85-28.78; P < .05). The findings may demonstrate that higher NLR and PLR are independently and significantly associated with the development of BPD.

Relationship between hematological parameters and bronchopulmonary dysplasia in premature infants.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between hematological parameters on the first day of life and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in preterm infants. METHODS: This retrospective study involved all premature infants admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit from January 2017 to June 2022. BPD was diagnosed based on hypoxia exposure for ≥28 days. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), platelet count (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV), and platelet mass index (PMI) were compared between infants with and without BPD. Multivariate analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between hematological parameters and BPD. RESULTS: This study involved 124 premature infants (48 with BPD, 76 without BPD). The BPD group had a lower gestational age and lower weight. The NLR, MPV, and PLR were considerably higher and the PLT and MPI were lower in the BPD than non-BPD group. After adjusting for covariates, logistic regression analysis suggested that the NLR, PLT, and PMI were independent risk factors for BPD. Moreover, the receiver operating characteristic curve indicated that the NLR, PLT, and PMI were reliable predictors of BPD. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that a higher NLR and a lower PLT and PMI on the first day may increase the risk of BPD.

[Isolation and culture of type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2) in lungs of newborn mice].

Objective To investigate the isolation and culture of the type 2 innate lymphoid cell (ILC2) in the lungs of newborn mice. Methods Immunomagnetic bead enrichment and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) were used to isolate ILC2s. Flow cytometry was used to identify the purity of ILC2s. Inverted microscope was used to observe the growth of cells. ELISA was used to detect the expression levels of interleukin 5 (IL-5) and IL-13. Results The purity of the isolated ILC2s reached more than 95%. The isolated ILC2s were round or oval, and suspended in cell culture medium. After stimulation with IL-2 and IL-7 combined with IL-33, the contents of IL-5 and IL-13 produced by ILC2s and the proliferation ability of ILC2s increased significantly. Conclusion A rapid and efficient method for isolation and culture of ILC2s in the lung of newborn mice has been found.