Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Pediatrician Awareness of Infant Dyschezia in Indonesia.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of infant dyschezia as well as pediatrician awareness regarding this disease in Indonesia. Methods: This is a two-part cross-sectional study, which was divided into study A and B. Study A: Parents whose infants were under 9 months old and attended well-baby clinics were recruited at two randomly selected primary health centers. Parents also provided information on the infant's previous medical history, and socio-demographic and family details. The Rome IV criteria was translated and validated to be used for diagnosis of infant dyschezia. Study B: Randomly selected pediatricians were surveyed by using a questionnaire to evaluate their knowledge regarding infant dyschezia. Results: The prevalence of infant dyschezia based on the result of this study was 11.8%. Three risk factors had a significant relationship with infant dyschezia i.e., the number of children in the family (odds ratio [OR], 5.619; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.194-14.390; p<0.001), complementary food diet (OR, 4.238; 95% CI, 1.902-9.443; p<0.001), and social-emotional disturbance (OR, 5.670; 95% CI, 2.550-12.609; p<0.001). The percentage of pediatricians correctly diagnosed infant dyschezia was 71.5%. Most pediatricians agreed that they did not perform any diagnostic testing (79.7%) and only provided education in cases of infant dyschezia (58.5%). Conclusion: The prevalence of infant dyschezia identified in our study was higher than that in other neighboring Asian countries, with the highest prevalence observed in infants 7-9 months old. Being an only child, receiving complementary food diet, and sociao-emotional disturbances were significant risk factors of infant dyschezia.

Vascular Reactivity Index and PELOD-2 as a mortality predictor in paediatric septic shock: a single-centre retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: The mortality rate for children with septic shock is stil quite high in low-income and middle-income countries (31.7%). One of the most widely used scoring systems to assess mortality in sepsis or septic shock is Paediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction 2 (PELOD-2). However, it requires various laboratory evaluations. A non-invasive, fast and easy method is needed to assess the mortality of children with septic shock at an early stage. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the ability of Vascular Reactivity Index (VRI) compared with PELOD-2 score as a predictor of mortality in children with septic shock based on vascular response to vasoactive agents. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from children aged 1 month to 18 years with septic shock treated in the ER and paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of the tertiary hospital from 2017 to 2021. The serial haemodynamic data were analysed including Systemic Vascular Resistant Index (SVRI) and the cardiac index from ultrasound cardiac output monitoring device was recorded in the first and sixth hours after the diagnosis of septic shock. The VRI was determined by dividing SVRI/Vasoactive Inotropic Score (ie, accumulated doses of dopamine, dobutamine, epinephrine, milrinone, vasopressin and norepinephrine). The receiver operating curve was used to calculate the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity of each cut-off point. RESULTS: A total of 68 subjects fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the median age was 54 months with a range of 2-204 months and the mortality rate was 47%. The majority of the patients who died were found in the high cardiac index and low SVRI group (17.6%). Moreover, the optimum cut-off point of VRI was obtained to predict mortality in septic shock of 32.1, with 87.5% sensitivity and 88.9% specificity. The AUC for predicting death using VRI was 95% (95% CI 90% to 100%, p<0.001) and PELOD-2 92.6% (95% CI 96.4% to 98.8%, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The VRI <32.1 may potentially be used to predict mortality in children with septic shock and its predictive ability is as good as PELOD-2. The assessment of VRI is faster and easier than PELOD-2.

Validation of the vasoactive-inotropic score in predicting pediatric septic shock mortality: A retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Mortality in pediatric septic shock remains very high. Vasoactive-inotropic score (VIS) is widely used to predict prognosis in patients with heart disease. It is a simple method that was initially used as a predictor of morbidity and mortality in postoperative patients with congenital heart diseases. Previous reports showed that high VIS score was associated with high mortality in pediatric sepsis. However, its discriminative value remains unclear. We aim to explore the discriminative value of VIS in predicting mortality in pediatric septic shock patients. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study on medical records of septic shock patients who received care in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). We screened medical records of pediatric patients which were diagnosed with septic shock and admitted to the PICU and received vasoactive/inotropic score for more than 8 h. Other supporting examination results were recorded, such as organ function evaluation for calculation of Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction-2 (PELOD-2) score. The outcome of patients was recorded. The receiver operating curve was constructed to calculate the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity of each cutoff point. RESULTS: We obtained the optimum cutoff point of VIS > 11 with 78.87% sensitivity and 72.22% specificity. AUC positive was 0.779 (P < 0.001); predictive value and negative predictive value were 91.80% and 46.43%, respectively. CONCLUSION: VIS > 11 has a good ability to predict mortality in children with septic shock.

A Modified Regimen of Methylprednisolone, Cyclophosphamide, and Mycophenolic Acid for Severe IgA Vasculitis with Nephritis in a Child.

IgA vasculitis with nephritis (IgAVN), which was formerly known as Henoch-Schonlein purpura nephritis, commonly manifests with mild symptoms. However, in rare circumstances, IgAVN in children can progress to kidney failure. Despite the successful treatment of severe IgAVN with a combination of immunosuppressive medications including corticosteroids, no consensus has been established for IgAVN treatment. Here, we present a case of severe IgAVN in an eight-year-old Indonesian boy who was treated with simultaneous methylprednisolone, cyclophosphamide, and mycophenolic acid. He experienced recovery of kidney function within one month, while proteinuria resolved in five months, and hematuria resolved within a year after treatment initiation. No recurrences were noted during the two-year follow-up. Although our immunosuppressive regimen may seem very potent, it was shown to have tolerable side effects and could be beneficial for kidney recovery. Importantly, they have also been shown to prevent progression to chronic kidney disease in children with severe IgAVN.