[Current situation of the demand for health care in neuropaediatrics. Characteristics of consultations and comparison with other paediatric specialties]. / Situacion actual de la demanda asistencial en neuropediatria. Caracteristicas de la consulta y comparacion con otras especialidades pediatricas.

INTRODUCTION: In recent years it seems we are witnessing an increasing demand for neuropaediatric care. Epidemiological studies are needed to make this demand more widely known and thus promote appropriate management of health care resources. AIMS: To determine what proportion of all visits to the paediatric department in our hospital are neuropaediatric consultations, the annual consultation rate in child neurology per 1,000 inhabitants under 14 years of age, and the characteristics of that consultation (demographic data, reasons for the visit and others). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study on the health care activity of paediatric and neuropaediatric units in a level-II public hospital in the south of Madrid, over the period 2008-2012. RESULTS: Since our centre opened, the number of paediatric consultations has increased sharply, neuropaediatric visits being the most frequently demanded. In the year 2012 a total of 2,129 patients were seen (718 first visits), with a successive/first visit index of 1.96. Of all the paediatric consultations carried out in the hospital, 23.49% took place in neuropaediatrics. The mean rate of first visits in the period under study was 72.86/1,000 children. The main reasons for the consultation were learning disabilities/conduct disorders (24.1%), followed by headaches (21.9%), paroxysmal episodes (14.8%) and delayed psychomotor development (9%). CONCLUSIONS: The increase in demand for neuropaediatrics health care was clearly higher than that of other paediatric specialities over the same period of time. In the five years included in the study, the rate of first visits increased threefold. This health care overload could condition the care dispensed to patients with severe neurological pathologies. Further studies of a similar nature in different regions are required to determine the real situation of neuropaediatrics in Spain.

TITLE: Situacion actual de la demanda asistencial en neuropediatria. Caracteristicas de la consulta y comparacion con otras especialidades pediatricas.Introduccion. En los ultimos años parecemos asistir a una creciente demanda asistencial en neuropediatria. Los estudios epidemiologicos son necesarios para dar a conocer dicha demanda y asi favorecer una adecuada gestion de los recursos sanitarios. Objetivo. Conocer el peso proporcional de las consultas de neuropediatria en el global de las consultas pediatricas en nuestro hospital, la tasa anual de consulta en neurologia infantil por cada 1.000 habitantes menores de 14 años y las caracteristicas de dicha consulta (datos demograficos, motivos de consulta y otras). Pacientes y metodos. Estudio retrospectivo, descriptivo, sobre la actividad asistencial de consultas pediatricas y neuropediatricas en un hospital publico de nivel II en el sur de Madrid, durante el periodo 2008-2012. Resultados. Desde la apertura de nuestro centro, las consultas de pediatria han experimentado un marcado crecimiento, siendo las de neuropediatria las mas demandadas, ya que en el año 2012 atendieron a un total de 2.129 pacientes (718 primeras consultas), con un indice de sucesiva/primera consulta de 1,96. En neuropediatria, se atendieron el 23,49% de todas las consultas pediatricas realizadas en el hospital. La tasa media de primeras consultas en el periodo de estudio fue de 72,86/1.000 niños. Los principales motivos de consulta fueron los problemas de aprendizaje/trastornos de conducta (24,1%), seguidos de cefalea (21,9%), episodios paroxisticos (14,8%) y retraso del desarrollo psicomotor (9%). Conclusiones. El incremento en la demanda asistencial de la neuropediatria ha resultado claramente superior al de las otras especialidades pediatricas que llevan en funcionamiento el mismo periodo. En los cinco años de estudio, la tasa de primeras visitas se ha triplicado. Esta sobrecarga asistencial podria condicionar la atencion a los pacientes con patologia neurologica grave. Serian necesarios estudios similares en diferentes regiones para conocer la realidad de la neuropediatria española.

Serum leptin concentrations in children with Prader-Willi syndrome and non-syndromal obesity.

There is limited information on the underlying physiological mechanisms promoting obesity in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). The aim of this study was to investigate whether body fat regulation in children with PWS is similar to that in children with non-syndromal obesity and non-obese children. We studied three groups: 1) 72 non-obese children and adolescents; 2) 68 children with non-syndromal obesity; and 3) 11 patients with PWS. Height and weight were measured and body mass index (BMI) and BMI SDS were calculated. Fasting serum leptin concentrations were determined. Median leptin serum concentrations were similar in PWS patients and children with non-syndromal obesity. Median leptin serum concentrations were higher in these two groups than in the non-obese group. Log leptin serum concentrations and BMI SDS showed significant correlations in the three groups of patients; correlation coefficients were 0.525, 0.285 and 0.854, respectively. In conclusion, median leptin serum concentrations are similar in PWS patients and children with non-syndromal obesity. The relationship between log serum leptin concentrations and BMI SDS was different in the three groups of patients studied.

Analysis of the blood-retinal barrier: its relation to clinical and metabolic factors and progression to retinopathy in juvenile diabetics. A 4-year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: The study was carried out to evaluate the correlation between blood-retinal barrier (BRB) permeability and the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and to assess the metabolic and clinical factors related to DR over a 4-year period by means of vitreous fluorophotometry (VF). METHODS: Thirty-five type I diabetics with no retinopathy, age 7-21 years (mean 14.32 +/- 2.1 years) were enrolled in this longitudinal study. Two visits included standard ophthalmological examination, fluorescein angiography and VF were performed, on entry into the study and 4 years later. The following risk factors in DR were analyzed: age, duration of diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting blood glucose levels, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), insulin dose/kg body weight (IDBW), fructosamine and albuminuria. To estimate the BRB permeability we adopted the vitreous penetration ratio transmittance (VPRt) value. RESULTS: At 4-year follow-up the mean VPRt had significantly increased. During that time 13 patients developed DR and their final mean VPRt was significantly higher than that in non-DR patients. Additionally, the initial mean VPRt was higher but not significantly so, in patients that later developed DR than in non-DR subjects. A constant linear correlation was found between VPRt and duration of diabetes, HbA1c and microalbuminuria. CONCLUSION: VF is a quantitative method that could measure and predict the breakdown of the BRB before angiographic retinopathy in type I diabetics. The major clinical and metabolic factors related to alterations in the BRB are duration of diabetes, HbA1c and microalbuminuria.

[Inhibition of growth hormone in insulin-dependent diabetics after oral administration of pirenzepine. Fluorophotometric study of the vitreous body]. / Inhibition de l'hormone de croissance chez les sujets diabétiques insulino-dépendants après administration par voie orale de pirenzépine. Etude par fluorophotométrie du vitré.

The purpose of our study was to quantify the blood-retinal barrier permeability in five patients with insulin-dependent diabetic (mean age 14.96 +/- 2.45 years) without retinopathy, after six month with oral pirenzepine, a growth hormone inhibitor. Blood-retinal barrier permeability was determined by vitreous fluorophotometry before and after treatment with a nocturnal oral dose of pirenzepine (0.6 mg/kg the first month and 1 mg/kg the following five months). We found a significant diminution (p < 0.05) in growth hormone levels (10.48 +/- 4.94 ng/ml before treatment and 4.35 +/- 2.53 ng/ml after treatment), nevertheless, no changes in the blood-retinal barrier permeability values were observed (4.84 +/- 2.08 x 10(-6) min-1 before treatment and 4.53 +/- 2.54 x 10(-6) min-1 after treatment). We found no modifications in the levels of somatomedin C or HbA1c either. It can be concluded that oral pirenzepine used at this dose for six months, in spite of a significant decrease in growth hormone secretion, does not decrease the permeability of the blood-retinal barrier.

An 18-month vitreous fluorophotometric follow-up study in juvenile diabetics.

The authors assessed a fluorophotometry follow-up study of 18 months in 24 juvenile insulin-dependent diabetic patients with no retinopathy. The initial duration of diabetes was 5.96 +/- 3.44 years and the glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was 10.12 +/- 2.27%. The baseline Vitreous Penetration Ratio transmittance value (VPRt) was 4.13 +/- 1.31 x 10-6 min-1 and after 18 months was 5.36 +/- 1.85 x 10-6 min-1, yielding a statistically significant difference (p < 0.01). The average HbA1c during the follow-up term was 9.80 +/- 1.72%. VPRt values were significantly correlated with the duration of diabetes and HbA1c. During the follow-up 3 patients developed foveal background diabetic retinopathy with respect to a high initial VPRt value (6.22 +/- 0.27 x 10-6 min-1), nevertheless, the other 7 patients with high baseline VPRt did not do so. We suggest that vitreous fluorophotometry could be a beneficial procedure in the management of insulin-dependent diabetic patients; however, there is not a cut-off value for VPRt values to help distinguish patients prone to develop retinopathy.

Evolution of height and bone age in primary congenital hypothyroidism.

Thyroid hormones are fundamental for growth and bone maturity. Retarded physical and osseous development signals congenital hypothyroidism. This study assessed the evolution of height and bone age and final height after hormone replacement treatment in 25 patients with primary congenital hypothyroidism. Bone ages, measured periodically for 12 years after treatment began, were expressed as standard deviation scores (SDS) corresponding to chronologic age. Heights were expressed as SDS and related to standardized curves and genetic height. All patients experienced height recovery during the first year. Of 19 patients who reached their final height, 16 surpassed the expected mean for genetic height. Bone age accelerated progressively, with total recovery toward the third year, and remained accelerated, reaching +1.43 +/- 1.27 in relation to chronologic age 12 years after hormone replacement began. Thus, early diagnosis and adequate treatment of congenital hypothyroidism improved growth and osseous development, although progressive acceleration of bone age may have limited final height in some children.