Pericarditis Following Recovery From COVID-19 Infection in a 15-Year-Old Boy: A Postinflammatory Immune-Mediated Presentation or a New-Onset Autoimmune Disease.

As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, the medical community continues to report a variety of clinical manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 in the pediatric population. Although younger age groups experience less severe disease, attention is given to the immunologic manifestations of the disease. Pericarditis is a rare cardiac complication of COVID-19 infection. We discuss the first case of delayed presentation of pericarditis following recovery from COVID-19 infection in the pediatric population. A 15-year-old male adolescent presented to the emergency department (ED) with a two-day history of left-sided, sub-sternal chest pain that worsened during inspiration and a low-grade fever. Twenty days prior to this presentation, the patient experienced fever and was tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. His family history was remarkable for Hashimoto thyroiditis and rheumatoid arthritis, with his mother having experienced 18 episodes of pericarditis during the exacerbations of her disease. RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 was negative on this occasion and the serology assay identified positive IgG antibodies against the virus. The ECG was suggestive for pericarditis and the diagnosis was confirmed by the presence of pericardial effusion on ECHO. The rest of the aetiological investigations for pericarditis were negative. In view of the strong family history of autoimmunity, questions were raised in the medical team of our hospital regarding the etiology of his pericarditis and on whether it represented a postinflammatory immune-mediated presentation of SARS-CoV-2 or a new-onset autoimmune disease.

Correlation of blood pressure, obesity, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet with indices of arterial stiffness in children.

UNLABELLED: The aim of the study was to assess the hypothesis that obesity, blood pressure (BP), and dietary habits (adherence to the Mediterranean diet) are related to indices of arterial stiffness (AS) in childhood. Two hundred and seventy-seven children aged 12 years were measured with the R6.5 Pulsecor® monitor, which performs measurements using an upper arm BP cuff held at above systolic pressure for a short time. The augmentation index (AI) in the brachial artery, the peripheral pulse pressure to central pulse pressure (PPP/CPP) ratio, and the reflected wave transit time to height ratio were used as indices of AS. The degree of adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed by the KIDMED index which includes 16 questions on specific dietary habits. Forty-three percent of the children were overweight and obese. Overweight and obese children had significantly lower PPP/CPP and KIDMED score in comparison to children with normal body mass index (BMI). In multivariate regression models, indices of AS were related to mean peripheral BP, heart rate, and height, while BMI had an independent correlation to PPP/CPP. The KIDMED index also had a negative correlation with AI independently of obesity. CONCLUSION: Obesity and adherence to the Mediterranean diet patterns are factors related independently to indices of AS even in 12-year-old children.

Antimicrobial resistance of urinary tract pathogens in children in Crete, Greece.

The aim of the present study was to identify the organisms responsible for community acquired febrile UTI in children and to investigate their susceptibility to commonly used antibiotics. A 5-y prospective analysis was performed in children hospitalized for a first episode of UTI, in Crete, Greece. A total of 262 children, 40.1% males and 59.9% females, aged 0.08 to 13 y, were enrolled in the study. Escherichia coli (E. coli) was the leading uropathogen. Antimicrobial resistance of E. coli isolates was most commonly to ampicillin (56.4%) followed by trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) (27.3%), cefaclor (22.5%), amoxicillin-clavulanate (15.5%), gentamicin (4.9%), cefuroxime (3.1%), nitrofurantoin (2.6%), and ceftriaxone (1.6%). Interestingly, a significant decrease in E. coli resistance to TMP-SMX was observed during the study period. Resistance to ampicillin, TMP-SMX and cefaclor was noted for 61%, 28% and 27% of the total uropathogens, respectively, making these agents inappropriate for empirical treatment of febrile UTI in our region. A larger number of pathogens may be empirically treated with amoxicillin-clavulanate. More than 90% of the uropathogens are susceptible to cefuroxime, ceftriaxone, gentamicin, and nitrofurantoin. In conclusion, several of the first-line agents for empirical treatment of childhood UTI seem to have become ineffective in the area of this study.

Urinary tract infection caused by Shigella sonnei.

This report describes a case of urinary tract infection caused by Shigella sonnei in a 6-y-old girl with vesicoureteric reflux and a preceding history of gastroenteritis. The strain was resistant to ampicillin and cotrimoxazole, and treatment with cefotaxime eradicated the infection. The role of Shigellae as urinary tract pathogens is reviewed and possible sources of infection are discussed.