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Background: To evaluate the effect of different oral glucose or sucrose solutions on the pain response to heelstick in newborns., Design: randomised double blind placebo controlled trial of water (control) versus one of three solutions of glucose - namely 5, 33 and 50% - or one of two solutions of sucrose (33% and 50%) or nothing., Setting: postnatal ward., Patients: seven groups of 20 healthy newborns (gestational age 38-41, weighing over 2500 g) were randomised to receive 2 ml of one of the six solutions on the tongue inmediately before heelstick procedure., Main Outcome Measure: heart rate before, during and three minutes after the procedure., Results: Even if the trend of the cardiac rates did not reach statistic significance, glucose solution 33 and 50% proved to be the most effective in reducing pain response., Conclusions: Sweet solutions may be an easy, useful, safe and cheap analgesic for minor invasive procedures in newborns.

We describe the occurrence of five pediatric patients presenting an aura encompassing neurovegetative and unilateral neurological manifestations persisting during and after the migrainous attack are described. All investigations were normal and the symptoms completely disappeared within 24-48 hours with non specific treatment. A diagnosis of hemiplegic migraine was made. The importance is underlined for the pediatrician to consider migraine in the differential diagnosis of a child first presenting with neurological symptoms even without symptoms of migraine.

Antibody responses to Helicobacter pylori were measured by a solid-phase whole-cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 150 children and adolescents; in 47 consecutive children undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, including 17 with H. pylori infection before and after antimicrobial treatment; and in 46 family members of the infected children. Abnormal levels of either IgG or IgA were found in 6% of the 150 children. In the latter group the prevalence of H. pylori seropositivity increased with age. Parents and siblings of the infected children had 94% and 71% seropositivity, respectively, suggesting intrafamilial spread. Abnormal levels of IgG or IgA against H. pylori identified infected children with 95% sensitivity and 84% specificity. Eradication of the infection was accompanied by a significant decrease in IgG and IgA titers, with normalization in 10 cured patients in 12 months or less. We conclude that the method described for evaluation of H. pylori-specific IgG and IgA antibodies gives helpful information on the epidemiology of the infection and represents a useful adjunct to diagnosis and management of chronic gastritis in children.

Twenty-three children with Helicobacter (Campylobacter) pylori-associated chronic gastritis are reported. Family history of peptic disease, previous digestive procedures, and nonspecific epigastric pain were the most frequently encountered clinical features. Antral nodularity at endoscopy and histologic evidence of follicular gastritis were characteristic morphological aspects. Rapid urease tests suggested the diagnosis in 90% of patients. Significant increases of serum IgG and IgA against Helicobacter pylori allowed the identification of infected children with 95% cumulative sensitivity. Treatment with amoxicillin and bismuth subcitrate eradicated the infection and improved gastritis in 13 of 19 children. These findings provide further evidence for the etiologic role of Helicobacter pylori in chronic antral gastritis in children.

In order to evaluate the diagnostic value of a lymphocyte stimulation test with casein and beta lactoglobulin in cow milk intolerance (CMI), we studied 26 patients with a diagnosis of CMI and 25 age-matched controls with intestinal diseases other than CMI. Lymphocyte stimulation test to casein (P less than .001) and beta lactoglobulin (P less than .001) was significantly higher among CMI patients. Seventeen patients were RAST positive and nine negative for whole milk proteins. No differences were found in the lymphocyte stimulation test response between RAST-positive and RAST-negative subjects. These results suggest that lymphocyte stimulation test with highly purified antigens in optimal concentrations is specific and could be useful in the diagnosis of CMI.

An outbreak of acute gastroenteritis, involving 30 infants and young children aged 2 months to 4 years, took place in a pediatric ward of the University Hospital of Pavia, Northern Italy, in the period from November 9 to December 1, 1986. Out of the 14 patients examined, ten were found to shed rotavirus with stools. All strains were characterized for serotype, using a monoclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and for electropherotype, by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of genomic RNA. It was shown that a single serotype 4 (subtype 4A) strain spread within the ward from a primary case to seven other patients. The remaining two patients were found to be infected by a serotype 1 strain that was circulating in the same area prior to the outbreak. The clinical symptoms were unusually severe, since significant dehydration was observed in four of the eight serotype 4 rotavirus-infected children. Previous epidemiological studies had shown that since 1983 serotype 4 strains had not been circulating in Pavia, and the electropherotype of the newly circulating serotype 4 strain was different from those observed in 1981-1983. Thus, the severity of the diarrheal disease appeared to be related to the circulation of both a new serotype and a new electropherotype.