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Background: Transient erythroblastopenia of childhood (TEC) is an acquired, self-limited pure red cell aplasia that usually occurs in children 4 years old and younger. This clinical condition has been priorly described to be linked to numerous viral and immunologic mechanisms. COVID-19, caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, was initially discovered in China in December 2019. The disease quickly spread worldwide, resulting in pandemic., Case Presentation: This manuscript reports a new clinically relevant condition associated to COVID-19, describing a child with clinical and biochemical signs of Pure Red Blood cells aplasia and complete absence of erythroblasts at the bone marrow needle aspiration with signs of erythrophagocytosis, resembling morphological signs such as in hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), temporally associated to SARS-CoV-2 infection., Conclusion: This report highlights a newly described continuum laboratory and clinical spectrum of immune/hematological dysregulations secondary to SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 infection-linked TEC has never been described in literature, but, according to our findings, should be considered in all the patients with transient erythroblastopenia without congenital red blood cell abnormalities and serology negative for major infections associated with TEC. This condition must be considered in the same spectrum of MIS-C and the inter-links among the two clinical manifestations, as well as a potential interdependence among them, should be considered in the future., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: This study aims to estimate the direct and indirect effects of the unit environment alongside individual and nursing care variables on eating dependence among residents who are cognitively impaired and living in a nursing home., Method: A multicentre observational study was carried out in 2017: 13 Italian nursing homes were involved in data collection. Included residents were aged > 65 at baseline, living in the considered facility for the last 6 months and during the entire study period and having received at least one comprehensive assessment. Data were collected (a) at the individual level: eating dependence using the Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia Scale and other clinical variables; (b) at the nursing care level with daily interventions to maintain eating independence assessed with a checklist; and (c) at the nursing home level, using the Therapeutic Environment Screening Survey for Nursing Homes., Results: One thousand twenty-seven residents were included with an average age of 85.32 years old (95% CI: 84.74-85.89), mainly female (781; 76%). The path analysis explained the 57.7% variance in eating dependence. Factors preventing eating dependence were: (a) at the individual level, increased functional dependence measured with the Barthel Index (β - 2.374); eating in the dining room surrounded by residents (β - 1.802) as compared to eating alone in bed; and having a close relationship with family relatives (β - 0.854), (b) at the nursing care level, the increased number of interventions aimed at promoting independence (β - 0.524); and (c) at the NH level, high scores in 'Space setting' (β - 4.446), 'Safety' (β - 3.053), 'Lighting' (β - 2.848) and 'Outdoor access' (β - 1.225). However, environmental factors at the unit level were found to have also indirect effects by influencing the degree of functional dependence, the occurrence of night restlessness and the number of daily interventions performed by the nursing staff., Conclusion: Eating dependence is a complex phenomenon requiring interventions targeting individual, nursing care, and environmental levels. The NH environment had the largest direct and indirect effect on residents' eating dependence, thus suggesting that at this level appropriate interventions should be designed and implemented.

Background: Prognostic stratification of elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is difficult due to the wide inter-individual variability in the course of the disease. No marker can exactly stratify the evolution and natural history of COPD patients. Studies have shown that leukocyte count is associated with increased risk of mortality in COPD patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible role of relative lymphocyte count as a risk marker for mortality in elderly patients with COPD., Methods and Results: This is a3-year prospective study. A total of 218patients, mean age 75.2±7 years, with moderate to severe COPD and free from conditions affecting lymphocyte count were enrolled. The population was divided into two groups according to the relative lymphocyte count, with a cut-off of 20%. Eighty-five patients (39%) had a relative lymphocyte count ≤20%. Three-year mortality rates from any cause in patients with relative lymphocyte count ≤ or > 20% were 68 and 51%, respectively (p = 0.0012). Survival curve analysis showed higher mortality in patients with relative lymphocyte count ≤20% (p = 0.0005). After adjustment for age and sex, the hazard ratio for mortality risk according to lymphocyte count was 1.79 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.26-2.57, p = 0.0013), even in the analysis limited to the 171 patients without congestive heart failure (1.63; 95% CI: 1.03-2.58, p = 0.038)., Conclusions: Low relative lymphocyte count was associated with higher mortality in elderly patients with severe COPD.