Search

Study Objective: To compare the accuracy of preoperative ultrasound (US) in predicting the laparoscopically defined 2021 American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL) Endometriosis Staging., Design: Retrospective multicenter study of patients treated at 3 specialized endometriosis centers., Setting: Three specialized endometriosis surgical centers in São Paulo (Brazil), Barcelona (Spain), and Avellino (Italy) participated., Patients: A total of 878 patients aged 15 to 45 years with no history of pelvic malignancy underwent laparoscopic (LPS) treatment for suspected endometriosis., Interventions: Retrospective review of preoperative transvaginal and transabdominal US (index test) assessed for endometriosis at all sites used in the 2021 AAGL Endometriosis Classification and classified patients into AAGL-US stages 1 to 4. Results were compared with reference-standard LPS (AAGL-LPS) staging., Measurements and Main Results: The AAGL-US and AAGL-LPS stage were concordant in 586 cases (66.7%) (weighted kappa [WK] 0.759; intraclass correlation = 0.906), with the highest agreement observed in patients with no endometriosis (n = 70, 75.3% concordance), AAGL-LPS stage 1 (104, 50.7%) and stage 4 disease (358, 88.2%). Endometriosis was most accurately diagnosed in the rectum/sigmoid colon (WK 0.862), bladder (WK 0.911), and ovaries (WK 0.835/0.795 for right/left, respectively) and least accurately diagnosed at superficial peritoneal (WK 0.442), tubal (WK 0.391/0.363 for right/left, respectively), and retrocervical/uterosacral ligament (WK 0.656) sites., Conclusion: Sonographic estimation of the 2021 AAGL Endometriosis Staging is greatest in AAGL-LPS stages 1 and 4 and among patients with no endometriosis. US best identifies endometriosis of the ovaries, bladder, and bowel but is more limited for the tubes and superficial peritoneum., (Copyright © 2022 AAGL. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To assess the predictive value of selected growth phenotypes for neonatal morbidity and mortality in preterm infants < 30 weeks and to compare them with INTERGROWTH-21 st (IG21)., Method: Retrospective analysis of data from the Brazilian Neonatal Research Network (BNRN) database for very low birth weight (VLBW) at 20 public tertiary-care university hospitals., Outcome: the composite neonatal morbidity and mortality (CNMM) consisted of in-hospital death, oxygen use at 36 weeks, intraventricular hemorrhage grade 3 or 4, and Bell stage 2 or 3 necrotizing enterocolitis. Selected growth phenotypes: small-for-gestational-age (SGA) defined as being < 3 rd (SGA3) or 10 th (SGA10) percentiles of BW, and large-for-gestational-age (LGA) as being > 97 th percentile of BW. Stunting as being < 3 rd percentile of the length and wasting as being < 3 rd percentile of BMI. Single and multiple log-binomial regression models were fitted to estimate the relative risks of CNMM, comparing them to IG21., Results: 4,072 infants were included. The adjusted relative risks of CNMM associated with selected growth phenotypes were (BNRN/IG21): 1.45 (0.92-2.31)/1.60 (1.27-2.02) for SGA; 0.90 (0.55-1.47)/1.05 (0.55-1.99) for LGA; 1.65 (1.08-2.51)/1.58 (1.28-1.96) for stunting; and 1.48 (1.02-2.17) for wasting. Agreement between the two references was variable. The growth phenotypes had good specificity (>95%) and positive predictive value (70-90%), with poor sensitivity and low negative predictive value., Conclusion: The BNRN phenotypes at birth differed markedly from the IG21 standard and showed poor accuracy in predicting adverse neonatal outcomes., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)

Objective: After the Covid-19 pandemics hit Brazil and sanitary measures were adopted to contain its dissemination, pediatric hospital admissions were apparently fewer than usual. The authors aimed to describe the time trends of public hospital admissions of children and adolescents due to respiratory infections (RIs) in São Paulo State, Brazil, before and after the adoption of sanitary measures to contain the dissemination of Covid-19., Methods: Ecological, time-series study on the monthly average number of admissions per day of children and adolescents (< 16 years) admitted to public hospitals of São Paulo due to acute RIs between January 2008 and March 2021. Data from 2008 to 2019 were used to adjust the statistical model, while data from 2020 and 2021 were compared to the values predicted by the model., Results: In 2020 and 2021, the number of hospital admissions was significantly lower than predicted by the time series. However, lethality was three times higher in these years, compared to the previous, and six times higher in patients with Covid-19, compared to those without the disease. Hospitalization costs in 2020 and 2021 were lower than in previous years., Conclusions: These findings suggest that the sanitary measures adopted to contain the dissemination of Covid-19 also effectively reduce the transmission of other respiratory viruses. Policymakers and administrators can use this knowledge as a guide to planning preventative interventions that could decrease the number and severity of RIs and related hospital admissions in children and adolescents, decreasing the burden on the public health system., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To describe the characteristics of stage-5 chronic kidney disease (CKD) children and adolescents undergoing renal replacement therapy (RRT) in Amazonas, Brazil, estimating the frequencies of current and new cases, describing the presence of anemia and bone metabolism disorders., Methods: Thirty-five patients aged 7 to 19 years-old on hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD) were studied between June 2018 and April 2019. The frequencies of current and new cases were estimated based on the 0 to 19 years-old population of Amazonas, in the same period. Data were collected about the underlying cause and diagnosis of CKD, dialysis, and biochemical analysis., Results: The frequencies of current and new cases were 24 and 15 patients per million people of compatible age (pmpca), respectively. The causes of CKD were nephrotic syndrome (22.8%), nephritic syndrome (14.3%), and neurogenic bladder (14.3%); in 48.6%, the cause was unknown/not investigated. Ten patients underwent renal biopsy, seven with segmental and focal glomerulosclerosis. The majority (80%) were on HD, with an average kt/V of 1.4, and in 51.4% the vascular access was the double lumen catheter. Hypocalcemia was found in 82.8% of patients, hyperphosphatemia in 57.2%, vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency in 60%, and altered parathyroid hormone values in 48.6%. Hemoglobin was low in 80%, with absolute/functional iron deficiency in 28.6%., Conclusions: In children and adolescents of Amazonas, Brazil, we found 24 pmpca with stage-5 CKU currently in RRT and 16.3 pmpca per year of new cases requiring RRT. Most patients were adolescents on HD, half without a causal diagnosis of CKD, with a high frequency of anemia and bone metabolism disorder.

Objective: To compare the outcomes of adolescent versus adult women during pregnancy and puerperium admitted to a dedicated intensive care unit (ICU) in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil., Methods: In a retrospective cohort study, we retrieved data from the medical charts of 557 adolescent (<20 years) and adult (≥20 years) women. The association between demographic and clinical variables and the outcomes were compared in univariate and multivariate analyses., Results: The maternal severity index (MSI) of adult women was significantly higher than in adolescents. In univariate log-binomial regression analysis, pneumothorax and circulatory dysfunction were positively associated with the composite primary outcome of death or transfer (for more complex care), whereas eclampsia was negatively associated. Being an adolescent was not associated with this outcome, not even when adjusting for potential confounders. Conversely, being an adolescent was associated with fewer complications (secondary outcome) even after adjusting for potential confounders (type of admission, eclampsia, pre-eclampsia, surgical site infection, abdominal hemorrhage, drug abuse, metabolic syndrome, malnutrition, pneumothorax, or circulatory dysfunction)., Conclusion: In Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, adult women admitted to the ICU because of gestational or birth complications had worse outcomes compared with adolescents., (© 2021 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.)

Objectives: The objective was to calculate weight/length (W/L) ratio values and percentiles by sex and gestational age (GA) to estimate fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM) and body fat percentage (BF%) as well as to compare these indices in preterm, small (SGA), and large (LGA) for GA, stunted and wasted infants from a Brazilian cohort of newborns, comparing with the INTERGROWTH-21st., Methods: Secondary, cross-sectional analysis of data obtained of 7427 live-born infants from the BRISA Cohort Study in the city of Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil in 2010. For body composition estimation, W/L ratio was used in multiple regression models. The 3rd, 50th, and 97th percentiles for W/L ratio and body composition measures (FM, FFM, and BF%) were calculated using fractional polynomial regression models., Results: Average W/L ratio was 6.50 kg/m (SD 0.87), while for FM, BF%, and FFM the corresponding values were 359.64 g (145.76), 10.90% (3.05) and 2798.84 g (414.84), respectively. SGA (< 3rd percentile), and wasted infants showed the lowest W/L ratios and measures of body composition. The 3rd, 50th, and 97th percentiles charts of W/L, FM, BF%, and FFM by GA and sex are presented., Conclusions: W/L ratio values of the RP-BRISA Cohort are higher than IG-21st. SGA (< 3rd) and wasted infants showed the lowest W/L ratio and measures of body composition. The body composition references presented here could be used to refine the nutritional assessment of Brazilian newborns and to facilitate comparisons across populations., (Copyright © 2021 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)

Study Objective: To develop a new endometriosis classification system for scoring intraoperative surgical complexity and to examine its correlation with patient-reported pain and infertility., Design: Multicenter study of patients treated at 3 recognized endometriosis centers., Setting: Three specialized endometriosis surgical centers in São Paulo, Brazil and Barcelona, Spain., Patients: Patients aged 15 to 45 years with histologically proven endometriosis and no history of pelvic malignancy underwent laparoscopic treatment of endometriosis., Interventions: Demographic data and clinical history, including dysmenorrhea, noncyclic pelvic pain, dyspareunia, dysuria and dyschezia, were prospectively recorded. All patients were staged surgically according to the new 2021 American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL) and revised American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) classification systems. The staging for each system was compared against a 4-level surgical complexity scale defined by the most complex procedure performed., Measurements and Main Results: A total of 1224 patients undergoing surgery met inclusion criteria. The AAGL score discriminated between 4 stages of surgical complexity with high reproducibility (κ = 0.621), whereas the ASRM score discriminated between the complexity stages with poor reproducibility (κ = 0.317). The AAGL staging system correlated with dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, dyschezia, total pain score, and infertility comparably with the ASRM staging system., Conclusion: The AAGL 2021 Endometriosis Classification allows for identifying objective intraoperative findings that reliably discriminate surgical complexity levels better than the ASRM staging system. The AAGL severity stage correlates comparably with pain and infertility symptoms with the ASRM stage., (Copyright © 2021 AAGL. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of congenital heart disease and their outcomes in a Brazilian cohort of very low birth weight preterm infants., Design: Post hoc analysis of data from the Brazilian Neonatal Network database, complemented by retrospective data from medical charts and a cross-sectional survey., Setting: Twenty public tertiary-care university hospitals., Patients: A total of 13,955 newborns weighing from 401 to 1,499 g and between 22 and 36 weeks of gestational age, born from 2010 to 2017., Interventions: None., Measurements and Main Results: The prevalence of congenital heart disease was 2.45% (95% CI, 2.20-2.72%). In a multivariate regression analysis, risk factors associated with congenital heart disease were maternal diabetes (relative risk, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.11-2.20) and maternal age above 35 years (relative risk, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.73-2.51), whereas the protection factors were maternal hypertension (relative risk, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.43-0.69), congenital infection (relative risk, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.21-0.94), and multiple gestation (relative risk, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.55-0.97). The pooled standardized mortality ratio in patients with congenital heart disease was 2.48 (95% CI, 2.22-2.80), which was significantly higher than in patients without congenital heart disease (2.08; 95% CI, 2.03-2.13). However, in multiple log-binomial regression analyses, only the presence of major congenital anomaly, gestational age (< 29 wk; relative risk, 2.32; 95% CI, 2.13-2.52), and Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology and Perinatal Extension II (> 20; relative risk, 3.76; 95% CI, 3.41-4.14) were independently associated with death, whereas the effect of congenital heart disease was spotted only when a conditional inference tree approach was used., Conclusions: The overall prevalence of congenital heart disease in this cohort of very low birth weight infants was higher and with higher mortality than in the general population of live births. The occurrence of a major congenital anomaly, gestational age (< 29 wk), and Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology and Perinatal Extension II (> 20) were significantly and independently associated with death, whereas the association of congenital heart disease and death was only evident when a major congenital anomaly was present., Competing Interests: The Brazilian Neonatal Network received funding from Brazilian Ministry of Health (Ministério da Saúde do Brasil). Dr. Silva received support for article research from the National Institutes of Health. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.)

Background: Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are innate defense mechanisms that are also implicated in the pathogenesis of organ dysfunction. However, the role of NETs in pediatric sepsis is unknown., Methods: Infant (2 weeks old) and adult (6 weeks old) mice were submitted to sepsis by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of bacteria suspension or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Neutrophil infiltration, bacteremia, organ injury, and concentrations of cytokine, NETs, and DNase in the plasma were measured. Production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and release of NETs by neutrophils were also evaluated. To investigate the functional role of NETs, mice undergoing sepsis were treated with antibiotic plus rhDNase and the survival, organ injury, and levels of inflammatory markers and NETs were determined. Blood samples from pediatric and adult sepsis patients were collected and the concentrations of NETs measured., Results: Infant C57BL/6 mice subjected to sepsis or LPS-induced endotoxemia produced significantly higher levels of NETs than the adult mice. Moreover, compared to that of the adult mice, this outcome was accompanied by increased organ injury and production of inflammatory cytokines. The increased NETs were associated with elevated expression of Padi4 and histone H3 citrullination in the neutrophils. Furthermore, treatment of infant septic mice with rhDNase or a PAD-4 inhibitor markedly attenuated sepsis. Importantly, pediatric septic patients had high levels of NETs, and the severity of pediatric sepsis was positively correlated with the level of NETs., Conclusion: This study reveals a hitherto unrecognized mechanism of pediatric sepsis susceptibility and suggests that NETs represents a potential target to improve clinical outcomes of sepsis.

Objective: ASSIST is the first Brazilian initiative in building a collaborative quality improvement program in pediatric cardiology and congenital heart disease. The purposes of this manuscript are: (a) to describe the development of the ASSIST project, including the historical, philosophical, organizational, and infrastructural components that will facilitate collaborative quality improvement in congenital heart disease care; (b) to report past and ongoing challenges faced; and (c) to report the first preliminary data analysis., Methods: A total of 614 operations were prospectively included in a comprehensive online database between September 2014 and December 2015 in two participating centers. Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS) 1 and Aristotle Basic Complexity (ABC) scores were obtained. Descriptive statistics were provided, and the predictive values of the two scores for mortality were calculated by multivariate logistic regression models., Results: Many barriers and challenges were faced and overcome. Overall mortality was 13.4%. Independent predictors of in-hospital death were: RACHS-1 categories (3, 4, and 5/6), ABC level 4, and age group (≤ 30 days, and 30 days - 1 year)., Conclusion: The ASSIST project was successfully created over a solid base of collaborative work. The main challenges faced, and overcome, were lack of institutional support, funding, computational infrastructure, dedicated staff, and trust. RACHS-1 and ABC scores performed well in our case mix. Our preliminary outcome analysis shows opportunities for improvement.

The objective of this paper was to describe the outcomes in patients submitted to arterial switch operation and to analyze the predictors of in-hospital mortality and further need of re-operation at a single-center institution. Between September 1995 and January 2014, 128 consecutive arterial switch operations were performed. Surgical mortality during this period was analyzed retrospectively, and a follow-up analysis of the survivors was conducted. Surgical era, cardiopulmonary bypass time (p = 0.001), and diagnosis category (p = 0.025) influenced in-hospital mortality. The estimated overall survival for the 91 hospital survivors was 96.8, 96.4, and 96.2 % at 5, 10, and 15 years, respectively. The median follow-up time was 67 months (range 0.71-222 months). Three patients (5 %) presented severe aortic regurgitation. Right ventricle outflow tract systolic gradient by echocardiography was above 60 mmHg in 2 %. Late re-interventions occurred in 12 (13 %) patients with mean time of 64 ± 34 months after the initial procedure. Actuarial freedom from re-interventions at 5, 10, and 15 years was 96.4, 69.7, and 61.9 %, respectively. Arterial switch operation remains the procedure of choice in patients with transposition of great arteries. It can be performed even in middle-volume institutions, leading to the same middle- and long-term outcomes of high-volume institutions. Early high mortality rate may occur due not only to learning curve, but also to cardiopulmonary bypass time and ventricular septal defect closure.

Objectives: to determine the prevalence of pulmonary hemorrhage in newborns and evaluate the associated risk factors and outcomes., Methods: this was a retrospective case-control study involving 67 newborns who met the criteria for pulmonary hemorrhage. A control was selected for each case: the next-born child of the same gender, similar weight (± 200g) and gestational age (± 1 week), with no previous pulmonary hemorrhage and no malformation diagnosis. Factors previous to pulmonary hemorrhage onset, as well as aspects associated to the condition, were assessed., Results: the prevalence was 6.7 for 1,000 live births, and the rates observed were: 8% among newborns <1,500g, and 11% among newborns <1,000g. Intubation in the delivery room (OR=7.16), SNAPPE II (OR=2.97), surfactant use (OR=3.7), and blood components used previously to pulmonary hemorrhage onset (OR=5.91) were associated with pulmonary hemorrhage. In the multivariate logistic regression model, only intubation in delivery room and previous use of blood components maintained the association. Children with pulmonary hemorrhage had higher mortality (OR=7.24). Among the survivors, the length of stay (p ≤ 0.01) and mechanical ventilation time were longer (OR=25.6), and oxygen use at 36 weeks of corrected age was higher (OR=7.67)., Conclusions: pulmonary hemorrhage is more prevalent in premature newborns, and is associated with intubation in the delivery room and previous use of blood components, leading to high mortality and worse clinical evolution., (Copyright © 2014 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)