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Background: Steroid treatment is well-known for producing clinically significant improvements in respiratory support requirements. In this study, we utilized lung ultrasound and respiratory oscillometry to objectively assess this response and determine if the combination of these methods can serve as a valuable tool for comparing different treatment strategies., Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study including preterm infants with a gestational age below 32 weeks and/or a birth weight below 1500 g. We measured lung ultrasound score (LUS) and respiratory system reactance (Xrs) by respiratory oscillometry before and after treatment with either systemic dexamethasone or inhaled budesonide., Results: We analyzed 46 treatments (9 dexamethasone, 37 budesonide) administered to 40 infants (median (Q1, Q3) postnatal age = 30 (18, 49) days, postmenstrual age = 33.29 (30.14, 35.00) weeks). All treatments were associated with a notable reduction in respiratory support and a concurrent improvement in either Xrs, LUS, or both. On average, Xrs improved from 3.13 (1.09, 5.41) to 0.44 (-0.90, 1.59) z-score (p < 0.001) and LUS from 10 (7, 12) to 5 (3, 8) (p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Xrs and LUS proved sensitive to lung function changes associated with corticosteroids; combining the two better described the response and its variability., Impact: We found that respiratory system reactance (Xrs) and lung ultrasound score (LUS) are sensitive biomarker for monitoring changes in lung function associated with corticosteroids; Combining Xrs and LUS enhances evaluation compared to each method alone; These results have valuable implications in clinical practice, particularly in personalizing and monitoring corticosteroid treatment; The present paper suggests that the combined use of respiratory oscillometry and lung ultrasound holds value as a research tool in future studies investigating various treatment regimens, molecules, or administration routes., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to the International Pediatric Research Foundation, Inc.)

The impact of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) on growth in patients diagnosed with mucopolysaccharidosis I Hurler (MPS-IH) has been historically regarded as unsatisfactory. Nevertheless, the growth patterns recorded in transplanted patients have always been compared to those of healthy children. The objective of this study was to verify the impact of HSCT on MPS-IH long term growth achievements. The auxological data of 15 patients were assessed longitudinally and compared both to the WHO growth centiles for healthy individuals and to recently published curves of untreated MPS-IH children. Despite a progressive decrease after HSCT when estimated with reference to the WHO growth charts, median height SDS showed a progressive and statistically significant increase when comparing the stature recorded at each timepoint in our population to the curves of untreated MPS-IH individuals (from -0.39 SDS at t 0 to +1.35 SDS 5 years after HSCT, p value <   0.001 and to +3.67 SDS at the age of 9 years, p value <   0.0001 ). In conclusion, though not efficient enough to restore a normal growth pattern in MPS-IH patients, we hereby demonstrate that HSCT positively affects growth and provides transplanted patients with a remarkable height gain compared to untreated gender- and age- matched individuals., Competing Interests: RP has received travel grants and honoraria for speaking engagements from Sanofi-Genzyme., (© 2021 The Authors.)

Aim: To identify risk factors for maternity blues (MB) and to evaluate the impact of obstetric factors on MB prevalence., Materials and Methods: 194 mothers have completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) 2 days after delivery. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify the predictors of MB., Results: 57 women (29.4%) were positive at screening. Comparing the two groups, no statistically significant difference was found in age ( p  = .536), nationality ( p  = .065) and BMI before pregnancy ( p  = .224). Interestingly, no significant differences were highlighted in terms of assisted reproduction technology or spontaneous pregnancies and the presence of labor analgesia, while MB was significantly more frequent in case of cesarean section (CS) ( p  = .035). Statistical differences have been found in previous CS ( p  = .022), previous voluntary interruption of pregnancy ( p  = .021), number of previous pregnancies ( p  = .007), Apgar 5' ( p  = .026), lower level of education ( p  = .009), and previous postpartum depression (PPD) ( p  = .026). A logistic regression analysis was realized according to a multivariate model incorporating all the variables with a p -value ≤.25 in bivariate analysis. In the final model vaginal delivery (OR 0.451, 95% CI [0.224-0.911], p  = .026) resulted to be MB protective factor, while a lower level of education (OR 3.657, 95% CI [1.482-9.023], p  = .005) as well as previous PPD (OR 4.714, 95% CI [1.273-17.458], p  = .020) were identified as independent risk factors., Conclusion: This study showed that a lower education level and a previous PPD resulted to be important risk factors for MB development, while natural delivery was revealed as a protective factor. These results could be used to develop a better and more accurate prevention program after delivery.