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Zinc deficiency is a significant global health concern among children, manifesting in various acquired and inherited conditions. This comprehensive overview of acquired and inherited zinc deficiency-related diseases in children aimed to explore the clinical presentations, diagnostic challenges, and management strategies associated with these conditions. This case series elucidates the diverse clinical manifestations of zinc deficiency in pediatric patients, ranging from dermatitis and growth retardation to immune dysregulation and neurological abnormalities, and discusses the underlying genetic mechanisms, clinical phenotypes, and therapeutic interventions. The complexity of zinc deficiency-related diseases in children underscores the need for a multidisciplinary approach involving pediatricians, dermatologists, geneticists, and nutritionists to optimize patient care and outcomes.

The aim of this study was to describe the 2022-2023 bronchiolitis epidemic season (the second after COVID-19 pandemic and the first without social restriction), focusing on patients discharged home from a pediatric emergency department (PED) and on those revisited within 72 h. We performed a retrospective observational study in an Italian tertiary care children's hospital, reviewing PED accesses from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. The number of hospitalizations for bronchiolitis was extracted from hospital discharge forms. A total of 512 patients diagnosed with bronchiolitis were admitted to PED (2.8% of total admissions). Accesses increased sharply from November to January, with a peak in December, in both admissions and hospitalizations. More than half of the patients (55.5%) were safely discharged home, while 38 (13.4%) came back to PED for a revisit. Overall PED accesses and hospitalizations for bronchiolitis increased since the previous epidemic season, and particularly compared to the pandemic and pre-pandemic eras. Empowering the collaboration between all healthcare provisioners is fundamental to suitable management of patients. Monitoring the epidemiology and seasonality of bronchiolitis is a starting point for an effective internal organization of pediatric departments and to further evaluate its socio-economic burden.

Introduction: In the last few months, some pediatric cases with neurological and neuroradiological pictures related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections have been reported, often associated with multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). The most frequently encountered pediatric neurological complications seem to be postinfectious immune-mediated acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM)-like changes of the brain, myelitis, neural enhancement, and splenial lesions. Concomitant neurological and cardiac involvement has been reported only in MIS-C, although specific clinical details are often not fully available., Methods: In this case report, a very young child infected with SARs-CoV-2 and diagnosed as longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis with concomitant myo-pericarditis is presented., Results: A previously healthy 7-month-old girl presented with abrupt onset of generalized weakness with inability to sit up. She had had mild respiratory symptoms 1 week earlier. Spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a T2-hyperintense intramedullary lesion extending from C4 to T2, compatible with acute longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM). Cerebrospinal fluid analysis was negative.Echocardiography and blood tests were suggestive for myo-pericarditis. Real time polymerase chain reaction for SARS-CoV-2 on nasopharyngeal swab sample tested positive. She was promptly treated with high dose of steroids and immunoglobulin with satisfactory clinical response., Conclusion: To the evolving literature of neurological complications of SARs-CoV-2 infection, we add the youngest patient described to date with isolated LETM and concomitant cardiac involvement. Our case suggests that clinicians should be aware of this association, although difficult to recognize in infants. Practitioners are encouraged to consider aggressive first-line immunotherapies with the final aim to prevent permanent disability., Competing Interests: None declared., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify effective corrective measures to ensure patient safety in the Paediatric Emergency Department (ED)., Methods: In order to outline a clear picture of these risks, we conducted a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and a Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), at a Emergency Department of a Children's Teaching Hospital in Northern Italy. The Error Modes were categorised according to Vincent's Taxonomy of Causal Factors and correlated with the Risk Priority Number (RPN) to determine the priority criteria for the implementation of corrective actions., Results: The analysis of the process and outlining the risks allowed to identify 22 possible failures of the process. We came up with a mean RPN of 182, and values >100 were considered to have a high impact and therefore entailed a corrective action., Conclusions: Mapping the process allowed to identify risks linked to health professionals' non-technical skills. In particular, we found that the most dangerous Failure Modes for their frequency and harmfulness were those related to communication among health professionals., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: In Italy, triage involves assigning a priority color code to patients arriving at the hospital Emergency Department: red (very critical), yellow (moderately critical), green (not very critical), and white (not critical)., Methods: This study was aimed at assessing the triage system in the Emergency Department of "Giannina Gaslini" Children's Hospital in Genoa, Italy. The authors examined 130 triage forms assigning a yellow code in 2003, in order to determine whether they had been correctly filled in with regard to the detection of vital parameters, identification of main symptoms and color code assignment., Results: Results showed that vital signs were recorded in 94% of patients, main symptoms were identified in 97%, and a yellow code was assigned according to hospital guidelines in 84%. The percentage of underestimation (3.2%) was higher than that reported in the literature (2%)., Conclusions: The study shows the need to improve compliance with the guidelines and to evaluate green and white codes.

A 7-year-old boy with toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is reported. The patient was treated with intravenous fluids, antibiotics, steroids, and immunoglobulins. Moreover, total parenteral nutrition was required for 4 days. He gradually improved and was discharged in a good clinical condition. Appropriate treatment for TEN is still controversial. Larger study are required to address this issue.

In recent years pediatric guidelines have increasingly become part of clinical practice, in Italy too. Aim of the present work is, on the basis of a review of national and international literature, to focus on the Italian situation about the use of guidelines in pediatric emergency, with particular respect to methodology, correct use, and related risks and benefits. The developing of efficient guidelines is achieved in different steps: 1) identifying and refining the topic for guidelines, in order to obtain an improvement of healthcare; 2) correct developing strategies, based on scientific evidence, leading to production of recommendations validated by external review; 3) adequate implementation and diffusion in local settings; 4) application with sensible and appropriate clinical discretion. Benefits obtained with the correct use of efficient pediatric guidelines, can be identified at different levels: patients' care (outcome improvement, increased patients' consciousness, influence on public healthcare policy); healthcare professionals (improving quality of clinical decisions, agreement on clinical and therapeutic strategies; medicolegal protection, representing a reference for prospective and retrospective audits); healthcare systems (standardising care, improving efficacy of care; optimising costs). Personal experience in systematic development of emergency pediatric guidelines, applied in a second level Emergency Department is also presented.