Pediatrics International最新文献

Background: Endoscopic monitoring of disease activity in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) is important. However, frequent colonoscopic examinations are difficult to perform because of their invasiveness, especially in children. Bowel wall thickness (BWT) measurement using intestinal ultrasonography and fecal calprotectin (FC) measurement are useful noninvasive evaluation methods.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed BWT and FC levels and evaluated the Mayo endoscopic subscore (MES) using colonoscopy in pediatric patients with UC during the same period. The BWT was evaluated using the maximum BWT (mBWT), which was the maximum value of each colonic BWT; the sum of BWT (sBWT), which was the sum of each colonic BWT; and the sum of the adjusted BWT (saBWT), which was corrected using sBWT.

Results: In 54 procedures from 40 patients, FC, mBWT, sBWT, and saBWT were significantly different between MES 0-1 and MES 2. The agreement between BWT and MES 2 was 193 out of 216 segments (89.4%). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of FC were 68.8%, 84.2%, 64.7%, 86.5%, and 79.6% respectively, while those of saBWT were 81.2%, 89.5%, 76.5%, 91.9%, 87.0%, respectively.

Conclusions: BWT in each colonic segment, particularly saBWT, was more useful than FC for detecting moderate colonic inflammation (MES 2) in pediatric patients with UC. Therefore, intestinal ultrasonography may be helpful in the less invasive management of pediatric patients with UC.

Background: The phenomenon of sharenting has led to an increase in children's digital presence on social media platforms, particularly Instagram. This study aimed to examine the relationship between features of mothers' Instagram use and their sharing of photos related to their children.

Methods: The present study was conducted with 130 mothers of children who applied to our university hospital and who had an Instagram account and allowed us to follow them. The mothers completed an online questionnaire that consisted of parents' sociodemographic data and data regarding social media use characteristics. We created a new Instagram account for this study, and we examined the mothers' Instagrams via this account. The number of Instagram followers was analyzed by dividing it into four equal 25% percentiles.

Results: The present study found that mothers with more followers shared more photos about themselves and their children on Instagram per year (p < 0.001). It was confirmed that mothers with more followers were more likely to share their children's photos showing them alone, showing them playing, photos that included identity information, and photos that violated their privacy (p values respectively; p = 0.004, p = 0.001, p = 0.043, p = 0.015).

Conclusions: This study highlights the association between mothers' Instagram follower numbers and the presence of risky posts about their children on social media. The number of Instagram followers might serve as a predictor of sharenting behavior. The study's findings are discussed thoroughly, and recommendations are provided for future research and practice in this area.

Background: The aim of this study was to find predictive factors for intractable Graves' disease (GD).

Methods: Ninety-three GD patients who visited two pediatric endocrinology clinics from March 2009 to August 2019 were involved in this study. Data were collected on the methimazole (MZ) dosages prescribed from their first visits to their fifth visits. The amount of tapered dosage was presented as a "tapering velocity" (dosage difference (mg/m²)/follow-up interval (months)). The relationship between the tapering velocity and the remission rate of GD was analyzed. Remission of GD was defined as having a total period of MZ treatment less than 5 years with no relapse after MZ withdrawal for at least more than a year.

Results: Of 93 patients diagnosed with GD, 26 patients (28.0%) were classified as the "remission group" and 67 (72.0%) were classified as the "intractable group." The frequency of goiter was significantly higher in the intractable group (p = 0.031). Multivariate logistic analysis revealed that the tapering velocity change from the first to the fifth visit significantly influenced the risk of intractable GD: odds ratio (OR) = 0.598, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.413-0.865, p = 0.006. An accompanying goiter at the time of diagnosis (OR = 4.706 95% CI 1.315-16.847, p = 0.017) and thyroid stimulation hormone receptor antibody titer (OR = 1.032 95% CI 1.002-1.062, p = 0.034) were also found to be independent factors associated with intractable progress in GD.

Conclusion: Difficulty in tapering the MZ dosage in the first 4 months of treatment was an independent predicting factor for intractable GD.