Pediatric autoimmune gastritis: An international, multicentric study.

Objectives: Autoimmune gastritis (AIG) has been poorly described in childhood. We sought to identify the patterns of manifestations of pediatric AIG at onset and to describe its laboratory, clinical, and histopathological features.

Methods: This was a retrospective, longitudinal, multicenter, cohort study enrolling histologically proven AIG patients with an onset in the pediatric age (<18 years old).

Enhancing pediatric practice: A comprehensive review on malabsorption in pediatrics for diagnostic and management approach.

Malabsorption in children presents significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to its diverse etiologies and broad spectrum of symptoms. This review aims to support pediatric clinicians by providing a structured guide for recognizing, diagnosing, and managing malabsorption syndromes in children, promoting early intervention to prevent long-term complications. Malabsorption, defined as the inefficient absorption of nutrients, manifests with symptoms such as diarrhea, failure to thrive, and systemic nutritional deficiencies.

Eosinophilic esophagitis in children and adolescents: a clinical practice guideline.

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic immune-mediated condition that affects the esophagus and is marked by the presence of eosinophils. This disease is becoming more common in children and adolescents and can result in symptoms like swallowing difficulties, food impaction and abdominal pain. Managing pediatric EoE requires a team effort including gastroenterologists, allergists and dietitians.

Epilepsy expands the phenotype of L-arginine:glycine amidinotransferase deficiency.

Objective: L-arginine:glycine amidinotransferase (AGAT) deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder affecting creatine biosynthesis, leading to developmental delay, intellectual disabilities, and myopathy. Unlike other creatine deficiency disorders, its link to epilepsy remains uncertain. This study presents the first reported epilepsy cases in AGAT deficiency, analyzing seizure patterns and response to creatine monohydrate supplementation.

Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome in Individuals With BPTF Haploinsufficiency.

Background: Haploinsufficiency of the bromodomain PHD finger transcription factor (BPTF) gene, essential in chromatin remodeling, leads to a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by dysmorphic facies, distal limb anomalies, neurological disturbances, epilepsy, and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Methods: Families with BPTF-related neurodevelopmental disorders, with or without gastrointestinal symptoms, were recruited through an international collaboration. Data were collected via questionnaires on demographics, clinical features, genetics, and comorbidities, focusing on cyclical vomiting syndrome (CVS).

Mobile health technology in quality assessment of pediatric ileocolonoscopy: Results of the SIGENP national program.

Background And Study Aims: Currently, there is no formal quality assessment of pediatric gastrointestinal endoscopy. We innovatively used mobile health (mHealth) technology to determine the quality of pediatric ileocolonoscopy (IC) in Italy.

Methods: Between April 2019 and March 2021, we prospectively collected data (demographics, procedure information, pre/intra/post-procedure indicators, patient satisfaction questionnaires) from the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition using the ENDO-PED mobile app.

Case Report: Uncommon complications of central catheters in newborns: two cases of parenteral nutrition extravasation.

Central venous catheters (CVCs) are essential in neonatal care units to ensure prolonged venous access. Despite experienced CVC placement, managing fragile and small newborn vessels involves the risk of traumatic and iatrogenic complications. The most common include phlebitis, thrombosis, sepsis, and catheter displacement.

Infants' Feeding Habits and Brief Resolved Unexplained Events (BRUEs): A Prospective Observational Study.

A brief resolved unexplained event (BRUE) is a brief, sudden episode occurring in infants younger than 1 year of age, characterized by some combination of absent, decreased, or irregular breathing, an altered level of responsiveness, color change, and change in muscle tone. Although inappropriate feeding has been suggested as playing a role in the occurrence of BRUEs, only anecdotal reports have been described. The main objective of our study was to objectively evaluate whether overfeeding may represent a risk factor for the occurrence of BRUEs.

in Pediatric Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Multicentric, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

The gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in gastrointestinal inflammation and immune response since changes in microbiota may result in abnormal neurotransmitter expression, inducing changes in gastrointestinal sensory-motor function and leading to symptom onset in irritable bowel syndrome () patients. The species has a documented immunomodulatory effect through its ability to produce γ-aminobutyric acid (), the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system, which is reduced in patients. This is a multicentric, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm trial aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of in children with children diagnosed according to Rome IV criteria were enrolled and randomized into two groups to receive one stick containing 20 × 10 colony-forming unit of (Gabapral, Pontenure, Italy) or an equivalent placebo once a day, in a 1:1 ratio, for 12 weeks.

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis: The burden of being allergic.

Background: Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a chronic inflammatory eye condition predominantly affecting children. Despite its varied clinical manifestations, VKC poses challenges in diagnosis and management because of its multifactorial nature, potentially involving allergic sensitization and comorbidities.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to comprehensively assess VKC, focusing on the possible effect of allergic sensitization on the clinical form, severity, and quality of life of pediatric patients with VKC.

The Challenge of Managing Neuropathic Pain in Children and Adolescents with Cancer.

Neuropathic pain (NP) is a common complication associated with some types of childhood cancer, mainly due to nerve compression, chronic post-surgical pain, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. NP is usually less responsive to traditional analgesics, and there is generally a lack of evidence on its management in cancer patients, leading to recommendations often based on clinical trials conducted on other forms of non-malignant NP. In pediatric oncology, managing NP is still very challenging for physicians.

Early Surgical Resection in Pediatric Patients with Localized Ileo-Cecal Crohn's Disease: Results of a Retrospective Multicenter Study.

: Crohn's disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that also affects pediatric patients. It frequently presents as a localized disease, affecting the ileocecal area, ileum, or colon. It requires targeted therapy to achieve a good quality of life and long-term control of disease activity.

Intestinal permeability, food antigens and the microbiome: a multifaceted perspective.

The gut barrier encompasses several interactive, physical, and functional components, such as the gut microbiota, the mucus layer, the epithelial layer and the gut mucosal immunity. All these contribute to homeostasis in a well-regulated manner. Nevertheless, this frail balance might be disrupted for instance by westernized dietary habits, infections, pollution or exposure to antibiotics, thus diminishing protective immunity and leading to the onset of chronic diseases.

Insomnia symptoms predict systemic inflammation in women, but not in men with inflammatory bowel disease.

Insomnia has been suggested as a potential modulator of systemic inflammation. However, few studies have examined the longitudinal association between insomnia and inflammation as well as the role of sex differences, despite accumulating evidence of the vulnerability of women to immune consequences of disturbed sleep. In this study, we tested the association between self-reported insomnia symptoms and serum C-reactive protein, a marker of systemic inflammation, at 1-year follow-up, in 54 outpatients with inflammatory bowel disease (52.

Probiotics and other adjuvants in allergen-specific immunotherapy for food allergy: a comprehensive review.

This review delves into the potential of manipulating the microbiome to enhance oral tolerance in food allergy, focusing on food allergen-specific immunotherapy (FA-AIT) and the use of adjuvants, with a significant emphasis on probiotics. FA-AIT, including oral (OIT), sublingual (SLIT), and epicutaneous (EPIT) immunotherapy, has shown efficacy in desensitizing patients and achieving sustained unresponsiveness (SU). However, the long-term effectiveness and safety of FA-AIT are still under investigation.

Cyclic vomiting syndrome in pediatric population: characteristics and prophylactic response to cyproheptadine.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the features of cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) in a pediatric cohort and assess the safety and efficacy of cyproheptadine regardless of age.

Methods: This retrospective, monocentric study enrolled children diagnosed with CVS. After collecting data from the medical records, a telephone-based questionnaire interview with the caregivers was conducted to obtain missing or unclear data.

Headache in Sturge-Weber syndrome: A systematic review.

Background: Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS) is a neurocutaneous disorder for which the neurological aspects, particularly headaches, remain poorly understood, despite significantly affecting morbidity. The present study aimed to elucidate the prevalence, characteristics and treatment strategies, as well as explore the pathogenesis of headaches, in SWS.

Methods: Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we systematically reviewed observational studies, case reports and series from eight databases (Cochrane Library, EBSCO, Embase, Medline, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and Web of Science), published from 1978 to 2023, to investigate the prevalence, characteristics, medication response and pathogenic theories of headaches in SWS.

The Multifaceted Complexity of Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-Associated Periodic Syndrome (TRAPS): A Case Report Highlighting Atypical Gastrointestinal Manifestations.

Background: Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-Associated Periodic Syndrome (TRAPS) is an autosomal dominant autoinflammatory disorder stemming from mutations in the TNFRSF1A gene affecting the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR)-1. These mutations lead to dysregulated inflammatory responses, primarily mediated by augmented interleukin (IL)-1β release.

Case Presentation: We present the case of a 29-year-old woman with a history of recurrent febrile episodes, abdominal pain, and joint manifestations, eventually diagnosed with TRAPS following genetic testing revealing a heterozygous R92Q mutation in TNFRSF1A.

Helicobacter Pylori infection in children with inflammatory bowel disease: a prospective multicenter study.

Background: The relationship between Helicobacter-pylori(Hp)infection and inflammatory-bowel-disease(IBD) in pediatric-patients remains controversial. We aimed to assess the Hp-infection occurrence in newly-diagnosed pediatric-patients with IBD compared to no-IBD patients. Additionally, we aimed to examine differences in clinical-activity-index(CAI) and endoscopic-severity-score(ESS)between IBD-patients with and without Hp-infection, at baseline and at 1-year-follow-up(FU), after eradication-therapy(ET).

Esophageal food bolus impaction in pediatric age.

Objectives: Esophageal food impaction (EFI) is the sudden onset of dysphagia that occurs when a food bolus becomes lodged in the esophagus, requiring endoscopic removal. Scientific data on the prevalence and causes of EFI in children is lacking. The aim of this study was to provide further insights into EFI episodes in children.