Publications by authors named "Klara Posfay-Barbe"

This study aimed to assess the socio-demographic correlates of health behaviors and their changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. A population-based sample of children (3-17 years) was randomly selected between 12/2021 and 06/2022 in Geneva, Switzerland. Parents reported about children's screen time, physical activity, green spaces time, sleep duration, and whether these changed due to the pandemic.

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School-based interventions during epidemics are often controversial, as experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, where reducing transmission had to be weighed against the adverse effects on young children. However, it remains unclear how the broader epidemiologic context influences the effectiveness of these interventions and when they should be implemented. Through integrated modeling of epidemiological and genetic data from a longitudinal school-based surveillance study of SARS-CoV-2 in 2021-2022 (N children = 336, N adults = 51) and scenario simulations, we show how transmission dynamics in schools changed markedly due to strong increases in community-acquired infections in successive periods of viral variants, ultimately undermining the potential impact of school-based interventions in reducing infection rates in the school-aged population.

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Introduction: Hospitals increasingly use health information technologies such as websites and apps to foster patient engagement. The Geneva University Hospitals developed CONCERTO, an ecosystem of patient applications for this exact purpose. The objectives of this study were 1) to evaluate how pediatric patients and their parents use the app CONCERTO and 2) to pinpoint functionalities that could facilitate patient empowerment and consequently alleviate the stress of children and their parents related to hospitalization.

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Aims: This study aims to provide age-specific prevalence of time spent on-screen among children and adolescents, to identify its sociodemographic and family-related determinants and to assess its impact on physical and psychosocial health outcomes.

Methods: Data was drawn from the SEROCoV-KIDS prospective cohort study, which includes randomly selected children living in Geneva, Switzerland. Daily screen time, sociodemographic and family characteristics were collected at baseline (December 2021 to June 2022).

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Introduction: Pediatric Infectious Disease (PID) clinicians involved in solid organ transplantation often assess infection risk and mitigation strategies for donor organ offers. While some guidance is available, real-life practice patterns have not been previously described.

Methods: We surveyed PID clinicians about organ acceptance and associated posttransplantation interventions using 12 fictitious pediatric case scenarios through 3 PID-specific listservs.

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Background And Aims: Autoantibodies against apolipoprotein A-1 (AAA1) are elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection and predict COVID-19 symptoms persistence at one year in adults, but whether this applies to children is unknown. We studied the association of SARS-CoV-2 exposure with AAA1 prevalence in children and the association of AAA1 seropositivity with symptom persistence.

Methods: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 and AAA1 serologies were examined in 1031 participants aged 6 months to 17 years old from the prospective SEROCOV-KIDS cohort and recruited between 12.

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Objective: To examine the physical, psychological, and social well-being of children with and without special health care needs (SHCN) after pandemic-related restrictions were lifted.

Study Design: Drawing on three-wave data from the SEROCoV-KIDS prospective, population-based cohort, we performed an outcome-wide, longitudinal analysis to investigate the association of SHCN (none, moderate, or complex needs) at time 1 (September 2022 through February 2023) with physical, psychological, and social well-being (15 outcomes) at time 2 (May through September 2023), adjusting for characteristics and prior outcome values at time 0 (December 2021 through June 2022).

Results: Of 1993 participants aged 2 through 17 years, 1533 completed the time 1 questionnaire (median age 10, 49.

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Introduction: Children represent a large and vulnerable patient group. However, the evidence base for most paediatric diagnostic and therapeutic procedures remains limited or is often inferred from adults. There is an urgency to improve paediatric healthcare provision based on real-world evidence generation.

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Future time perspectives (FTP) and future-related concerns in adolescence remain underexplored. We aimed to identify factors associated with limited FTP and describe future-related concerns. Data were drawn from a population-based sample of adolescents aged 14-17 participating in the SEROCoV-KIDS cohort study, in Geneva, Switzerland (October 2022).

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Background And Aims Of The Study: Congenital syphilis is a rare complication of syphilis in pregnant women. Vertical transmission may occur at any time during pregnancy. The incidence of congenital syphilis has been increasing worldwide.

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Background: The present analysis aimed to assess the mediating role of psychosocial and behavioural factors in socio-economic inequalities in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among children and adolescents.

Methods: Cross-sectional data was drawn from the randomly selected SEROCoV-KIDS cohort study in Geneva, Switzerland. Associations of socio-economic conditions (parents' highest education, household financial situation) with HRQoL, psychosocial (parent-child relationship, school difficulties, friends, extracurricular activities) and behavioural factors (screen time, physical activity, green spaces time, sleep duration), along with associations of psychosocial and behavioural factors with HRQoL, were evaluated with generalized estimating equations.

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Background: Pediatric post-COVID syndrome (pPCS) affects a notable number of children. This study aims to describe its clinical manifestations, biopsychosocial impact and management strategies.

Methods: A prospective, single-center study was conducted to analyze data of pPCS patients presenting to our institution between May 2021 and November 2022.

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Background: Acne vulgaris is one of the most common skin conditions worldwide among adolescents. Beyond its physical manifestations, acne can leave invisible psychological scars.

Objectives: We aimed to examine the protective and risk factors of acne-related quality of life and its association with mental health outcomes.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The MYTHIC Study is designed as a rigorous trial involving 13 Swiss pediatric centers, comparing macrolide treatment to placebo in children aged 3-17 diagnosed with pneumonia, using precise tests to confirm M. pneumoniae infection.
  • * The main goals are to assess the time to stabilize vital signs and determine any changes in patient care within 28 days, with an aim to show that the placebo is not significantly less effective than macrolide treatment in managing this infection.
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Article Synopsis
  • RSV is a major cause of respiratory infections and hospitalizations in infants and young children in Switzerland, with a notable increase in hospitalizations observed from 2003 to 2019.
  • The study analyzed national hospital registry data to assess demographics, healthcare resource use, and medical costs related to RSV, finding that most hospitalizations occur in infants, with significant costs incurred.
  • Key risk factors for hospitalizations in infants include low birth weight, gestational age, and congenital disorders, highlighting the need for protective measures against RSV.
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Article Synopsis
  • Antibiotic therapy for group A streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis is questioned, mainly for its limited benefits in reducing symptoms rather than preventing complications.
  • A study involved 88 children randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or amoxicillin, with results showing that the duration of fever was similar between both groups, indicating that placebo was not inferior to antibiotics.
  • The findings suggest that prescribing antibiotics for GAS pharyngitis may not be necessary, as there were no significant differences in pain intensity or complications between the treatment modalities.
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Liver transplantation (LT) recipients are susceptible to infections, including measles. Concerns about the safety and efficacy of live-attenuated vaccines, such as the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, have led to hesitancy among providers in administering them to immunocompromised patients. This 9-year interventional study assessed seroprotection against measles following MMR vaccination in pediatric LT recipients.

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Background: Treatment with anti-CD20 antibodies (rituximab) is used in both adults and children to treat various autoimmune and oncological diseases. Rituximab depletes B CD20+ cells and, thereby, antibody response to vaccines. This study aimed to examine the antibody response to mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines in children aged 5-18 years undergoing rituximab treatment compared to healthy matched children.

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Background And Aims: Pharmacometric in silico approaches are frequently applied to guide decisions concerning dosage regimes during the development of new medicines. We aimed to demonstrate how such pharmacometric modelling and simulation can provide a scientific rationale for optimising drug doses in the context of the Swiss national dose standardisation project in paediatrics using amikacin as a case study.

Methods: Amikacin neonatal dosage is stratified by post-menstrual age (PMA) and post-natal age (PNA) in Switzerland and many other countries.

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Introduction:  Artificial intelligence (AI) is a growing field in medical research that could potentially help in the challenging diagnosis of acute appendicitis (AA) in children. However, usefulness of AI in clinical settings remains unclear. Our aim was to assess the accuracy of AIs in the diagnosis of AA in the pediatric population through a systematic literature review.

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Pediatric liver transplant recipients are particularly at risk of infections. The most cost-effective way to prevent infectious complications is through vaccination, which can potentially prevent infections due to hepatitis B (HBV) virus, hepatitis A virus (HAV), and invasive pneumococcal diseases. Here, we performed a retrospective analysis of HBV, HAV, and pneumococcal immunity in pediatric liver transplant recipients between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2020, to collect data on immunization and vaccine serology.

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