Effect of elexacaftor-tezacaftor-ivacaftor on liver transient elastography, fibrosis indices and blood tests in children with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Elexacaftor-tezacaftor-ivacaftor (ETI) has significantly improved the clinical course of people with cystic fibrosis (pwCF) and eligible CFTR variants. In this study, we prospectively evaluated liver elastography, liver fibrosis indices and liver tests in children with CF aged 6-12 years started on ETI therapy.

Methods: Body mass index, sweat test, percent predicted forced expiratory volume in one second, serum markers of liver injury or portal hypertension, liver fibrosis indices, controlled attenuation parameter and liver stiffness were assessed before starting ETI and three and twelve months post-ETI, according to new international guidelines.

Effectiveness and Safety of Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir in Italian Children and Adolescents With Chronic Hepatitis C: A Real-Word, Multicenter Study.

Background & Aims: Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir (GLE/PIB) has been approved by the European Medicine Agency (EMA) and by the US Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA) for the treatment of children and adolescents from 3 years of age with chronic hepatitis C virus (CHC) infection. The aim of this study was to confirm the real-world effectiveness and safety of GLE/PIB in children and adolescents (3 to < 18 years old) with CHC.

Methods: This prospective, multicentre study involved 11 Italian centres.

Hepatitis co-infection in paediatric HIV: progressing treatment and prevention.

Purpose Of Review: To analyse the main evidence and recommendations for the management of hepatitis co-infection in children living with HIV.

Recent Findings: We analysed available data pertaining to the natural history of liver disease and treatment of co-infected children.

Summary: Viral hepatitis co-infection in people living with HIV (PLHIV) is a global problem owing to the shared routes of transmission, particularly in areas of high endemicity for the three viruses.

Update on Fever of Unknown Origin in Children: Focus on Etiologies and Clinical Approach.

Fever of unknown origin (FUO) can be caused by four etiological categories of diseases. The most common cause of FUO in children is represented by infections, followed by inflammatory conditions and neoplastic causes; a decreasing quote remains still without diagnosis. Despite the fact that several diagnostic and therapeutic approaches have been proposed since the first definition of FUO, none of them has been fully validated in pediatric populations.

Analysis of a Cohort of 165 Pediatric Patients with Human Bocavirus Infection and Comparison between Mono-Infection and Respiratory Co-Infections: A Retrospective Study.

Introduction: Human Bocavirus (HBoV) is mainly associated with respiratory tract infections. However, its role as respiratory pathogen is not fully understood for a high co-infection rate in symptomatic patients and a significant HBoV detection rate in asymptomatic subjects. This study aimed to describe a large cohort of children with HBoV infection and to compare HBoV mono-infection and co-infections.

COVID-19 and Thromboembolic Events in the Pandemic and Pre-Pandemic Era: A Pediatric Cohort.

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) have been variably associated with thromboembolic events (TEs) in children. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of TEs in children hospitalized during a five-year period in a tertiary pediatric hospital, particularly in patients with COVID-19 and MIS-C. Overall, 38 patients were discharged with the diagnosis of TE: 20 in the pre-pandemic and 18 in the pandemic period.

Epidemiology and Natural History of Childhood-Acquired Chronic Hepatitis C: A Single-Center Long-Term Prospective Study.

Objectives: To prospectively describe the epidemiology and long-term outcome of childhood-acquired hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in a large cohort of children followed at a single center.

Methods: All children with chronic HCV infection followed at the Liver Unit of our tertiary Hospital in Florence (Italy) from January 1, 1988, to September 30, 2021, were included in the analysis.

Results: The final sample consisted of 163 children (median age at enrollment 4 years, interquartile range (IQR): 10; median age at last follow-up 14 years, IQR: 7).

Treatment of hepatitis B virus infection in children and adolescents.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Most children acquire the infection perinatally or during early childhood and develop a chronic hepatitis characterized by a high viral replication and a low-inflammation phase of infection, with normal or only slightly raised aminotransferases. Although a conservative approach in children is usually recommended, different therapies exist and different therapeutic approaches are possible.

Chronic hepatitis B in children, report of a single-centre longitudinal study on 152 children.

The aims of this prospective study were as follows: (1) to describe the natural history of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in a large cohort of untreated children followed at a single centre and (2) to evaluate whether or not the new European Association for the Study of Liver (EASL) classification for the phases of HBV infection in adults can be used for children. All children who presented at the Liver Unit of our hospital from 1 January 1987 to 31 December 2019 and were diagnosed with chronic HBV infection were enrolled. The final sample consisted of 152 children.

An Unusual Case of Hypoproteinemia in Childhood: Keep in Mind Trichobezoar.

Protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) is a rare condition characterized by protein loss through the gastrointestinal tract, leading to hypo-proteinemia. Patients may be asymptomatic or present with variety of complications of hypoproteinemia (e.g.