Incidence, etiologies, and outcomes of severe pediatric community-acquired empyema before and after the pandemic: an Italian multicentric study.

Unlabelled: An increase in severe and invasive infections has been reported since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, most evidence comes from monocentric studies without nationwide representativeness. This multicenter, nationwide, retrospective study, conducted within the network of the Italian Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases (SITIP), aimed to compare the severity of empyema at presentation in children (aged 1 month to 18 years) admitted to 19 Italian hospitals before, during, and after the pandemic.

Influenza-Related Encephalopathy in Children: Epidemiology and Literature Review from a Tertiary Hospital in Northern Italy (Winter 2023-2024).

Introduction: While influenza-associated encephalopathy (IAE) in children remains a serious concern, recent evidence suggests a shift in its epidemiology, with a possible decline in incidence and severity over time.

Methods: This retrospective review includes patients aged 0-18 admitted to a tertiary hospital in Northern Italy between November 2023 and February 2025. Inclusion criteria were a positive influenza test, influenza-like symptoms, and neurological involvement.

Use of an Untrained Large Language Model for Antibiotic Prescription in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Primary Care Settings: A Study From the Italian Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

The development of artificial intelligence systems is revolutionizing many fields of medicine, but specific studies are still missing in pediatrics. In our study, we showed that an untrained free-to-use large language model provided reliable responses regarding antibiotic prescription for 13 primary-care scenarios of pediatric infections.

Treatment of sinusitis in children: an Italian intersociety consensus (SIPPS-SIP-SITIP-FIMP-SIAIP-SIMRI-SIM-FIMMG).

Sinusitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the paranasal sinuses. Bacterial sinusitis usually occurs as a complication of viral infections of the upper respiratory tract and is a frequent cause of medical consultation. The clinical presentation of acute bacterial sinusitis can vary.

Daptomycin for Pediatric Complex Bone and Joint Infections: Real-world Efficacy and Safety Data from a Three-year Study.

Bone and joint infections present a significant therapeutic challenge in children, particularly in complex or chronic cases. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common causative pathogen, with methicillin resistance rates varying by geographic location and hospital setting, underscoring the need for antibiotics effective against both methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus . Daptomycin, a cyclic lipopeptide antibiotic effective against gram-positive pathogens, is increasingly used off-label in pediatric osteomyelitis.

Antimicrobial Stewardship in the Pediatric Emergency Department: An Observational Pre-Post Study.

: To face antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) have been implemented in the pediatric age, but the area of urgency remains understudied. We aimed to assess the impact of an educational program on optimizing antibiotic appropriateness in a pediatric ED. : We conducted a pre-post observational study with an audit, intervention, and feedback given to prescribers.

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.

Treatment of acute pharyngitis in children: an Italian intersociety consensus (SIPPS-SIP-SITIP-FIMP-SIAIP-SIMRI-FIMMG).

Sore throat represents one of the main causes of antibiotic overprescription in children. Its management is still a matter of debate, with countries considering streptococcal pharyngotonsillitis a benign and self-limiting condition and others advocating for its antibiotic treatment to prevent suppurative complications and acute rheumatic fever. Italian paediatricians frequently prescribe antibiotics on a clinical basis regardless of microbiological results.

Use of Remdesivir in children with COVID-19: report of an Italian multicenter study.

Background: COVID-19 is generally milder in children than in adults, however severe infection has been described in some patients. Few data are available on use of Remdesivir (RDV) in children, as most clinical trials focused on adult patients. We report a multicenter study conducted in 10 Italian Hospitals to investigate the safety of RDV in children affected by COVID-19.

Disrupted Seasonality of Respiratory Viruses: Retrospective Analysis of Pediatric Hospitalizations in Italy from 2019 to 2023.

This multicenter study in Italian hospitals highlights the epidemiologic disruptions in the circulation of the 5 main respiratory viruses from 2019 to 2023. Our data reveal a resurgence of respiratory syncytial virus and influenza during the 2022-2023 winter season, with an earlier peak in cases for both viruses, emphasizing the importance of timely monitoring.

Safety of Sotrovimab use in children with COVID-19: an Italian experience.

Sotrovimab is a monoclonal antibody approved in adult and adolescents at high risk for COVID-19. Thirty-three children evaluated in five Italian paediatric centres received Sotrovimab infusion and were retrospectively enrolled from December 2021 to April 2022. In more than half of cases (19/33, 57.

A Neuropsychiatric Assessment of Children with Previous SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Aim: Concerns have been raised about possible neuropsychiatric sequelae of COVID-19. The objective of this study was to examine the plausibility of long-term mental health consequences of COVID-19 by assessing a sample of children after the resolution of the acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Method: As part of a systematic follow-up assessment of pediatric patients with COVID-19 conducted at two university children's hospitals, 50 children (56% males) aged 8 to 17 years (median 11.

Expressions of Type I and III Interferons, Endogenous Retroviruses, TRIM28, and SETDB1 in Children with Respiratory Syncytial Virus Bronchiolitis.

Interferons (IFNs) and IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) play essential roles for the control of viral infections. Their expression in infants with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis is poorly defined. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) represent 8% of our genome and modulate inflammatory and immune reactions.

Long COVID-19/post-COVID condition in children: do we all speak the same language?

Post-COVID condition is a new and highly debated entity that is still to be outlined in its complexity, especially in the pediatric population. In response to the article by Trapani and colleagues, we report the results of a long-term follow-up conducted in the outpatient clinic of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Unit on children admitted to our hospital with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Sensitivity of three commercial tests for SARS-CoV-2 serology in children: an Italian multicentre prospective study.

Background: US Food and Drug Administration has issued Emergency Use Authorizations for hundreds of serological assays to support Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) diagnosis. The aim of this study is to evaluate, for the first time in children, the performance of three widely utilized SARS-CoV-2 serology commercial assays, Diesse Diagnostics (IgG, IgA, IgM) and Roche Diagnostics, both Roche Nucleocapsid (N) IgG and Roche Spike (S) IgG assays.

Methods: Sensitivity and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for each of the three different serological tests and mixed and direct comparison were performed.

COVID-19 in Infants Less than 3 Months: Severe or Not Severe Disease?

Compared to adults, severe or fatal COVID-19 disease is much less common in children. However, a higher risk for progression has been reported in infants. Different pediatric COVID-19 severity scores are reported in the literature.