Differential Diagnosis of Acute Diarrhea

Acute diarrhea is a condition of increased water stool content, stool volume, and number of bowel movements that lasts less than 14 days. Mild diarrhea is usually self-limiting; however, undertreated moderate to severe diarrhea may cause severe dehydration and lead to hypovolemic shock. In order to prevent severe dehydration and treat patients appropriately, it is crucial for health care providers to determine the right diagnosis of patients with acute diarrhea. This article focuses on pathophysiology, general patient presentation, diagnostic tests and differential diagnosis lists of acute diarrhea to discuss which diagnosis should be made based on patient presentation and objective data.     

Enteric anendocrinosis attributable to a novel Neurogenin-3 variant

Congenital diarrhea and enteropathies (CODEs) are a group of monogenic disorders that often present with severe diarrhea in the first weeks of life. Enteric anendocrinosis (EA), an extremely rare cause of CODE, is characterized by a marked reduction of intestinal enteroendocrine cells (EC). EA is associated with recessively inherited variants in Neurogenin-3 (NEUROG3) gene. Here we investigate a case of a male infant who presented with mysterious severe malabsorptive diarrhea since birth. Thorough clinical assessments and laboratory tests were successful to exclude the majority of differential diagnosis categories. However, the patient's diagnosis was not established until the genetic test using whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed. We identified a novel homozygous missense disease-causing variant (DCV) in NEUROG3 (c.413C>G, p.Thr138Arg). Moreover, molecular dynamic simulation analysis showed that (p.Thr138Arg) led to a global change of the NEUROG3 orientation affecting its DNA binding capacity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to apply WES to reach a differential diagnosis of patients with CODEs. Our study not only expands our knowledge about NEUROG3 variants and their clinical consequences but also proves that WES is a very effective tool for the diagnosis of CODEs. This might be of value in early diagnosis of diseases and prenatal CODEs detection.     

Effect of interictal epileptiform discharges on EEG-based functional connectivity networks

ObjectiveFunctional connectivity networks (FCNs) based on interictal electroencephalography (EEG) can identify pathological brain networks associated with epilepsy. FCNs are altered by interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs), but it is unknown whether this is due to the morphology of the IED or the underlying pathological activity. Therefore, we characterized the impact of IEDs on the FCN through simulations and EEG analysis.MethodsWe introduced simulated IEDs to sleep EEG recordings of eight healthy controls and analyzed the effect of IED amplitude and rate on the FCN. We then generated FCNs based on epochs with and without IEDs and compared them to the analogous FCNs from eight subjects with infantile spasms (IS), based on 1340 visually marked IEDs. Differences in network structure and strength were assessed.ResultsIEDs in IS subjects caused increased connectivity strength but no change in network structure. In controls, simulated IEDs with physiological amplitudes and rates did not alter network strength or structure.ConclusionsIncreases in connectivity strength in IS subjects are not artifacts caused by the interictal spike waveform and may be related to the underlying pathophysiology of IS.SignificanceDynamic changes in EEG-based FCNs during IEDs may be valuable for identification of pathological networks associated with epilepsy.     

Fas/FasL在各阶段婴幼儿血管瘤中的表达及意义

目的 检测Fas／FasL在各阶段婴幼儿血管瘤组织中的表达，探讨Fas／FasL在婴幼儿血管瘤细胞凋亡中的作用。方法 应用EnVision法免疫组化染色和RT-PCR检测Fas／FasL蛋白及mRNA在各阶段血管瘤组织中的表达。结果 ①增生早期和增生中期，部分血管瘤细胞表达Fas；增生晚期，阳性细胞明显增多，Fas mRNA表达最强；消退早期，仍有少量微血管内皮细胞表达Fas，之后Fas表达迅速减弱。②最早期细胞团中没有FasL（＋）细胞；增生中期，血管瘤组织中出现少量FasL（＋）细胞；增生晚期FasL（＋）细胞显著增多，FasL mRNA表达最强；消退早期之后，FasL（＋）细胞迅速减少以至消失。结论 Fas／FasL与婴幼儿血管瘤演变过程有密切联系，Fas／FasL介导的血管瘤细胞凋亡可能是婴幼儿血管瘤自行消退的重要原因。     

小儿轮状病毒感染腹泻实验室检查结果分析

目的:探讨小儿腹泻轮状病毒感染的实验室检查特点,为临床提供实验数据.方法:对1764名0～7岁腹泻患儿进行大便轮状病毒检测、血常规、大便常规和生化检查.结果:1764份腹泻标本轮状病毒阳性率42.6%,轮状病毒感染患儿黄颜色大便占62.9%,水样便和稀汁便占68.1%,外周血中性粒细胞0.74±0.17,肝功能异常占22.8%,心酶异常占26.7%.结论:轮状病毒者感染具有大便颜色以黄色居多,性状以水样便和稀汁便为主,粘液少,红细胞少、白细胞少和外周血中性粒细胞增高等实验室检查特点,并可导致肝功能异常和心肌酶异常.     

Apparently increased trough levels of tacrolimus caused by acute infantile diarrhea in two infants with biliary atresia after liver transplantation

Two infants with biliary atresia who exhibited three-fold increased trough levels of tacrolimus and required reduced doses during episodes of acute infantile diarrhea within 5 months of liver transplantation are described. The cause of the increase was not explained simply by hemoconcentration as a result of significant loss of extracellular fluid during these episodes. It does highlight an important issue: that of the continuing need to carefully monitor the trough levels of tacrolimus in such infants.     

Epidemiology of acute diarrhea in children living in Sicily

A longitudinal survey (February 1984 - January 1985) on the incidence of acute diarrhea episodes in a sample of 8,164 children (aged 0–12 years) living in southeastern Sicily was carried out by means of weekly telephone interviews with doctors practising in the territory. The incidence rate was 0.479 (0.472–0.485 95% C.I.) per child per year and the frequency of episodes was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in children aged 0–4 years (0.86). Diarrhea was more frequent in industrial areas than in rural ones, and almost half (45.1%) of the total episodes had a mild course. No death from diarrhea occurred and admission to hospital was reported for 8.4% of all cases.Corresponding author.     

Comparison of yogurt, soybean, casein, and amino acid–based diets in children with persistent diarrhea

Although previous studies have shown successful treatment of persistent diarrhea (PD) with the use of yogurt-based diets, some recent ones speculate the need of special formulas for the nutritional management of PD complicated cases. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that the consumption of 3 lactose-free diets, with different degrees of complexity, is associated with lower stool output and shorter duration of diarrhea when compared with the use of a yogurt-based one on the nutritional management of PD. A total of 154 male infants, aged between 1 and 30 months, with PD and with or without dehydration, were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups. Throughout the study, the patients were placed in a metabolic unit; their body weights and intakes of oral rehydration solution, water, and formula diets, in addition to outputs of stool, urine, and vomit, were measured and recorded at 24-hour intervals. Four different diets were used in this study: diet 1, yogurt-based formula; diet 2, soy-based formula; diet 3, hydrolyzed protein-based formula; and diet 4, amino acid–based formula. Throughout the study, only these formula diets were fed to the children. The data showed that children fed the yogurt-based diet (diet 1) or the amino acid–based diet (diet 4) had a significant reduction in stool output and in the duration of diarrhea. The use of an inexpensive and worldwide-available yogurt-based diet is recommended as the first choice for the nutritional management of mild to moderate PD. For the few complicated PD cases, when available, a more complex amino acid–based diet should be reserved for the nutritional management of these unresponsive and severe presentations. Soy-based or casein-based diets do not offer any specific advantage or benefits and do not seem to have a place in the management of PD.