Communication Skills in Children with Cerebral Palsy and Autism Spectrum Disorder

While the literature focusing on communication deficits in children with cerebral palsy (CP) is extensive, few researchers have analyzed this construct in individuals with CP and a comorbid Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine impairments in communication in infants and toddlers (18 to 35 months of age) who had CP and comorbid autism, CP and comorbid pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), and CP alone. A total of 42 children met inclusion criteria for this study. Those diagnosed with CP and a comorbid ASD were found to possess significantly greater communication impairments as assessed by the Baby and Infant Screen for aUtIsm Traits-Part 1 (BISCUIT-Part 1) than participants who only had a diagnosis of CP. The autism and PDD-NOS groups did not significantly differ from one another on the communication domain of this measure, however. Implications of these results are discussed.     

Relationship Themes Present between Parents and Children in Recovery Homes

Approximately 12.5% of children have a parent with a substance use disorder. These children are likely to experience developmental delays, especially if they are placed into foster care. Oxford House recovery homes provide a useful setting that allows children to live with their parents after treatment for substance use. A sample of parents and their children who lived in Oxford Houses were interviewed, using mixed methods, and the outcomes suggest that Oxford Houses may provide a stable and supportive setting for parents and their children.     

Factor Structure for Autism Spectrum Disorders with Toddlers Using DSM-IV and DSM-5 Criteria

With the publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition, autism spectrum disorders are defined by two symptom clusters (social communication and restricted/repetitive behaviors) instead of the current three clusters. The current study examined the structure of the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits (BISCUIT). First, an exploratory factor analysis was replicated whose results were largely comparable to the previous findings. Then, confirmatory factor analyses compared a two and three factor structure for the BISCUIT. Measures of model fit supported both the two and three factor models relatively well. When directly compared, the three factor model was found to be preferred over the two factor model. Implications are discussed.     

Role of viral RNA and lipid in the adverse events associated with the 2010 Southern Hemisphere trivalent influenza vaccine

In Australia, during the 2010 Southern Hemisphere (SH) influenza season, there was an unexpected increase in post-marketing adverse event reports of febrile seizures (FS) in children under 5 years of age shortly after vaccination with the CSL 2010 SH trivalent influenza vaccine (CSL 2010 SH TIV) compared to previous CSL TIVs and other licensed 2010 SH TIVs. In an accompanying study, we described the contribution to these adverse events of the 2010 SH influenza strains as expressed in the CSL 2010 SH TIV using in vitro cytokine/chemokine secretion from whole blood cells and induction of NF-κB activation in HEK293 reporter cells. The aim of the present study was to identify the root cause components that elicited the elevated cytokine/chemokine and NF-κB signature. Our studies demonstrated that the pyrogenic signal was associated with a heat-labile, viral-derived component(s) in the CSL 2010 SH TIV. Further, it was found that viral lipid-mediated delivery of short, fragmented viral RNA was the key trigger for the increased cytokine/chemokine secretion and NF-κB activation. It is likely that the FS reported in children <5 years were due to a combination of the new influenza strains included in the 2010 SH TIV and the CSL standard method of manufacture preserving strain-specific viral components of the new influenza strains (particularly B/Brisbane/60/2008 and to a lesser extent H1N1 A/California/07/2009). These combined to heighten immune activation of innate immune cells, which in a small proportion of children <5 years of age is associated with the occurrence of FS. The data also demonstrates that CSL TIVs formulated with increased levels of splitting agent (TDOC) for the B/Brisbane/60/2008 strain can attenuate the pro-inflammatory signals in vitro, identifying a potential path forward for generating a CSL TIV indicated for use in children <5 years.     

Fatal disseminated Trichosporon asahii fungemia in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and a morbilliform eruption

Trichosporonosis is a rare, life‐threatening, opportunistic fungal infection that affects immunocompromised individuals with neutropenia, particularly those with underlying hematologic malignancies. We present the case of a 10‐year‐old boy with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who developed a diffuse, morbilliform eruption in the setting of fever and pancytopenia. He was found to have Trichosporon asahii fungemia with widespread visceral dissemination, and his condition rapidly deteriorated despite treatment. It is important to consider trichosporonosis in the evaluation of a critically ill individual with neutropena and a rash, because the initial cutaneous presentation may appear benign and delayed therapy results in death.     

Too little,too much or just right: Injury/illness sensitivity and intentions to drink as a basis for alcohol consumer segmentation

Background: Although alcohol is the most socially accepted drug, little is known about the classification of alcohol consumers into clusters influencing drinking outcomes. Past research has demonstrated that injury/illness sensitivity predicts health protecting behaviors. Objectives: The present study explored whether alcohol consumers can be classified based on injury/illness sensitivity and intentions to reduce drinking, and whether the identified clusters exhibited meaningful differences in negative affect and drinking levels. Methods: Four-hundred and eighty-six participants (54.3% male; mean [SD] age?=?26.5 [7.2] years) completed online questionnaires between July and October of 2017. Questions were asked pertaining to injury/illness sensitivity, intentions to reduce drinking, negative affect, and heavy drinking behavior. A k-means cluster analysis was performed on illness/injury sensitivity and intentions to reduce drinking scores. We then examined whether clusters varied according to negative affect or drinking variables. Results: The k-means cluster analysis identified four clusters: Insensitive non-internalizers, Insensitive internalizers, Sensitive non-internalizers, and Sensitive internalizers. Sensitive internalizers reported the highest, whereas Insensitive non-internalizers reported the lowest, negative affect. Sensitive internalizers also had the lowest percentage of heavy drinkers. Conclusion/importance: Current findings add to the alcohol literature by indicating that high sensitivity to illnesses/injuries and the internalization of sensitivities via behavior change intentions may provide the best protection against high alcohol consumption levels.     

Sufentanil versus Fentanyl: Efficacy and Patient Satisfaction with Intrathecal Pain Management

Objectives: This study compared fentanyl vs. sufentanil in intrathecal pain pumps. H1: both reduce patient subjective pain ratings. H2: sufentanil is more effective than fentanyl. H3: overall satisfaction with pain control is greater with sufentanil. Materials/Method: This is an archival study of patients in tertiary pain management (N= 97, mean age = 58.77, standard deviation = 14.88). Pain was measured using the subjective units of discomfort scale. Satisfaction with pain control/relief was measured by asking patients each visit if they are satisfied with pain management and is recorded in a “yes”/ “no” manner. Pain ratings were analyzed with repeated measures analysis of variance and satisfaction was analyzed with chi square. Results/Discussion: Sufentanil was found to be marginally more effective, but both medications controlled a significant degree of variance in pain reduction over time. A significantly greater number of patients maintained on sufentanil were satisfied with care than patients on fentanyl.