Clinical characteristics of pediatric patients with COVID-19 between Omicron era vs. pre-Omicron era

IntroductionDetailed data on clinical characteristics in children with the omicron strain of SARS-COV-2 are limited.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective observational study of children with COVID-19 at the National Center for Child Health and Development to evaluate the clinical manifestations during and before the emergence of the omicron variant. Only symptomatic patients without underlying diseases were included. Participants were divided into two temporal groups: the “omicron era” (1/2022–2/2022) and the “pre-omicron era,” where the delta variant predominated (7/2021–11/2021). The patients were subclassified into an older vaccine-eligible group (aged 12–17 years), a younger vaccine-eligible group (aged 5–11 years), and a vaccine-ineligible group (aged 0–4 years).ResultsWe compared 113 patients in the omicron era with 106 in the pre-omicron era. Most patients in both eras had non-severe disease, and no patients required mechanical ventilation or died. Among patients aged 0–4 years, sore throat and hoarseness were more common during the omicron era than the pre-omicron era (11.1% vs. 0.0% and 11.1% vs. 1.5%, respectively). Croup syndrome was diagnosed in all patients with hoarseness. Among patients aged 5–11 years, vomiting was more frequent during the omicron era (47.2%) than during the pre-omicron era (21.7%). Cough and rhinorrhea were less common during the omicron era in patients aged 0–4 and 5–11 years, respectively, than during the pre-omicron era.ConclusionsIn children with COVID-19, clinical manifestations differed between the omicron and pre-omicron eras. In the Omicron era, croup syndrome was more frequent in vaccine-ineligible children.     

Contemporary Epidemiology of and Risk Factors Associated with Removal of a Pathologically Normal Appendix in Children with Suspected Appendicitis

BackgroundThe goal of this study was to characterize contemporary performance benchmarks and risk factors associated with negative appendectomy (NA) in children with suspected appendicitis.MethodsA multicenter retrospective cohort analysis of children undergoing appendectomy for suspected appendicitis was performed using data from the 2016–2021 NSQIP-Pediatric Appendectomy Targeted Public Use Files. Multivariable regression was used to evaluate the influence of year, age, sex, and WBC count on NA rate, and to generate rate estimates for NA based on different combinations of demographic characteristics and WBC profiles.Results100,322 patients were included from 140 hospitals. The overall NA rate was 2.4%, and rates decreased significantly during the study period (2016: 3.1% vs. 2021: 2.3%, p < 0.001). In adjusted analyses, the highest risk for NA was associated with a normal WBC (<9000/mm³; OR 5.31 [95% CI: 4.87–5.80]), followed by female sex (OR 1.55 [95% CI: 1.42–1.68]) and age <5 years (OR 1.64 [95% CI 1.39, 1.94]). Model-estimated risk for NA varied significantly across demographic and WBC strata, with a 14.4-fold range in rates between subgroups with the lowest and highest predicted risk (males 13–17 years with elevated WBC [1.1%] vs. females 3–4 years with normal WBC [15.8%]).ConclusionsContemporary NA rates have decreased over time, however NA risk remains high in children without a leukocytosis, particularly for girls and children <5 years of age. These data provide contemporary performance benchmarks for NA in children with suspected appendicitis and identify high-risk populations where further efforts to mitigate NA risk should be targeted.Level of EvidenceIII.     

基于CiteSpace的结直肠癌患者生命质量研究

目的：通过中英文文献了解结直肠癌患者生命质量研究现状及发展趋势。方法：运用CiteSpace对中国知网（CNKI）、万方数据知识服务平台、中国生物医学文献数据库、Web of Science核心数据集、PubMed、Cochrane Library中收录的关于结直肠癌患者生命质量研究的中英文文献进行可视化分析。结果：检索得到中文文献1 285篇，英文文献871篇，中英文文献发文量均呈上升趋势，相关研究关注的重点主要是结直肠癌患者造口、抑郁、免疫、肠道功能、化疗及化疗药物，但机构之间、学者之间合作程度及研究类型等方面存在一定差异。结论：中文文献相关研究起步晚、发展快，但在研究质量与研究深度等方面与英文文献相比还有一定差距；国内学者之间、机构之间应加强合作，关心患者肠道功能、心理状况，提高患者体力活动水平，开展更多高质量研究。     

白花蛇舌草干预湿热瘀滞型肠内多发息肉术后复发的临床研究

目的 临床观察白花蛇舌草干预湿热瘀滞型肠内多发息肉患者内镜治疗术后复发情况。方法 采用前瞻性的随机空白对照试验设计，选取2019年9月1日—2020年12月31日上海中医药大学附属普陀医院消化科收治的门诊及住院结直肠多发息肉患者132例作为研究对象。采用随机方法分为对照组和试验组，每组66例。对照组行内镜治疗术给予常规治疗后无药物干预，试验组在对照基础上给予白花蛇舌草汤剂（每日取白花蛇舌草15 g、大枣3枚，煎取400 mL汤剂，分2次饭后温服）治疗，连续干预1年。观察并比较两组术前与术后1年肠道内息肉的复发率、息肉数目、息肉最大直径、中医证候评分及肝肾功能及血常规的差异。结果 干预1年后，试验组复发9例（14.75%），对照组复发21例（33.33%），两组息肉复发率比较，差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。试验组腺瘤、伴重度异型增生、体质量指数（BMI）≥24 kg·m^-2患者治疗后息肉复发率均较对照组同类型降低，差异显著（P＜0.05）；术后1年试验组息肉最大直径及息肉数目均较对照组显著减小，差异显著（P＜0.05）；术后1年试验组中医证候各项评分均显著低于对照组（P＜0.05）；术后1年，两组中医证候疗效比较，差异具有统计学意义（P＜0.05），且术前、术后1年两组患者肝肾功能、凝血功能等安全性指标无显著差异。结论 应用白花蛇舌草干预结直肠息肉术后患者，1年后明显降低肠内息肉的复发率，尤以腺瘤性息肉、重度异型增生、BMI超重患者更显著，不仅改善临床症状，还能有效预防结直肠息肉的复发，改善患者的预后。