Rotarix® and RotaTeq® administration to preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit: Review of available evidence

Rotavirus (RV) is the leading cause of severe acute gastroenteritis (GE) in infants worldwide. Several vaccines against RV were developed to reduce disease burden, hospitalization rates and health utilization costs. RV GE is a serious disease in preterm (PT) infants, and the administration of RV vaccine to these at-risk subjects at the proper time could have great clinical relevance. However, most data on the efficacy and safety of RV vaccinations were collected in healthy full-term infants, and few studies investigated PT infants. The lack of studies in PT infants may explain why neonatologists in several neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) do not follow the official recommendations, which indicate that RV vaccine may be administered in hospitals. Increasing neonatologists’ knowledge on the efficacy and safety of RV vaccines and defining PT candidates for vaccination and the necessary precautions are extremely important to avoid potential vaccine virus transmission and improve RV vaccination coverage in PT infants. Further studies should analyse the impact of vaccination of PT infants of different gestational ages and various clinical histories in stable conditions in the NICU with a careful monitoring of adverse events to the vaccine and RV GE occurrence. Only data that confirm the efficacy and safety of RV vaccines in large numbers of PT infants with different characteristics will convince neonatologists to use RV vaccines in PT infants hospitalized in NICUs.     

Impact of rotavirus vaccine on acute gastroenteritis in children under 5 years in Senegal: Experience of sentinel site of the Albert Royer Children's Hospital in Dakar

BackgroundAcute gastroenteritis (AGE) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children <5 years of age in developing countries, with rotavirus being the most common infectious etiology. In November 2014, monovalent rotavirus vaccine was introduced in Senegal. We determined the impact of rotavirus vaccine on hospitalizations for all-cause and rotavirus related AGE in children <60 months of age.MethodsWe examined two data sources from the national referral hospital. Using sentinel surveillance data from March 2011 to February 2017, we examined the proportion of AGE hospitalizations among children <60 months of age attributable to rotavirus, stratified by age groups (0–11, 12–23 and 24–59 months). Using pediatric logbook data from March 2010 to February 2017, we examined the proportion of all childhood hospitalizations attributable to AGE, among the same age groups.ResultsIn sentinel surveillance, 673 patients <60 months were hospitalized for AGE, with 30% (203/673) due to rotavirus. In pre-vaccine years, the median proportion of rotavirus-positive hospitalizations was 42%; this proportion declined by 76% to 10% rotavirus positive in 2015–2016 (p < .001) and by 59% to 17% in 2016–2017 (p < .001). From the logbook data, among all children <60 months, a median of 11% of all hospitalizations in the pre-vaccine period were due to AGE, with 2015–2016 seeing a 16% decline (p < .001), to 9% of all hospitalizations, and 2016–2017 seeing a 39% decline (p < .001), to 7% of all hospitalizations. Declines in both rotavirus-associated and all-cause AGE hospitalizations were most marked among infants, with a suggestion of herd effect among older children seen in the surveillance data.ConclusionRotavirus vaccine demonstrated a significant impact on rotavirus-associated hospitalizations and all-cause AGE hospitalizations in the first two seasons after vaccine introduction in Senegal. Our data support the continued use of this vaccine in national immunization program.     

Epidemiology of childhood intussusception in Bangladesh: Findings from an active national hospital based surveillance system, 2012–2016

IntroductionRotavirus vaccines have significantly decreased the burden of diarrheal diseases in countries that have introduced them into their immunization programs. In some studies, there has been a small association between rotavirus vaccines and intussusception in post-marketing surveillance, highlighting the importance of tracking incidence before and after vaccine introduction. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of intussusception among Bangladeshi children pre-vaccine introduction.MethodsWe conducted active, hospital-based surveillance for intussusception at 7 tertiary care hospitals with pediatric surgical facilities during July 2012 to September 2016. Hospitalized children under 2 years of age were identified according to Brighton Collaboration level 1 criteria for intussusception. The frequency and proportion of intussusception among overall surgical admissions, as well as the demographic and clinical information of the cases is described.ResultsOverall 153 cases of intussusception among children <2 years-old were identified at participating sites over the enrolment period, confirmed by Level 1 Brighton criteria. These cases represented 2% of all surgical admissions under 2 years of age. One hundred twelve cases (73%) were male; the median age was 7 months; and the median duration of hospitalization was 7 days. One hundred forty-six (95%) children with intussusception required surgery, and 11 (7%) died.ConclusionsConfirmed cases of intussusception represented nearly 2% of pediatric surgical admissions at tertiary referral centers in Bangladesh during the study period and 7% of children with intussusception died. Given the high burden of rotavirus disease in Bangladesh, vaccine introduction is warranted, however, further studies after introduction of rotavirus vaccine are necessary to determine any association between vaccine and intussusception in this setting.     

Impact of pentavalent rotavirus vaccine against severe rotavirus diarrhoea in The Gambia

IntroductionRotavirus vaccines protect against the leading cause of severe childhood diarrhoea, and have been introduced in many low-income African countries. The Gambia introducedRotateq® (RV5) into their national immunization program in 2013. We revieweddata from an active rotavirus sentinel surveillancesitefor early evidence of vaccine impact.MethodsWe compared rotavirus prevalence in diarrhoeal stool in children< 5 years of age admittedat the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital sentinel surveillance site before (2013) andafterRV5 introduction (2015–2016) in the Gambia. The rotavirus-percent positive was separately compared for all diarrhoealhospitalizations and for hospitalizations with severe symptoms. Rotavirus prevalence was compared annually for the pre-vaccine year of 2013 with post-vaccine years of 2015 and 2016 using chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests and the p-value to establish significant relationship was set at p < 0.05. All analyses were completed in SAS 9.3 (SAS Analytics, North Carolina).ResultsRotavirus prevalence among all diarrhoeahospitalizations decreased from 22% in 2013 to 11% in 2015 (p = 0.04), while remaining unchanged in 2016 (18%, p = 0.56). For hospitalizations that were clinically severe and/or treated with intravenous fluids (mean of 46 per year), the rotavirus prevalence decreased from 33% in 2013 to 8% in 2015 (p = 0.04), and to 15% in 2016 (p = 0.08). The children with age <1 year accounted for 45% the population infected with rotavirus in both pre and post rotavirus vaccination periods.ConclusionsRotavirus vaccine introduction in the Gambia could be among factors resulting in decreased diarrhea hospitalizations among children at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, particularly those with severe disease. These results support the continuation of rotavirus vaccine and additional monitoring of rotavirus hospitalization trends in the country.     

秋泻灵颗粒与蒙脱石散联合治疗轮状病毒肠炎的效果观察

目的探讨秋泻灵颗粒与蒙脱石散口服治疗轮状病毒肠炎的效果。方法抽取本院2010年9月1日~12月31日、2011年9月1日~12月31日、2012年9月1日~12月31日住院治疗的小儿轮状病毒肠炎患儿100例,分为治疗组和对照组各50例,对照组给予蒙脱石散口服,利巴韦林抗病毒,补液、纠酸、调节肠道菌群等治疗,治疗组在对照组治疗基础上加用秋泻灵颗粒口服,治疗期间观察患儿的发热、呕吐、大便次数及性状,比较两组的临床疗效。结果两组均未出现不良反应,治疗组主要症状、体征消失时间较对照组短,差异有统计学意义(P<0.01);治疗组与对照组的总有效率分别为90%、60%,两组差异有统计学意义(χ2=12.0,P<0.01)。结论秋泻灵颗粒联合蒙脱石散口服治疗轮状病毒肠炎的止泻疗效确切,较单独用蒙脱石散口服止泻治疗能快速减轻临床症状,缩短病程,提高治愈率,有利于患儿生长发育。     

Treatment of enteritis in chronic granulomatous disease with granulocyte colony stimulating factor

Background—In several diseases there is a relationbetween deficiency of neutrophil granulocytes and granulomatouslesions. Recently, in glycogen storage disease type Ib, this relationhas been supported by the beneficial effect of treatment of enteritis with granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor.
Aim—To investigate whether chronic granulomatousdisease could be treated according to the same principle.
Patients and methods—Inflammatory lesions weremonitored in two brothers with chronic granulomatous diseasedemonstrated by very low superoxide production in neutrophilgranulocytes. The two patients were treated with recombinant humangranulocyte colony stimulating factor on three occasions when thedisease was active.
Results—In one patient, remission of an inflamedstenosis of the colon sigmoideum was shown by granulocytescintigraphy after one month of treatment with granulocyte colonystimulating factor. In the other patient, remission of colon diseaseand later of a non-malignant tumour in the right lung hilum was shownby colonoscopy and computed tomography scans respectively.
Conclusion—Remission of inflammatory lesions intwo brothers with chronic granulomatous disease was induced bygranulocyte colony stimulating factor on three occasions. The mechanismfor this effect is not known. The result is similar to the response found in patients with leucocyte deficiency due to glycogen storage disease type Ib.

Keywords:chronic granulomatous disease; enteritis; granulocyte colony stimulating factor

     

小儿轮状病毒肠炎的肾损害的临床分析

目的：探讨血清CysC在轮状病毒肠炎患儿肾损害中的诊断价值及患儿肾损害的情况。方法：对131例确诊为轮状病毒感染的腹泻患儿（观察组）和94例正常婴幼儿（对照组）进行血清CysC的检测,同时进行血清BUN和Cr的测定。结果：观察组血清CysC阳性共36例,阳性率为27.48%;对照组全部阴性,两组血清CysC异常的发生率比较差异有统计学意义（P〈0.05）。血清CysC异常程度与脱水程度无关,与患儿年龄有关,年龄越小越易发生CysC异常。结论：轮状病毒性肠炎可造成肾脏损害,引起血清CysC升高。     

Efficacy of Glutamine in the Prevention of Acute Radiation Enteritis

Background: Acute radiation enteritis is a common adverse effect related to radiotherapy (RT). Glutamine is an immune modulator and antioxidant amino acid that can exert a protective role in patients receiving abdominal or pelvic radiation. The aim of this study was to test if glutamine prevents radiation enteritis during RT. Materials and Methods: Double‐blind, randomized, controlled trial including 69 patients who needed RT because of pelvic or abdominal malignancies and received glutamine (30 g/d) or placebo (casein, 30 g/d). Enteritis was evaluated according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group scale, intestinal inflammation using fecal calprotectin, and gut integrity with citrulline. The incidence of enteritis was analyzed by Kaplan‐Meier curves, and the hazard ratio (HR) was calculated using Cox regression. Results: Patients were predominantly male (65.2%), with an average (SD) age of 66.6 (9.9) years, with urologic (44.9%), rectal (24.6%), or gynecological cancer (23.1%). More patients developed enteritis with glutamine than with the placebo (55.9% vs 22.0%; P = .002), with an HR of 1.59 (95% confidence interval, 0.62–4.05). There were no differences in final calprotectin levels (glutamine, 57.9 [85.8] mg/kg vs placebo, 54.0 [57.7] mg/kg; P = .182) or the number of patients with values >50 mg/kg (glutamine, 58.1% vs placebo, 54.6%; P = .777). Final citrulline levels were similar between groups (glutamine, 26.31 [10.29] mmol/L vs placebo, 27.69 [12.31] mmol/L; P = .639), without differences in the number of patients with <20 mmol/L (glutamine, 24.1% vs placebo, 25.0%; P = .938). Citrulline concentration was reduced during RT with placebo but remained unchanged with glutamine. Conclusion: Glutamine does not prevent the development of enteritis during RT.     

Impact of rotavirus vaccination on diarrhea-related hospitalizations in São Paulo State,Brazil

IntroductionFollowing introduction of routine infant rotavirus vaccination, severe diarrhea hospitalization rates declined among children aged <5 years throughout Brazil. Ensuring equity of rotavirus vaccine impact is important in countries that self-finance immunization programs. The objective of this study was to examine rotavirus vaccine impact on diarrhea admission rates among children aged <5 years in Brazil's public health system, according to area-based measures of human development in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.MethodsEcological analysis of public health system hospitalization rates for acute gastroenteritis among children aged <5 years in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, according to five categories of municipal development based on a modified Human Development Index for municipalities. Acute gastroenteritis hospitalization rates among children aged <5 years after national rotavirus vaccine introduction (2008–2011) were compared to rates in pre-vaccine years (2000–2005) to calculate percent decline in rates (1 − rate ratio) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for each municipal development category. Direct hospitalization costs during the two periods were compared.ResultsAnnual rates declined by 40% (95% CI, 39–42%) from 631 diarrhea hospitalizations per 100,000 person years pre-rotavirus vaccination to 377 per 100,000 post-vaccination among children aged <5 years and 50% (95% CI, 48–52%) from 1009 to 505 per 100,000 among infants. Highest rates were observed in least developed municipalities. Significant declines of 26–52% among children <5 years and 41–63% among infants were observed in all categories of municipal development. Lower diarrhea hospitalization rates resulted in annual savings of approximately 2 million USD for the state of São Paulo. Savings in direct hospitalization costs benefitted municipalities in all five categories.ConclusionThe introduction of rotavirus vaccination was associated with substantial reductions of diarrhea-related admissions at all levels of municipal development in São Paulo State, Brazil.