Clinical Characteristics of Children with Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Hubei, China

Since December 2019,COVID-19 has occurred unexpectedly and emerged as a health problem worldw ide.Despite the rapidly increasing number of cases in subsequent weeks,the clinical characteristics of pediatric cases are rarely described.A cross-sectional multicenter study was carried out in 10 hospitals across Hubei province.A total of 25 confirmed pediatric cases of COVID-19 were collected.The demographic data,epidemiological history,underlying discascs,clinical mani festations,laboratory and radiological data,treatments,and outcomes were analyzcd.Of 25 hospitalized patients with COVID-19,the boy to girl ratio was 1.27:1.The median age was 3 years.COVID-19 cases in children aged<3 years,3-6 years,and≥6-years patients were 10(40%),6(24%),and 9(36%),respectively.The most common symptoms at onset of ilness were fever(13[52%]),and dry cough(11[44%]).Chest CT images showed essential normal in 8 cases(33.3%),unilateral involvement of lungs in 5 cases(20.8%),and bilateral involvement in 11 cases(45.8%).Clinical diagnoses included upper respiratory tract infection(n=8),mild pneumonia(n=15),and critical cases(n=2).Two critical cases(8%)were given invasive mechanical ventilation,corticosteroids,and immunoglobulin.The symptoms in 24(96%)of 25 patients were alleviated and one patient had been discharged.It was concluded that children were susceptible to COVID-19 like adults,while the clinical presentations and outcomes were more favorable in children.However,children less than 3 years old accounted for majority cases and critical cases lied in this age group,which demanded extra attentions during home caring and hospitalization treatment.

Effect of salvia miltiorrhiza injection adjuvant therapy on systemic inflammatory stress state and nerve injury degree of children with bacterial Encephalitis

Objective:To discuss the effect of salvia miltiorrhiza injection adjuvant therapy on systemic inflammatory stress state and nerve injury degree of children with bacterial meningitis. Methods: 68 cases of children with bacterial meningitis who were treated in our hospital from Feb. 2014 to Jan. 2017 were selected and were divided into control group (34 cases) and observation group (34 cases) based on random number table, and patients in both groups were treated with continuous treatment for 10 d. Differences of inflammatory mediator, oxidative stress index, nerve injury markers content in cerebrospinal fluid in both groups were compared. Results: Before treatment, differences of inflammatory mediator, oxidative stress index, nerve injury markers content in cerebrospinal fluid in both groups had no statistical significance. 10 d after treatment, inflammatory mediator IL-6, PCT, sVCAM-1, CRP content in cerebrospinal fluid of children in observation group was lower than that in control group;oxidative stress index MDA content in cerebrospinal fluid was lower than that in control group, and SOD content was higher than that in control group;nerve injury markers MBP, NSE, GFAP content in cerebrospinal fluid was lower than that in control group.Conclusion: salvia miltiorrhiza injection adjuvant therapy could effectively relieve the systemic inflammatory stress state and reduce the nerve damages of children with bacterial meningitis.

Therapeutics of Integrative Medicine Ameliorate Immunological Disorders of the Nervous System: A Meta-Analysis

Objective: The objective of the study is to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of integrative medicine in the treatment of immunological disorders of the nervous system. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines were adopted to conduct this study, which included randomized controlled trials with a confirmed diagnosis of multiple sclerosis(MS), myasthenia gravis(MG), and Guillain–Barre syndrome(GBS), all of which were treated with integrative medicine. The effective rate, recurrent frequency, and disease score were used as the markers of outcome variables for the meta-analysis. Results: A total of 48 randomized control trials were included. The effective rates of treatment with integrative medicine were noticeably higher than those with Western medicine alone for the three diseases. The recurrence frequency for MS and the recurrence rate for MG treated with integrative medicine were reduced more than those with Western medicine alone. The Extended Disability Status Scale, acetylcholine receptor antibody, and Hughes scores for MS, MG, and GBS, respectively, treated with integrative medicine were significantly lower than those with Western medicine alone. The risks of bias in the literature evaluation showed that the quality of the included studies was not high. Conclusions: Compared to treatment with Western medicine alone, integrative medicine might ameliorate immunological disorders of the nervous system.