Objective To investigate the moderating effects of socio-demographic social determinants of health (SDH) in the relationship between types of childhood hospitalisation (ie, none, injury, non-injury, injury+non-injury) and academic performance. Design, setting and patients Children residing in Wales 2009–2016 (N=369 310). Secure Anonymised Information Linkage databank linked Tagged Electronic Cohort Cymru (five data sources) from the Wales Electronic Cohort for Children. Main outcome measure Binary educational achievement (EA) measured across three key educational stage time points: grade 6 (mean age 11 years, SD 0.3), 9 (mean age 14 years, SD 0.3) and 11 (mean age 16 years, SD 0.3). Results Of the 369 310 children, 51% were males, 25.4% of children were born in the lowest two Townsend deciles. Females were more likely to meet EA than males (adjusted risk ratio (aRR) (95% CI): 1.047 (1.039, 1.055)). EA was lower for injury admissions in males and any admission type in females (interacti

Objective To describe the association of respiratory viral test results and the risk of invasive bacterial infection (IBI) for febrile young infants presenting to emergency care. Design A planned secondary analysis within the Febrile Infants Diagnostic assessment and Outcome (FIDO) study, a prospective multicentre observational cohort study conducted across the UK and Ireland. Setting 35 paediatric emergency departments and assessment units across the UK and Ireland between 6 July 2022 and 31 August 2023. Patients Febrile infants aged 90 days and under presenting to emergency care. Main outcome measures IBI (meningitis or bacteraemia) among febrile infants, undergoing respiratory viral testing for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and SARS-CoV-2. Results 1395 out of 1821 participants underwent respiratory viral testing, of those tested 339 (24.5%) tested positive for at least one of, SARS-CoV-2, RSV or influenza. A total of 45 infants (3.2%) were diagnosed with IBI. Of these

Pentoxifylline (PTX) is used as an adjunct to the antimicrobial treatment of neonatal sepsis and is commonly administered as a 6-hour or 12-hour intravenous infusion.1 In the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting, commercially available PTX injection is normally diluted with 0.9% w/v sodium chloride injection to a concentration of 5 mg/mL for intravenous delivery via a syringe pump. In clinical settings, some injectable solutions may be filtered using syringes or inline filters to ensure there are no glass fragments, precipitated drugs or other particulate matter in the final product. Recent studies have shown that PTX is compatible with a wide range of intravenous medicines used in NICU settings2–4; however, the compatibility of PTX with inline intravenous filters or syringe filters used in aseptic compounding facilities has not previously been reported. In the present …

Objective Sickle cell disease (SCD) has a high mortality during childhood in many low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Early diagnosis improves outcomes but newborn screening is not well established in LMICs. Cascade testing may be feasible and effective in identifying undiagnosed SCD and carriers of haemoglobin (Hb) S. Design Quality improvement project using existing clinic and laboratory resources. Setting The Haematology Clinic at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, Banjul, The Gambia. Participants Families of index cases with SCD. Methods Hb phenotype was determined in full or half-siblings of a SCD index case over a 6-week period using the HemoTypeSC test and confirmed by Hb electrophoresis. Main outcome measure Identifying undiagnosed SCD. Results Of 102 families invited, 31 (30%) attended during the study period and 53 siblings were tested. Except for one indeterminate test, HemoType SC agreed with Hb electrophoresis. Ten (19%; 95% CI 10 to 32) siblings were diagnos

Objective The objective is to describe age-specific cumulative incidence for hospital-recorded indicators of chronic health conditions (CHCs) in children with Down syndrome (DS) compared with children without DS. Design National birth cohort using hospital admission and death records. Setting National Health Service (NHS)-funded hospitals in England. Population Liveborn, singleton infants born in NHS-funded hospitals between 2003 and 2019. Main outcome measures Cumulative incidence of nine categories of hospital-recorded CHCs, multimorbidity and mortality. Results We identified 10 621 infants with DS among 9 631 646 liveborn, singleton infants (0.11%). Among children with DS, the cumulative incidence for any indicated CHC was 90.1% by age 16, as compared with 21.2% of children without DS. By age 16, a third of children (33.1%) with DS had CHCs affecting four or more body systems; only 6.0% of children without DS had CHCs indicated in more than one body system. The most common CHCs in c

Background Children and young people living with severe obesity experience a range of complications of excess weight (CEW); however the prevalence of complications is not well defined. We have evaluated baseline characteristics and CEW of patients from two UK tier 3 paediatric weight management services. Methods All new patients aged 2–17 years seen from March 2022 to February 2023 were included. Baseline demographic data was collected, and patients screened for CEW. PedsQL-4.0 questionnaires were used to assess health-related quality of life (HRQL). Results 185 patients were included, median age 14.3 years (range 3.3–18.0), 50.8% were girls. Of the patients, 73.8% were white British, with a significant excess of patients living in the most deprived decile (41.4%). Median body mass index SD score was +3.55 (IQR 3.11–3.90) and median body fat was 49.3% (IQR 42.3%–55.1%). Autistic spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning difficulties were vastly over-repre