The creation of the Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) for children aged 0-3 years: combining subject matter expert judgements with big data

Introduction: With the ratification of the Sustainable Development Goals, there is an increased emphasis on early childhood development (ECD) and well-being. The WHO led Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) project aims to provide population and programmatic level measures of ECD for 0-3 years that are valid, reliable and have...

The Impact of COVID-19 Regulations on Adherence to Recombinant Human Growth Hormone Therapy: Evidence from Real-World Data

Worldwide regulations during COVID-19 positively and negatively impacted self-management in paediatric patients with chronic medical conditions. We investigated the impact of regulations on adherence to recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH) therapy in paediatric patients with growth disorders, using real-world adherence data extracted March...

Protocol for validation of the Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) for children under 3 years of age in seven countries

Introduction Children's early development is affected by caregiving experiences, with lifelong health and well-being implications. Governments and civil societies need population-based measures to monitor children's early development and ensure that children receive the care needed to thrive. To this end, the WHO developed the Global Scales for...

Curve matching to predict growth in patients receiving growth hormone therapy: An interpretable & explainable method

Curve matching may be used to predict growth outcomes using data of patients whose growth curves resemble those of a new patient with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and those born small for gestational age (SGA). We aimed to investigate the validity of curve matching to predict growth in patients with GHD and those born SGA receiving...

The influence of treatment in alpine and moderate maritime climate on the composition of the skin microbiome in patients with difficult to treat atopic dermatitis

Background: The skin microbiome, characterized by an overgrowth of Staphylococcus aureus, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD). Multidisciplinary treatment in alpine climate is known for its positive effect on disease severity in children with AD and can result in a different immune response compared with...

A systematic review of the quality and scope of economic evaluations in child oral health research

Background Economic evaluations provide policy makers with information to facilitate efficient resource allocation. To date, the quality and scope of economic evaluations in the field of child oral health has not been evaluated. Furthermore, whilst the involvement of children in research has been actively encouraged in recent years, the success...

Implementing paediatric early warning scores systems in the Netherlands: future implications

Background: Paediatric Early Warning Scores (PEWS) are increasingly being used for early identification and management of clinical deterioration in paediatric patients. A PEWS system includes scores, cut-off points and appropriate early intervention. In 2011, The Dutch Ministry of Health advised hospitals to implement a PEWS system in order to...

Observational infant exploratory [14C]-paracetamol pharmacokinetic microdose/therapeutic dose study with accelerator mass spectrometry bioanalysis

Aims The aims of the study were to compare [14C]-paracetamol ([14C]-PARA) paediatric pharmacokinetics (PK) after administration mixed in a therapeutic dose or an isolated microdose and to develop further and validate accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) bioanalysis in the 0-2 year old age group. Methods [14C]-PARA concentrations in 10-15 μl...

Dummy (pacifier) use and sudden infant death syndrome: Potential advantages and disadvantages

The large decline in deaths due to the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in the last 20 years in many countries is largely due to risk-reduction advice resulting from observational studies that examined the relationship between infant care practices and SIDS. Most of this advice remains largely uncontroversial and educators and researchers in...

Health effects of chronic noise exposure in pregnancy and childhood: A systematic review initiated by ENRIECO

Background: Chronic noise is an environmental pollutant and well-known to cause annoyance and sleep disturbance. Its association with clinical and subclinical adverse health effects has been discussed. Objectives: This systematic review aimed to examine associations between chronic noise exposure during pregnancy or childhood and health outcomes...

The influence of patient reported outcomes on the discussion of psychosocial issues in children with cancer

Background: This study investigates the effect of using patient reported outcomes (PROs) about health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in clinical practice on the type and amount of psychosocial topics discussed during a paediatric oncology consultation. Procedure: Children (N=193) with cancer participated in a sequential cohort intervention...

Health-related quality of life after completion of successful treatment for childhood cancer

Background: Previous studies have assessed health-related quality of life (HRQOL) during several treatment stages in children with cancer, but there is limited knowledge about HRQOL shortly after completing therapy. This study determined HRQOL of children with cancer shortly after the end of successful treatment compared with normative values....

Identification and management of psychosocial problems among toddlers by preventive child health care professionals

Background: Objective of this study was to assess the degree to which preventive child health professionals (CHPs) identify and act upon psychosocial problems among young toddlers in the general population and to determine the concordance with parent-reported behavioural and emotional problems. Also, associations of psychosocial problems with...

The cryptorchidism prevalence among infants in the general population of Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Published trends and geographical differences in cryptorchidism rates are almost exclusively derived from, hospital-based birth defect registers, which are sensitive to selection bias and incomplete reporting. This study aimed to accurately assess the cryptorchidism prevalence in the general population of Rotterdam. Of 7652 consecutive male live...

Rare disease surveillance: An international perspective

Background: The International Network of Paediatric Surveillance Units (INoPSU) was established in 1998 and met formally for the first time in Ottawa, Ontario in June 2000. Objectives: To document the methodology and activities of existing national paediatric surveillance units; the formation of INoPSU; the diseases studied by INoPSU members;...