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Biomedical subjects

Philippe Reinert

Publications and source records attributed to Philippe Reinert.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

Bacterial meningitis in children: a French prospective study.

From January 2001 through December 2003, a total of 1084 children with bacterial meningitis were enrolled in a prospective French nationwide survey. The most frequent pathogens found in children older than 28 days were Neisseria meningitis (55.3%) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (33.4%). S. pneumoniae was the most frequent pathogen found among infants aged 2-12 months (49.5%), whereas N. meningitidis was the most frequent pathogen among children >12 months old (69.7%). Approximately one-half of S. pneumoniae isolates had diminished susceptibility to penicillin. The case-fatality rates were 7.6% for children with N. meningitidis meningitis and 10.8% for children with S. pneumoniae infection.

Adolescent↗

Long-term follow-up of pediatric sickle cell disease patients with abnormal high velocities on transcranial Doppler.

Cerebral arteriopathy can be detected in children with sickle cell disease (SCD) by transcranial Doppler (TCD). Abnormally high velocities are predictive of high stroke risk, which can be reduced by transfusion therapy. We report the results of the screening of 291 SCD children followed in our center, including the clinical and imaging follow-up of 35 children with abnormal TCDs who were placed on transfusion therapy. We postulated that patients with normal MRA findings and abnormal TCD velocities that normalized on a transfusion program could be safely treated with hydroxyurea (HU). We report their outcome (median follow-up of 4.4 years). Of 13 patients with normalized velocities on transfusion, 10 had normal MRAs, and transfusion therapy was stopped and HU begun. Four of these ten patients redeveloped high velocities off transfusion, so currently only six remain transfusion-free. Six other transplanted patients remain transfusion-free. Abnormal TCD velocities detect a high-risk group, justifying the research for suitable transplant donors. Multicenter studies comparing HU therapy to long-term transfusion might help identify which patients can avoid transfusion and its complications while avoiding vasculopathy.

Adolescent↗

A liquid hexavalent combined vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, Haemophilus influenzae type B and hepatitis B: review of immunogenicity and safety.

To reduce the number of injections needed to comply with paediatric vaccination requirements, a liquid, hexavalent vaccine (DTaP-IPV-PRP-T-HBs; Hexavac; Aventis Pasteur MSD) has been developed for primary and booster vaccination of infants and toddlers. In extensive clinical studies, Hexavac has been shown to be highly immunogenic. Seroconversion or seroprotective titres of antibodies against all antigens were achieved in the majority of infants following a primary series of three doses administered at 1-2-month intervals from 2 months of age. Hexavac also induced immunologic memory, as evidenced by the anamnestic response to booster vaccination at 12-18 months of age. These responses were comparable with those seen following concomitant administration of Pentavac (DTaP-IPV//PRP-T) and monovalent hepatitis B vaccine (H-B-Vax II), and were also within the ranges observed for other relevant licensed vaccines. Clinical studies comparing the immunogenicity of Hexavac administered at either 2, 3 and 4 months or 2, 4 and 6 months demonstrated that it can be used by either vaccination schedule. A further study also supported the use of primary doses of Hexavac at 3 and 5 months with a booster at 12 months of age. Hexavac demonstrated a good reactogenicity and tolerability profile. The most frequently reported adverse events after both primary and booster doses were local reactions of redness and swelling/induration and a systemic response of mild fever, irrespective of the vaccine used for priming. Hexavac provided immunity against six important childhood diseases with a single injection at each visit.

Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis Vaccine↗

Features and outcome of autoimmune hepatitis type 2 presenting with isolated positivity for anti-liver cytosol antibody.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) type 2 is identified by the presence in the serum of anti-liver/kidney microsome type 1 autoantibody. Anti-liver cytosol autoantibody has been reported in children with autoimmune liver disorders mostly in association with anti-liver/kidney microsome reactivity. However, its role as a sole marker of AIH type 2 is debated. We describe here a series of 18 children and adolescents (15 girls, 3 boys) with AIH with serum anti-liver cytosol type 1 (aLC1) as the only autoimmune marker. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted from 3 pediatric hepatology units of all children with an autoimmune liver disease associated with aLC1 as found by immunofluorescence and/or immunodiffusion or immunoblotting. RESULTS: Age at first symptoms ranged from 11 months to 14 years; 12 children presented with acute hepatitis, 1 with progressive jaundice, and 5 were asymptomatic. Anti-liver/kidney microsome, antimitochondria, and anti-actin autoantibodies were not detected. Signs of cirrhosis were present in 11 children. Immunosuppressive treatment was effective in all except 2 children who had subfulminant hepatic failure and who required liver transplantation. Sixteen patients (14 with their native liver) currently are alive; 14 patients still are on immunosuppressive therapy after 1 to 22 years. According to the international scoring system for the diagnosis of AIH, 16 patients corresponded to a definite diagnosis and 2 corresponded to a probable diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of aLC1 in children with acute or chronic liver disease of unknown origin strongly supports a diagnosis of AIH and is an indication for early immunosuppressive therapy.

Adolescent↗

Halofantrine efficacy in non-immune children with imported acute Plasmodium falciparum malaria Infection.

UNLABELLED: A rising incidence of imported acute malaria has been observed in non-immune traveller children returning from the tropics to France. Halofantrine efficacy has been poorly assessed in non-immune children. In order to assess halofantrine efficacy in non-immune children with acute uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria, we collected data of children with positive blood smears in an open prospective study. Children with neurological manifestations, vomiting and congenital long QT were excluded. All children were hospitalised and received halofantrine (24 mg/kg divided into three doses per day) on an empty stomach. Persistent fever after day 3 defined failure. Relapse was defined by a positive blood smear with or without systemic symptoms within a 1 month follow-up period. In total, 52 children were enrolled. No failure was observed, but relapses occurred in 14/52. On univariate analysis, the mean age of children with relapse was significantly lower (P<0.05). Moreover, diarrhoea was more frequently associated with relapses (P<0.04). Age and diarrhoea were significant independent factors contributing to relapses. CONCLUSION: This study shows that with a relapse rate of 27%, this regimen with a 1-day course of halofantrine is not to be recommended.

Adolescent↗

Paris-Trousseau syndrome : clinical, hematological, molecular data of ten new cases.

Paris-Trousseau syndrome (PTS) is an inherited disorder characterized by mild hemorragic tendency associated with 11q chromosome deletion. Here we report ten new patients (5 boys, 5 girls) with complete clinical history, biological data, ultra-structural and molecular investigations. Thrombocytopenia is chronic in all the patients except two boys in whom it disappeared during the two first years of life. On Romanovsky stained peripheral blood smears, abnormal platelets with giant granules were detected in all the children and confirmed by electron microscopy (EM). On bone marrow smears, dysmegakaryopoiesis with many micromegakaryocytes was constantly observed. Abnormal alpha-granules were virtually absent from bone marrow and cultured megakaryocytes, while EM detected numerous images of granule fusion within blood platelets. Molecular analyses evidenced that the fli-1 gene is deleted in all the patients except one confirming the crucial role of the transcription factor FLI-1 in megakaryopoiesis. In summary, this study documents ten new cases of PTS with characteristic alpha-granule abnormalities, and shows the putative pathogenic role of fli-1 gene in the pathophysiology of this syndrome.

Blood Platelet Disorders↗

[Management of intermittent fever in the child].

Recurrent fevers in children are common, mainly due to viral (particularly in day care centers), or to bacterial (urinary tract upper and lower respiratory) infections. The diagnosis of recurrent hereditary fever is now possible on the basis of clinical features, biochemical and genetic tests. Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) remains the most frequent disorder of this group, which includes now three other entities: TNF receptor associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS), the hyperIgD syndrome(HIDS) and the Muckle-Wells syndrome.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

The enlarging clinical, genetic, and population spectrum of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the frequency, clinical signs, and genotypic features of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS) in a series of 394 patients of various ethnic origins who have recurrent inflammatory syndromes. METHODS: Sequencing of the coding region of the TNFRSF1A gene was performed in 128 patients in whom there was a high suspicion of TRAPS, and denatured high-performance liquid chromatography was used to systematically screen for TNFRSF1A in 266 patients with recurrent inflammatory syndrome and no or only 1 Mediterranean fever gene (MEFV) mutation. RESULTS: TNFRSF1A mutations were found in 28 (7.1%) of 394 unrelated patients. Nine (32%) of the 28 patients had a family history of recurrent inflammatory syndromes. In 13 patients, the length of the attack of inflammation was fewer than 5 days. Three of the mutations (Y20H, L67P, and C96Y) were novel. Two mutations, R92Q and (mainly) P46L, found in 12 and 10 patients, respectively, had lower penetrance compared with other mutations. TNFRSF1A mutations were found in patients of various ethnic origins, including those at risk for familial Mediterranean fever (FMF): Armenians, Sephardic Jews, and especially Arabs from Maghreb. Only 3 (10.7%) of the 28 patients had amyloidosis. CONCLUSION: TRAPS is an underdiagnosed cause of recurrent inflammatory syndrome. Its presence in the population of persons of Mediterranean ancestry and the short duration of the attacks of inflammation can lead to a fallacious diagnosis of FMF. Because an accurate diagnosis in patients with recurrent inflammatory syndromes is crucial for proper clinical management and treatment, genetic screening for TNFRSF1A is warranted.

Adolescent↗

An 8-y-old boy with acute stroke and radiological signs of cerebral vasculitis after recent Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.

A young boy was admitted to hospital for acute stroke. Cerebral angiography showed a pattern suggestive of vasculitis and a recent Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection was detected. The absence of microorganisms in cerebrospinal fluid, the pattern of vasculitis and previous reports supporting a post-infectious immunological mechanism for certain complications of M. pneumoniae infection suggest this mechanism as the cause of the stroke.

Cerebral Angiography↗

Comparison of two dosages of azithromycin for three days versus penicillin V for ten days in acute group A streptococcal tonsillopharyngitis.

BACKGROUND: Three-day, 10 mg/kg/day azithromycin (AZM) studies in pediatric acute group A streptococcal tonsillopharyngitis have shown contradictory bacteriologic results. This study investigates the efficacy and tolerability of two dosages of 3-day azithromycin (20 mg/kg/day and 10 mg/kg/day) compared with 10-day penicillin V. METHODS: This was a prospective, comparative, randomized, multicenter trial. Children were scheduled to return for visits at 14 days (main end point) and 1 month after the onset of treatment for clinical and bacteriologic assessment. Molecular tools were used to compare pre- and posttreatment group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus (GABHS) isolates. RESULTS: Between November, 1997, and July, 1998, 501 patients (169 AZM 10 mg, 165 AZM 20 mg, 167 penicillin V) between 2 and 12 years old were enrolled; 500 were assessable for safety, 469 for intent to treat analysis and 420 for efficacy in the per protocol analysis. Before treatment 25 (7.9%) of 315 GABHS stains isolated from patients receiving AZM were resistant to this compound. On Day 14 pretreatment GABHS were eradicated from 78 (57.8%) of the 135 children receiving the AZM 10 mg regimen, 131 (94.2%) of the 139 receiving AZM 20 mg and 123 (84.2%) of the 146 taking penicillin. One month after the outset of treatment, bacteriologic relapses were observed in 40.5% (n = 30) of the children receiving AZM 10 mg, 14.8% (n = 18) of children taking AZM 20 mg and 13.2% (n = 15) of those treated with penicillin V. AZM 20 mg/kg/day was statistically superior to AZM 10 mg/kg/day microbiologically on Day 14 (P = 0.0001) and Day 30 (P = 0.0001) and clinically on Day 14 (P = 0.0035). AZM 20 mg/kg/day was statistically equivalent both microbiologically and clinically to standard therapy with penicillin V at all endpoints. The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was similar in the two azithromycin groups [AZM 10 mg, 31 of 169 (18.3%); AZM 20 mg, 37 of 164 (23%)] but significantly higher than those observed in the penicillin V group [5 of 166 (3%); P < 0.0001]. Most treatment-related adverse events were gastrointestinal and of mild-to-moderate severity. Fourteen patients withdrew from the trial because of adverse events (1 in the penicillin V group, 7 in the AZM 10 mg group and 6 in the AZM 20 mg group). CONCLUSION: This is the first study to demonstrate a daily dose-dependent difference in microbiologic efficacy of a regimen; 3-day AZM 20 mg/kg/day is a more effective regimen than 3-day AZM 10 mg/kg/day for pediatric GABHS tonsillopharyngitis.

Administration, Oral↗

The role of pneumococcal and haemophilus type B vaccination in the prevention of acute otitis media.

Acute otitis media is an extremely common disease, most children being subject to it once or more during their first 5 years of life. Thirty to forty per cent of episodes of acute otitis media are caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Resistance of pneumococci to antibiotics is an increasing problem particularly in France. Since 1983 a 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine has been available, containing in particular four serotypes that carry penicillin resistance. Unfortunately, this vaccine is therefore not fully effective until after the age of 2 years. In spite of good serologic responses, clinical results have been variable. Some found that this diminished frequency only lasted for several months and ended as serotypes not included in the 23-valent vaccines began to appear. Since 1992, studies have been carried out using different pneumococcal vaccines conjugated to diphtheria, tetanus or meningococcal proteins. Despite the incomplete nature of the data, it can already be confirmed that these vaccines are immunogenic from the very first months of life onwards. Numerous problems nevertheless remain unsolved. How many serotypes can be included in the conjugate vaccine? For the moment it seems technically impossible to conjugate all 23 serotypes of the current vaccine. While Haemophilus influenzae type b is principally responsible for invasive infections, it is traditionally said to play only a minor role in otitis, which is usually provoked by non-capsulated Haemophilus strains beyond the vaccine's reach. In fact, in most studies it has been observed that 2--5% of cases of Haemophilus otitis are due to Haemophilus type b. The vaccine could be said, therefore, to have a minor but by no means negligible role in the prevention of Haemophilus otitis. In conclusion, pneumococcal and haemophilus vaccines have not revolutionized the preventive treatment of otitis for the moment, but great hopes are still placed on the conjugate pneumococcal vaccine.

Journal Article↗

Fever as a marker of reactogenicity of an acellular pertussis-containing hexavalent vaccine (HEXAVAC) in a large-scale, open, randomized safety study in healthy French infants.

OBJECTIVE: New multivalent vaccines simplify childhood immunisation schedules and can increase vaccination coverage. However, they must have a reactogenicity profile which is acceptable and comparable with that of previously available vaccines. The objective of this trial was to assess the incidence of fever of 40.0 degrees C or higher following vaccination with HEXAVAC or concomitant PENTACOQ and HBVAXPRO. STUDY DESIGN: This was an open, randomized, pragmatic, post-licensure multicenter trial performed in France. Infants were randomly assigned to receive either a single injection of a hexavalent, aP-containing vaccine (HEXAVAC) or separate injections of a pentavalent, wP-containing vaccine (PENTACOQ) and Hepatitis B vaccine (HBVAXPRO) at 2, 3 and 4 months of age. Both groups received a HEXAVAC booster at 12-18 months of age. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: 7151 infants were enrolled in 389 centers. During the combined three-day periods following the primary series injections, the incidence of fever of 40.0 degrees C or higher with HEXAVAC was not greater than with [PENTACOQ and HBVAXPRO]. The incidence of fever at thresholds of 38.0 degrees C, 38.5 degrees C, 39.0 degrees C and 39.5 degrees C was significantly lower in the HEXAVAC group. The vaccine attributable risk for fever of 40.0 degrees C following the booster injection with HEXAVAC was statistically acceptable. CONCLUSION: The incidence of fever of 40.0 degrees C or higher in this study was very low and similar in both groups (HEXAVAC or [PENTACOQ + HBVAXPRO] as a three-dose primary series). Fever > or =38.0 degrees C and < or =39.5 degrees C was significantly less frequent following administration of HEXAVAC. The incidence of fever of 40.0 degrees C or higher following a HEXAVAC booster dose was low in all infants studied.

Biomarkers↗