We found that 12% of Italian infants satisfied the Rome II criteria for infant regurgitation. Eighty-eight percent of 210 infants who had completed a 24-month follow-up period had improved at the age of 12 months. Only 1 patient later turned out to have gastroesophageal reflux disease. Use of breast milk was associated with a shorter time necessary to reach an Infant Gastroesophageal Reflux Questionnaire score of 0.

BackgroundRecent GWAs and meta-analyses have outlined about 100 susceptibility genes/loci for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In this study we aimed to investigate the influence of SNPs tagging the genes/loci PTGER4, TNFSF15, NKX2-3, ZNF365, IFNG, PTPN2, PSMG1, and HLA in a large pediatric- and adult-onset IBD Italian cohort.MethodsEight SNPs were assessed in 1,070 Crohn's disease (CD), 1,213 ulcerative colitis (UC), 557 of whom being diagnosed at the age of ≤16 years, and 789 healthy controls. Correlations with sub-phenotypes and major variants of NOD2 gene were investigated.ResultsThe SNPs tagging the TNFSF15, NKX2-3, ZNF365, and PTPN2 genes were associated with CD (P values ranging from 0.037 to 7×10−6). The SNPs tagging the PTGER4, NKX2-3, ZNF365, IFNG, PSMG1, and HLA area were associated with UC (P values 0.047 to 4×10−5). In the pediatric cohort the associations of TNFSF15, NKX2-3 with CD, and PTGER4, NKX2-3, ZNF365, IFNG, PSMG1 with UC, were confirmed. Association with TNFSF15 and pediatric UC was also reported. A correlation with NKX2-3 and need for surgery (P  =  0.038), and with HLA and steroid-responsiveness (P  =  0.024) in UC patients was observed. Moreover, significant association in our CD cohort with TNFSF15 SNP and colonic involvement (P  =  0.021), and with ZNF365 and ileal location (P  =  0.024) was demonstrated.ConclusionsWe confirmed in a large Italian cohort the associations with CD and UC of newly identified genes, both in adult and pediatric cohort of patients, with some influence on sub-phenotypes.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, spreading in Italy during the first months of 2020, abruptly changed the way of practicing medicine in this country. As a consequence of the lockdown, the diagnostic and therapeutic management of paediatric chronic conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been affected. During the peak of COVID-19 pandemic, elective visits, endoscopies and infusions have been postponed, with potential clinical and psychological impact on disease course and a high likelihood of increasing waiting lists. While slowly moving back towards normality, clinicians need to recognize the best ways to care for patients with IBD, carefully avoiding risk factors for new potential epidemic outbreaks. In this uncertain scenario until the development and spread of COVID-19 vaccine, it is necessary to continue to operate with caution. Hereby we provide useful indications for a safer and gradual restarting of routine clinical activities after COVID-19 peak in Italy.