Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), which started in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and declared a worldwide pandemic on March 11, 2020, is a novel infectious disease that causes respiratory illness and death. Pediatric COVID-19 accounts for a small percentage of patients and is often milder than that in adults; however, it can progress to severe disease in some cases. Even neonates can suffer from COVID-19, and children may spread the disease in the community. This review summarizes what is currently known about COVID-19 in children and adolescents.

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This study investigated the clinical features and risk factors of uveitis in Korean children having juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Medical records of JIA patients who were diagnosed between 2006 and 2019 and followed up for ≥1 year were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were classified into two groups by the development of JIA-associated uveitis (JIA-U), and various factors were analyzed for the risk of developing uveitis. JIA-U developed in 30 (9.8%) of 306 JIA patients. Mean age at the first uveitis occurrence was 12.4 ± 5.7 years, which was 5.6 ± 3.7 years after the JIA diagnosis. The common JIA subtypes in the uveitis group were oligoarthritis-persistent (33.3%) and enthesitis-related arthritis (30.0%). The patients with oligoarthritis-persistent developed JIA-U more frequently than those without (20.0% vs. 7.8%; P = 0.016), and those with systemic arthritis developed uveitis less than those without (3.6% vs. 12.2%; P = 0.024). The uveitis group had baseline knee joint involvement more frequently (76.7% vs. 51.4%), which increased the risk of uveitis during follow-up (P = 0.008). The final visual acuity of JIA-U was tolerable (0.041 ± 0.103 logMAR). In Korean children with JIA, JIA-U may be associated with oligoarthritis-persistent subtype and the knee joint involvement.

This study aimed to investigate the clinical features and risk factors of uveitis in Korean children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). The medical records of JIA patients diagnosed between 2006 and 2019 and followed up for ≥1 year were retrospectively reviewed, and various factors including laboratory findings were analyzed for the risk of developing uveitis. JIA-associated uveitis (JIA-U) developed in 30 (9.8%) of 306 JIA patients. The mean age at the first uveitis development was 12.4 ± 5.7 years, which was 5.6 ± 3.7 years after the JIA diagnosis. The common JIA subtypes in the uveitis group were oligoarthritis-persistent (33.3%) and enthesitis-related arthritis (30.0%). The uveitis group had more baseline knee joint involvement (76.7% vs. 51.4%), which increased the risk of JIA-U during follow-up (p = 0.008). Patients with the oligoarthritis-persistent subtype developed JIA-U more frequently than those without it (20.0% vs. 7.8%; p = 0.016). The final visual acuity of JIA-U was tolerable (0.041 ± 0.103 logMAR). In Korean children with JIA, JIA-U may be associated with the oligoarthritis-persistent subtype and knee joint involvement.

Introduction: Some previous research suggests that a protective immune response after vaccination is diminished in kidney transplant recipients. The literature in other types of solid organ transplant is even scarcer. With the development of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, there was fear that transplant recipients would not mount a sufficient response to vaccination. We sought to evaluate the antibody response of liver transplant recipients to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, especially in liver transplant recipients. Various guidelines suggest transplant recipients should be vaccinated, and are eligible for additional doses in cases with an inadequate response. Methods: During routine follow up of 262 liver transplant recipients (earliest date of transplant 1998) at Universitätsklinikum Graz we gathered the information about their vaccination status. As part of routine follow up, we also determined the serum concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Results: Of the 262 patients in follow up, we currently have the vaccination details of 128 who received at least one vaccine dose. 2 patients received an initial two doses of a vector vaccine, all other doses were of an mRNA vaccine. Of the 127 patients who were vaccinated at least twice, 107 achieved an excellent response (>100U/mL) and 7 achieved an adequate response (>=30U/mL). Of the 13 patients who achieved an inadequate response (<30U/mL), 6 had no detectable circulating antibodies. Of the 115 patients who were vaccinated at least three times, 101 achieved an excellent response and a further 6 adequate. 8 patients still did not achieve an adequate response (of which 2 had no response). Conclusion: After at least two vaccine doses, 89.8% (114/127) of patients had an adequate response to the vaccine. After the third dose, the response rate rose slightly to 93.0% (107/115). The currently available vaccines appear to provoke a sufficient antibody response in liver transplant recipients.