Regional brain iron levels of two patients with haemochromatosis and severe restless legs syndrome (RLS) were assessed using R29 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences in both patients and in nine healthy controls. R29 relaxation rates in the patients were decreased in the substantia nigra, red nucleus, and pallidum when compared with the controls. These results indicate that local brain iron deficiency may occur in patients with haemochromatosis and suggest a role for brain iron metabolism in the pathophysiology of RLS.

These 2 cases highlight the importance of closely monitoring children with ulcerated CH because of the risk of severe bleeding. Embolization is the treatment of choice in the case of severe bleeding, as the natural history of RICH is to spontaneously regress.

Surgical site infections (SSI) increase length of stay, morbidity, mortality and cost of hospitalization. Staphylococcus aureus (SA) carriage is a known risk factor of SSI in adults, but its role in pediatrics remains uncertain. The main objective of this pilot prospective monocentric cohort study was to describe the prevalence of SA colonization in children under 1 year old before cardiac surgery. The secondary objectives were to compare the incidence of SSI and other nosocomial infections (NI) between preoperative carriers and non-carriers. From May 2012 to November 2013, all children <1 year old undergoing cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass underwent preoperative methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive SA (MSSA) screening using real-time PCR. The only exclusion criterion was invalid PCR. All patients were followed up to 1 year after the surgery regarding SSI and other nosocomial infections. Among the 68 studied patients, SA colonization prevalence was 26.5%, comprising 23.5% MSSA and 2.9% MRSA. There was no significant difference between colonized and non-colonized children regarding SSI rate (16.7 vs 20%; p = 0.53), but ventilator-associated pneumonia rate was significantly higher among the SA carriers (22.2 vs 2%; p < 0.05). The colonization rate was different depending on the age of the patients (p < 0.05). This pilot study highlights that colonization with MSSA is frequent whereas MRSA prevalence is low in our population. In this cohort, there was no association between SA colonization and SSI incidence but further studies are needed to analyze this association.

Plasma transfusion following cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass was not independently associated with the development of nosocomial infections in children (< 1 yr old) after adjustment for a propensity score.

No abstract