All three treatments were equally effective in restoring testosterone levels. Single-agent CC is simple, cheap and may be used as treatment for hypogonadism when maintenance of fertility is desired. This approach seems to be as effective as either hCG alone or a combination of hCG and CC.

Background Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) is common in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); however, oral iron supplements are commonly associated with poor compliance due to gastrointestinal side effects. We compared the effect of lactoferrin versus oral ferrous sulfate for the treatment of IDA in children with IBD. Methods Ninety-two IBD children with IDA were included but only 80 children completed the study and they were randomized into two groups: ferrous sulfate group (n = 40) who received ferrous sulfate 6 mg/kg/day for 3 months and lactoferrin group (n = 40) who received lactoferrin 100 mg/day for 3 months. Complete blood count, serum iron, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), transferrin saturation (TS), serum ferritin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and hepcidin 25 were measured before and after the treatment. Results Hemoglobin (Hb), mean corpuscular volume, serum iron, TS, and serum ferritin significantly increased, while TIBC decreased significantly after the administration of either ferrous sulfate or lactoferrin compared to their baseline data. In addition, lactoferrin significantly increased Hb, serum iron, TS, and serum ferritin compared to ferrous sulfate. Moreover, lactoferrin significantly decreased IL-6 and hepcidin levels. Conclusion Lactoferrin is a promising effective treatment with fewer side effects than oral elemental iron in children with IBD and IDA. Clinical trial registration The study was registered at www.pactr.org (PACTR202002763901803). Impact Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is treated with oral iron therapy; however, oral iron supplements are commonly associated with poor compliance due to gastrointestinal side effects. To the best of our knowledge, our study was the first in pediatrics that compared the effect of lactoferrin versus oral ferrous sulfate as an iron supplement for the treatment of IDA in children with IBD. We found that lactoferrin is a promising effective treatment with fewer side effects than oral elemental iron in children with IBD and IDA.

Background Ventilator‐associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the most common causes of nosocomial pneumonia in ventilated neonates. Nevertheless, its diagnosis is challenging due to the nonspecific clinical parameters and the lack of sensitive biomarkers. The main objective of this study was to compare soluble triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells‐1 (sTREM‐1) and 25‐hydroxy vitamin D as early predictors of neonatal VAP. Methods This prospective cohort study included 85 ventilated neonates divided into the VAP group (n = 33) and the non‐VAP group (n = 52). sTREM‐1 levels in the endotracheal aspirate (ETA) and serum 25‐hydroxy vitamin D levels were measured on the third and seventh days following mechanical ventilation. The Ethical and Research Committee approved the study at Tanta University Hospitals, Egypt (with the Approval code: 32751/12/18). Results The sTREM‐1 cutoff value of >0.46 and >0.44 ng/ml at 3 and 7 days had a sensitivity of 93.94% and 96.97%, a specificity of 92.31% and 100%, and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.963 and 0.993, respectively, to predict the development of neonatal VAP. A serum 25‐hydroxy vitamin D cutoff value of ≤17.5 ng/ml at 3 and 7 days had a sensitivity of 90.91% and 81.82%, a specificity of 75% and 78.85%, and area under the curve of 0.877 and 0.939, respectively. Conclusion Both sTREM‐1 in ETA and serum 25‐hydroxy vitamin D could be used as early predictors of neonatal VAP, but sTREM‐1 appears more useful.

We investigated the ability of copeptin level to predict adverse outcome in pediatric heart failure (HF) and correlated copeptin level with various clinical and echocardiographic data. This cohort study was carried out on forty children with clinical picture of acute HF as the patient group and forty healthy children of matched age and sex as the control group. Echocardiographic examination and plasma copeptin level were performed for all included children at admission. Patients were followed up for 6 months for mortality or readmission. Plasma copeptin level was significantly higher in the patient group (16.2 ± 5) pmol/L compared to the control group (4.1 ± 2.3) pmol/L, P ˂0.001. Moreover, copeptin level was positively correlated with Ross classification, being the highest in patients with class IV (19.6 ± 3.9) pmol/L compared to those with class III (15.2 ± 4) pmol/L and class II (10.4 ± 1.5) pmol/L. Copeptin levels were significantly higher in patients with bad prognosis (21.2 ± 4.1) pmol/L compared to those with good prognosis (14.5 ± 4.1) pmol/L, P ˂0.001. Copeptin level had a significant positive correlation with age, heart rate, respiratory rate, and ROSS classification. On the contrary, copeptin level had a significant negative correlation with left ventricular fraction shortening and diastolic function. Copeptin at cut-off value of ≥ 19.5 pmol/L yielded a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 93% to predict adverse outcome in children with HF. Plasma copeptin level has a good prognostic value to predict adverse outcome in pediatric heart failure. Moreover, copeptin correlate well with the severity of pediatric HF.

No abstract