Background and objectivesDiarrhea is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children, and diarrhea may be due to infection that is bacterial or non-bacterial. Differentiation between diarrhea from a bacterial or non-bacterial infection is not a simple task, and no single method is present to differentiate between these causes of diarrhea.To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) and procalcitonin (PCT) in the diagnosis of acute diarrhea due to bacterial infection.Patients and methodsCase control study of forty children with bacterial infection diarrhea diagnosed by stool culture and CRP, 40 children with acute non-bacterial infection diarrhea and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Stool cultures, serum CRP, PCT and serum sTREM-1 were measured in all children on admission.ResultsChildren with acute bacterial infection diarrhea had a significant increase in the serum sTREM-1 and PCT levels on admission compared to patients with nonbacterial infection diarrhea and controls (26.3667 ± 16.8184 ng/ml vs 7.2267 ± 6.4174 ng/ml vs 6.7367 ± 5.6479 ng/ml and 39.9933 ± 22.5260 ng/ml vs 1.8533 ± 1.7123 vs 0.2840 ± 0.1208 ng/ml, respectively; P < 0.05). sTREM-1 demonstrated significantly higher sensitivity (93.7%) and specificity (94.3%) in the prediction of bacterial infection as a cause of acute diarrhea in children with an area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve (95% CI) of 0.94 (0.84–0.99) at a cutoff value of 12.4 ng/ml.ConclusionsBoth serum PCT and sTREM-1 are valuable in the early diagnosis of acute bacterial infection-induced diarrhea in children, and there was markedly higher diagnostic discriminatory power for sTREM-1.

Osteocalcin plays an important role in glucose and lipid metabolism for protection against NAFLD occurrence and progression. Moreover, it could be a useful marker for progression of NAFLD in children with obesity.

The age-related values of penile and testicular measurements must be known to be able to determine the abnormal sizes and to monitor treatment of underlying diseases. Our study is a step to achieve accurate reference values of penile and testicular measurements for Egyptian male newborns and infants. Therefore multicenter studies are recommended to establish Egyptian norms.

Regular follow up of patients with beta thalassemia for detection of iron overload as it affects humeral and cell mediated immunity.

Objective: To compare the effect of prophylactic cervical cerclage with vaginal progesterone in triplet (with normal cervical measurements) to evaluate its efficacy in improving pregnancy outcome and prolonging gestation. Design: A randomized prospective comparative study. Setting: At Tanta university hospitals and outpatient clinics. Patients: 51 selected cases of triplet pregnancy were recruited and classified into 2 groups randomly, progesterone group (n = 28 cases) and cerclage group (n = 23 cases). Interventions: Transvaginal ultrasound was done for number of fetuses, viability, cervical measurements, vaginal progesterone for progesterone starting at 20 weeks, and applying McDonald cerclage at 14 -16 weeks for cerclage group. Main Outcome Measures: Time of occurrence of preterm labor, premature rupture of membranes (PROM), stitch removal, gestational age at delivery, mode of delivery, and neonatal complications. Results: Preterm labor occurred in 9, 8 cases and PROM in 4, and 3 cases in progesterone and cerclage groups respectively. The mean gestational age was 33.57 ± 2.97 and 31.74 ± 3.21 weeks in progesterone and cerclage groups; mean birth weight was 2049 ± 591 gm, and 1686 ± 512 gm in progesterone and cerclage groups respectively; Apgar score 7 or more was found in 52 (60.8%), and 39 (56.3%) newborn in progesterone and cerclage group respectively. Perinatal mortality was lower in progesterone group 26.1% (3 IUFD+19 neonatal) than in cerclage group 30.4% (2 IUFD + 19 neonatal). Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) occurred in 43.9%, 49.76%, while need of mechanical ventilation occurred in 12.2%, 16.41% of progesterone and cerclage groups respectively and neonatal jaundice was found in 49.38%, 53.7% of progesterone and cerclage groups respectively. Conclusion: Vaginal progesterone seems to be more effective than prophylactic cerclage in reducing preterm delivery in triplet pregnancies with normal cervical measurements even in those with prior history of preterm labour and minimizing neonatal morbidity and mortality.