TY - JOUR T1 - Somatic symptom disorder was common in children and adolescents attending an emergency department complaining of pain. JF - Acta Paediatr Y1 - 2017 A1 - Cozzi, Giorgio A1 - Minute, Marta A1 - Skabar, Aldo A1 - Pirrone, Angela A1 - Jaber, Mohamad A1 - Neri, Elena A1 - Montico, Marcella A1 - Ventura, Alessandro A1 - Barbi, Egidio KW - Adolescent KW - Child KW - Emergency Service, Hospital KW - Female KW - Humans KW - Italy KW - Male KW - Medically Unexplained Symptoms KW - Pain KW - Prospective Studies AB -

AIM: The aim of this study was to quantify the prevalence of somatic pain in a paediatric emergency department (ED).

METHODS: We conducted a prospective observational study using patients admitted to the ED of an Italian children's hospital between December 2014 and February 2015. We enrolled children aged 7-17 who turned up at the ED complaining of pain. Patients and parents were asked to fill in a questionnaire to allow the analysis of the patients' medical history and provide contact details for follow-up. We divided the enrolled patients into four groups: post-traumatic pain, organic pain, functional pain and somatic pain. The questionnaire was used to define pain characteristics and to generate an impairment score.

RESULTS: Of the 713 patients who met inclusion criteria, 306 (42.9%) were enrolled in the study. Of these, 135 (44.0%) suffered from post-traumatic pain, 104 (34.0%) from organic pain, 41 (13.4%) from functional pain and 26 (8.6%) from somatic pain. Somatic pain patients had endured pain longer, had missed more school days and had suffered severe functional impairment.

CONCLUSION: This study highlighted that somatic pain was a significant contributor to paediatric emergency room visits and should be suspected and diagnosed in children reporting pain.

VL - 106 IS - 4 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28052403?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - A red baby should not be taken too lightly. JF - Acta Paediatr Y1 - 2012 A1 - Faletra, Flavio A1 - Bruno, Irene A1 - Berti, Irene A1 - Pastore, Serena A1 - Pirrone, Angela A1 - Tommasini, Alberto KW - Child, Preschool KW - Dermatitis KW - Ectodermal Dysplasia KW - Female KW - Humans KW - Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes KW - Infant KW - Male KW - Netherton Syndrome KW - Severe Combined Immunodeficiency KW - Skin AB -

AIM: To identify clinical and laboratory features that can drive the differential diagnosis of a primary immunodeficiency diseases in patients with ectodermal defects.

METHODS: Analysis of selected teaching cases.

RESULTS: We identified four exemplary cases that allowed to point out specific clues.

CONCLUSIONS: A careful evaluation of immune and ectodermal signs is the key to the diagnosis. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach can lead to diagnosis and to an appropriate treatment in most of the cases.

VL - 101 IS - 12 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22946961?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The universe of immune deficiencies in Crohn's disease: a new viewpoint for an old disease? JF - Scand J Gastroenterol Y1 - 2010 A1 - Tommasini, Alberto A1 - Pirrone, Angela A1 - Palla, Gabriella A1 - Taddio, Andrea A1 - Martelossi, Stefano A1 - Crovella, Sergio A1 - Ventura, Alessandro KW - Biological Markers KW - Crohn Disease KW - Cytokines KW - Evidence-Based Medicine KW - Granulomatous Disease, Chronic KW - Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation KW - Humans KW - Immunosuppressive Agents KW - Phagocytes KW - Treatment Outcome KW - Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome AB -

Crohn's disease (CD) is generally considered a multifactorial disorder, since different genetic and environmental factors are thought to play a role in its pathogenesis. Recently, genome wide linkage studies allowed to identify the association of several loci with the increased risk of CD, although it is still unclear how they interact with environmental factors in causing the disease. The fact that many CD-risk-related genes are involved in the function of phagocytes seems in agreement with the well known role of these cells in CD histopathology. Functional defects in cytokine production or in clearance of bacteria in CD patients have recently been reported. Growing evidence that CD could arise from primary phagocyte immunodeficiency is also coming from the study of cases with early onset in infancy. We review such evidences starting from selected cases and discuss the clinical implications of these findings.

VL - 45 IS - 10 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20497046?dopt=Abstract ER -