Background: Williams syndrome (WS) is a multisystem neurodevelopmental disorder caused by microdeletions in 7q11.23. This study aims to characterize the clinical phenotypes of Chinese children with WS to help for the early diagnosis and intervention of this disease.Methods: 231 children diagnosed with WS were retrospectively recruited to the study. Clinical data were analyzed to obtain the incidence of different clinical phenotypes. The occurrence of phenotypes and the influence of gender and age on the incidence of different phenotypes were analyzed.Results: All WS exhibited facial dysmorphism (100.0%). The majority had neurodevelopmental disorder (91.8%), hoarseness (87.4%) and cardiovascular anomalies (85.7%). The incidence of short stature (46.9%), inguinal hernia (47.2%), hypercalciuria (29.10%), hypercalcemia (9.1%), subclinical hypothyroidism (26.4%) and hypothyroidism (7.4%) were relatively higher. Gender differences were found in supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS, p < .001), ventricular septal defect (VSD, p < .05), inguinal hernia (p < .001), superior pulmonary stenosis (SVPS, p < .05) and neurodevelopmental disorder (p < .05). The incidence of neurodevelopmental disorder in WS increased with age (p < .05) while cardiovascular anomalies (p < .001), short stature (p < .001), hypercalciuria (p < .001) and hypercalcemia (p < .01) decreased with age.Conclusions: Facial dysmorphism, neurodevelopmental disorder, hoarseness and cardiovascular anomalies were the most common phenotypes. Genetic testing should be suggested to confirm the diagnosis for children with the above abnormalities. Gender and age should be taken into account when making diagnosis and intervention.

Objective: There is a lack of data relating to vaccination of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) and its influencing factors in China. We investigated the disease spectrum of CSHCN at the Vaccination Consultation Clinic in Zhejiang province as well as the underlying factors of vaccination recommendations of these children. Methods: In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the data of 4,525 CSHCN, who visited to our clinic for a vaccination consultation from January 1, 2016 to May 30, 2018. Descriptive data were presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD) and percentages. Multivariate analysis was performed with non-conditional bivariate logistic regression to identify the underlying factors of vaccination recommendations. Subsequent information regarding the following vaccination and the occurrence of AEFI were also collected and analyzed. Results: The main diseases consulted were those relating to the circulatory and nervous systems as well as neonatal diseases. The distribution of diseases varied by age: 53.6% infants under 12 months were counseled for circulatory system diseases, while 44.6% children aged 12~24 months and 54.7% children over 25 months were counseled for nervous system diseases. According to the evaluation reports issued by the consultation clinic, 75.0% of CSHCN were recommended to be vaccinated normally, 21.2% were recommended to defer specific vaccination, while only 3.8% were recommended to defer all vaccinations. In logistic regression analysis, age, history of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) and the number of diseases combined were all strong correlative factors for vaccination recommendations. Children who were aged over 25-month-old (OR = 1.34, 95%CI: 1.11–1.61) or had a history of AEFI (OR = 3.77, 95%CI: 2.83~5.01) or those who had numerous diseases combined (OR = 2.00, 95%CI: 1.46~2.75) tended to have a higher rate of deferred vaccination recommendation. Among those CSHCN who received nationally-recommended vaccines, the estimated AEFI rate was 24.29/100 000. No uncommon or rare serious adverse reactions were detected. Conclusion: Age, history of AEFI, and the number of diseases combined were important factors that affected the vaccination recommendations of CSHCN. Most CSHCN can be safely vaccinated according to the nationally-recommended schedule.

There has been a considerable controversy about vaccination practices in Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) in China. This study aims to identify the reasons for deferring vaccination among the patient population attending the Vaccination Consultation Clinic in Zhejiang Province and the safety of their vaccination. We analyzed the data of 2442 children with CHD, who visited to our clinic from January 2016 to March 2019. A questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the reasons for their delayed vaccination. Information about the following vaccination and Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) was collected. Most of the enrolled children did not receive vaccines on time before consultation. The reasons for their deferring vaccination included: 1. Providers in the community health center refused to administer vaccines (77.6%); 2. Parents’ concerns about the safety of vaccines (19.0%); 3. Parents’ doubts about the efficiency of vaccines after certain drug applications (3.4%). According to the evaluation reports issued by the Vaccination Consultation Clinic, 83.7% of CHD children were recommended to be vaccinated on the nationally recommended schedule, 14.4% were recommended to defer some specific vaccination, and 1.9% were recommended to defer all vaccination. Among the group who received vaccines on nationally recommended schedule, the AEFI rate was 33.5/100 000. No rare or serious rare vaccine reactions were observed. Our study provides evidence that routine vaccination is safe in the majority of this patient population.

Objectives More and more premature infants were born worldwide that are suffering from various complications, vaccination for whom is often delayed in China. We aim to describe current vaccination recommendations in practice, immunization status, and vaccination safety for premature infants in Zhejiang. Methods The demographic information, medical records of treatments, and adverse events following immunization (AEFI) history were collected from infants' parents by questionnaire in the Vaccination Consultation Clinic(VCC). Vaccination data were retrieved from Zhejiang Provincial Immunization Information System. The information of AEFI was collected from the Chinese National Adverse Event Following Immunization Information System. Results A total of 1515 premature infants visiting the VCC were included in the study. The majority (65.94%) of them were under 7 months. 47.59% of premature infants were advised to receive normal vaccinations, while 45.94% were advised to defer a specific vaccination and 6.47% were advised to defer all vaccinations. A total of 807 infants received 7187 vaccine doses were administered and only seven cases experienced mild and self-limiting adverse reactions (9.74/10,000). No uncommon or serious side effects were reported. Conclusion Most premature infants visiting the VCC did not receive vaccines on time. The majority of them can be safely vaccinated according to the national-recommended schedule.

Background: Immunization is a cost-effective way to prevent infectious diseases in children, but parental hesitancy leads to low vaccination rates, leaving children at risk. Caregivers of children with special health care needs are more hesitant about vaccines than those of healthy children. Objective: The aim of the study is to investigate the changes in caregivers’ vaccination hesitation of children with special health care needs before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic in China and to identify associated factors for caregivers’ attitudes toward National Immunization Program (NIP) and non-NIP vaccines. Methods: We included 7770 caregivers of children with special health care needs (median age 7.0, IQR 2.4-24.1 months) who visited the Vaccination Consultation Clinic at Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine (Hangzhou, China) from May 2017 to May 2023. General and clinical information was extracted from the immunization evaluation system for children with special health care needs and medical records. We compared the differences in caregivers’ willingness and hesitation for vaccinating their children across the 3 stages of the COVID-19 pandemic using chi-square tests. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to identify independent variables that were associated with caregivers’ willingness and hesitation toward NIP and non-NIP vaccines. Results: There is a statistically significant difference in caregivers’ vaccine hesitancy before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic (P<.05). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentages of choosing NIP, alternative non-NIP, and non-NIP vaccines are highest (n=1428, 26%, n=3148, 57.4%, and n=3442, 62.7%, respectively) than those at other 2 stages. In comparison, caregivers’ hesitation toward NIP and non-NIP vaccines is lowest (n=911, 16.6% and n=2045, 37.3%, respectively). Despite the stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple factors, including children’s age and sex, parents’ educational level, comorbidities, and history of allergy, were significantly associated with caregivers’ attitude toward NIP and non-NIP vaccines (P<.05). The profiles of risk factors for hesitancy toward NIP and non-NIP vaccines are different, as indicated by the results from the logistic regression models. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that caregivers’ willingness to vaccinate their children with special health care needs with NIP and non-NIP vaccines was highest during the COVID-19 pandemic in China, and their hesitancy was lowest. Additionally, we have identified multiple factors associated with caregivers’ willingness and hesitancy to vaccinate their children. These findings provide evidence-based support for developing personalized health education strategies.

Delayed vaccination in children with seizures was common in China. This study aims to describe the vaccination status, reasons for vaccination deferral, vaccination recommendations and the safety f...