The Shannon entropy based on the probability density function is a key information measure with applications in different areas. Some alternative information measures have been proposed in the literature. Two relevant ones are the cumulative residual entropy (based on the survival function) and the cumulative past entropy (based on the distribution function). Recently, some extensions of these measures have been proposed. Here, we obtain some properties for the generalized cumulative past entropy. In particular, we prove that it determines the underlying distribution. We also study this measure in coherent systems and a closely related generalized past cumulative Kerridge inaccuracy measure.

Several reports highlighted how public health measures aimed at limiting severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) circulation have likely contributed to reducing the circulation of other respiratory viruses, particularly during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the epidemiology of acute respiratory infections in a large cohort of hospitalized children during the third year of the pandemic (2021–2022). We retrospectively analyzed data from the health records of children (<14 years) hospitalized for acute respiratory infections between 1 July 2021 and 31 March 2022. A total of 1763 respiratory panels were collected. Overall, 1269 (72%) panels hadpositive results for at least one pathogen. Most positive panels (53.8%) belonged to patients aged 1–12 months. The most detected pathogen was respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (57.8% of positive panels). The RSV peak occurred in November 2021. Nine hundred and forty-five (74.5%) panels were positive for one pathogen while three hundred and twenty-four (25.5%) showed multiple infections. Patients with multiple infections were significantly older than those with a single infection. The 2021–2022 peak of RSV infection in Italy occurred earlier than in the previous pre-pandemic seasons. A high number of children have been hospitalized because of acute viral infections also due to less aggressive viruses.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) restrictions have been correlated with vitamin D deficiency in children, but some uncertainties remain. We retrospectively studied vitamin 25-(OH) D blood levels in 2182 Italian children/adolescents hospitalized for various chronic diseases in the year before (n = 1052) and after (n = 1130) the nationwide lockdown. The type of underlying disease, gender, and mean age (91 ± 55 and 91 ± 61 months, respectively) of patients included in the two periods were comparable. Although mean levels were the same (p = 0.24), deficiency status affected a significantly higher number of subjects during the lockdown period than in the pre-COVID period (p = 0.03), particularly in summer (p = 0.02), and there was also a smoothing of seasonal variations in vitamin D levels. Particularly at risk were males (OR = 1.22; p = 0.03), the 1–5 year age group (OR = 1.57; p < 0.01) and the 6–12 year age group (OR = 1.30; p = 0.04). Infants appeared not to be affected (p = 1.00). In the post-COVID period, the risk of vitamin D deficiency was unchanged in disease-specific groups. However, the proportion of deficiency or severe deficiency differed significantly in the subgroup with endocrinopathy (higher; Chi-square p = 0.04), and with respiratory problems and obesity (lower; Chi-square p = 0.01 and p < 0.01, respectively). Conflicting/opposite literature results advocate for further studies to clearly indicate the need for supplementation during possible future periods of confinement.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may present with a wide variety of symptoms, including neurological manifestations. We investigated clinical, demographic, laboratory, neurophysiological and imaging characteristics of SARS-CoV-2-positive children with seizures and analyzed differences between children admitted during the periods with prevalent circulation of the Alpha/Delta and Omicron variants, respectively. Patients’ characteristics were analyzed according to the presence or absence of seizures and then according to the SARS-CoV-2 variants. Five-hundred and four SARS-CoV-2-positive patients were included: 93 (18.4%) with seizures and 411 (81.6%) without. Patients with seizures were older, had more commonly an underlying epilepsy and had more frequently altered C-reactive protein than those without seizures. Electroencephalography was abnormal in 5/38 cases. According to the SARS-CoV-2 variant, seizures were recorded in 4.7% of the total number of hospitalized patients during the Alpha/Delta period, and in 16.9% of patients admitted during the Omicron period. During the Alpha/Delta variants, seizures were more commonly observed in patients with epilepsy compared to those observed during the Omicron period. Our findings suggest that although SARS-CoV-2 may potentially trigger seizures, they are generally not severe and do not require intensive care admission.

Population-based cancer registries are crucial to monitor health system performance, inform policy makers and allocate resources effectively. We updated Italian survival estimates for children and adolescents, analysing temporal and geographical differences to evaluate improvements. Cases were from the Association of Italian Cancer Registries and codified according to the International Classification of Childhood Cancer, 3rd edition. Thirty-one cancer registries provided 9142 incident cases (2013-2017) and 15 cancer registries contributed data for 12,447 incident cases (1998-2017) for trend analysis. We used the period approach to estimate survival in children (0-14 years) and adolescents (15-19 years) during the period 2013-2017. Survival was estimated by age, sex and geographical area of residence. Survival improved over time in both children and adolescents. Among children, significant progress was observed for acute myeloid leukaemia, non-Hodgkin lymphomas, ependymomas, Ewing sarcoma, and acute lymphoid leukaemia. For adolescents, notable improvements were found in non-Hodgkin lymphomas and skin melanomas. However, disparities emerged across Italy, with major differences observed for central nervous system neoplasms and osteosarcoma in children, as well as for acute lymphatic leukaemia and soft tissue sarcomas in adolescents. Increased survival was observed in many Italian children and adolescents with tumours and differences emerged across Italian regions. We will investigate the reasons for these discrepancies in collaboration with clinicians.