Given the growing obesity rates among children, a more complete evaluation of their potential cardiometabolic risk is needed. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), a marker of endothelial distress and a predictor of atherosclerotic progression in adulthood, may complete the day-to-day evaluation of children at risk. Multiple risk factors act as additional precipitant causes of atherosclerosis. We analyzed 60 patients aged 6–17 years old by measuring their CIMT using the Aixplorer MACH 30 echography machine automatic measurement software. All subjects were clinically and anamnestically assessed to identify risk factors. CIMT values are significantly higher in older children and boys. Over 20 kg weight gain during pregnancy and other at-risk disorders (p = 0.047), family history of cardiovascular risk (p = 0.049), hypertension (p = 0.012), and smoking (p = 0.015) are linked to increased CIMT. Our study also supports international data on artificial postnatal nutrition, high/low birth weight, and sedentary lifestyle being linked to increased CIMT. Significant correlations were detected between CIMT and the entire lipid panel. Weight excess and abdominal adiposity in children is clearly linked to increased CIMT. Moreover, waist circumference and TG/HDL-c are significant predictors of CIMT. Although each parameter of the lipid panel is correlated to CIMT, fasting glucose is not.

During the last decades, a growing number of studies have shown that infections during pregnancy have an important impact on both pregnant women and their fetuses. Our goal was to include newborns from pregnancies with SARS-CoV-2 infection and to investigate the extension of neonatal complications using cardiac, abdominal, and cerebral ultrasonography; hearing testing; and indirect ophthalmoscopy. Likewise, neonates whose mothers were vaccinated against COVID-19 during pregnancy and those from pathology-free pregnancies were examined. A total of 458 mother–newborn dyads were included over a period of 10 months and divided into three groups: the COVID-19 group, vaccine group, and control group. Although six cardiac malformations were found in the COVID-19 group, no correlation was made compared to the vaccine and control group (p = 0.07). Grade 1 intraventricular hemorrhage and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy were the most prevalent among neonates from mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection (p = 0.002 and p < 0.001, respectively). The kidney anomaly found to be most frequent in this group was grade 1 unilateral hydronephrosis (p < 0.001). COVID-19 disease during the gestational period had no effect on the auditory or visual function. Our findings highlight the importance of implementing proper infection control practices for future mothers, and by continuing to investigate this topic, we can gather valuable insights that will improve neonatal health in this context.

Objectives: Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are among the most frequent congenital defects, and they significantly burden the healthcare system due to their high mortality rate and high cost of care for survivors. We aimed to highlight the incidence of CHDs in a tertiary center in Western Romania. Methods: A retrospective study was carried out between 2018 and 2022 at the “Pius Brinzeu” Emergency County Hospital Timisoara. Relevant information about the mothers and the newborns were collected and statistically analyzed. Results: The incidence of CHDs from 2018 to 2022 in our center was 5.3%. Eleven types of malformations were diagnosed postnatally in 541 newborns, with 28.8% of cases having more than one type of CHD. The antenatal detection rate was 28%, with the highest rates for tetralogy of Fallot, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or significant ventricular septal defects and the lowest for pulmonary stenosis. The lower antenatal detection rate was influenced mainly by incomplete or absent prenatal care. Conclusions: The incidence of CHDs is clearly dependent of a multifactorial approach, and the results highlight this. With an incidence almost 50% lower than reported within the literature and a low rate of prenatal detections, CHDs could be a more of a burden to endure regarding medical treatment. Improvements in patients’ education, prenatal care, and screening programs could improve diagnosis, decrease mortality, and optimize postnatal care.

Background: The health development of a baby during pregnancy is greatly influenced by prenatal bonding. The purpose of this study is to assess maternal-fetal attachment in the second- and third-trimesters and explore how the mother’s mental health and socioeconomic circumstances may affect it. Additionally, this study takes into account other relevant aspects, and addresses the existing lack of relevant information in Romania. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study. Data were collected from 200 pregnant women in the second- and third-trimesters of pregnancy. Personal Information Form (PIF), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and Maternal-Foetal Attachment Scale (MFAS) questionnaires were collected. Results: There was no statistically significant correlation between the MFAS and the mental health of the mother. Moreover, subsequent comparative analyses revealed a significant difference only in the case of socio-economic conditions, with women with a moderate socio-economic status showed higher levels of maternal-foetal attachment. Conclusions: The degree of maternal-foetal attachment is not significantly influenced by social characteristics such as age, education level, socio-economic context, or place of residence. The MFAS measured the attachment relationship. However, the study found no statistically significant correlation between the mother’s mental health and this attachment.

During the last decades, a growing number of studies have shown that infections during pregnancy have an important impact on both pregnant women and their fetuses. Our goal was to identify newborns from pregnancies with SARS-CoV-2 infection and to investigate the extension of neonatal complications using cardiac, abdominal and cerebral ultrasonography, hearing testing and indirect ophthalmoscopy. By contrast, neonates whose mothers were vaccinated against COVID-19 during pregnancy and those from pathology-free pregnancies have been examined. A total of 458 newborns were included, over a period of 10 months, divided into 3 groups, COVID-19 group, vaccine group and control group. Although 6 cardiac malformations were found in the COVID-19 group, no correlation was made compared to the vaccine and control group (p=0.07). Grade 1 intraventricular hemorrhage and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy were the most prevalent among neonates from mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection (p=0.002 and p<0.001, respectively). The kidney anomaly found to be most frequent in this group was grade 1 unilateral hydronephrosis (p<0.001). COVID-19 disease during the gestational period had no effect on the auditory or visual function. Despite the fact that our observations are relevant, further studies investigating the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy and the neonatal outcomes are necessary.

Introduction: Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most frequent group of major congenital anomalies and impose a disproportionate burden on neonatal services. Antenatal detection determines where and how an affected newborn is delivered, yet reported detection rates differ several-fold between European countries. We aimed to quantify the postnatal occurrence and the antenatal detection of CHDs in a tertiary obstetric center in Western Romania and to place both figures in a comparable international context. Material and Methods: Retrospective observational study of all 10,113 births registered at the “Pius Brînzeu” County Clinical Emergency Hospital, Timișoara, between 2018 and 2022. Newborns with at least one cardiac lesion recorded on indication-based postnatal echocardiography were identified from the hospital electronic record. Interatrial communications and ductal patency recorded at the neonatal-index examination were counted inclusively and are analyzed separately from structural defects. A defect was classified as antenatally detected when it had been reported at any prenatal ultrasound scan and was subsequently confirmed postnatally. Proportions are reported with Wilson score 95% confidence intervals (CIs), separately at the level of the newborn and at the level of the individual lesion. Results: A total of 541 newborns carried at least one recorded cardiac lesion, giving an occurrence of 5.35% of births (95% CI 4.93–5.81); 670 individual lesions were recorded, a mean of 1.24 per affected newborn. Interatrial communication (n = 319; 47.6% of lesions) and ductal patency (n = 90; 13.4%) accounted for 61.0% of lesions; among the 261 structural defects, ventricular-septal defect was the most frequent (n = 121; 46.4%). An antenatal diagnosis had been made in 151 of 541 newborns (27.9%; 95% CI 24.3–31.8). Detection was highest for lesions distorting the four-chamber view, hypoplastic left-heart syndrome 4/5, and ventricular septal defect 80/121 (66.1%; 95% CI 57.3–73.9), and lowest for lesions requiring outflow-tract or arch views, including pulmonary stenosis 3/27 (11.1%; 95% CI 3.9–28.1) and aortic stenosis 0/12. Restricting the count to structural defects gives 13.1 to 25.8 affected newborns per 1000 births, against a EUROCAT total prevalence of 8.0 per 1000. Conclusions: The occurrence recorded here reflects tertiary referral, indication-based echocardiography, and an inclusive case definition rather than a genuine population excess, and is not interchangeable with registry prevalence. The antenatal detection rate of 27.9% sits between European settings without organized screening and those performing two or three routine scans per pregnancy. The detection deficit is concentrated in lesions that require outflow-tract or arch views. Because the views obtained at each scan were not recorded and detection was not stratified by prenatal-care status, the contribution of examination protocol and of access to care is inferred rather than demonstrated; both are testable hypotheses for a prospective, protocolized study.