Background: Takayasu’s arteritis (TA) is a systemic vasculitis that primarily affects the aorta and major arteries. Despite aggressive treatment with glucocorticoids (GCs) and non-biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (nbDMARDs), about 30% of patients experience resistance to therapy or relapse. This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with refractory and relapse TA in pediatric patients. Methods: A retrospective, open-label, case–control study was conducted with 56 pediatric patients with TA diagnosed between February 2011 and October 2022. Fourteen patients were excluded due to insufficient data in their medical records, leaving 42 for further analysis. The patients were divided into two groups: Group 1 (18 patients) with no evidence of relapse and Group 2 (24 patients) with relapse despite first-line treatment at the end of the follow-up period. Clinical, laboratory, and instrumental data were collected and analyzed using R v4.2 and Python v3.10. Results: The median time to relapse was 18 [IQR: 13; -] months according to the Kaplan–Meier curve. Patients with ITAS.A with a diagnosis of TA ≥ 12 had a higher probability of relapse, according to the log-rank criterion (p = 0.006). Symptoms of critical ischemia, such as limb claudication, were more common in Group 2 at diagnosis (p = 0.047), and a trend toward a longer diagnostic delay was observed (p = 0.067). Conclusions: Pediatric patients with an initial ITAS.A score above 12 have a higher risk of relapse when treated with a combination of GCs and nbDMARDs as first-line treatment. Further research is needed to identify high-risk patients more accurately and optimize therapeutic strategies.

Introduction. The relevance of studying community-acquired pneumonia in children is associated with its high prevalence, despite timely prevention and effective approaches to the treatment of respiratory diseases. Factors influencing the severity of pneumonia are diverse and include comorbid pathology, early age of the child, the state of the immune system, etc.Objective. To identify and rank risk factors for severe community-acquired pneumonia in infants and preschool children.Materials and methods. This article presents the results of a retrospective analysis of 291 medical histories of children from 3 months to 7 years with community-acquired pneumonia. 83 children had severe CAP, of which 63 patients were hospitalized in the ICU.Results and discussion. The average age of a patient with community-acquired pneumonia was 33 months. Children from families with two or more children fell ill more often. On average, children were hospitalized for 4–5 days of illness. Concomitant diseases in children with CAP were quite common and often complicated the course of pneumonia. According to the results of our study, more than 70% of children were not vaccinated against pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae and influenza. We established significant linear relationships between the presence of bronchial obstruction and complications of CAP such as respiratory failure and transfer to the ICU (odds ratio (OR) 7.1; Cramer coefficient 0.40; relationship 0.005). It was shown that patients who received outpatient antibiotic therapy were less likely to require transfer to the ICU.Conclusion. Risk factors for severe community-acquired pneumonia and hospitalization in the ICU were: male gender, age under 2 years, lack of vaccination against pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae and influenza, combination of bronchial obstruction with CAP, presence of ENT pathology, lack of antibacterial therapy during prehospital stage, as well as the presence of a serious condition already upon admission.

Foreign body aspiration (FB) is one of the leading causes of death from accidents among preschool children. Every year, up to 8% of children worldwide die as a result of foreign body aspiration. In developed countries, the mortality rate is lower, but the problem remains no less urgent due to the high attendance at emergency departments. Longstanding foreign bodies deserve special attention. The absence of an aspiration episode in the anamnesis of the disease, nonspecific respiratory symptoms, “X-ray negative” foreign bodies, as well as organic FB can complicate the diagnostic search. The article presents data from domestic and foreign literature on epidemiology, risk factors, clinical features, as well as modern approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of foreign body aspiration. The authors present their own clinical observation of a long-standing foreign body in the bronchus in a 7-year-old child. Prolonged cough and repeated episodes of bronchial obstruction for 4 years were regarded as the onset of bronchial asthma. The lack of effect from ongoing bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory therapy with high doses of inhaled glucocorticosteroids dictated the need to expand the diagnostic search, and therefore the child was sent for examination in a hospital to the pulmonology department of the Children’s Clinical Hospital I.M. Sechenov. During endoscopic examination, a metal spiral spring (7 mm in size) was found in the child and simultaneously removed, which was presumably within 4 years in the right bronchus. Over the next 6 months, bronchial obstruction did not recur, there were no complaints.

COVID-19 у детей с бронхиальной астмой: клинические проявления, варианты течения, подходы к терапии

Background. Inflammatory bowel diseases, which include Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are immune-mediated inflammatory diseases with a complex pathogenesis. In addition to the involvement of the intestinal wall in the pathological process, systemic extraintestinal manifestations are observed in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and there is also often an association with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Objective. Purpose of the study was to analyze the nature of the articular syndrome in children with inflammatory bowel diseases associated with juvenile psoriatic arthritis. Materials and methods. A retrospective analysis of the nature of the articular syndrome was carried out in a group of children with inflammatory bowel diseases associated with juvenile psoriatic arthritis (20 patients, mean age 12.7 years (95% CI [11.01; 14.29]). The diagnosis of juvenile psoriatic arthritis was established according to the Vancouver diagnostic criteria (1989). The diagnosis of Crohn's disease was established in accordance with Clinical recommendations for Crohn's disease for pediatric patients, 2025. The diagnosis of ulcerative colitis was established in accordance with Clinical guidelines for ulcerative colitis for pediatric patients, 2025. Statistical processing was performed using parametric methods and exact formulas for percentages. Results. 17/20 (85%) of our patients were diagnosed with Crohn's disease, inflammatory form, 3/20 patients (15%) – ulcerative colitis. The diagnosis of definite juvenile psoriatic arthritis, according to the Vancouver diagnostic criteria, was made in 11/20 patients (55%), probable – in 9/20 (45%). Boys predominated in the group – 14/20 (70%). The mean disease duration was 5.0 years (95% CI [3.21, 6.79] years). 13/20 (65%) patients had relatives 1 and 2 degrees of relatives suffered from psoriasis. All children with definite psoriatic arthritis (11/20 children) had plaque (vulgar) psoriasis. In 15/20 (75%) patients, the onset of articular syndrome was asymmetrical oligoarthritis. At the height of the disease, the oligoarticular variant was observed in 10/20 (50%) children, rheumatoid-like (polyarticular) in 3/20 (15%), spondyloarthritis with damage to peripheral joints in 7/20 (35%). The most commonly affected joints were the knee (15/20 (75%)), ankle (5/20 (25%)), and hip (8/20 (40%)) joints. Conclusions. The articular syndrome in inflammatory bowel diseases associated with juvenile psoriatic arthritis is characterized by a frequent onset of the disease with joint damage (in 40%), asymmetric oligoarthritis at the onset and at the height of the disease, while isolated juvenile psoriatic arthritis is characterized by a pattern of development of the articular syndrome from oligo- to polyarthritis. The association of inflammatory bowel diseases and juvenile psoriatic arthritis is characterized by a high percentage of spondyloarthritis with damage to peripheral joints (35%). The most common joints involved are the knee and hip joints (75% and 40%), with a high incidence of enthesitis (55%), while in isolated juvenile psoriatic arthritis the knee and ankle joints are most often affected. The course of inflammatory bowel diseases against the background of psoriatic arthritis requires an individual approach to patient management and selection of therapy aimed at the common links in the pathogenesis of these conditions.

Рациональный выбор эффективного и безопасного муколитического препарата среди множества разжижающих мокроту средств является актуальным вопросом, особенно в педиатрии. В статье представлены современные данные об оценке применения N-ацетилцистеина (NAC) в лечении инфекций верхних и нижних дыхательных путей у детей. По результатам рандомизированных контролируемых исследований подтверждены выраженный муколитический эффект препарата без избыточного увеличения объема мокроты («заболачивания» легких) и его безопасность у детей старше 2 лет. По сравнению с другими муколитическими препаратами, NAC обладает дополнительными терапевтическим эффектами – антиоксидантным, антитоксическим (в частности, при отравлении ацетаминофеном), способностью не только разрушать бактериальные биопленки, но и препятствовать их образованию. Оригинальный препарат NAC (Флуимуцил®) выпускается в различных лекарственных формах – гранул для приготовления раствора для приема внутрь, шипучих таблеток, раствора для инъекций и ингаляций, а с 2016 г. – в виде раствора для приема внутрь для детей от 2 лет, удобного в дозировании в педиатрической практике.