Background: Pediatric obesity treatment is based on high-intensity lifestyle counseling. However, high dropout rates and low effectiveness have been reported, even in specialized centers. Mobile health technologies have been used to overcome these limits with contrasting results. This study aims at evaluating the effectiveness of a six-month intervention with a mobile app for the treatment of pediatric obesity at 6 and 12 months of follow-up. Methods: Seventy-five patients were randomly assigned to standard care or standard care plus mobile app (2:1) using an online randomizer system. The mobile app delivered high-intensity lifestyle counseling for diet and physical activity. Results: At six months of follow-up, the M-App group showed significantly lower dropout rates compared to standard care (p = 0.01). The risk of dropout was significantly higher in controls compared to the intervention group (OR 3.86, 95% C.I. 1.39–10.42, p = 0.01). After one year, we observed lower albeit non-statistically significant dropout rates in the M-App compared to the standard care group (p = 0.24). No differences were observed in z-score BMI and percentage of BMI reduction between the two groups. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the mobile app might help in the clinical management of children and adolescents with obesity in terms of dropout reduction.

Left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a heterogeneous myocardial disorder characterized by prominent trabeculae protruding into the left ventricular lumen and deep intertrabecular recesses. LVNC can manifest in isolation or alongside other heart muscle diseases. Its occurrence among children is rising due to advancements in imaging techniques. The origins of LVNC are diverse, involving both genetic and acquired forms. The clinical manifestation varies greatly, with some cases presenting no symptoms, while others typically manifesting with heart failure, systemic embolism, and arrhythmias. Diagnosis mainly relies on assessing heart structure using imaging tools like echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance. However, the absence of a universally agreed-upon standard and limitations in diagnostic criteria have led to ongoing debates in the scientific community regarding the most reliable methods. Further research is crucial to enhance the diagnosis of LVNC, particularly in early life stages.

Background: Pediatric obesity treatment is based on high-intensity lifestyle counseling. However, high dropout rates and low effectiveness have been reported even in specialized centers. Mobile health technologies have been used in research settings to overcome these limits with contrasting results. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a six-month intervention with a mobile app for the treatment of pediatric obesity at 6 and 12 months of follow-up. Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to standard care or standard care plus mobile app (2:1). The mobile app delivered high-intensity lifestyle counseling for diet and physical activity. Results: Seventy-five subjects were prospectively enrolled. At six months of follow-up, the m-app group showed significantly lower dropout rates compared to standard care(p=0.01). The risk of dropout was significantly higher in controls compared to the intervention group (OR 3.86,95%C.I. 1.39-10.42,p=0.01). After one year of follow-up, we observed lower albeit non statistically significant dropout rates in the m-app compared to the standard care group(p=0.24). No differences were observed in terms of z-score BMI and percentage of BMI reduction between the two groups. Conclusion: our findings suggest that mobile app might help in the clinical management of children and adolescents with obesity in terms of dropout reduction.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the diagnostic pathway proposed by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for identifying the underlying aetiology of sudden cardiac death (SCD) through the screening of first-degree family members of patients with SCD who either had a negative autopsy or no autopsy performed. Methods: To be eligible for enrolment, patients had to meet the following inclusion criteria: a family history of SCD in a first-degree relative under the age of 50 years; the SCD decedents must not have undergone an autopsy, or if an autopsy was performed, non-cardiac and structural cardiac causes must have been excluded. Patients underwent a comprehensive assessment, including the evaluation of family and medical history, electrocardiography (ECG) and ECG with high precordial leads, Holter ECG monitoring, echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and exercise stress testing. A sodium channel blocker test (i.e., flecainide test) was performed when other clinical investigations were negative and the suspicion of Brugada syndrome was high. Results: Forty-one patients from 25 different families fulfilled the inclusion criteria and represented the final study cohort. After the comprehensive diagnostic work-up, a total of seven patients from five different families (5/25, 20%) were diagnosed with an inherited cardiac condition: two families with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, one with dilated cardiomyopathy, one with non-dilated left ventricular cardiomyopathy, and one with long QT syndrome. Conclusions: The comprehensive cardiologic work-up of relatives of mainly young SCD victims results in the diagnosis of inherited cardiac conditions in one-fifth of cases.

Background: Nationwide studies described a reduction in preterm birth (PTB) during the Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, but this was not confirmed in others. Very few data are available on the trend of PTBs over a longer period, including the post-pandemic period, and on potential risk factors, especially those associated with social disparities. Objective: To investigate the trend in PTB rates and the influence of maternal risk factors in Italy from January 2018 to December 2022, based on 12 Regional Birth Registries covering 86.1% of Italian births. Methods: PTB trend was investigated by an interrupted time series analysis. We assessed the associations of potential risk factors with PTB (Poisson regressions) and calculated their population impact fractions (PIFs). Results: We studied 1,762,422 births; 7.25% were PTB. Before the pandemic, we observed a monthly decrease in PTB rate [−0.2% (95% CI: −0.3; −0.1)]; from July 2020 onwards, the average monthly level of PTBs was 5% lower than before (95% CI: −7.3; −2.7), with a flat trend until December 2022 [−0.02% (95% CI: −0.5; 0.5)]. Socio-economic maternal risk factors (low education, unemployment) and foreign nationality, whose risk ratios were 1.14 (95% CI: 1.04; 1.24), 1.08 (1.05; 1.12), and 1.17 (1.14; 1.21), respectively, showed a decreasing trend after pandemic; their impact on the decrease in PTBs was modest (PIFs between −2.4‰ and −4.2‰). Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic changed the pattern of PTB rates in Italy, lowering their average frequency and interrupting a previous decreasing trend. Changes in the trend of socio-economic maternal risk factors marginally explained this pattern.

The journal retracts the article, titled “Left Ventricular Non-Compaction in Children: Aetiology and Diagnostic Criteria”