Introduction. According to modern literature data, the quality of life of medical students is significantly lower than in the general population. Poor quality of life affects academic performance and can lead to rapid burnout. In this regard, an urgent problem is to study the practical significance of the impact of academic performance on the quality of life of students enrolled in medical universities, to improve their level of professional training. Materials and methods. With the help of the SF-36 questionnaire, 290 2nd year students of the pediatric faculty of the Medical University were examined. Students’ performance was assessed based on the results of an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and an average examination grade for 1-3 semesters. All students are divided into three groups - best, mediocres and worst. Results. For successful students, a high level of emotional state did not interfere with the performance of daily activities. The total physical component of health was the highest among average students. Students with poor academic performance had a minimal total mental health component, which indicated that they had depressive states and bad mood. It was found that the deterioration of academic performance led to a violation of the performance of daily activities, a sharp limitation of social contacts and the level of communication. A high level of academic performance correlated with low vital activity, increasing fatigue and disadaptation. Limitations. This study is limited to a selection of students studying at medical universities and undergoing an assessment of the quality of education with the help of OSCE. Conclusion. The quality of life, health status and academic performance of students are interdependent indicators. The use of questionnaires will reveal the reasons for the decline in working capacity associated with the deterioration in the quality of life.

The purpose of the article is to demonstrate a clinical case of Crohn’s disease in an 8-year-old child. Materials and methods: The given clinical example is a case of a non-classical variant of the course of Crohn’s disease in an 8-year-old child who debuted with an upper respiratory tract lesion in combination with abdominal pain against the background of long courses of antibacterial therapy. Conclusion: This clinical case demonstrates the complexity of the diagnostic search, the need for careful history collection and differential diagnosis.

Background. Atopic dermatitis (AD) arouses high research interest these days due to its significant morbidity rate. The most crucial risk factor for its development is the intestinal microbiota composition. The correlation of this factor with the development of AD in children requires further study.Objective. The aim of the study is to perform comparative analysis of the intestinal microbiota in 1–5 years old children with AD and conditionally healthy children via 16S-sequencing of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) of bacterial genes.Methods. We have conducted cross sectional study. 60 children with diagnosed AD and 15 conditionally healthy children aged from 1 to 5 years were surveyed. Intestinal microbiota was examined via 16S-sequencing of rRNA of bacterial genes.Results. The intestinal microbiota in children with AD and conditionally healthy children has statistically significant differences. Despite the absence of significant differences in species richness of compared groups, children with AD had the elevation in the metagenome of Proteobacteria; Bacilli and Gammaproteobacteria classes; Enterococcaceae and Veillonellaceae families; Eggerthella, Dialister and Enterobacter genus; as well as the decrease in the relative value of Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia; Bacteroidales and Bifidobacteriales orders; Bifidobacteriaceae, Bacteroidaceae, Erysipelotrichaceae families; Lachnoclostridium, Roseburia, Prevotella, Coprococcus, Ruminococcus, Faecalibacterium, Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides genus; decrease of Bifidobacterium longum, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Bacteroides fragilis.Conclusion. It was revealed that the intestinal microbiota of children with AD has significant differences in taxonomic composition with the microbiota of conditionally healthy children. Elevation of Proteobacteria, Bacilli and Gammaproteobacteria classes, Eggerthella, Dialister and Enterobacter genus can be the risk factor for this disease development, whereas decrease of such bacteria as Verrucomicrobia, Bacteroidales and Bifidobacteriales can aggravate atopic symptoms. Thus, the need for further study of intestinal microbiota in children with AD is justified to establish the correlation of these bacteria with the disease course.

Introduction. Distance learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated the active introduction of digital technologies into higher education. In medical universities, where practical training is key, it is important to find the optimal balance of traditional and digital educational methods. The relevance and purpose of this study is to assess the impact of various technologies on the academic performance and quality of life of students, allows us to determine effective learning models in a dynamically developing higher education environment. Materials and methods. To achieve this goal, the performance of the 697 second year students of medical university was retrospectively assessed using the example of passing practical skills included in the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) of the discipline “Nursing manipulations in pediatrics” at the stations of the Accreditation Simulation Center of the university. The SF-36 questionnaire (shortform-36) was assessed for quality of life. To process the data, the Mann-Whitney U test, Pearson's χ2-square, Spearman's correlation coefficient, and odds ratio were used. Results. All students assessed their physical and emotional state as good before the pandemic, regardless of academic performance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of respondents rated their health as excellent, very good and good, despite distance learning with forced limitation of social contacts and worsening emotional state. The dynamics of physical health correlated with the dynamics of academic performance during online learning. Distance learning compared to traditional learning demonstrated an increase in students' academic performance by 1.3-1.8 times (p<0.002). The leading components of quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic that showed significant improvements in academic performance included physical, social, and emotional components. KEYWORDS Conclusion. The data obtained allow us to conclude that the availability of digital educational technologies, the development of new teaching methods in a remote format, and the introduction of OSCE as the main criterion for academic performance determined the advantages of distance learning over traditional learning when passing practical skills algorithms at the Simulation Center

COVID-19 infection remains an actual problem in pediatric practice today. Objective. To study the features of the course of this infection in newborns and infants. Patients and methods. A retrospective cohort study included 53 children under the age of 3 months with radiologically confirmed pneumonia. All children were divided into two groups: the main COV (32 children) with confirmed coronavirus infection, and the control NCOV (21 children) without this diagnosis. When analyzing clinical symptoms (runny nose, cough, fever, nausea, vomiting, weakness, lethargy, shortness of breath), it was not possible to establish statistically significant differences. A statistically significant was revealed when comparing the symptom of diarrhea (p = 0.015). Diarrhea could be explained by damage to the dense contacts of enterocytes. Results. Patients in the COV group had leukopenia with a t value of 9.6·109/l at+ normal values of neutrophils and lymphocytes. Lung lesions were not detected at high basophil values, which suggests a protective function of basophils in toddlers. Conclusion. COVID-19 coronavirus infection in children under 3 months has not yet been sufficiently studied and characterized by non-specific symptoms. To date, data on pathogenesis and clinical manifestations in this age group remain contradictory, which requires additional research. Key words: infants, diarrhea, COVID-19, newborns, pneumonia