Objective: To analyze the clinical results of transanal endorectal pull-through (TERPT) and transabdominal approach (TAB) in the treatment of Hirschsprung disease. Methods: We searched all publications in the PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane library databases between January 2003 and November 2018. The study included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational clinical studies (OCSs), to compare the surgery duration, length of postoperative hospital stay, incidence of postoperative incontinence/soiling, constipation, and enterocolitis between the TERPT and TAB groups. Mantel-Haenszel method was used for continuous variables, the combined odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for dichotomous variables were used. Results: In the 87 studies, we include 1 case of RCTs and 9 cases of OCSs. Including 392 cases of TERPT and 332 cases of TAB groups. TERPT has a short postoperative hospitalization [mean difference (MD) = −6.74 day; 95% CIs; −13.26 to −0.23; P = .04], and a low incidence of postoperative incontinence (ORs = 0.54; 95% CIs, 0.35–0.83; P = .006) and constipation (ORs = 0.50; 95% CIs, 0.28–0.90; P = .02). There was no difference in duration of surgery (MD = −30.59 min; 95% CIs, −98.01–36.83; P = .37) and incidence of postoperative enterocolitis (ORs = 0.78; 95% CIs, 0.53–1.17; P = .23). Conclusion: TERPT is superior to TAB in terms of hospitalization time, postoperative incontinence, and constipation. However, there are still a large number of RCTs to verify, and more trials are expected to be testified in the future.

Background: There currently exists no substantial evidence reporting the efficacy of peritoneal irrigation in reducing the incidence of postoperative intra-abdominal abscess in pediatric patients. The purpose of our study was to perform a meta-analysis to compare rates of intra-abdominal abscess after appendectomy between irrigation and suction alone groups. Methods: We identified studies by a systematic search in EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library to recognize randomized controlled trials and case control studies from the 1950 to May 2019. We limited the English language studies. We checked the reference list of studies to recognize other potentially qualified trials. We analyzed the merged data with use of the Review Manager 5.3. Results: We identified 6 eligible papers enrolling a total of 1633 participants. We found no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative intraabdominal abscess, wound infection, and the length of hospitalization between 2 group, but duration of surgery is longer in irrigation group (MD = 6.76, 95% CI = 4.64 to 8.87, P < .001; heterogeneity, I ² = 25%, P = .26). Conclusion: Our meta-analysis did not provide strong evidence allowing definite conclusions to be drawn, but suggested that peritoneal irrigation during appendectomy did not decrease the incidence of postoperative IAA. This meta-analysis also indicated the need for more high-quality trials to identify methods to decrease the incidence of postoperative IAA in pediatric perforated appendicitis patients. Trial registration number Standardization of endoscopic treatment of acute abdomen in children: 14RCGFSY00150

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP)-DNA load in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of children with MP pneumonia (MPP) and its subtypes, relevant laboratory data, imaging, extrapulmonary complications in infected children, and its clinical significance in evaluating the disease.Methods: Children hospitalized with MPP at Tianjin Children's Hospital between December 2017 and December 2020 were selected for the study, excluding those with mixed viral, bacterial, and fungal infections. Children were divided into low- and high-load groups according to the MP DNA load in BALF using real-time quantitative fluorescence polymerase chain reaction (PCR). After a successful MP culture, positive specimens were subjected to PCR-Restriction fragment length polymorphism and Multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis typing. Basic data, clinical information, laboratory data, and radiological results were collected from all children included in the study.Results: The PI-I type dominated the different load groups. Children in the low-load group had more wheezing and shortness of breath; however, children in the high-load group had a higher length of hospitalization, maximum fever temperature, higher chills/chilliness, incidence of abdominal pain, and higher C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels. Children in the high-load group were more likely to have imaging changes such as pleural effusion, and the incidence of respiratory infections and extrapulmonary complications was higher than that of those in the low-load group. We applied Spearman's correlation analysis to clarify the relationship between MP DNA load and the clinical severity of MPP. We found that MP DNA load was positively correlated with length of hospitalization, maximum fever temperature, CRP, PCT, Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and AST levels, and negatively correlated with fever and cough durations, white blood cell count (WBC), and proportion of monocytes (MONO). The degree of correlation was as follows: length of hospitalization > IL-6 > cough duration > AST > fever duration > PCT > WBC > proportion of MONO > maximum fever temperature > CRP levels.Conclusions: MP DNA load was not correlated with MP typing but was significantly correlated with the children's clinical phenotype. Therefore, the MP DNA load helps in the early diagnosis of infection and can better predict disease regression.

Background. The study analyzed gut microfloras composition and investigated the associations between the associations between gut dysbiosis and inflammatory indicators in pediatric patients with acute appendicitis. Methods. High-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analysis were used to investigate the composition and diversity of gut microflora in 20 pediatric patients with acute appendicitis and 11 healthy children. Endpoints measured were operational taxonomic units (OTU) of gut microflora. The OTU and its abundance analysis, sample diversity analysis, principal component analysis of samples, differential analysis, and analysis of biomarkers were performed. Results. Overall fecal microbial richness and diversity were similar in patients and controls. Yet richness within the group of Bilophila, Eggerthella, Clostridium, Parvimonas, Megasphaera, Atopobium, Phascolarctobacterium, Adlercreutzia, Barnesiella, Klebsiella, Enterococcus, and Prevotella genera was higher in patients. Adlercreutzia was significantly positively correlated with IL-10, while the three other genera, comprising Klebsiella, Adlercreutzia, and Prevotella, were positively correlated with B cells level. Conclusion. Gut microbiome components are significantly different in pediatric patients with acute appendicitis and healthy children. The differential abundance of some genera is correlated with the production of inflammatory markers in appendicitis.