Objective: To explore the methods for generating evidence on health outcomes in children with rare diseases. Methods: The data from 30 clinical trials on rare neurological diseases in children from January 2008 to December 2018 were collected and analyzed.Statistical analysis was conducted on the relationship between the study sponsor and the study center, the number of participants and the prevalence rate. Results: Thirty studies involved 6 types of diseases, including 14 kinds of diseases.(1) All global multicenter studies (14 items) were initiated by pharmaceutical companies, whereas most of single-center studies (6/7 kinds, 86%) and multiple centers within one country(7/9 kinds, 78%) were initiated by investigators.There was a significant correlation between the research center and the research sponsor(P<0.001). (2) Most of the drugs studied were selected based on previous clinical trials (9/30 items) and animal experiments (9/30 items). (3) The median number of participants included 39 cases (10-215 cases), and 60%(18/30 items) of the studies was fewer than 50 cases.(4) Study design: 53%(16/30 items) of studies were randomized controlled studies, 33%(10/30 items) studies were open-label single-arm studies, and 14% (4/30 items) were randomized cross-over trials.Seventy-five percent(12/16 items)of randomized controlled studies were initiated by pharmaceutical companies, 50%(5/10 items) open-label single-arm studies and all randomized cross-over trials were initiated by investigators.There was a statistical correlation between the study sponsors and the study design method (χ²=7.602, P=0.022). (5) Outcome index: Scale score was used as the primary outcome in half of studies.Other studies used symptom improvement or pathological changes. Conclusions Clinical trials in rare diseases enrolled fewer participants than that in non-rare diseases, and the study design method was relatively simple.Therefore, it is necessary to further improve the level of evidence of clinical research of rare diseases through global and multi-center recruitment, initiation of pharmaceutical companies and improving the study design method.

This article reviewed the effect of transitional care on the readmission rate of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, and summarized the intervention methods and contents of transitional care, aiming to provide references and basis for establishing strategies and plans to reduce readmission rate of COPD patients.

Objective:To analyze the clinical features and genotypes of mitochondrial complex Ⅰ deficiency due to NDUFAF5 gene mutations.Methods:Clinical data of 2 cases with mitochondrial complex Ⅰ deficiency due to NDUFAF5 gene mutations admitted in the Department of Pediatrics, Peking University First Hospital from February 2015 to July 2018 were retrospectively reviewed and followed up.Reported cases of mitochondrial complex Ⅰ deficiency due to NDUFAF5 gene mutations were searched in online databases, including the PubMed, Wanfang, Chinese Journal Full-Text Database and VIP database from January 1975 to February 2020 with " NDUFAF5" as the key word.Through literature review, clinical features and genotypes of mitochondrial complex Ⅰ deficiency due to NDUFAF5 gene mutations were summarized.Results:Case 1 showed mentor and mental regression after infection at the age of 1 year and 4 months.The condition of case 1 remained stable at the age of 5 year and 6 months at the last follow-up.Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed multiple lesions in the white matter of the frontal and parieto-occipital lobes, basal ganglia, thalamus, cerebellum, brain stem and corpus callosum.Case 2 showed rapidly bilateral visual impairment at the age of 7 years and 4 months.The patient′s vision moderately recovered at the age of 8 years and 8 months.Brain MRI showed midbrain, periaqueductal gray, medulla oblongata and putamen lesions.Spinal MRI showed continuous lesions in the cervical cord 1-4.Genetic test showed NDUFAF5 gene c. 764C>T (p.Ala255Val) and c. 508C>T (p.Arg170Trp), homozygous c. 836T>G (p.Met279Arg) mutations in case 1 and case 2 respectively.Through online searching, 6 reports involving 14 cases were retrieved.The most common clinical phenotype was Leigh syndrome.Two cases had disease onset during the neonatal period, and their disease progressed rapidly and died within 1 year old.Eleven cases had onset during the infantile period, and 72.7% (8/11 cases) of them had a normal development.The common initial symptoms were mental or motor regression, feeding difficulty and dystonia.Seventy-two point seven percent (8/11 cases) had acute/subacute onset after infection, showing paroxysmal deterioration, and died in infancy or childhood.One patient developed dystonia in childhood and visual impairment in adulthood.Conclusions:The onset age ranged from neonatal period to childhood in patients with NDUFAF5 gene mutations, and their clinical phenotypes vary a lot.The main clinical phenotype is Leigh syndrome.Disease onset during the infantile period is frequent, and mostly presents paroxysmal deterioration after infection, while disease onset in childhood is rare.

Objective:To investigate the risk factors of acute symptomatic seizures (ASS) and epilepsy in children with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD).Methods:A ambispective cohort study was used including 74 children with MOGAD who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of Peking University First Hospital from January 2013 to June 2023 and were followed up. Demographic information, clinical information, treatment status, ASS and epilepsy status were collected. The clinical phenotypes were classified. According to the presence or absence of ASS in the course of disease, the children and the course of disease were divided into groups with and without ASS. Chi-square test, Fisher exact test and Mann Whitney U test were used to analyze the correlation between symptoms and auxiliary examination characteristics and the occurrence of ASS in the two groups of children. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used for multivariate analysis. Results:The onset age of the 74 children with MOGAD was 6.58 (3.80, 9.67) years, including 38 females (51.4%) and 36 males (48.6%). The duration of the final follow-up was 2.67 (1.10, 4.12) years, with a total of 239 times acute clinical episodes. ASS occurred in 39.2% (29/74) children during the course of disease and in 29.3% (70/239) of attacks. The common phenotypes were ADEM (67 times (28.0%)), optic neuritis (37 times (15.4%)) and cerebral cortical encephalitis (31 times (13.0%)) in 239 times acute clinical episodes. The incidence of ASS in ADEM and cerebral cortical encephalitis phenotype was 28.4%(19/67) and 100.0% (31/31), respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that cortical involvement on magnetic resonance imaging during clinical attacks was an independent risk factor for ASS ( β=-1.49, OR=0.23) after excluding attacks involving only optic nerve or spinal cord (49 episodes). During the follow-up, 5 children (6.8%) had epilepsy, and all children with epilepsy had multiple clinical attacks of MOGAD and previous ASS. Conclusions:Cortical involvement on magnetic resonance imaging during clinical episodes is an independent risk factor for ASS in children with MOGAD. All MOGAD children with epilepsy had ASS and multiple MOGAD clinical episodes in the past.

Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) related to SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical data of 11 children with MIS-C, who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of Peking University First Hospital from December 2022 to January 2023. Clinical characteristics, treatment, and follow-up of MIS-C were summarized in this study.Results:The 11 cases contained 7 boys and 4 girls, with an age of 4.4 (2.0, 5.5) years on admission. All the patients had fever, with a duration of 7(5, 9) days. Other clinical manifestations included rash in 7 cases, conjunctival hyperemia in 5 cases, red lips and raspberry tongue in 3 cases, lymphadenopathy in 3 cases, and swollen fingers and toes in 2 cases. There were 8 cases of digestive symptoms, 8 cases of respiratory symptoms, and 3 cases of nervous system symptoms. Eight patients had multi-system injuries, and one of them had shock presentation. All 11 patients were infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BF.7 variant. The laboratory examination results showed that all cases had elevated inflammatory indicators, abnormal coagulation function and myocardial damage. Six patients had elevated white blood cell counts, 5 cases had liver function abnormalities, 3 cases had kidney function abnormalities, and 8 cases had coronary artery involvement. All 11 patients received anti-infection treatment, of which 3 cases received only 2 g/kg intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), while the remaining 8 cases received a combination of IVIG and 2 mg/(kg·d) methylprednisolone. Among the 8 cases with coronary artery disease, 6 cases received low molecular weight heparin anticoagulation therapy. All patients were followed up in 2 weeks after being discharged, and their inflammatory markers had returned to normal by that time. The 8 cases with coronary artery disease and 3 cases with pneumonia showed significant improvement or back to normal at the 4-week follow-up. All patients had no new complications or comorbidities during follow-up of more than 3 months.Conclusions:MIS-C may present with Kawasaki disease-like symptoms, with or without gastrointestinal, neurological, or respiratory symptoms. Elevated inflammatory markers, abnormal coagulation function, and cardiac injury contribute to the diagnosis of MIS-C. IVIG and methylprednisolone were the primary treatments for MIS-C, and a favorable short-term prognosis was observed during a follow-up period of more than 3 months.

Objective:To summarize the clinical characteristics of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) and compare the differences in efficacy of different disease-modifying drugs.Methods:An ambispective cohort study was conducted in 42 children diagnosed with MOGAD at Department of Pediatrics, Peking University First Hospital from January 2012 to March 2021 and conducted long-term follow-up to analyze clinical phenotypes and compare the efficacy of different disease-modifying drugs such as rituximab, mycophenolate mofetil and azathioprine. Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to compare the annual relapse rate of disease-modifying drugs at different times, expanded disability status scale (EDSS) score at the last follow-up, and Wilcoxon rank test was used to compare the annual relapse rate before and after modified disease therapy. The Log-rank (Mantel-Cox) survival curve was used to compare the relapse rate of different disease-modifying drugs. Results:Of the 42 cases, 22 were male and 20 were female, with the age at disease onset of 5.96 (2.33-12.90) years. The disease duration was 4.46 (1.25-13.00) years at the last follow-up with 161 clinical acute attacks. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) was the most common phenotype of first attack and all attacks during disease course ((60% (25/42) for first attack, 38% (61/161) for all attacks). The most common clinical syndrome was neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) (50%, 21/42). Of the 42 children, 5 (12%) showed encephalitis and 6 (14%) combined with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antibody overlap syndrome. The most commonly involved areas of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were subcortical white matter (71%, 88/124), cortex (26%, 32/124) and periventricular white matter (25%, 32/124). Spinal cord MRI was most frequently involved in cervical (70%, 16/23) and thoracic (61%, 14/23) medulla, and 43% (10/23) longitudinally extensive transeverse myelitis. Disease-modifying drugs were used in 34 patients. The annual relapse rate after treatment with rituximab, mycophenolate mofetil and azathioprine decreased (all P<0.05) and there was no statistically significant difference in the annual relapse proportion among the groups ( P=0.307). Conclusions:The most common clinical attack of first and all of MOGAD in children is ADEM, and the most common clinical syndrome is NMOSD. Rituximab, mycophenolate mofetil and azathioprine can reduce the annual relapse rate, but it is not clear effect of which treatment is better.