Laryngopharyngeal reflux disease is considered a possible cause or complication of diseases of the upper respiratory tract, ear, nose, throat and larynx.The clinical manifestations of this disease are diverse, lack of specificity, and are easily confused with gastroesophageal reflux disease and some respiratory diseases.The diagnosis of this disease requires a comprehensive judgment based on the evaluation of clinical symptoms and signs, the efficacy of the proton pump inhibitor trial treatment, and the results of objective reflux examinations.This article reviews the clinical manifestations of laryngopharyngeal reflux disease in children in order to improve the understanding among pediatricians.

Pediatric laryngopharyngeal reflux is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects multiple organs, with diverse clinical manifestations.However, there is still a lack of standardized and unified diagnostic criteria.As research on laryngopharyngeal reflux deepens, the techniques for detecting it have become more diverse.Detection methods have developed from traditional proton pump inhibitor therapy, evaluation scales, invasive pH monitoring, laryngoscopy, and esophageal motility monitoring to innovative non-invasive pepsin detection and new biomarkers.The methods are evolving towards more precise artificial intelligence and combined diagnosis.These advancements are of great significance for quick identification and accurate treatment of the condition in clinical practice.

Laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) is a chronic inflammatory condition caused by the backflow of gastric and duodenal contents to the upper respiratory tract above the upper esophageal sphincter.In children, its occurrence is closely associated with factors such as immature development of the esophageal sphincter, prolonged supine positioning, and heightened sensitivity of the laryngopharyngeal mucosa.The clinical manifestations of pediatric LPRD are often insidious and primarily present as nonspecific symptoms, including chronic cough, hoarseness, and a sensation of a foreign body in the throat.These symptoms can be easily confused with upper respiratory tract infections, asthma, and other conditions, making diagnosis challenging.Currently, LPRD diagnosis relies on a multidimensional assessment, including a detailed medical history, physical examination, and auxiliary investigations such as 24-hour multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH monitoring, Dx-pH monitoring, and salivary pepsin testing.Additionally, empirical trials of acid suppression therapy can serve as a supplementary diagnostic approach.However, the diagnosis of pediatric LPRD remains challenging due to nonspecific symptoms, poor tolerance to examinations, and the lack of standardized diagnostic criteria.Future efforts should focus on optimizing noninvasive diagnostic techniques and establishing pediatric-specific diagnostic standards to improve early detection rates and the precision of treatment.

The management of pediatric laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) should adopt a comprehensive strategy that prioritizes " lifestyle modifications as the foundation, pharmacotherapy as the mainstay, and surgical intervention as an adjunct." Lifestyle interventions serve as the primary measure, encompassing dietary adjustments (low-fat/low-sugar diet, less but frequent meals, avoidance of irritants, and pre-sleep fasting), postural therapy (elevating the bedhead and side-lying position during sleep), psychological counseling, and weight management.Proton pump inhibitors are the preferential pharmacological therapy, which can mitigate mucosal injury through gastric acid suppression, but an adequate dosage and duration are required to achieve the effect.Combination therapy with H2 receptor antagonists effectively addresses nocturnal acid breakthrough.Novel potassium ion competitive acid blockers are emerging as alternatives due to their rapid onset and sustained acid-suppressive effects.Adjuvant therapies may include prokinetic agents and mucosal protectants.Surgical intervention is reserved for cases with anatomical abnormalities (e.g., adenoid hypertrophy and hiatal hernia) or refractory disease and they require rigorous risk-benefit assessment.Pediatric LPRD management should emphasize vigilant monitoring of adverse effects, patient education, and long-term follow-up to sustain therapeutic efficacy, reduce recurrence rates and improve quality of life.

Objective:To summarize the clinical and genetic characteristics of 23 children with pathogenic ACAN gene variants, enhance the understanding of this disorder, and explore possible regulatory mechanisms. Methods:A retrospective case series summary.The clinical characteristics and genetic analysis results of 23 children with ACAN gene variants treated in the Department of Endocrinology, Genetics and Metabolism, Children′s Hospital of Soochow University from January 2016 and September 2024 were analyzed retrospectively.Transcriptome sequencing was performed on peripheral blood samples from 3 of affected children and 3 age-matched healthy children as controls.Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the peripheral blood transcriptome profiles were identified.Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were conducted to explore the potential signaling pathways involved. Results:Among the 23 cases, there were 13 males and 10 females, aged from 2 years and 8 months to 12 years old, with 11 cases presenting advanced bone age.Thirteen cases were treated with growth hormone (GH), including 6 cases who received concomitant gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue therapy.The treatment duration ranged from 3 to 70 months, resulting in varying degrees of height improvement in all treated patients.Transcriptomic analysis identified 811 DEGs, with 516 up-regulated and 295 down-regulated.GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that the heterozygous ACAN variants were significantly associated with FcγR-mediated phagocytosis, nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway, the intestinal immune network for IgA production, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus signaling pathways. Conclusions:The predominant clinical manifestations of patients with ACAN gene variants are short stature and advanced bone age.Although GH provocation tests may indicate normal GH levels, GH therapy can be effective in improving height.Immune-related factors may play a role in the pathogenesis of this disorder.

Objective:To investigate the longitudinal relationship between childhood abuse and suicidal ideation in adolescents, and provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and intervention of suicidal ideation among adolescents.Methods:A self-control study was made.A 1-year follow-up survey was conducted among 2 052 junior high school students in Xinxiang and Fuzhou from November 2023 (T1) to November 2024 (T2) using the Childhood Abuse Questionnaire and the Adolescent Suicidal Ideation Scale.Data were analyzed using cross-lagged modeling.Results:Baseline (T1) and one-year follow-up (T2) assessments showed the mean score for childhood abuse was 42.43±13.34 at T1 and 42.45±15.36 at T2, and the mean score for suicidal ideation was 15.14±6.28 at T1 and 17.46±7.65 at T2.There were positive correlations between T1 childhood abuse and T1 suicidal ideation, T2 childhood abuse, T2 suicidal ideation( r=0.18, 0.35, 0.47), T1 suicidal ideation and T2 childhood abuse, T2 suicidal ideation( r=0.05, 0.44), as well as T2 suicidal ideation and T2 childhood abuse( r=0.26)(all P<0.05). Cross-lagged analysis indicated that childhood abuse at T1 positively predicted suicidal ideation at T2 ( β=0.38, P<0.001), while suicidal ideation at T1 did not predict childhood abuse at T2 ( β=-0.01, P>0.05). Conclusions:Childhood abuse is a precursor to suicidal ideation in adolescents, and childhood experiences of abuse significantly increases the risk of subsequent suicidal ideation.

Early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome caused by bacterial and fungal infections within 3 days after birth, which is one of the important causes of poor prognosis and even death in neonates.Early accurate diagnosis and timely treatment are crucial to improving the prognosis and reducing the mortality and unreasonable use of antibiotics.Because umbilical cord blood shares the same cell composition with fetal peripheral blood at the end of pregnancy, and has the advantages of easy availability and painlessness, many researchers have been devoted to exploring umbilical cord blood markers related to the diagnosis of EONS in recent years.Most studies suggest that umbilical cord blood culture, procalcitonin, C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 should be routinely used as single indicators for clinical diagnosis of EONS.The combination of two or more biomarkers may be more accurate for the diagnosis of EONS, which, however, needs to be confirmed with more trials, and it is also a significant direction of future research.In this article, progress in relevant research was reviewed in order to provide reference for early diagnosis of EONS.

Objective:To investigate the clinical manifestation, therapy, and prognosis of Susac syndrome and enhance the understanding of this disease.Methods:A case summary was made.The clinical data of two siblings with Susac syndrome treated at Children′s Medical Center, Peking University First Hospital in January 2024 were summarized.Reported cases of pediatric Susac syndrome were reviewed.Results:The onset of the disease in the two siblings was at the age of 3.00 and 6.75 years, with recurrent headaches, tinnitus, hearing loss and encephalopathy symptoms.Cranial magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple cerebral microbleeding and microinfarction lesions, " snowball like" in the corpus callosum and diffuse white matter edema in the brain.Audiometry revealed sensorineural hearing loss.In one case, ophthalmic fluorescein angiography revealed ischemic changes due to branch retinal artery occlusions.No pathogenic variants were detected in gene testing.This child was diagnosed with Susac syndrome, and the symptoms were improved after treatment with Corticosteroids and Rituximab.No relapse was observed during the 9-month follow-up.A total of 20 pediatric cases of Susac syndrome were retrieved, including 18 reported previously and 2 cases from this study.There were 2 boys and 18 girls, with the age of onset ranging from 2.5 to 17.0 years.The common initial symptoms included headache (19 cases), vertigo and tinnitus or hearing loss (9 cases), and vision impairment or visual field defect (4 cases). The symptoms were improved after immunotherapy.Conclusions:With a low incidence, Susac syndrome is rare in children and difficult to diagnose.There may be a genetic predisposition in such disease.Early diagnosis and immunotherapy can low the relapse and improve the prognosis.

Objective:To compare the effects of the endoscopic retrograde appendicitis therapy (ERAT) assisted with 3 different methods in the diagnosis and treatment of children with uncomplicated appendicitis, and to explore the most effective ERAT.Methods:A case series study was made.The clinical data of 206 children with uncomplicated appendicitis who underwent ERAT in Ji′nan Children′s Hospital from January 2019 to December 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.The patients were divided into 3 groups according to the auxiliary treatment method adopted.There were 13 cases receiving X-ray guided ERAT (ERAT-X) group, 109 cases receiving B-ultrasound guided ERAT(ERAT-B) group and 84 cases receiving dong cha endoscope guided ERAT (ERAT-DC) group.Appendix cavity exploration, irrigation and fecalith removal were performed by ERAT.Perioperative data such as endoscopic manifestations, abdominal pain and the success rate of intubation and follow-up data were recorded and compared among the three groups of patients.The one-way ANOVA method, Wilcoxon sign rank sum test and Kruskal-Wallis H test were used to analyze measurement data, and the χ2 test was used to analyze enumeration data. Results:A total of 201 cases were successfully intubated, including 12 in the ERAT-X group, 106 in the ERAT-B group, and 83 in the ERAT-DC group.The mucosa of the appendix showed different inflammatory changes under the endoscope.There were no significant differences in abdominal pain score before treatment, abdominal pain score after treatment, success rate of intubation, effective rate of treatment, complication rate, antibiotic use rate and length of hospital stay among the three groups (all P>0.05).The abdominal pain score after treatment was significantly lower than that before treatment in all the 3 groups[0(1.00) points vs.4(1.50) points/0(1.00) points vs.4(2.00) points/0(1.00) points vs.4(1.75) points, Z=-3.082, -8.939, -8.009, all P<0.05].The diagnostic rate of the ERAT-DC group was lower than that of the ERAT-B group (75.0% vs.95.4%, P<0.05).The diagnostic specificity of ERAT-DC group was better than that of the ERAT-B group.The operation time of the ERAT-DC group was significantly reduced, compared with that of ERAT-X and ERAT-B groups[38.5(34.3) min vs.85.0(42.5) min vs.67.0(27.0) min, Z=80.075, 55.865, all P<0.05].The hospitalization cost of the ERAT-DC group was significantly higher than that of ERAT-X and ERAT-B groups[(17 269±1 035) yuan vs.(12 081±921) yuan vs.(11 609±1 479) yuan, Z=-89.308, -104.633, all P<0.05].Follow-up results showed that the recurrence rate of abdominal pain (9.1%, 16.7%, 14.8%) and the rate of unplanned reoperation (9.1%, 10.8%, 8.6%) showed no significant difference among the 3 groups(ERAT-X/ERAT-B/ERAT-DC) (all P>0.05). Conclusions:ERAT is a safe and effective therapy in treating children with uncomplicated appendicitis.EART-DC is more accurate and reliable method for the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric appendicitis, so it is worthy of widespread clinical application.

Objective:To compare the therapeutic value between laparoscopic ureteroureterostomy (LUU) and ureteral reimplantation (UR) for the treatment of pediatric complete renal and ureteral duplication.Methods:This retrospective case-series study included 65 children with complete data, who were diagnosed with complete renal and ureteral duplication at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2016 to December 2022.Diagnoses were confirmed through preoperative imaging tests, including renal ultrasound, diuretic renography, computed tomography urography, magnetic resonance urography, and voiding cystourethrography.The patients were categorized into 2 groups based on surgical approach.The LUU group had 35 patients, and the UR group had 30 patients.The surgical duration, intraoperative blood loss, the incidence of stent implantation, postoperative length of hospitalization, the upper renal anterioposterior diameter (APD), the upper ureter diameter (UD), and differential renal function (DRF) of the affected kidney before and after surgery were compared between the 2 groups.For continuous variables such as surgery time and intraoperative blood loss that follow a normal distribution, values are expressed as Mean± SD, with between-group differences analyzed using independent t-tests and within-group differences using paired t-tests.For non-normally distributed continuous variables, data are presented as M( Q1, Q3), with group differences assessed by rank-sum tests.Categorical variables like gender and laterality are compared using Chi-square tests. Results:Intraoperative blood loss was significantly different between the LUU and UR groups [(8.5±4.6) mL vs.(12.6±6.4) mL] ( t=2.465, P=0.020).Postoperative length of hospitalization also differed significantly between the 2 groups [(6.4±2.3) days vs.(10.5±2.8) days] ( t=2.308, P=0.027).However, surgical durations of the groups were similar [(143.0±13.2) min vs.(132.0±12.4) min] ( t=-1.965, P=0.057).No significant difference was observed between the two groups [(35/35) cases vs.(26/30) cases] ( χ2=2.932, P=0.087).Four cases in the UR group suffered long-term complications (including anastomotic stricture in 2 cases, vesicoureteral reflux in 1 case, and recurrent urinary tract infection in 1 case).There was 1 case having the long-term complication (which was anastomotic stricture) in the LUU group.The difference in the incidence of long-term complications was not significant between the 2 groups ( χ2=1.239, P=0.266).Both groups showed significant improvements in upper renal APD, UD, and DRF of the affected kidney after surgery.Changes in upper renal APD ( t=-0.032, P=0.962), DRF ( Z=1.895, P=0.073), and UD ( t=1.832, P=0.079) were not statistically significant. Conclusions:Both LUU and UR are safe and effective in the treatment of complete renal and ureteral duplication in children.Compared with UR, LUU has less intraoperative blood loss and shorter postoperative length of hospitalization.LUU does not involve the bladder and causes less damage to the bladder of children.