The clinical data of 2 pediatric patients with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) who were admitted to the Department of Nephrology at the Children′s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University on July 2018 to June 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.Both patients had combined CFH and CD46 gene mutations.One patient, a 2-year-old boy, presented jaundice and darkened urine following mumps.The other patient, a 7-month-old girl and the younger sister of the boy, developed fever, cough, vomiting, and thrombocytopenia without any apparent cause.Laboratory tests revealed hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and acute kidney injury in both patients.The genetic test results revealed mutations in both CFH (c.3572C>T, p.Ser1191Leu) and CD46 genes (c.293C>T, p.Thr98Ile) in both patients.The patients′ mother is a heterozygous carrier of the CFH gene mutation, while their father is a heterozygous carrier of the CD46 gene mutation.Both parents exhibit normal phenotypes and are currently receiving regular infusions of Eculizumab.The pediatric aHUS caused by combined CFH and CD46 gene mutations is reported in this study for the first time in China.The clinical features of these patients are summarized and analyzed.

The clinical data of 2 pediatric patients with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) who were admitted to the Department of Nephrology at the Children′s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University on July 2018 to June 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.Both patients had combined CFH and CD46 gene mutations.One patient, a 2-year-old boy, presented jaundice and darkened urine following mumps.The other patient, a 7-month-old girl and the younger sister of the boy, developed fever, cough, vomiting, and thrombocytopenia without any apparent cause.Laboratory tests revealed hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and acute kidney injury in both patients.The genetic test results revealed mutations in both CFH (c.3572C>T, p.Ser1191Leu) and CD46 genes (c.293C>T, p.Thr98Ile) in both patients.The patients′ mother is a heterozygous carrier of the CFH gene mutation, while their father is a heterozygous carrier of the CD46 gene mutation.Both parents exhibit normal phenotypes and are currently receiving regular infusions of Eculizumab.The pediatric aHUS caused by combined CFH and CD46 gene mutations is reported in this study for the first time in China.The clinical features of these patients are summarized and analyzed.

This study aimed at conducting retrospective analysis of the clinical symptoms and genetic mutations in 20 children with Gitelman syndrome treated at the Affiliated Children′s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from August 2015 to November 2022 and also explored the molecular mechanism of the pathogenic high-frequency mutation D486N in the Chinese population.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of pediatric atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), and provide clinical experience for the diagnosis and treatment of aHUS in China.Methods:It was a single-center retrospective study. Fifteen aHUS children treated and having complete clinical data at Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between December 31, 2017 and October 15, 2023 were enrolled to analyze the clinical features covering laboratory examinations, genetic testing results, and clinical manifestations. The children were classified based on genetic testing and complement factor H (CFH) antibody detection results to analyze the corresponding clinical characteristics.Results:Among the 15 aHUS patients. There were 8 males and 7 females. The onset age was 5.1 (0.7, 10.8) years old. All patients underwent genetic testing, with 9/15 of aHUS-related gene mutation, revealing 2 de novo mutations in complement factors-related genes. Among 11 patients screened for CFH antibody, 6 tested positive. C3 was detected in 14 patients , and C3 decreased in 9 patients. In laboratory examinations, there were notable decreases in red blood cell (RBC) count in 13 patients, platelet (PLT) count in 15 patients, hemoglobin (Hb) in 15 patients and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in 14 patients. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (Scr) were markedly elevated in 13 patients and 9 patients, respectively. Twelve patients exhibited elevated transaminase levels, and 14 patients exhibited elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. Clinically, 11 patients had triggers, and 4 patients had clear family histories. Common clinical features including anemia, thrombocytopenia, proteinuria and hematuria were in 15 patients. There were statistically significant differences in RBC count ( Z=-2.84, P=0.005), PLT count ( Z=-6.65, P<0.001), Hb ( t=-3.71, P=0.002), LDH ( Z=3.76, P=0.002), BUN ( Z=2.71, P=0.017), and eGFR ( Z=-3.65, P=0.003) before and after treatment except alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, Scr and complement C3 (all P>0.05). There were no significant differences in onset age, RBC count, PLT count, Hb, LDH, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, Scr, BUN, eGFR, and C3 between aHUS-related gene mutation and non-mutation groups, and CFH antibody-positive and negative groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions:aHUS is marked by severity, and has diverse clinical manifestations. There are no significant differences in clinical presentation at admission between hereditary and acquired aHUS, highlighting the critical importance of genetic testing and complement-related factor detection in diagnosing aHUS etiology. The family history plays a supportive role in diagnosis of aHUS.

Objective:To investigate the clinical manifestations, pathological characteristics, treatment and prognosis of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) in 13 children.Methods:The clinical and pathological data of 13 cases of AAV in children′s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from June 2000 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed.Results:Among the 13 cases, 12 cases were diagnosed with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) and 1 case was granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), including 10 females and 3 males. The onset age ranged from 3 years and 11 months to 13 years and 10 months. The most frequently involved organ was the kidney (12 cases, 92.3%), followed by respiratory system (7 cases, 53.8%), skin (5 cases, 38.5%), digestive system (4 cases, 30.8%), nervous system (4 cases, 30.8%) and cardiovascular system (3 cases, 23.1%). There were 10 cases with orthotic anemia, 7 cases with positive antinuclear antibody, and 3 cases with mildly decreased complement C3. Among the 12 children with renal impairment, 9 cases were accompanied by abnormal renal function at the beginning of the disease. Renal biopsy was classified according to the Berden as follows: sclerotic in 5 cases, crescentic 3 cases, focal in 2 cases and mixed in 2 cases. All children were treated with glucocorticoid combined with immunosuppressant. During the follow-up time from 8 months to 128 months, 4 cases acquired complete remission, 8 cases achieved partial remission and 1 case recurred after complete remission, and 7 cases progressed to chronic kidney disease stage 5. Three children with complete remission underwent repeated renal biopsy, including 2 cases of mixed type and 1 case of crescent type initially, and all changed to focal type.Conclusions:AAV in children occurs mainly in school-age female, and most of AAV in children is MPA. The clinical manifestations are various. Most of them have renal damage and anemia, and lung damage is also common. Patients with skin purpura onset may be misdiagnosed as Henoch-Schonlein purpura, and AAV with ANA positive or complement reduction should exclude systemic lupus erythematosus. Once the renal function is abnormal in AAV, especially estimated glomerular filtration rate<60 ml·min -1·(1.73 m 2) -1 and the pathological classification is sclerotic type or crescent type, it is difficult to reverse even after active treatment. Early diagnosis and treatment are very important for AAV.

Objective:To explore the changes of disease structure in a tertiary general hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods:A database of 783 diagnosis-related groups(DRG) patients in a tertiary general hospital from 2017 to 2020 was used. The rank sum test was used to compare the number of patients among different years, and the Chi-square test was used to compare the composition of patients among different years. With the patient composition ratio as the main index, the thermal cluster analysis was used to analyze the changes of disease structure during the COVID-19 pandemic, from the perspectives of major diagnostic categories(MDC) and the key DRG(the number of patients in any year more than 2 000)respectively. All analyses were performed in R software, with P<0.05 indicating significance. Results:There were significant differences in the number and composition of patients in MDC groups and key DRG groups among different years( P<0.05). The results of thermal clustering analysis showed that the MDC composition of patients in 2020 was significantly different from those in 2017 to 2019; the 26 MDC groups were classified into four main categories. The results of thermal clustering analysis also showed that the DRG composition of patients in 2020 were significantly different from those in 2017 to 2019; The RU14 group and the other 19 key DRG groups were classified into different groups; and the other 19 key DRG groups except RU14 were classified into five main categories. Conclusions:The disease structure of tertiary general hospitals has changed significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hypophosphatemic rickets(HR) is a bone mineralization disorder caused by phosphate wasting, including hypophosphatemia, bone abnormalities and short stature.X-linked hypophosphatemia(XLH) is the most common inherited disease related to phosphate metabolism, which might result in elevated levels of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23). FGF23 plays an important role in the disease mechanism, so a human anti-FGF23 antibody is developed as a potential treatment for XLH.In many clinical trials, subcutaneous Burosumab increased serum phosphorus levels in pediatric and adult patients with XLH.With the development of phase 1-3 clinical trials of Burosumab in children and adults with XLH, the efficacy and safety of Burosumab is proven to be superior to that of phosphate and calcitriol used in traditional therapy.This review aims to investigate the physiopathology and treatment of HR and to enhance the recognition of HR.

Objective To analyze the clinicopathological features and prognosis of minimal change nephropa-thy with IgA deposition(MCD-IgA)in children.Methods The clinical and pathological data of 10 cases in Chil-dren's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2010 to December 2015 with MCD-IgA were retrospective-ly analyzed,and 24 cases of minimal change nephrotic syndrome(MCD-NS)and 21 cases of IgA nephropathy clini-cally manifested with nephrotic syndrome(NS-IgAN)were selected as controls.Results (1)Clinical manifesta-tions:there were no significant differences in age,gender,incidence of hematuria,level of 24 hours urine protein,serum albumin and cholesterol levels and elevated serum IgA ratio in MCD-IgA compared with MCD-NS group.Compared with MCD-IgA and MCD-NS,NS -IgAN group showed older age of onset[(8.6 ± 2.1)years vs.(4.8 ± 2.4) years,(4.0 ± 1.6)years],higher level of serum albumin[(22.8 ± 4.3)g/L vs.(19.0 ± 1.9)g/L,(16.8 ± 3.0) g/L],and lower level of serum total cholesterol[(7.9 ± 1.9)mmol/L vs.(9.9 ± 2.7)mmol/L,(9.8 ± 2.1)mmol/L], and all the differences were significant(all P<0.05).NS-IgAN group was all associated with gross hematuria.(2) Pathology:the light microscope lesions in MCD-IgA and MCD-NS group were mild,but it was usually associated with severe histologic lesions in NS-IgAN,such as endocapillary proliferation,segmental sclerosis,crescent formation,tuft necrosis and chronic tubulointerstitial lesions;in MCD -NS group,immunofluorescence was negative. In MCD -IgA group,IgA deposition intensity was weak(less than + +),and 3 cases(30.0%)were accompanied with C3deposi-tion.In NS-IgAN group,IgA deposition intensity was stronger(more than + + +),and most of the cases were accom-panied with C3and other immunoglobulins deposition.Under electron microscope,both MCD-IgA and MCD-NS showed wide foot process effacement,and a small amount of mesangial electron dense deposit was detected in 9 cases of MCD-IgA.In NS-IgAN group,large amount of electron dense deposit was found in the mesangial region,and only 8 cases (38.0%)showed more than 50% of foot process effacement.(3)Prognosis:in MCD-IgA group,9 patients were ster-oid-dependent or frequently relapsed,1 case showed steroid-resistance,6 patients required additional agents.Except 1 case lost,with an average of(61.5 ± 28.8)months were followed up,8 patients achieved complete remission;In MCD-NS group,20 cases were steroid-dependent or frequently relapsed,4 cases were steroid-resistant,23 cases re-quired additional immunosuppressive agents.Followed up for an average of(36.4 ± 12.5)months,22 cases(91.7%) achieved complete remission;In NS-IgAN group,all cases were steroid-resistant and combined with cyclophospha-mide treatment;followed up for an average of(38.6 ± 15.2)months,19 cases(90.5%)achieved complete remission. Conclusions The clinical manifestations and prognosis of MCD-IgA were similar to MCD-NS,but the clinical and pathological findings of MCD-IgA were different from those of NS-IgAN.It is deduced that the nature of MCD-IgA is still a MCD,and that the IgA deposition may be nonspecific.

Objective To analyze the clinical diagnosis and treatment data of 20 children with hypophosphatemic rickets (HR) in order to improve the clinical diagnosis and treatment of HR.Methods The retrospective analysis of clinical data of 20 cases with HR who were hospitalized at Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from May,2010 to April,2016 was performed to summarize the clinical characteristics.All patients were analyzed for the phosphate regulating gene with homologies to endopeptidase on the X chromosome(PHEX) gene by direct sequencing.If no mutations were detected,multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification analysis was performed.Results All of the 20 cases with HR showed different degrees of growth retardation and typical X-ray rickets.After treatment,the clinical features were improved.Height standard deviation score (HSDS) was improved significantly with longer treatment time,and the difference was statistically significant(P =0.027).There was a correlation between the blood phosphorus fluctuation and secondary hyperparathyroidism(P ＜ 0.05).Nineteen cases had PHEX gene mutations.Truncating mutations was the most frequent mutation type,and 4 new mutations were found.Conclusions Clinical characteristics,laboratory test results and X-ray examination are important clinical index for the diagnosis of HR,and PHEX gene test can be used as an important auxiliary diagnostic tool.Early diagnosis and treatment can significantly improve the clinical manifestations of the patients.

Epilepsy is a common disease in central nervous system;most patients with epilepsy after regular anti-epilepsy drug treatment can be controlled,but drug treatment in about 20％-30％ of patients is invalid,known as refractory epilepsy.With the development of imaging techniques,PET/MRI emerge and they combine anatomical and functional imaging,which makes the imaging more clear,enjoying more accurate anatomical structure.Thus,PET/MRIplay important roles in the process of pathogenesis,diagnosis and preoperative assessment of epilepsy.We mainly introduce the concepts of PET/MRIand the comparison with other imaging technology,and describe the application of PET/MRI in preoperative assessment ofrefractory epilepsy.