M Renko

..None of the children died, whereas the infection was fatal for 15% (35/229) of the adults (P<0.001). The differences are only partly explained by the underlying conditions...

..Lectures are good for presenting information and providing explanations, but because they lack active participation they have been neglected...

..The objective of this study was to evaluate the nature, quality, publication pattern and visibility of Finnish medical diploma theses...

..We carried out a prospective, randomized, controlled trial to clarify the effect of tonsillectomy on the clinical course of periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome...

..Xylitol has antiadhesive effects on Streptococcus pneumoniae and inhibits its growth, and has also been found to be effective in preventing acute otitis media and has been used in intensive care as a valuable source of energy...

..These experiences suggest that the model of peer consultation adds new flavour, increasing enthusiasm in problem-based learning...

..We evaluate here the association of nasopharyngeal dimensions in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with the occurrence of AOM in otherwise healthy children...

..To evaluate whether asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is more common in patients with diabetes than among control subjects. In addition, we wanted to clarify the clinical significance of ASB in patients with diabetes...

..We hypothesized that screening all children who are hospitalized for an acute infection with troponin-I (TnI) would reveal myocarditis cases and performed a prospective screening study...

..Disappearance of middle ear effusion is one of the most important outcomes in the treatment of acute otitis media (AOM)...

..Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection may influence the development of recurrent wheezing and atopy, but the mechanisms are unclear...

..Reported viral hospital-associated infection (HAI) frequencies have ranged from 1% to 24% between paediatric wards and hospitals. Reasons for this variation remain unclear...

..Viral infections are common causes of hospital-associated infections (HAIs) in paediatric patients, with most of these infections only becoming evident after discharge...

..Eight percent of the patients in our ward, where alcohol hand gel is actively used and single rooms are common, developed an HAI. Eighty percent of the HAIs appeared at home, which emphasises the importance of post-discharge follow-up...

..A schedule with the same single doses given less frequently could be clinically effective in preventing otitis media...

..79, p<0.001). In conclusion, even a well-controlled swab sampling markedly underestimates pneumococcal carriage rate, and simultaneous use of quantitative culture and PCR increases the number of positive samples by about one third...

..As regular administration of xylitol had been effective in preventing acute otitis media (AOM) in children, we tested whether xylitol administered only at times of acute respiratory infection (ARI) reduces the occurrence of AOM...

..This challenges the recommendations of routine VCUG after UTI...

..We conclude that the clinical presentation of pneumococcal disease did not differ in relation to biofilm formation in vitro, even though there was marked variation between the clinical isolates and serotypes...

..Holarctica-type tularemia is endemic in the Northern Hemisphere. Despite recurrent epidemics tularemia is not well known in children and the pediatric cases are often misdiagnosed...

..It has been claimed that an early respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection can induce asthma and recurrent wheezing...

..Alcohol hand gels (AHG) have been used by children in child day care centers (CDCCs) to prevent the transmission of microbes. Because parents and personnel have been concerned about the safety of AHGs, we conducted a trial to assess this...

..5% vs. 20.3% for consumption and 4.8% vs. 4.9% for reimbursement. These differences were insignificant. In conclusion exposure to a RSV epidemic in infancy does not increase the consumption of asthma medicines at the population level...

..18%; P =.023), whereas the allele pool in which proline was amino acid 99 was underrepresented (5% vs. 16%; P =.001). These results indicate that a genetic association exists between SP-A gene locus and severe RSV infection...

..To find a more convenient dosing regimen, we tested whether xylitol administered 3 times a day reduces the occurrence of AOM...

..The aim was to evaluate the trends in childhood mortality in Finland from 1969 to 2004. We especially wanted to find out whether the decline in mortality is continuous and whether there are still deaths that could be prevented...

..The results further confirmed this association (p = 0.028). To our knowledge, the present report provides the first evidence of a specific gene associated with susceptibility to severe RSV infection...

..This finding might explain why there is less atopic sensitization in countries with a greater probability of acquiring RSV infection at an early age...

..The reported low occurrence of vesicoureteral reflux in the general population seems implausible. We wanted to test the hypothesis that reflux is more common and more independent of urinary-tract infection than has previously been thought...

..We propose that the risk of severe RSV infection may additionally depend on the interaction between individual TLR4 genotype and the particular RSV group causing bronchiolitis...

..5 (95% CI 0.2, 1.0, P = 0.04). Family history appeared to be an exceptionally strong predictive factor for croup and its recurrence. In this patient series prone to respiratory infections recurrence of croup was common...