The massive raise of COVID-19 cases all over the world is leading to unprecedented pressures on healthcare services. Growing evidence is highlighting that COVID-19 is a systemic condition that requires doctors with multiple expertise. Paediatricians are trained in these skills. Considering the issue of staff shortage that is facing every country in the world, and the complexity of COVID-19, paediatricians may represent an important source of ready and skilled specialists that can quickly translate the paediatric practice in the COVID-19 care. We report our experience by making several parallels between the paediatric clinical practice and clinical conditions described in patients with COVID-19 with particular reference to the use of lung ultrasound in paediatric clinical practice and in that of adult COVID-19 units.

Covid-19 causedhospitalizations, severe disease and deaths in any age, including in the youngest children. The aim of this multicenter national study is to characterize the clinical and the prognostic role of lung ultrasound (LUS) in children with Covid-19. We enrolled children between 1 month and 18 years of age diagnosed with SARS-CoV2 infection and whounderwenta lung ultrasound within 6 hours from firstmedical evaluation. A total of 213 children were enrolled, 51.6%were male, median age was2 years and 5 months (IQR 4mm- 11 yearsand4 months).One hundred and fortyeight (69.4%) children were admitted in hospital, 9 (6.1%) in pediatric intensive care unit.We found an inverse correlation between the LUS score and the oxygen saturationatthe clinical evaluation (r = −0.16; p = 0.019). Moreover, LUS scores were significantly higher in patients requiring oxygen supplementation (8 (IQR 3 - 19) vs 2 (IQR 0 - 4); p= 0.001). Among LUS pathological findings, irregular pleural line, sub-pleural consolidations and pleural effusions were significantly more frequentin patients whoneeded oxygen supplementation (p = 0.007; p = 0.006 andp = 0.001, respectively). This multicentric study confirmed that LUS is able to detect Covid-19 low respiratory tract involvement, which is characterized by pleural line irregularities, vertical artifacts and subpleural consolidations. Notably, children with higher LUS score have an higher risk of hospitalization or need for oxygen supplementation, supporting LUS as a valid and safe point-of-care first level tool for the clinical evaluation of children with Covid-19.

We aimed to assess feasibility, accuracy, satisfaction of an advanced-telemedicine (A-TM) platform designed for remote physical evaluation, especially focused on lung auscultation, in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) patients. Children affected by type 1 and 2 SMA, typically present generalized weakness, scoliosis, chest deformities the leading cause of progressive respiratory insufficiency and recurrent hospitalization. Covid-19 stimulated efforts to adopt innovative digital health solutions especially when caring for people living with disabilities. Because of chest asymmetry and scoliosis, SMA patients are not always the ideal candidates for telemedicine tools that have proved to be useful in the general population. 23 children affected by SMA (15 type 1 and 8 type 2) with different degree of scoliosis and chest asymmetry. Prospective study: We localized optimal thoracic auscultatory landmarks with traditional stethoscope and lung ultrasound for each child. Carers were trained to record complete lung auscultation independently and share data with our physicians via A-TM platform. After the first remote exam, carers videorecorded their experience (satisfaction). Our physicians blindly rated the audio files shared via A-TM which were compared to traditional auscultation findings for each child. to assess. Overall feasibility and accuracy of carers-performed remote physical evaluation. Our study showed that remotely performed lung auscultation was possible in all type 1 and 2 SMA children but adaptations to find optimal landmarks were needed in cases with asymmetrical or rotated chest and trunk. A-TM tools may simplify access to care, reduce logistic/economic burden for families, improve communication, safety and disease management while limiting infection exposure.

Objective and design: Our prospective observational study is the first study that evaluates the LUS findings of cardiopulmonary interactions in acutely ill children with elevated pro-BNP levels,with the aim of establishing the specific LUS pattern in this category of patients without primary lung diseases.Methodology:We prospectively analyzed epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, instrumental and lung ultrasound parameters in acutely ill children aged 1 month to 18 years admitted to the Department of Pediatrics between March 2020 to August 2020.Among the acutely ill patients evaluated, only patients with pro-BNP> 300 pg / ml and who underwent LUS before the start of any treatment were included. They were stratified into three sub-categories based on the diagnosis A) cardiac disease, B) systemic inflammatory disease / sepsis without functional and / or organic alterations of the myocardium and C) systemic inflammatory disease / sepsis and cardiac disease, and were classified into two groups based on the level of pro-BNP.We also enrolled patients belonging to two other categories (patients with primary infectious lung disease and completely healthy patients) analyzing their epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, instrumental parameters and lung ultrasound findings and comparing them with those of acutely ill children.Results and Conclusion: We found that LUS findings in these acutely ill children are different from the ultrasound pattern of other categories of children and in particular 1) children with acute lower respiratory tract infections and 2) healthy infants.The finding in a child of a sonographic interstitial syndrome with multiple, bright, long, separate and non-confluent B-lines / long vertical artefacts deriving from a normal and regular pleural line, in the absence of subpleural consolidations, is strongly predictive of cardiogenic pulmonary edema or pulmonary congestion in the course of systemic inflammatory disease / sepsis.

Seasonal epidemics of influenza and the respiratory syncytial virus are the cause of substantial morbidity and mortality among children. During the global COVID-19 pandemic, the epidemiology of these viruses seems to have changed dramatically. In Australia and New Zealand, a significant decrease in both influenza and bronchiolities have been noticed during usual peak seasons. Data from early months of winter seasons in Europe are showing similar trends. This current scenario imposes a reconsideration of the paradigm that toddlers and young schoolchildren are the main drivers of seasonal RSV outbreaks and respiratory epidemics in general. In this paper, we summarize current literature, address current knowledge or role of adults in the respiratory syncitial virus epidemiology, describe the lessons learned from pertussis epidemics and call the international community to better understand the community transmission dynamics of respiratory infections in all age-groups. This can allow the establishment of better and more affordable preventive measures in the whole population level, which can ultimately save millions of child lives.

The massive raise of COVID-19 cases all over the world is leading to unprecedented pressures on healthcare services. Growing evidence is highlighting that COVID-19 is a systemic condition that requires doctors with multiple expertise. Paediatricians are trained in these skills. Considering the issue of staff shortage that is facing every country in the world, and the complexity of COVID-19, paediatricians may represent an important source of ready and skilled specialists that can quickly translate the paediatric practice in the COVID-19 care. We report our experience of paediatricians engaged in the fight against COVID-19 within adult COVID-19 wards. In particular, we focus on the importance of a skill of some paediatricians in their clinical practice, namely the use of lung ultrasound which has also become fundamental in the management of adult patients with COVID-19, especially for some categories such as pregnant women.

Pneumonia remains the leading cause of death globally in children under the age of five. The poorest children are the ones most at risk of dying. In the recent years, Lung Ultrasound has been widely documented as a safe and easy tool for the diagnosis and monitoring of pneumonia and several other respiratory infections and diseases. During the pandemic, it played a primary role to achieve early suspicion and prediction of severe COVID-19, reducing the risk of exposure of healthcare workers to positive patients. However, innovations that can improve diagnosis and treatment allocation, saving hundreds of thousands of lives each year, are not reaching those who need them most. In this paper, we discuss advantages and limits of different tools for the diagnosis of pneumonia in low-to-middle income countries, highlighting potential benefits of a wider access to lung ultrasound in these settings and barriers to its implementation, calling international organizations to ensure the indiscriminate access, quality and sustainability of the provision of ultrasound services in every setting.

Background: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is causing of the new global pandemic and is responsible for millions of infections and thousands of deaths in the world. The lung ultrasound is a non-invasive and easily repeatable tool and can be carried out by the pediatrician at the bedside of children with a consequent reduction in the risk of transmission of the virus. Objective: To determine whether the lung ultrasound is a useful tool in identifying the signs of lung involvement in children with COVID-19 and whether can monitor the course of the disease. Methods: The study was made in the emergency department in a tertiary level pediatric hospital. All patients with swab-confirmed COVID-19 infection were subjected a lung ultrasound within 6 hours from admission and after 96 hours. Results: Among a total of 30 children, 18 (60%) were males, 4 reported exertional dyspnea and only 1 chest pain. The mean oxygen saturation was 98.8 ± 1.0 % in ambient air in emergency department and no patient needed oxygen therapy during hospitalization. After 96 hours we had observed ultrasound abnormality al the lung ultrasound only in 20% of the children. We found a statistically significant reduction in pleural irregularities (30% vs 16.7; p: .001) and in B lines (50% vs 20%; p: .008). Conclusions: lung ultrasound is safe and useful tool in detecting lung involvement in children with COVID-19 and in monitoring these patients during the course of disease.