International Journal of Pediatrics
Volume:11 Issue: 117, Sep 2023

This study aimed to assess the diagnostic value of novel ultrasonographic markers, Anterior Uterocervical Angle (AUA), Cervical Consistency Index (CCI) and Cervical Glandular Area (CGA) in the Prediction of Preterm Birth (PTB), in a general population.
We conducted a prospective cohort study on singleton gestations between 16 -24 weeks undergoing transvaginal sonography for Cervical Length (CL) screening. AUA, CCI and CGA were evaluated. The primary outcome was prediction of spontaneous PTB before 37 weeks’ gestation by UCA, CCI and CGA. The secondary outcome was evaluating performance of these markers alone and in combination with CL to predict PTB.
A total of 310 women were studied. The rate of PTB in this population was 10.6 % for delivery before 37 weeks. In the PTB group, the shorter CL, the wider AUA and the lower CCI were significant, but the CGA width and area were not significantly different in term and PTB groups. The optimal cut-off based on the ROC curve was 33.15 mm for CL (sensitivity: 57%; specificity: 68%), 102.5 degrees for AUA (sensitivity: 50%; specificity: 80%), and 60.3% for CCI (sensitivity: 43%; specificity: 68%).
Our data indicate that the combination of CL and CCI (positive likelihood ratio:3; negative likelihood ratio:0.7) and the combination of CL and AUA (positive likelihood ratio:4.8; negative likelihood ratio:0.76) are better methods for the prediction of spontaneous PTB before 37 weeks; and can be used as a screening tool in the second trimester.

Dental caries are one of the children’s most common chronic diseases. This study aims to examine the influence of school-based online education on oral hygiene behaviors during COVID-19.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 120 students in the 5th and 6th grades of primary school in Shazand, Iran, from February 2022 to April 2022. The participants were selected by cluster sampling method and divided into two groups; control (n=60) and experimental (n=60). The data collection instrument checked the participants’ demographic information, constructions of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and oral health behaviors before and after the intervention. The experimental group participated in four online educational sessions (each session was 1 hour) in SHAD software. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were used to analyze the data via SPSS version 23.

The mean ±standard deviation (SD) of the students’ age was 11.50 ± 0.50. Before the intervention, there was no significant relationship between the oral hygiene behavior of the two groups and the TPB constructions (p>0.05). A month after the intervention, the mean scores of the oral hygiene behavior, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention significantly increased in the experimental group (p<0.001). After the intervention, both twice brushing a day and once a day flossing significantly increased in the experimental group; from 28.2 % to 73.3 % and from 50 % to 75 %, respectively (p<0.001).

Rendering the results of this study, online educational intervention based on the theory of planned behavior promotes the oral health behaviors of primary school students.

salivary proteins have, today, gained special importance in studies of the role of saliva in tooth decay. Among the peptides, histatins and defenses play a more important role. The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of salivary antibacterial peptides in children with early childhood caries (ECC, SECC) compared to children without caries.

This comparative-case study was conducted on 48 young children (under 6 years of age) with milk teeth referred to a private pediatric dentistry center. The participants were divided into three groups of 16 with early childhood caries (ECC, SECC) and without decay. After collecting children's saliva, the samples were sent to the laboratory to obtain peptide concentration in salivia using ELISA and the results were analyzed using SPSS 22 software.

The average index of histatin-5 in the mild caries group was significantly lower than those in the moderate caries (p<0.001) and severe caries groups (p<0.001). The average index of beta-defensin-1 in the mild caries group was significantly higher than those in the moderate caries (p<0.001) and severe caries groups (p<0.001). The average beta-defensin-2 index in the mild caries group was significantly higher than those in the moderate caries group (p<0.001); and in the severe caries group, it was significantly higher than that in the moderate caries group (p<0.001).

With the increase of salivary HST-5, the progress of caries increased. Also, the progress of caries was associated with a decrease in the amount of β-defensin-1. No correlation was observed between the caries process and the amount of β-defensin-2.

The influence of parents, including feeding style, through changing food consumption habits, can play an important role in the prevention or occurrence of diseases in children, and generally affects their quality of life. Therefore, the aim of this study is assessing the relationship between parental nutrition style and quality of life in children.
In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 246 parents along with their children were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling from primary schools in Zahedan. Parental Feeding Styles Questionnaire (PFSQ) and Pediatrics' Quality of Life Questionnaire (PedsQL) were used to collect data. The validities of the questionnaires were 0.74 and 0.84, respectively. Data were analyzed by SPSS V.22 software. Spearman correlation test, Independent-Samples T-test, and One-Way ANOVA were used to analyze data.
Among the different levels of parental nutrition style, the mean of encouragement to eat (30.10±4.20) was the highest and the mean of instrumental feeding was the lowest (15.4±2.88). Moreover, the total mean of children's quality of life was 78.13±9.45 which shows a high quality of life in children. A significant relationship was also found between children's quality of life and two nutritional styles of parents, such as emotional feeding (r=0.168, p<0.05) and instrumental feeding (r=0.194, p<0.05).
Based on the findings, children's quality of life had positive relationships with parental nutrition style, especially emotional and instrumental feeding. Accordingly, all families are encouraged to choose an appropriate eating style, promote healthy food consumption among children, and improve their quality of life.

Non-standard creativity tools and entertainment products may contain heavy metals. Children are more sensitive than adults to this potentially toxic chemicals. This study aimed at investigating harmful elements in children’s products in Iran.
In this descriptive-analytical study, Iranian samples (13 play dough samples, 6 finger paint, and 1 face paint sample) and 10 imported samples were investigated by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS statistical package (version 19).
The results of this study showed that the lead content of 2 samples of play dough (76%), 10 samples of finger paint (100%) and 3 samples of face paint (100%) was higher than the permissible limits set by the Iranian National Standards Organization. Lead and cadmium contents of 100% of the samples of play dough, along with the face and finger paints exceeded the permissible limits set by the European Union.
Research on prolonged exposure to harmful elements and comprehensive risk characterization for toys is recommended.

The present study was performed to assess densitometry indices in pediatric patients affected by Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) in Mashhad city, east of Iran.

Seventy pediatric IBD patients (8-18 age range) in Akbar Hospital in Mashhad were evaluated in terms of clinical parameters (age, sex, weight, height, IBD type, IBD activity, duration of disease, affected organ, management methods, treatment duration, hospitalization time, nutritional status and puberty), laboratory parameters (serum levels of vitamin D, albumin (Alb), calcium (Ca), phosphorous (P), sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), Urea, creatinine (Cr) along with important hepatic enzymes aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP)). Also, Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) was applied for whole body and lumbar spine Bone Mineral Density (BMD) measurement.

IBD was mostly manifested as ulcerative colitis (UC) (62.9%) and the disease duration and treatment course were mostly reported to be "over 6 months", with 88.6% and 84.3%, respectively. Most patients had normal (n = 43; 61.4%) and decreased (n = 20; 28.6%) nutritional status, sorted in tanner stage 4 (n = 40; 57.1%), had no hospitalization (81.4%), and received prednisolone (n = 33; 47.1%). Moreover, left colitis (n = 39; 55.7%) and pan colitis (n = 24; 34.3%) were the most affected parts. No statistically significant correlation was reported regarding lumbar BMD values in terms of gender, disease duration, treatment time, and IBD type. Also, there was no statistical association between the treatment type and involved tissues with lumbar and femoral BMD values among 70 examined children in the present study. Still, more studies are recommended to truly evaluate the bone densitometry parameters in children with inflammatory bowel disease.

Restriction of fetal growth is one of the major problems in gynecology and obstetrics for which no effective treatment has been proven so far. The disorder is associated with significant morbidity and perinatal mortality.

In this study, 104 pregnant women with SGA fetuses (3-10%) between preterm (>28 weeks) to full term were evaluated. The patients were divided into two groups: group A, the group with normal CPR as the reference group, and group B with abnormal CPR (ratio <1ref with normal UMA PI and Normal caldopler that were IUGR). Their demographic data including maternal age, gestational age, BMI of the pregnant mother, birth weight, fetal sex, and number of deliveries were examined.

After collecting data and analyzing them, the results showed that the mean neonatal weight was 1432.81 (±560.81) in the abnormal CPR group, and 1845.42 (± 473.32) in the normal group. In addition, the mean Apgar scores of 5 and 1 minutes were significantly different between the groups, being lower in the abnormal CPR group (p-value <0.05). The results also revealed, Apgar scores of one and five minutes were significantly correlated with CPR and gestational age (p-value <0.05).

Finally, according to the data obtained from this study, it has been shown that CPR can be helpful as a predictive index of neonatal outcomes in patients with SGA.