Background and aim: Pertussis or whooping cough is far from eradication, and the incidence is increasing in our environment. Although mortality rate is less than 1%, the morbidity is high, and involves a high cost to society. The aim of this study is to estimate the rate of hospital admissions in children due to whooping-cough in a peripheral area in Madrid.
Methods: We carried out a retrospective epidemiological survey. Data were obtained by review of clinical electronic history. All hospital discharges in children under 5 (ICD-9-CM 033) between January 2008 and December 2012 were analyzed. We estimated the annual incidence of hospitalization for pertussis and average length of stay.
Results: The annual incidence during the period of the study was 34 per 100,000 children under 5. Up to 25% of the cases occurred at 2011. 100% of children were less than 1 year of age; average age: 3.1 months (SD= 1.6). More than half (56%) concerned symptoms in the near-family. Average length of stay was 6.1 days (SD= 3.5). 6.2% of patients needed critical care assistance. There were no mortality cases.
Conclusion: Rate of hospital admissions in children under 5 years due to whooping-cough is increasing.

Purpose: Children with chronic lung disease have more morbidity than preterm children with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) overinfection and even compared to heart disease, and could benefit from this prophylaxis. The aim of this study is to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics and the RSV hospitalization rate in pediatric patients with chronic lung disease who received prophylaxis with palivizumab (PVZ) in the 2011-2012 RSV outbreak.
Patients and methods: Retrospective study was designed and patients with chronic lung disease who have received prophylaxis with PVZ in the previous RSV season were included.
Results: Of 74 patients included, 55% were males. Mean age at the beginning of prophylaxis in the season 2011-2012 was 15.7 ± 13.8 months. Sixty-nine percent (51/74) of them received complete prophylaxis with PVZ and 31% (23/74) received incomplete prophylaxis. None of the patients withdrew prophylaxis due to an adverse reaction. Mean administrated doses were 4.7 ± 0.8. From all, 27% (20/74) suffered at least one respiratory relapse, with or without hospitalization, and 6.7% (5/74) a second relapse. In only 2/20 of those with any relapse the responsible infectious agent was RSV. Both patients (100%) with RSV infection required hospitalization, while 45.5% (8/18) of the patients in the other group. Hospitalization rate due to RSV infection for our study sample was 2.7.
Conclusions: Hospitalization rate obtained in our study was within the range found in previous reports in patients with other chronic conditions who have received prophylaxis with PVZ which may suggest a health benefit in patients with chronic lung diseases.

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is a common cause of hospitalization in the pediatric age. Although viral etiology is predominant, bacteria can occupy an important place at certain times of the year. Between January 2005 and December 2010 a descriptive and prospective survey was carried out analyzing AGE of bacterial origin requiring hospital admission, in children younger than five years in a hospital of a suburban area of Madrid. Bacterial etiology is responsible for 9.3% of revenue by AGE in less than five years, with an hospitalized incidence of 0.9 per thousand under the age of 5, having a decrease from 2005 to the rest of their years studied. Most frequently bacteria isolated was Salmonella spp. We didn't found clinical parameters to distinguish clearly between bacterial or viral gastroenteritis.

Measles is a common childhood disease that generally has a favorable outcome, but sometimes requires hospital admission. In this report, we evaluate the causes for admission by means of an observational, retrospective study of hospital stays due to complications of measles. We reviewed all the medical records corresponding to patients under fourteen years of age admitted to our hospital for measles between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 2004. The most frequent complications were bacterial superinfection of the lesions and pneumonia. Systematic vaccination would decrease the incidence of this disease, as well as the rate of complications and admissions, and the indiscriminate use of antibiotics.

The objective of this study was to determine the rates of infection, hospitalization and complications of varicella on the Island of Mallorca. To study the incidence of varicella, we retrospectively reviewed the cases reported to the National Network of Epidemiologic Surveillance during the period 1982-2005. Rates of hospitalization were obtained from the discharge records of the patients admitted to the three public hospitals of the island during the periods 1995-2000 and 2001-2005. Rates of admission and complications in the reference hospital (Hospital Universitario Son Dureta) were also studied.

The incidence of varicella decreased from 994/100,000 population during the period 1982-1989 to 521 in 2001-2005 (p <0.0001). Overall, the rate of hospitalization for varicella increased significantly from 10.6/100,000 population aged <15 years (or 1.62/1,000 varicella cases) during the period 1995-2000 to 26.4/100,000 (or 3.54/1,000 cases) in 2001-2005 (p <0.0001). The mean age of the patients was 2.8 years and there were no deaths. The most frequent complications among the 147 children admitted to the reference hospital were: cellulitis (13%), impetigo (10.2%), pneumonia (9.5%), seizures (8.8%) and arthritis (4.8%). An increase in the prevalence of sepsis in hospitalized varicella patients was observed (2/45 versus 9/101, p= 0.3).

Although the incidence of varicella infection seems to be decreasing in Mallorca, we have observed an increase in hospital admissions and severe complications due to this infection. Vaccination against varicella at 12-18 months would probably reduce this trend.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of influenza infection in children hospitalized due to fever syndrome using a rapid antigen test.

Material and methods: A prospective descriptive study conducted over 6 months in the 2009-2010 season to patients admitted for fever. We investigated antigen influenza A and B. In patients with clinical suspicion of infection with influenza A H1N1 virus, specific PCR was done.

Results: 162 children were studied by detecting influenza A in 29 cases, 17.9% prevalence. Influenza B was not detected.

In 52 children specific influenza A H1N1 PCR was done, with positive result in 34 cases (65%) Our data showed, in this selectionated sample, a 100% specificity and 79% sensitivity of antigenic test to detect the H1N1 influenza virus with a 100% PPV and 72% NPV.

Conclusion: The prevalence of influenza infection in children hospitalized with fever in our environment is high and justifies the use of these tests, always considering its low sensitivity.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate effectiveness of palivizumab to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection when administered to former preterm infants 32¹ to 35⁰ weeks' gestation aged less than 6 months at the beginning of RSV season using any of the possible combinations of known risk factors for RSV hospitalization.

Patients and methods: Data were retrieved from the FLIP-2 study database. Infants without risk factors were excluded. The database included 627 infants who received palivizumab and 4,092 who did not. Seven accumulative subgroups were established according to the combinations of risk factors combining two "major factors" (chronological age less than 10 weeks at the beginning of RSV season or being born during the first 10 weeks of the season; school-age siblings or daycare attendance) and two "minor factors" (mother smoking during pregnancy; male gender). Absolute risk, relative risk, and number needed to treat (NNT) were obtained for each subgroup.

Results:In each subgroup, birth weight and gestational age were significantly lower in palivizumab treated infants. The combination "2 major factors" showed a NNT of [13.5], and when merged with "1 major factor or 2 minor factors" the NNT reached 15.1. Combination requesting only one risk factor either major or minor corresponded by design to the global study. 186 patients of the treated group (4.55%) and 9 patients of the non-treated group (1.44%) were admitted to the hospital, of the treated (p

Conclusion: In former preterm infants 32¹ to 35⁰ weeks' gestation with chronological age less than10 weeks at the beginning of RSV season (or being born during the first 10 weeks of the season) and with school-age siblings or daycare attendance, 14 should be treated with palivizumab to prevent one RSV hospitalization.

A cohort study was done with the objective of investigating the hospitalization risk and some related indicators in children with cleft lip and palate (CLP), compared with previously healthy pediatric population. We followed (since 1986) 98 infants with CLP (patients) and 196 previously healthy children (controls) who were first admitted at the "Hermanos Cordové" Pediatric Teaching Hospital in Manzanillo, Cuba, all of them of two years or less, they were included consecutively from their first hospital admission. The data collection finished when they were 14 years old. The relative risk of readmissions, causes of readmissions and average stay at the hospital were estimated in each group. Children with CLP had high risk of readmissions compared with previously health pediatric population. The risk was greater in the first (0-4) years of life, stage of malnutrition (RR= 7.3), acute respiratory diseases (RR= 3.44) and acute digestive diseases (RR= 3.3) were the principal causes of readmissions. The stay average in patients was more than twice the controls average. The study has a special reference in the pediatric importance in the total attention of these patients.