Procalcitonin Use: Variation Across Hospitals and Trends Over Time

OBJECTIVES

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a relatively novel biomarker that may be superior to C-reactive protein (CRP) in identifying bacterial infection. PCT use in pediatric hospitals is relatively unknown. We aimed to evaluate PCT and CRP use, describe PCT testing variability across children's hospitals, and compare temporal rates of PCT and CRP testing for patients admitted with pneumonia, sepsis, or fever in young infants.

METHODS

In this multicenter cohort study, we identified children ≤18 years old hospitalized from 2014-2018 with pneumonia, sepsis, or fever in infants <2 months by using the Pediatric Health Information System. To determine use, we evaluated the proportion of encounters with PCT or CRP testing from 2017-2018. We generated heat maps to describe PCT use across hospitals. We also compared PCT and CRP rates over time from 2014 to 2018.

RESULTS

From 2017-2018, PCT testing occurred in 3988 of 34c231 (12%) hospitalizations. Febrile infants had the highest PCT testing proportion (18%), followed by sepsis (15%) and pneumonia (9%). There was across-hospital variability in PCT testing, particularly for febrile infants. Over time, the odds of PCT testing increased at a significantly greater rate than that of CRP.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite limited guideline recommendations for PCT testing during the study period, PCT use increased over time with across-hospital variability. For pneumonia and sepsis, given the importance of high-value care, we need to understand the impact of PCT on patient outcomes. With recent guidelines recommending PCT in the evaluation of febrile infants, we identified baseline testing behaviors for future studies on guideline impact.

Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes of Pregnancies in Women With Congenital Heart Disease: A Meta-Analysis

Background

With advances in the treatment of congenital heart disease (CHD), more women with CHD survive childhood to reach reproductive age. The objective of this study was to evaluate the maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnancies among women with CHD in the modern era.

Methods and Results

We conducted a meta‐analysis of peer‐reviewed literature published January 2007 through June 2019. Studies were included if they reported on maternal or fetal mortality and provided data by CHD lesion. Meta‐analysis was performed using random effect regression modeling using Comprehensive Meta‐Analysis (v3). CHD lesions were categorized as mild, moderate, and severe to allow for pooling of data across studies. Of 2200 articles returned by our search, 32 met inclusion criteria for this study. Overall, the rate of neonatal mortality was 1%, 3.1%, and 3.5% in mild, moderate, and severe lesions, respectively. There were too few maternal deaths in any group to pool data. The rates of maternal and neonatal morbidity among women with CHD increase with severity of lesion. Specifically, rates of maternal arrhythmia and heart failure, cesarean section, preterm birth, and small for gestational age neonate are all markedly increased as severity of maternal CHD increases.

Conclusions

In the modern era, pregnancy in women with CHD typically has a successful outcome in both mother and child. However, as maternal CHD severity increases, so too does the risk of numerous morbidities and neonatal mortality. These findings may help in counseling women with CHD who plan to become pregnant, especially women with severe lesions.

At-home self-collection of saliva, oropharyngeal swabs and dried blood spots for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis and serology: Post-collection acceptability of specimen collection process and patient confidence in specimens

Background

Options to increase the ease of testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection and immune response are needed. Self-collection of diagnostic specimens at home offers an avenue to allow people to test for SARS-CoV-2 infection or immune response without traveling to a clinic or laboratory. Before this study, survey respondents indicated willingness to self-collect specimens for COVID-related tests, but hypothetical willingness can differ from post-collection acceptability after participants collect specimens.

Methods

153 US adults were enrolled in a study of the willingness and feasibility of patients to self-collect three diagnostic specimens (saliva, oropharyngeal swab (OPS) and dried blood spot (DBS) card) while observed by a clinician through a telehealth session. After the specimens were collected, 148 participants participated in a survey about the acceptability of the collection, packing and shipping process, and their confidence in the samples collected for COVID-related laboratory testing.

Results

A large majority of participants (>84%) reported that collecting, packing and shipping of saliva, OPS, and DBS specimens were acceptable. Nearly nine in 10 (87%) reported being confident or very confident that the specimens they collected were sufficient for laboratory analysis.There were no differences in acceptability for any specimen type, packing and shipping, or confidence in samples, by gender, age, race/ethnicity, or educational level.

Conclusions

Self-collection of specimens for SARS-CoV-2 testing, and preparing and shipping specimens for analysis, were acceptable in a diverse group of US adults. Further refinement of materials and instructions to support self-collection of saliva, OPS and DBS specimens for COVID-related testing is needed.

At-home self-collection of saliva, oropharyngeal swabs and dried blood spots for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis and serology: post-collection acceptability of specimen collection process and patient confidence in specimens

BACKGROUND

Options to increase the ease of testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection and immune response are needed. Self-collection of diagnostic specimens at home offers an avenue to allow people to test for SARS-CoV-2 infection or immune response without traveling to a clinic or laboratory. Before this study, survey respondents indicated willingness to self-collect specimens for COVID-related tests, but hypothetical willingness can differ from post-collection acceptability after participants collect specimens.

METHODS

153 US adults were enrolled in a study of the willingness and feasibility of patients to self-collect three diagnostic specimens (saliva, oropharyngeal swab (OPS) and dried blood spot (DBS) card) while observed by a clinician through a telehealth session. After the specimens were collected, 148 participants participated in a survey about the acceptability of the collection, packing and shipping process, and their confidence in the samples collected for COVID-related laboratory testing.

RESULTS

A large majority of participants (>84%) reported that collecting, packing and shipping of saliva, OPS, and DBS specimens were acceptable. Nearly nine in 10 (87%) reported being confident or very confident that the specimens they collected were sufficient for laboratory analysis. There were no differences in acceptability for any specimen type, packing and shipping, or confidence in samples by gender, age, race/ethnicity, or educational level.

CONCLUSIONS

Self-collection of specimens for SARS-CoV-2 testing and preparing and shipping specimens for analysis were acceptable in a diverse group of US adults. Further refinement of materials and instructions to support self-collection of saliva, OPS and DBS specimens for COVID-related testing is needed.

Cover Image, Volume 173A, Number 12, December 2017

The cover image, by Isabel Hardee et al., is based on the Clinical Report Defective ciliogenesis in INPP5E-related Joubert syndrome, DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.a.38376. Design Credit: Darryl Leja.

Defective ciliogenesis in INPP5E-related Joubert syndrome

Joubert syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by malformation of the mid and hindbrain leading to the pathognomonic molar tooth appearance of the brainstem and cerebellum on axial MRI. Core clinical manifestations include hypotonia, tachypnea/apnea, ataxia, ocular motor apraxia, and developmental delay of varying degrees. In addition, a subset of patients has retinal dystrophy, chorioretinal colobomas, hepatorenal fibrocystic disease, and polydactyly. Joubert syndrome exhibits genetic heterogeneity, with mutations identified in more than 30 genes, including INPP5E, a gene encoding inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase E, which is important in the development and stability of the primary cilium. Here, we report the detailed clinical phenotypes of two sisters with a novel homozygous variant in INPP5E (NM_019892.4: c.1565G>C, NP_063945.2: p.Gly552Ala), expanding the phenotype associated with Joubert syndrome type 1. Expression studies using patient-derived fibroblasts showed changes in mRNA and protein levels. Analysis of fibroblasts from patients revealed that a significant number of cells had shorter or no cilia, indicating defects in ciliogenesis, and cilia maintenance.

A Syndromic Neurodevelopmental Disorder Caused by De Novo Variants in EBF3

Early B cell factor 3 (EBF3) is a member of the highly evolutionarily conserved Collier/Olf/EBF (COE) family of transcription factors. Prior studies on invertebrate and vertebrate animals have shown that EBF3 homologs are essential for survival and that loss-of-function mutations are associated with a range of nervous system developmental defects, including perturbation of neuronal development and migration. Interestingly, aristaless-related homeobox (ARX), a homeobox-containing transcription factor critical for the regulation of nervous system development, transcriptionally represses EBF3 expression. However, human neurodevelopmental disorders related to EBF3 have not been reported. Here, we describe three individuals who are affected by global developmental delay, intellectual disability, and expressive speech disorder and carry de novo variants in EBF3. Associated features seen in these individuals include congenital hypotonia, structural CNS malformations, ataxia, and genitourinary abnormalities. The de novo variants affect a single conserved residue in a zinc finger motif crucial for DNA binding and are deleterious in a fly model. Our findings indicate that mutations in EBF3 cause a genetic neurodevelopmental syndrome and suggest that loss of EBF3 function might mediate a subset of neurologic phenotypes shared by ARX-related disorders, including intellectual disability, abnormal genitalia, and structural CNS malformations.

De Novo Truncating Variants in ASXL2 Are Associated with a Unique and Recognizable Clinical Phenotype

The ASXL genes (ASXL1, ASXL2, and ASXL3) participate in body patterning during embryogenesis and encode proteins involved in epigenetic regulation and assembly of transcription factors to specific genomic loci. Germline de novo truncating variants in ASXL1 and ASXL3 have been respectively implicated in causing Bohring-Opitz and Bainbridge-Ropers syndromes, which result in overlapping features of severe intellectual disability and dysmorphic features. ASXL2 has not yet been associated with a human Mendelian disorder. In this study, we performed whole-exome sequencing in six unrelated probands with developmental delay, macrocephaly, and dysmorphic features. All six had de novo truncating variants in ASXL2. A careful review enabled the recognition of a specific phenotype consisting of macrocephaly, prominent eyes, arched eyebrows, hypertelorism, a glabellar nevus flammeus, neonatal feeding difficulties, hypotonia, and developmental disabilities. Although overlapping features with Bohring-Opitz and Bainbridge-Ropers syndromes exist, features that distinguish the ASXL2-associated condition from ASXL1- and ASXL3-related disorders are macrocephaly, absence of growth retardation, and more variability in the degree of intellectual disabilities. We were also able to demonstrate with mRNA studies that these variants are likely to exert a dominant-negative effect, given that both alleles are expressed in blood and the mutated ASXL2 transcripts escape nonsense-mediated decay. In conclusion, de novo truncating variants in ASXL2 underlie a neurodevelopmental syndrome with a clinically recognizable phenotype. This report expands the germline disorders that are linked to the ASXL genes.