[Nosocomial rotavirus gastroenteritis]

Rotavirus is the most common cause of gastroenteritis in children requiring hospitalization. It is a very resistant and contagious virus causing nosocomial gastroenteritis. In France, the vaccine against rotavirus has been available since 2006, but the vaccine is not recommended for infant vaccination. The aim of this retrospective study was to describe nosocomial rotavirus gastroenteritis (NRGE) and to assess its impact on children hospitalized in the General Pediatrics Department of Robert-Debré Hospital (Paris) between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2013. We analyzed the demographic characteristics of children (age, term birth, underlying diseases) and the severity of the NRGE (oral or intravenous hydration), and assessed whether these children could benefit from vaccination against rotavirus.

RESULTS

One hundred thirty-six children presented nosocomial rotavirus infection, with an incidence of 2.5 NRGE per 1000 days of hospitalization. The incidence of NRGE was stable between 2009 and 2013 despite the introduction of specific hygiene measures. The average age of the children was 7 months (range: 0.5-111 months). Most often NRGE occurred in children hospitalized for respiratory diseases (65% of cases) and requiring prolonged hospitalization (median: 18 days). One-third of children were born premature (25%). Hydration was oral in 80 patients (59%), by intravenous infusion in 18 patients (13%), and intraosseous in one patient. Half of the patients were aged less than 5 months and could benefit from the protection afforded by vaccination.

CONCLUSION

NRGE are common. Rotavirus mass vaccination should have a positive impact on the incidence of NRGE by reducing the number of children hospitalized for gastroenteritis, therefore indirectly reducing the number of hospital cross-infections of hospitalized children who are too young to be vaccinated.

Metabolomic analysis of normal and sickle cell erythrocytes

Metabolic signatures of specialized circulating hematopoietic cells in physiological or human hematological diseases start to be described. We use a simple and highly reproductive extraction method of erythrocytes metabolites coupled with a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry based metabolites profiling method to determine metabolomes of normal and sickle cell erythrocytes. Sickle cell erythrocytes and normal erythrocytes metabolomes display major differences in glycolysis, in glutathione, in ascorbate metabolisms and in metabolites associated to membranes turnover. In addition, the amounts of metabolites derived from urea cycle and NO metabolism that partly take place within erythrocyte were different between normal and sickle cell erythrocytes. These results show that metabolic profiling of red blood cell diseases can now be determined and might indicate new biomarkers that can be used for the follow-up of sickle cell patients.