Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in Arkansas Over the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) seroprevalence studies largely focus on adults, but little is known about spread in children. We determined SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in children and adolescents from Arkansas over the first year of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

METHODS

We tested remnant serum samples from children ages 1-18 years who visited Arkansas hospitals or clinics for non-COVID-19-related reasons from April 2020 through April 2021 for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. We used univariable and multivariable regression models to determine the association between seropositivity and participant characteristics.

RESULTS

Among 2357 participants, seroprevalence rose from 7.9% in April/May 2020 (95% CI, 4.9-10.9) to 25.0% in April 2021 (95% CI, 21.5-28.5). Hispanic and black children had a higher association with antibody positivity than non-Hispanic and white children, respectively, in multiple sampling periods.

CONCLUSIONS

By spring 2021, most children in Arkansas were not infected with SARS-CoV-2. With the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, recognition of long-term effects of COVID-19, and the lack of an authorized pediatric SARS-CoV-2 vaccine at the time, these results highlight the importance of including children in SARS-CoV-2 public health, clinical care, and research strategies.

Distal lengthening of the hamstrings in patients who have cerebral palsy. Long-term retrospective analysis

One hundred and twenty-six patients who had cerebral palsy and who had been managed with distal lengthening of the hamstrings were followed for three to fourteen years so that the long-term results of the procedure could be determined. Twenty-four of sixty-two patients who could not walk before the procedure were able to walk about the house postoperatively. Mild recurvatum developed in only ten patients, and twenty-two patients had a reoperation because of recurrence. Although straight-leg raising and the popliteal angle had improved markedly at one year in all but two patients, both parameters regressed gradually over time. Of several selected variables, only limitation of straight-leg raising preoperatively was of statistical significance (p < 0.001) for the prediction of recurrence. Age, preoperative walking ability, concomitant operations, and postoperative immobilization had no significant effect on the rates of recurrence or recurvatum.

Phosphoglucomutase (PGM) grouping of bloodstains on silver

This paper describes a case involving alteration of phosphoglucomutase (PGM) isoenzyme patterns in bloodstains present on silver. The effect could be produced by treating blood samples with silver nitrate solution.

Comparison of electronic and manometric central venous pressures. Influence of access route

Manometric central venous pressure (CVP) measurements are still routinely used as indicators of intravascular volume, particularly during surgery and when cardiorespiratory function is assumed to be normal. The difference between manometric measurements of CVP, from a 16-gauge polyvinylchloride catheter, and those obtained electronically from the level of the right atrium through the proximal port of a pulmonary artery catheter was studied in 40 patients admitted to the ICU. Despite correct position of the catheter tips and adequate respiratory oscillations, manometric measurements differed considerably from right atrial mean pressure determinations. The discrepancy was largest and the direction of change not predictable when the CVP catheters was inserted via an antecubital or right subclavian vein. When catheters were inserted from the left subclavian vein or the internal jugular, on the other hand, manometric CVP was consistently 4-6 cm H2O higher than the electronic pressure determination. If a manometric CVP catheter is to be used, the internal jugular or left subclavian routes appear preferable.