<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Renal artery stenosis is an important cause of hypertension in children, accounting for 5-10% of cases. When suspected, noninvasive imaging options include ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT) angiography and magnetic resonance (MR) angiography. However, digital subtraction angiography (DSA) remains the gold standard.</p>

<p><strong>OBJECTIVE: </strong>To investigate the accuracy and inter-reader reliability of CT angiography in children with suspected renal artery stenosis.</p>

<p><strong>MATERIALS AND METHODS: </strong>This is a retrospective study of patients suspected of having renal artery stenosis evaluated by both CT angiography and DSA between 2008 and 2019 at a tertiary pediatric hospital. Only children who underwent CT angiography within 6&nbsp;months before DSA were included. CT angiography studies were individually reviewed by two pediatric radiologists, blinded to clinical data, other studies and each other's evaluation, to determine the presence of stenosis at the main renal artery and 2nd- and 3rd-order branches. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were calculated using DSA as the reference. The effective radiation dose for CT angiography and DSA was also calculated. Kappa statistics were used to assess inter-reader agreement.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Seventy-four renal units were evaluated (18 girls, 19 boys). The patients' median age was 8&nbsp;years (range: 1-21&nbsp;years). Overall, CT angiography was effective in detecting renal artery stenosis with a sensitivity of 85.7%, specificity of 91.5% and accuracy of 88.9%. There was moderate inter-reader agreement at the main renal artery level (k=0.73) and almost perfect inter-reader agreement at the 2nd/3rd order (k=0.98). However, the sensitivity at the 2nd- and 3rd-order level was lower (14.3%). CT angiography provided excellent negative predictive value for evaluating renal artery stenosis at the main renal artery level (90.1%) and at the 2nd- or 3rd-order branches (82.7%). The median effective dose of CT angiography studies was 2.2&nbsp;mSv (range: 0.6-6.3) while the effective dose of DSA was 13.7&nbsp;mSv.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSION: </strong>CT angiography has high sensitivity and specificity at the main renal artery level with a lower radiation dose than previously assumed. Therefore, it can be used as a diagnostic tool in patients with low to medium risk of renal artery stenosis, and as a screening and treatment planning tool in patients at high risk.</p>

<p>Ciliopathy syndromes are a diverse spectrum of disease characterized by a combination of cystic kidney disease, hepatobiliary disease, retinopathy, skeletal dysplasia, developmental delay, and brain malformations. Though generally divided into distinct disease categories based on the pattern of system involvement, ciliopathy syndromes are known to display certain phenotypic overlap. We performed next-generation sequencing panel testing, clinical exome sequencing, and research-based exome sequencing reanalysis on patients with suspected ciliopathy syndromes with additional features. We identified biallelic pathogenic variants in BBS1 in a child with features of cranioectodermal dysplasia, and biallelic variants in BBS12 in a child with the clinical stigmata of Bardet-Biedl syndrome, but also with anal atresia. We additionally identified biallelic pathogenic variants in WDR35 and DYNC2H1 in children with predominant liver disease and ductal plate malformation without skeletal dysplasia. Our study highlights the phenotypic and genetic diversity of ciliopathy syndromes, the importance of considering ciliopathy syndromes as a disease-spectrum and screening for all associated complications in all patients, and describes exclusive extra-skeletal manifestations in two classical skeletal dysplasia syndromes.</p>

<p>Supported by a Pilot Grant from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness (to D.C.). D.C. is also supported by the NIH/NIDDK (K23 DK125670). G.T. was supported by the NIH/NIDDK (K23 DK106428). Ja.G. was supported by NIH/NIDDK (K08 DK110536). M.D. was supported by the NIH/NIDDK (K23 DK093556). The NIH and NIDDK had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; and preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the NIDDK nor NIH. G.T. serves on the scientific advisory boards for Allena Pharmaceuticals, Novome Biotechnology, and Dicerna Pharmaceuticals and serves as a consultant for Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, all of which are unrelated to this work. M.D. receives research funding from Mallinckrodt unrelated to this work. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest. Portions of this study were presented at the Pediatric Academic Society annual meeting, May 5-8, 2020, Toronto, Canada.</p>

<p><strong>OBJECTIVE: </strong>To assess the prevalence of therapy-related kidney outcomes in survivors of Wilms tumor (WT).</p>

<p><strong>STUDY DESIGN: </strong>This prospective cohort study included survivors of WT who were ≥5 years old and ≥1 year from completing therapy, excluding those with pre-existing hypertension, prior dialysis or kidney transplant. Participants completed 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). Abnormal blood pressure (BP) was defined as ≥90 percentile. Masked hypertension was defined as having normal office BP and abnormal ABPM findings. Urine was analyzed for KIM-1, IL-18, EGF, albumin, and creatinine. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated using the bedside CKiD equation. Recent kidney ultrasounds and echocardiograms were reviewed for contralateral kidney size and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), respectively. Clinical follow-up data was collected for approximately 2 years following study enrollment.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Thirty-two participants (median age 13.6 [IQR: 10.5-16.3] years; 75% ≥Stage 3 WT) were evaluated at a median of 8.7 years (IQR: 6.5-10.8) post-therapy; 29 participants underwent unilateral radical nephrectomy, two bilateral partial nephrectomy, and one radical and contralateral partial nephrectomy. 72% received kidney radiotherapy and 75% received doxorubicin. Recent median eGFR was 95.6 ml/min/1.73m (IQR: 84.6-114.0; 11 (34%) had an eGFR &lt;90). Abnormal ABPM results were found in 22/29 participants (76%), masked hypertension in 10/29 (34%), and microalbuminuria in 2/32 (6%). 22/32 (69%) participants had abnormal EGF; few had abnormal KIM-1 or IL-18. Seven participants with previous unilateral nephrectomy lacked compensatory contralateral kidney hypertrophy. None had LVH.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSION: </strong>In survivors of WT, adverse kidney outcomes were common and should be closely monitored.</p>

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Strain analysis with speckle-tracking echocardiography shows promise as a screening tool for silent myocardial dysfunction in pediatric-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (pSLE). We compared left ventricular (LV) systolic deformation (measured by strain) in children and adolescents with pSLE to controls, and assessed the relationship between strain, disease activity, and other noninvasive measures of cardiovascular health.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>Twenty pSLE subjects ages 9-21 underwent comprehensive cardiovascular testing, including 2D speckle-tracking echocardiography, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), peripheral endothelial function testing, pulse wave velocity and analysis, and carotid ultrasound. Longitudinal apical-4 chamber (LS ) and midpoint circumferential strain (CS ) were compared to that of 70 healthy controls using multivariable linear regression. Among pSLE subjects, Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate relationships between global longitudinal or circumferential strain and other measures of cardiovascular health.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Average SLE disease duration was 3.2&nbsp;years (standard deviation [SD] 2.1). 2/20 pSLE subjects had persistent disease activity, and only one met criteria for hypertension by ABPM. LS was significantly reduced in pSLE subjects compared to controls (mean -18.3 [SD 3.2] vs -21.8% [SD 2.2], P-value &lt;.001). There was no significant difference in CS (-24.8 [SD 3.7] vs -25.7% [SD 3.4], P&nbsp;=&nbsp;.29). Among pSLE subjects, decreased nocturnal blood pressure dipping on ABPM was associated with reduced global circumferential strain (r -0.59, P&nbsp;=&nbsp;.01).</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Longitudinal myocardial deformation is impaired in pSLE patients despite clinical remission and may represent early myocardial damage. Strain analysis should be considered in addition to standard echocardiographic assessment during follow-up of patients with pSLE.</p>

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Loss of the normal nocturnal decline in blood pressure (BP), known as non-dipping, is a potential measure of cardiovascular risk identified by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). We sought to determine whether non-dipping is a useful marker of abnormal vascular function and subclinical atherosclerosis in pediatric-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (pSLE).</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>Twenty subjects 9-19 years of age with pSLE underwent ABPM, peripheral endothelial function testing, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity/analysis for aortic stiffness, and carotid intima-media thickness. We assessed the prevalence of non-dipping and other ABPM abnormalities. Pearson or Spearman rank correlation tests were used to evaluate relationships between nocturnal BP dipping, BP load (% of abnormally elevated BPs over 24-h), and vascular outcome measures.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>The majority (75%) of subjects had inactive disease, with mean disease duration of 3.2 years (± 2.1). The prevalence of non-dipping was 50%, which occurred even in the absence of nocturnal or daytime hypertension. Reduced diastolic BP dipping was associated with poorer endothelial function (r 0.5, p = 0.04). Intima-media thickness was significantly greater in subjects with non-dipping (mean standard deviation score of 3.0 vs 1.6, p = 0.02). In contrast, higher systolic and diastolic BP load were associated with increased aortic stiffness (ρ 0.6, p = 0.01 and ρ 0.7, p &lt; 0.01, respectively), but not with endothelial function or intima-media thickness.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSION: </strong>In a pSLE cohort with low disease activity, isolated nocturnal BP non-dipping is prevalent and associated with endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerotic changes. In addition to hypertension assessment, ABPM has a promising role in risk stratification and understanding heterogeneous mechanisms of cardiovascular disease in pSLE.</p>

<p><strong>OBJECTIVE: </strong>To assess preventive care measure prescribing in children exposed to glucocorticoids and identify prescribing variation according to subspecialty and patient characteristics.</p>

<p><strong>STUDY DESIGN: </strong>Retrospective cohort study of children initiating chronic glucocorticoids in the gastroenterology, nephrology, and rheumatology divisions at a pediatric tertiary care center. Outcomes included 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and lipid testing, pneumococcal polysaccharide (PPV) and influenza vaccination, and stress dose hydrocortisone prescriptions.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>A total of 701 children were followed for a median of 589 days. 25OHD testing was performed in 73%, lipid screening in 29%, and PPV and influenza vaccination in 16% and 78%, respectively. Hydrocortisone was prescribed in 2%. Across specialties, 25OHD, lipid screening, and PPV prescribing varied significantly (all P &lt; .001). Using logistic regression adjusting for specialty, 25OHD testing was associated with older age, female sex, non-Hispanic ethnicity, and lower baseline height and body mass index z-scores (all P &lt; .03). Lipid screening was associated with older age, higher baseline body mass index z-score, and lower baseline height z-score (all P &lt; .01). Vaccinations were associated with lower age (P &lt; .02), and PPV completion was associated with non-White race (P = .04).</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Among children chronically exposed to glucocorticoids, 25OHD testing and influenza vaccination were common, but lipid screening, pneumococcal vaccination, and stress dose hydrocortisone prescribing were infrequent. Except for influenza vaccination, preventive care measure use varied significantly across specialties. Quality improvement efforts are needed to optimize preventive care in this high-risk population.</p>