TY - JOUR T1 - Lucina JF - Archives of Disease in Childhood JO - Arch Dis Child SP - 564 LP - 564 DO - 10.1136/adc.87.6.564 VL - 87 IS - 6 A2 - , Y1 - 2002/12/01 UR - http://adc.bmj.com/content/87/6/564.abstract N2 - Closure of isolated atrial septal defect by catheter implacement of an occlusive device causes less short term disturbance to children and their families and is cheaper than surgical closure ( Heart2002;8867–70OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text ). In Victoria, Australia 43 children who had device closure were compared with 19 who had surgical closure. Average hospital stay was 29 hours (device) and 88 hours (surgery). The surgery group had more postoperative pain and used more analgesia. One week after the procedure 36 (84%) children in the device group and four (21%) in the surgery group were back to their usual activity level. Total cost was Aus $11,845 (device) vs $12,969 (surgery). Four patients in the device group, but none in the surgery group, had a small residual shunt after 3 months.Influenza may spread among babies in neonatal intensive care units. In Barcelona in 1999 ( Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal2002;21:196–200OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science) there were two oubreaks in one hospital (in late winter and spring and again in autumn) and one (autumn) in another. In all, 30 infants had nasopharyngeal secretions positive for influenza A virus and 22 of these infants were symptomatic, 19 with respiratory symptoms (11 lower respiratory tract, 8 upper respiratory tract) and four with gastrointestinal symptoms (poor feeding, vomiting, abdominal distension). (One infant had both respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms). All recovered. Extra infection control measures were implemented … ER -