Role of routine investigations in children presenting with their first febrile convulsion.

To assess the role of routine investigations in children presenting with their first febrile convulsion, the results of investigations carried out in 328 children over a 2-year period were reviewed. Lumber puncture was performed in 96% of cases and resulted in the detection of 4 cases of unsuspected meningitis, one of which was bacterial. 2 children had normal lumbar punctures on admission but developed meningococcal meningitis within 48 hours. Sugar, calcium, urea, and electrolyte estimations, and blood counts were commonly performed but were unhelpful. We suggest that lumbar puncture in those children presenting with their first febrile convulsion under the age of 18 months is the only useful routine investigation.     

Diseases that mimic meningitis. Analysis of 650 lumbar punctures

A retrospective review of charts for 650 children who had lumbar puncture for suspected meningitis was undertaken to determine the characteristics of patients with and without meningitis, identify other conditions suggesting meningitis, and evaluate the predictive value of signs and symptoms of meningitis. The incidence of positive lumbar punctures increased with patient age. Younger infants did not present with classical features of meningitis. Bulging fontanel, lethargy, and irritability were nonspecific symptoms. Vomiting and headache, although not specific, proved to be more sensitive indicators of meningeal infection. Most patients with meningitis (75%) had at least one sign of meningeal irritation, but so did 25% of patients without meningitis. Brudzinski's sign was not specific. In contrast, nuchal rigidity and Kernig's sign had high predictive value. Up to age five, the diseases most often suggesting meningitis were right-sided pneumonia, gastroenteritis, otitis, tonsillitis, exanthema subitum, and urinary tract infections. Of 171 patients with febrile convulsion, one (0.5%) had bacterial meningitis and four had aseptic meningitis.     

Zinc in CSF of patients with febrile convulsion

OBJECTIVE: This prospective study was carried out from July-December 1999 to see the status of zinc in CSF of children with febrile convulsion and to compare this to that of control. METHODS: Forty-two cases of febrile convulsion and 30 controls (fever without convulsion) were enrolled into the study. CSF zinc was estimated by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) in Atomic Energy Center, Dhaka and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The mean zinc level in CSF in the study sample was 40.19mgm/L and that in control was 74.98mgm/L. This difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The study concludes that a significantly lower of zinc exists in CSF of children with febrile. However no relationship was found between CSF zinc status with age, sex, degree & duration of fever and time of lumbar puncture after convulsion.     

Lumbar puncture and febrile convulsions

We report the data of 878 selected children between 1 month and 6 years, presenting a first episode of seizure with fever. Two-hundred-fifty-five children underwent lumbar puncture. In 7 cases the CSF findings showed a bacterial meningitis, in 14 cases a viral meningitis. In 598 of the 623 children who did not undergo LP, a bacterial meningitis could be excluded on the basis of the clinical course. The data show that the probability of finding a bacterial or viral meningitis is high in children under 6 months of age even if no significant neurological signs are found on examination performed shortly after the seizure. In our study, older children affected by bacterial meningitis were clinically identifiable. In children aged 6 months to 3 years without important neurological signs, a complex seizure has been found to be a significant discriminating factor between patients with and without viral meningitis.     

Seizures and fever: can we rule out meningitis on clinical grounds alone?

A study was done of 309 children seen in two ERs with a first seizure and fever to assess whether meningitis could be recognized using readily available clinical information. Among these children, 23 (7%) cases of meningitis were diagnosed. A group of 69 children with seizures and fever but no meningitis served as controls. Signs from ER examinations that discriminated between children with and those without meningitis were: petechiae, nuchal rigidity, coma, persistent drowsiness, ongoing convulsions, and paresis or paralysis; 21 cases were thus identified. Two children with a suspicious history but none of these signs proved to have meningitis. Children whose seizures showed no complex features and whose febrile illness revealed no suspicious features did not have meningitis. Our results indicate that based on available clinical data, meningitis can be ruled out in children presenting with seizures and fever; thus, there is no need for routine investigation of cerebrospinal fluid.     

Lumbar punctures in suspected bacterial meningitis: Too many or too few?

Children aged 1 month to 14 years admitted to the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children during a 10 month period with suspected meningitis were studied prospectively. The aims were to determine how often lumbar puncture (LP) was delayed or never done, in relation to the outcome of all children, in order to determine the risks of LP and the risks of not doing LP. Of 218 children with suspected meningitis, LP was performed immediately in 195 (89.4%). Meningitis was diagnosed in 49 of these (bacterial 18, viral 31). No child developed cerebral herniation due to immediate LP. There were 11 traumatic taps and two children required repeated attempts. Lumbar puncture was delayed, but performed at a later time in 17 children, of whom three had proven bacterial meningitis, 1 had presumed bacterial meningitis but no organism was detected and 13 had alternative diagnoses. Six children never had an LP, although ventricular cerebrospinal fluid was obtained from two Four of these six children had presumptive bacterial meningitis, one had tuberculous meningitis presenting with acute hydrocephaius and diagnosed post-mortem, and one had a very poor neurological outcome and no final diagnosis was reached. Of the 27 children with bacterial meningitis, LP was performed immediately in 18, or two-thirds. There were only minor adverse effects of immediate LP. Delayed LP probably resulted in failure to identify the organism in one child with bacterial meningitis, but did not adversely affect outcome in any child. Of the six children in whom LP was never performed, in only one was no final diagnosis reached. There was no evidence of excessive morbidity attributable to performing too many or too few lumbar punctures.     

Meningitis following lumbar puncture in bacteremia?

We report on two infants with bacteremia and the clinical signs of meningitis who developed overt meningitis following an extended period after the first lumbar puncture, in which inconspicuous (cytological and bacteriological) cerebrospinal fluid were found. The causative infective agents of bacteremia and meningitis were identical. The iatrogenic induction of meningitis by the procedure of lumbar puncture in the presence of a bacteremia is imaginable, but has not been proven. Diagnostic consequences are: Every lumbar puncture for bacterial meningitis has to be complemented with a simultaneous blood culture. Lumbar puncture should be repeated when clinical signs of meningitis persists in children, especially in infants with positive blood culture and with inconspicuous cerebrospinal fluid findings in the initial lumbar puncture. Such children should be hospitalized for clinical observation. Therapeutical consequences are presently unclear. Proven recommendations are lacking for the different possible procedures after initial lumbar puncture in children with suspicion of a bacteremia: for instance no therapy or one single antibiotic dose given i.v. immediately following the lumbar puncture or the same treatment as in proven meningitis until microbiological results are obtained.     

Acute illnesses in the 2 weeks after hospitalization for bacterial meningitis

The hospital records of 118 2-month-old to 3-year-old children who had been treated for bacterial meningitis were reviewed. Within 2 weeks after hospitalization, one fourth of the patients sought medical attention for an acute illness, but only one was treated for the possible relapse or recurrence of meningitis. Because only five of the 113 patients with available follow-up information required a diagnostic lumbar puncture procedure, it is not recommended that a lumbar puncture be performed following treatment of bacterial meningitis to provide end-of-treatment baseline information.     

Zinc in CSF of patients with febrile convulsion

Objective : This prospective study was carried out from July-December 1999 to see the status of zinc in CSF of children with febrile convulsion and to compare this to that of control.Methods : Forty-two cases of febrile convulsion and 30 controls (fever without convulsion) were enrolled into the study. CSF zinc was estimated by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) in Atomic Energy Center, Dhaka and compared between the two groups.Results : The mean zinc level in CSF in the study sample was 40.19mgm/L and that in control was 74.98mgm/L This difference was statistically significant (p<0.001).Conclusion : The study concludes that a significantly lower of zinc exists in CSF of children with febrile. However no relationship was found between CSF zinc status with age, sex, degree & duration of fever and time of lumbar puncture after convulsion.     

Role of routine lumbar puncture in neonatal sepsis

Objective: To evaluate the utility of lumbar puncture done routinely as part of complete workup in neonatal sepsis.
Methodology: Two hundred and nine consecutive lumbar punctures performed in 169 neonates were prospectively evaluated for the diagnosis of meningitis over a 6 month period in a tertiary care referral neonatal unit.
Results: Among babies with 'suspected clinical sepsis', five (3.3%) were diagnosed to have meningitis. None of the clinically normal babies with high risk obstetric factors alone had meningitis. The lumbar puncture was traumatic in 22.9%, and in 26.3% the fluid obtained was inadequate for complete analysis. The results were inconclusive in 37% of the cases.
Conclusion: Based on this study, routine lumbar puncture may not be required in clinically normal newborns with adverse obstetric factors. In babies with clinical sepsis, though the yield is not very high; there are no reliable clinical or laboratory markers to predict which babies will have meningitis and hence these babies would warrant a lumbar puncture.     

Management of the febrile child: a survey of pediatric and emergency medicine residency directors.

We conducted a survey to determine whether there is uniformity in the training of residents regarding the management of febrile children. One hundred forty-three (62%) of 231 pediatric and 39 (53%) of the 73 emergency medicine residency directors responded. There was no uniformity in the definition of a fever. Ninety-nine percent of the pediatric and 82% of the emergency medicine residency directors teach that all febrile infants less than 4 weeks of age should be hospitalized (P less than 0.0001). Forty-six percent of residency directors teach that a lumbar puncture should be performed for all children less than 12 months of age with their first febrile convulsion. Thirty percent of pediatric and 62% of emergency medicine residency directors teach that a blood culture should be obtained from a child with fever without source who is younger than 24 months of age (P less than 0.0005). Nonspecific tests are taught to be used to determine which febrile child should have a blood culture as follows: white blood cell count, 50%; differential, 20%; erythrocyte sedimentation rate, 13%; and C-reactive protein, 2%. There was little uniformity of teaching regarding the approach to the febrile child and there were significant differences in training by specialty.     

Intracranial tumours during the first two years of life: presenting features.

Between 1979 and 1994, 21 children (nine females, 12 males) with intracranial tumours diagnosed before the age of 2 years (range 2-23 months) were treated at the University Hospital of Wales. The commonest presenting symptoms were vomiting (n = 9) and unsteadiness (n = 8); the commonest presenting sign was enlarged occipitofrontal circumference (> 97th centile in 16 and > 90th centile in a further two). In five cases with signs of raised intracranial pressure, meningitis was the clinical diagnosis, and a lumbar puncture was performed. For cases with long delays in diagnosis, multiple other disorders had been considered and the significance of head enlargement had not been recognised. In very early childhood, intracranial tumours are uncommon and can mimic other disorders, especially meningitis. Early neuroimaging is advised when a child presents with recent onset of neurological symptoms and a disproportionately large head.     

Intracranial tumours during the first two years of life: presenting features

Between 1979 and 1994, 21 children (nine females, 12 males) with intracranial tumours diagnosed before the age of 2 years (range 2-23 months) were treated at the University Hospital of Wales. The commonest presenting symptoms were vomiting (n = 9) and unsteadiness (n = 8); the commonest presenting sign was enlarged occipitofrontal circumference (> 97th centile in 16 and > 90th centile in a further two). In five cases with signs of raised intracranial pressure, meningitis was the clinical diagnosis, and a lumbar puncture was performed. For cases with long delays in diagnosis, multiple other disorders had been considered and the significance of head enlargement had not been recognised. In very early childhood, intracranial tumours are uncommon and can mimic other disorders, especially meningitis. Early neuroimaging is advised when a child presents with recent onset of neurological symptoms and a disproportionately large head.     

Assessment of febrile seizures in children

Febrile seizures are the most common form of childhood seizures, affecting 2–5% of all children and usually appearing between 3 months and 5 years of age. Despite its predominantly benign nature, a febrile seizure (FS) is a terrifying experience for most parents. The condition is perhaps one of the most prevalent causes of admittance to pediatric emergency wards worldwide. FS, defined as either simple or complex, may be provoked by any febrile bacterial or (more usually) viral illness. No specific level of fever is required to diagnose FS. It is essential to exclude underlying meningitis in all children with FS, either clinically or, if any doubt remains, by lumbar puncture. There is no evidence, however, to support routine lumbar puncture in all children admitted with simple FS, especially when typical clinical signs of meningitis are lacking. The risk of epilepsy following FS is 1–6%. The association, however small, between FS and epilepsy may demonstrate a genetic link between FS and epilepsy rather than a cause and effect relationship. The effectiveness of prophylactic treatment with medication remains controversial. There is no evidence of the effectiveness of antipyretics in preventing future FS. Prophylactic use of paracetamol, ibuprofen or a combination of both in FS, is thus a questionable practice. There is reason to believe that children who have experienced a simple FS are over-investigated and over-treated. This review aims to provide physicians with adequate knowledge to make rational assessments of children with febrile seizures.     

Lower degree of fever at the initial febrile convulsion is associated with increased risk of subsequent convulsions.

We studied 132 children admitted consecutively with their first febrile convulsion to assess whether the degree of fever at the onset of the convulsion can predict the risk of subsequent convulsions. The children studied were reviewed at least 2 years after the initial febrile convulsion to determine the number of children who had recurrences of febrile convulsions and/or afebrile convulsions. Children with body temperatures below 39 degrees C at the onset of their initial febrile convulsion (Group 1) were two and half times more likely to experience multiple convulsions within the same illness than those with body temperatures above 39 degrees C (Group 2). This occurred when the body temperature rose above that which had triggered the initial febrile convulsion. Children in Group 1 were also over three times more likely to experience recurrent febrile convulsion in subsequent illnesses than those in Group 2. As for subsequent development of afebrile convulsion or epilepsy, although the risk was low, it only occurred in Group 1. It is suggested that the known association between multiple convulsions, recurrent febrile convulsions and epilepsy may be due to the single predisposing factor of a low degree of fever at the onset of febrile convulsion. Each child with febrile convulsion may have his own threshold for eliciting a convulsion with fever; the lower this threshold is, the more likely are subsequent convulsions.     

Haemophilus influenzae type b still remains a leading cause of meningitis among unvaccinated children--a prospective CSF analysis study

A prospective, hospital-based cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis study was undertaken in 65 children who had diagnostic lumbar puncture on admission for suspected central nervous system infections. Twenty-three children were clinically diagnosed to have had sepsis and/or meningitis. CSF bacterial culture grew Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) in four cases and Streptococcus pneumonia (SP) was cultured in another child. Bacterial antigen was detected in 13 other CSF specimens and the pathogens were Hib (n = 9), SP (n = 3) and Group B Streptococcus (n = 1). No etiologic cause was identified to explain the abnormal CSF pleocytosis and biochemistry in the remaining five cases. In contrast, the CSF analysis was normal in 42 other children with probable viral and non-infectious neurological condition, mostly febrile convulsions. The overall frequency rate for all types of meningitis and especially for Hib meningitis were 43 and 31 cases per 100,000 children < 5 years of age, respectively. These findings support our earlier observations that Hib meningitis still remains the leading cause of childhood meningitis in our region. Also it reaffirms the observation that bacterial meningitis may often be under-reported if CSF positive culture alone is considered for the diagnosis.     

新生儿化脓性脑膜炎的临床特点与早期诊断

目的探讨新生儿化脓性脑膜炎的临床特点与早期诊断方法。方法选择2010年3月-2011年12月就诊于本院新生儿科疑似化脓性脑膜炎患儿100例,均于本院应用抗生素前行腰椎穿刺术,留取脑脊液(CSF)标本行常规、生化检测及培养,同时留取CSF 1 mL行PCR检测16 S rRNA。结果临床诊断为化脓性脑膜炎者40例,其中发热36例(90%),惊厥29例(72.5%),呼吸暂停5例(12.5%),前囟饱满23例(57.5%)。临床诊断为化脓性脑膜炎40例患儿,其CSF PCR检测均为阳性。CSF培养阳性5例,该5例CSF参数异常,PCR检测均呈阳性。PCR检测16 S rRNA阳性58例,PCR阳性率明显高于CSF培养、CSF参数(χ2=65.09,P=0.00;χ2=6.48,P=0.01)。结论新生儿化脓性脑膜炎临床特点不典型,CSF检查存在一定局限性,CSF培养阳性率低,结合PCR检测能提高阳性率。     

轻度胃肠炎伴婴幼儿良性惊厥在婴幼儿急性腹泻伴惊厥疾病谱中的地位及意义

目的探讨轻度胃肠炎伴婴幼儿良性惊厥(BICE)在婴幼儿急性腹泻伴惊厥疾病谱中的地位及意义。方法对2009-2011年收治的急性腹泻并有惊厥症状患儿的住院资料进行回顾性分析。结果 184例急性腹泻伴惊厥的病例中,轻度胃肠炎伴婴幼儿良性惊厥58例、热性惊厥49例、癫癎43例、病毒性脑炎19例、低钠性脑病6例、高钠性脑病5例、中毒性脑病2例、低钙惊厥2例。BICE患儿年龄为(17.47±7.90)个月,全身症状轻,脱水轻或无,惊厥多呈全面性强直或强直阵挛发作,发作持续时间短,多发生在病程前2 d;轮状病毒阳性率为65.52%;血常规、生化、脑脊液、CT/MRI、脑电图等无明显异常。BICE患儿入院后予补液治疗,在首次惊厥后给予肌注苯巴比妥,住院过程惊厥再发者立即静脉注射地西泮,均住院2～5 d治愈出院。结论 BICE为婴幼儿急性腹泻伴惊厥中的常见疾病,临床应以对症治疗为主,应避免不必要的检查和过度药物治疗。     

Pneumococcal meningitis presenting with a simple febrile seizure and negative blood-culture result

A 12-month-old girl with occult bacterial meningitis presented with a simple febrile seizure. On examination, the patient was alert, interactive, and smiling responsively without meningeal signs, focal neurologic findings, or signs of extreme illness. Her parents were reluctant to allow a lumbar puncture, and the patient was admitted for observation without lumbar puncture. Her fever resolved, and she was playful, had good oral intake, and was discharged 24 hours after admission. Her initial blood-culture result remained negative. Within 24 hours of discharge, the patient had a focal febrile seizure, came back to the hospital, and was found to have meningitis with a penicillin-susceptible, nonvaccine Streptococcus pneumoniae strain 12F.