Primary subconjunctival lymphoma: an unusual presentation of childhood non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Of 806 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cases, only one primary subconjunctival lymphoma case was observed in Hacettepe Children's Hospital over a period of 16 years. The patient was a 12 year-old-boy with a subconjunctival mass on the upper part of his right eye. Biopsy revealed malignant lymphoma. Extensive investigations disclosed no other site of tumor. He was given the modified LSA2-L2 protocol. He has been in remission for 22 months. This may be the first report of a primary subconjunctival lymphoma in the childhood period.     

Subconjunctival steroid in the management of uveal juvenile xanthogranuloma: a case report

Uveal juvenile xanthogranuloma (JXG) is a rare intraocular tumor which usually occurs in very young children. Most reported cases of successfully treated uveal juvenile xanthogranuloma have received systemic steroids, irradiation or excision. Some cases have responded to topical steroids alone. We report a case of JXG with recurrent hyphemas and elevated intraocular pressures despite the use of topical steroid. This patient responded to the addition of subconjunctival steroid injection. This is the first report to our knowledge demonstrating a response to periocular steroid supplementation for uveal JXG unresponsive to topical steroids.     

Lymphangioma of the conjunctiva and nasal cavity in a child presenting with diffuse subconjunctival hemorrhage and nosebleeds

A 4-year-old girl had extensive subconjunctival hemorrhage in the right eye. She had recurrent minor nosebleeds starting at 6 months. Visual acuity was 20/20. Anterior segment examination showed diffuse, blood-filled, multilobulated cystic channels in the conjunctiva. Bleeding resolved, leaving transparent cystic channels. Conjunctival lymphangioma can manifest as temporary subconjunctival lymphangioma.     

A 1.5 cm-long unknown subconjunctival grass inflorescence misdiagnosed as relapsing conjunctivitis for one year

Foreign bodies are usually detected at the first visit. However, they may be overlooked sometimes, especially in children, and may cause some clinical conditions including unilateral relapsing conjunctivitis. A five-year-old girl was presented to the emergency clinic of our hospital with epiphora, purulent discharge, eyelid swelling, and a foreign body feeling in her right eye. The symptoms had been present for one year, and the patient was treated for relapsing conjunctivitis. In slit lamp examination performed with difficulty because of the patient's lack of cooperation, a localized edema and erythema were observed under the right eyelid. An exploration under general anesthesia was planned, and a 1.5 cm-long subconjunctival grass inflorescence was removed. An unknown subconjunctival foreign body should be considered in each patient with relapsing conjunctivitis, especially in children, even in the absence of ocular trauma.     

Pediatric eye injury due to Avena fatua (wild oats).

OBJECTIVE: We report on florid and unusual ophthalmic physical signs in three children where the trauma was caused by seeds from Avena fatua, a grass common in western North America. DESIGN: Case series and literature review. SETTING: Three local emergency departments (ED) during the fall of 1998. PATIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS: Three children reporting to an ED with an acutely painful eye from which the foreign body was identified botanically as Avena fatua. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Symptoms, interventions, duration of problem. RESULTS: Three male children (6, 10, 14 years) presented separately following incidents in which they had sustained direct eye injury. Each child immediately experienced severe pain and profuse watering of the eye. Severe localized edema of the conjunctiva and inflammation was evident with conjunctival vessel injection leading to bleeding, reminiscent of a chemical "burn." Initially, two children appeared to have an eyelash caught behind the lower lid. In both instances, the emergency physicians initially dismissed the possibility of there being a significant foreign body, but because of the severity of the pain, conjunctival vessel injection, and edema, they attempted to remove the "lash." Removal of the foreign body proved difficult in all three cases, requiring far greater traction than anticipated. Intact seedpods had become embedded in the subconjunctival space. Ophthalmic analgesia relieved the pain immediately, but in one child who was treated with topical antibiotic alone, significant pain was experienced for 18 hours, until steroid-antibiotic therapy was instituted. All injuries occurred in late summer when the grass propagates. CONCLUSIONS: The physical signs of scleral vasculitis and conjunctival edema can be mistaken for chemical injury or allergic chemosis, but where a foreign body resembling a hair or eyelash is visible, the presence of a seed-pod retained in the subconjunctival space must be considered, particularly if the patient reports exposure to wild grass. Application of local analgesia, foreign body removal, and steroid-antibiotic treatment is recommended.     

Ocular findings in a child with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2b

A 16-year-old girl was admitted with severe bilateral conjunctival hyperemia and stinging lasting for more than 1 year. Slit-lamp biomicroscopic examination revealed extremely thickened corneal nerves and multiple small plexiform subconjunctival neuromas. Both eyes had thickened upper and lower eyelids and a neuroma was found on the left upper conjunctival lid margin. On physical examination, a 2 x 3 cm nodule was detected within the thyroid gland. Medullary thyroid carcinoma was diagnosed by fine needle aspiration biopsy and thyroidectomy ensued. Further investigation with abdominal computed tomography revealed a pheochromocytoma (3 x 4.5 x 2 cm) of the right adrenal gland, which was removed surgically. Ophthalmologists must remember multiple endocrine neoplasia 2b in the presence of greatly thickened corneal nerves and subconjunctival neuroma because this may be the first sign of the disease. Early diagnosis and prophylactic thyroidectomy may be life saving.     

Nodular fasciitis presenting as a rapidly enlarging episcleral mass in a 3-year-old

A rapidly enlarging periocular mass in a child obligates the treating physician to rule out a malignancy, especially a rhabdomyosarcoma. A 3-year-old girl presented with a 5-day history of a rapidly growing episcleral mass superonasal to the globe, adjacent to the superior rectus muscle insertion. The lesion was locally excised. A sarcoma could not be excluded on frozen sections. Permanent sections and electron microscopy revealed nodular fasciitis, a benign lesion with a pseudosarcomatous histologic appearance. No recurrence has been noted at 9 months follow-up. Nodular fasciitis is a benign proliferation which should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a rapidly enlarging subconjunctival or orbital mass in a child.     

Complications following surgery for thyroid ophthalmopathy

A marked reaction postoperatively was noted following strabismus surgery for thyroid ophthalmopathy. Preoperatively, the right eye was noted to have a small amount of lower nasal conjunctival injection and chemosis while the left eye was quiet. Only the right eye had the severe inflammatory reaction postoperatively, while the left eye responded normally. The findings included marked proptosis, chemosis, subconjunctival hemorrhage, corneal exposure and drying with a sterile ring infiltrate, corneal thinning and vascularization, and ocular immobility. The treatment and course of these complications is described. It is suggested that muscle surgery be deferred in patients with thyroid ophthalmopathy when there are signs of continued inflammation.     

Pathophysiology of neonatal subconjunctival hemorrhage.

Of 111 newborns examined, 33 had subconjunctival hemorrhage (SCHN). Three of 19 patients delivered by cesarean section and 30 of 92 newborns delivered by the vaginal route had SCHN. Perinatal factors including duration of membrane rupture, length of second stage of labor, maternal weight and weight/length ratio, maternal ingestion of anti-inflammatory drugs, gravidity, birth weight, and Apgar score did not differ significantly in the groups with and without SCHN. It is proposed that in the majority of cases SCHN is a consequence of elevated venous pressure in the head and neck produced by compression of the fetal thorax and/or abdomen by uterine contractions. Tight umbilical cord around the neck probably represents an additional mechanism for SCHN.     

百日咳并发症

百日咳感染者可出现多种并发症，常见并发肺炎、球结膜下出血等，严重并发症，如肺动脉高压、脑病等可能危及生命。低年龄患儿缺乏百日咳特征性的临床表现，因此提高对百日咳并发症的认识，有助于及时诊断和治疗百日咳，对改善预后有着积极意义。但目前还没有百日咳并发症的诊治规范，不同报告使用的诊断名称、依据和报告数据等存在很大差异。该文就文献报道的百日咳并发症，包括呼吸系统并发症（肺炎、肺动脉高压、气胸及纵膈或皮下气肿）、骨折、疝气、循环系统并发症、神经系统并发症（惊厥、脑病及出血和血肿）、泌尿系统并发症、继发感染等进行了全面综述，希望为临床诊治和研究百日咳并发症，以及早日促成百日咳并发症的规范诊治提供参考。     

Scurvy diagnosed in a pediatric liver transplant patient awaiting combined kidney and liver retransplantation

Abstract:  First described in the 1500s, scurvy is infrequently seen in industrialized countries today, although vulnerable patient groups remain. A 15-yr-old girl underwent liver transplantation at age 26 months for a primary diagnosis of biliary hypoplasia, and subsequently developed late allograft failure and progressive renal insufficiency culminating in listing for combined liver retransplantation and kidney transplantation at age 13 yr. She required regular hemodialysis treatment for 12 months prior to deceased donor organ availability, with a complicated clinical course including recurrent septic episodes and severe cachexia. Ten months after initiation of hemodialysis, she presented with severe bone pain, purpura, ecchymoses, gingival hyperplasia, mucosal bleeding, and subconjunctival hemorrhages. Serial serum ascorbic acid levels were found to be extremely low (<10 μmol/L) despite routine supplementation both in her dialysate and via regular oral supplementation. Histopathology from skin biopsy revealed purpura, hyper- and parakeratosis, and follicular plugging. She had ECG and 2D echocardiogram disturbances, as well as osteopenia and sclerosis of the extremities on radiological evaluations. Therapy with high-dose ascorbic acid (1 g/day orally) led to complete resolution of skin lesions. This case highlights the importance of awareness and recognition of this historic diagnosis, and particularly in children with end-stage organ disease with severely compromised nutrition.     

Radiological services in a hospital emergency department--an evaluation of service delivery and radiograph interpretation

Radiological services to the Department of Ambulatory Paediatrics were audited over 1 month. Of a total of 782 separate radiographs, more than two-thirds were performed outside hours when radiologists are normally in the hospital. For only 171 of the 782 radiographs (22%) were there immediate reports by a radiologist. To determine whether the absence of immediate radiologist reports affected clinical care, a process was introduced whereby radiologists reviewed interpretation of radiographs made by resident medical officers (RMO) when no report was available. Over a 5 month period 2888 patients had radiographs when there was no immediate radiologist's report. Comparisons were made between RMO interpretation and ultimate radiologist report in 1411 of these patients. In 232 cases (16.4%) there was a discrepancy between RMO interpretation and radiologist report; 70% of these were false positive (the RMO interpreting a normal film as abnormal) while 71 were false negative (the RMO interpreting an abnormal film as normal). This study demonstrates the utility of a relatively simple quality assurance measure in situations where clinical decisions have to be made in the absence of an immediate radiologist report.     

Radiological services in a hospital Emergency Department — an evaluation of service delivery and radiograph interpretation

Abstract Radiological services to the Department of Ambulatory Paediatrics were audited over 1 month. Of a total of 782 separate radiographs, more than two-thirds were performed outside hours when radiologists are normally in the hospital. For only 171 of the 782 radiographs (22%) were there immediate reports by a radiologist.
To determine whether the absence of immediate radiologist reports affected clinical care, a process was introduced whereby radiologists reviewed interpretation of radiographs made by resident medical officers (RMO) when no report was available. Over a 5 month period 2888 patients had radiographs when there was no immediate radiologist's report. Comparisons were made between RMO interpretation and ultimate radiologist report in 1411 of these patients. In 232 cases (16.4%) there was a discrepancy between RMO interpretation and radiologist report; 70% of these were false positive (the RMO interpreting a normal film as abnormal) while 71 were false negative (the RMO interpreting an abnormal film as normal).
This study demonstrates the utility of a relatively simple quality assurance measure in situations where clinical decisions have to be made in the absence of an immediate radiologist report.     

Factors affecting pediatricians' reporting of suspected child maltreatment.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors associated with pediatricians' decision not to report suspected child maltreatment. DESIGN: A survey was distributed to a random sample of pediatricians in a single state. Participants were asked if they had ever suspected child abuse or neglect but did not report. In addition, all were asked to list all the considerations that pediatricians incorporate into their decisions not to report. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-five pediatricians completed the survey (56% of those eligible). Twenty-eight percent of respondents stated that they had considered reporting an incident of suspected child maltreatment but had chosen not to. Providers who had chosen not to report were more likely to be men (P = .006), to have been in practice longer (P = .001), to have reported more cases (P = .001), to have been deposed (P = .001) or to have testified (P = .01) in child maltreatment cases, and to have been threatened with lawsuit (P = .02) than were pediatricians who had never declined to report. Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that male gender (odds ratio [OR] 2.18; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-4.49), years in practice (OR 1.23; 95% CI 1.05-1.44), and experience reporting (OR 1.28; 95% CI 1.02-1.60) were all independently associated with decisions not to report. Respondents who had declined to report were more likely to cite lack of knowledge about reporting laws and process (P = .05) and poor experiences with child service agencies (P = .03) as reasons for not reporting than were their counterparts who had never declined to report suspected maltreatment. CONCLUSIONS: Many barriers exist to reporting suspected maltreatment. Specific educational interventions may be helpful in eliminating barriers to reporting.     

Early identification of language delay by direct language assessment or parent report?

OBJECTIVE: The goal of the study was to compare the accuracy and diagnostic power of a parent report measure and direct language assessment for early identification of children with language delay. METHOD: The parent language report and direct language measures were compared for 47 typically developing toddlers and 70 late-talking toddlers aged 24 to 26 months. One year later, language abilities of 102 of the 117 children were reassessed. RESULTS: The concurrent validity of the parent report was high both for judging language skills and for identifying language delay. No evidence was found of differences in the rating accuracy of mothers with different educational levels. Language abilities 1 year later were predicted better with direct language measurement than with the parent report. However, there were no differences between the accuracy of the parent report and individual language assessment concerning the prediction of language delay at age 3. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the parent language report is a valid and efficient tool for assessing productive language abilities and judging expressive language delay in 2-year-old toddlers. The measurement characteristics of the parent report are comparable with those of direct language measures.     

School-based asthma surveillance: A comparison of student and parental report

This study addressed the comparability of data obtained from a student-based and parent-based asthma and respiratory health survey. Our goal was to ascertain whether there were meaningful and systematic differences in asthma classification based on symptom and diagnosis reports obtained separately from students and their parents. A brief, written survey, based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Children questionnaire, was administered to 6th through 10th grade students in two schools in Oakland, CA, USA. Students who reported asthma-like indicators for the previous 12-month period were defined as positive and a more extensive questionnaire was mailed home to those parents. A more refined classification of asthma based on parent report of indicators was compared with student report. Forty-four percent of 1298 students were classified as positive for current asthma-like symptoms and 50% of parent surveys were returned. For the positive students with parent surveys, 59% were classified as 'probable' for asthma based on the parent survey. Overall, the agreement between parent and students' classification was 70%, and 83% for students with a parent report of physician diagnosis of asthma. Students who were discordant with parents for physician diagnosis of asthma were more likely to be male, and more likely to have a parent report of unscheduled Emergency Department visit for wheezing or trouble breathing. Findings indicated that with the exception of medication, students reported asthma indicators more frequently that parents, independent of classification. Student report of physician diagnosis with a 12-month report of an asthma symptom was determined to be a good indicator of probable current asthma. Inclusion of or reliance on a parental questionnaire is not likely to improve the reliability of a school-based asthma surveillance program in our population.     

No follow-up after positive newborn screening: medical neglect?

The current study examined medical professionals' behaviors related to reporting medical neglect when a family is noncompliant with follow-up services after a positive newborn screening result. Pediatric medical professionals within an urban medical campus were provided with five case vignettes in relation to different diseases. Medical professionals rated the severity of family noncompliance with follow-up services and indicated whether they would report suspected medical neglect to Child Protective Services (CPS). Physicians were more likely to report medical neglect than the other mandated reporters in the study. Logistic regression analyses found that medical professionals' perceptions of the severity of family noncompliance with services were significantly predictive of decisions to report medical neglect. Respondent gender and the method by which families were notified of screening results also significantly affected reporting behaviors in certain instances. Although all vignettes included information that met legal statutes for reporting neglect, medical professionals indicated that they would only report neglect 40-61% of the time across vignettes. Continued investigation of the rationale behind medical professionals' decision-making process and training protocols designed to improve mandated reporter knowledge and reporting behaviors are needed to further reduce bias and improve objectivity when considering ethical and professional obligations to report medical neglect.     

Thiamine deficiency: a cause of childhood ataxia not to be ignored

We report four cases of childhood ataxia with and without encephalopathies which were successfully managed with thiamine supplementation and diagnosed in retrospect as being caused by thiamine deficiency. The clinical presentations were similar to those previously reported amongst adolescents and adults who ingested the larvae of Anaphe venata, a local delicacy among the Ijeshas of south-western Nigeria, during the rainy season. This has been called seasonal ataxia syndrome. The cases were of interest because the disorder was not described in children in the previous report, which might indicate a worsening nutritional status in these communities. This report is to alert child health physicians in the developing world to the possibility of a pre-existing thiamine deficiency progressing into ataxic disorders when certain foods are ingested.     

网状Meta分析的报告规范现状分析

背景和目的：网状meta分析的价值越来越被各国卫生技术评估组织认可,但是网状meta分析如何报告一直成为一个世界难题。因此本研究拟在通过系统全面分析目前各个国家和卫生技术评估组织制定的网状meta分析报告量表,系统全面分析如何报告网状meta分析。方法：通过检索,纳入各个国家不同组织或者单位制定的网状meta分析的报告规范或者量表,并对其进行比较,进而筛选最佳的网状meta分析报告量表或者条目。结果：共纳入6个量表。6个量表分别由英国国家卫生医疗质量标准署(NICE)、国际药物经济学及结果研究协会（ISPOR）、美国诺华制药公司的Dr. Ohlssen团队、加拿大渥太华医院研究所Hutton博士团队、英国Leicester大学、加拿大McMaster大学制定。通过对6个量表进行比较发现,各个量表对网状meta分析的报告要求并不一致,这主要体现在对方法和结果的报告上。大部分量表仅仅对方法和结果的报告有要求,对背景、讨论的报告没有要求。结论：本研究基于6个网状meta分析的量表进行比较分析,进而阐述网状meta分析该如何报告。然而目前网状meta分析的报告量表并不规范,在报告要求上并不一致,就需要进一步的研究制定科学合理的报告规范。     

Foster care for child maltreatment. II. Impact on school performance

At least 150,000 children currently reside in foster care in the United States because of child maltreatment. Nearly 15% of all confirmed maltreatment reports record foster care as one of the acute interventions. Yet, the impact of foster care has been largely unexamined. We conducted a historical cohort study of the impact of foster care on subsequent school performances for 114 children placed in foster care because of maltreatment. A comparison cohort was constituted of 106 maltreated children who were similar in age, race, sex, and year of diagnosis but who were left in their homes after report. School records were reviewed for 96 of the foster care children and 69 of the home care children. School attendance had improved for both groups at the time of follow-up nearly 8 years later. Children in school at the time of report who were then placed in foster care missed an average of 15.6% of the school year prior to the report compared with missing only 3.48% of the most recent school year. The children from the comparison group missed an average of 8.5% of the school year prior to their index maltreatment report and 7.2% of their most recent year in school. Forty-four percent of the foster care group achieved average or above average grades on follow-up compared with the passing rate for the home care group of 32% (P = .17). The foster care children were more likely to receive special education services. Overall, both groups were doing poor work in school an average of 8 years after maltreatment report. There appears to be no evidence for a significant rehabilitative effect of foster care as measured by subsequent school performance.