Beta-haemolytic group A streptococcal acute pharyngo-tonsillitis in pediatric patients: a clinical and epidemiological study

Authors compared the efficacy and safety of 10-day regimen of Cefaclor (CEC), oral suspension, at the dose of 25 mg/kg BID, and Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (AMC), and Erythromycin (E) both given TID at the dose of 15 mg/kg in the treatment of proven group A beta hemolytic streptococcal pharyngo-tonsillitis. Of the 673 enrolled pediatric patients, 245 were selected and assigned to three groups of treatment (85 received CEC, 78 received AMC and 82 received E) and 217 were evaluated for efficacy. Clinical evaluations were performed on days 5 and 10 of treatment and 20 days after its completion (follow up). Before treatment, on treatment day 10 and at follow up throat swab cultures were performed. In evaluable patients the post-therapy clinical success and bacteriological eradication rate for CEC was 91.8% (68 of 74 evaluable patients); the rate for AMC and E were 90.5% (67/74) and 76.8% (53/69) respectively. At follow up bacteriological eradication was observed in 63 of 68 clinically cured patients (92.6%) in the CEC treatment group; in 64 of 67 (95.5%) in the AMC treatment group and in 49 of 53 (92.4%) in the E treatment group. Adverse events occurred in 24 of 217 (11.05%) treated patients and the incidence of side effects was lower in CEC group. In vitro sensitivity tests showed 37.9% of isolated SBEGA strains resistant to macrolides and 32% of SBEGA strains resistant to tetracycline. In our experience Cefaclor administered BID is as effective and more safe than Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and more effective than Erythromycin both given TID.     

Coconut allergy: Characteristics of reactions and diagnostic predictors in a pediatric tertiary care center

BackgroundLittle is known on the clinical manifestations of coconut allergy. Our knowledge to date is mainly based on case reports.ObjectiveTo characterize the allergic reactions to coconut and suggest diagnostic cutoffs for specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) and skin prick testing (SPT) to predict clinically reactive coconut allergy.MethodsMethods include retrospective chart review at an urban tertiary care center of patients with positive testing result for coconut. Probability curves were computed by logistic regression for SPT and coconut sIgE.ResultsOf 275 records reviewed, 69 patients reported coconut reactions and 206 were sensitized only or nonallergic. The reactions occurred with breastfeeding (n = 2), contact (n = 10), or oral ingestion (n = 57). Approximately 50% of oral ingestion reactions were associated with mild/moderate anaphylaxis. Clinical reactivity vs sensitization was more common in topical coconut users (2-fold) (P = .02). Although not statistically significant, there was a trend toward more coconut allergy vs sensitization in Asian and African American patients. The probability of allergy with positive SPT result was approximately 50% and with sIgE was approximately 60%. At an SPT of 9 mm wheal or sIgE of 58 kU of allergen/L, there is a 95% probability of reaction. Cosensitization with tree nuts, legumes, and seeds was common. Macadamia nut had the strongest correlation with coconut (r = 0.81, P < .001, n = 101).ConclusionAlthough the rate of reactivity to coconut in sensitized individuals is low, half of the reactions from consumption met the criteria for anaphylaxis. Clinicians should be aware of the spectrum of reactions and diagnostic use of sIgE and SPT.     

Serotypes and clinical manifestations of group B streptococcal infections in western Sweden

Objectives   To study the serotype distributions of group B streptococci (GBS) isolated from blood and cerebrospinal fluid and from the genital tract of pregnant women and to investigate any possible relation between serotype, age and clinical manifestation.
Methods   Invasive strains were collected from 1988 to 1997 and genital strains from 1995 to 1996. Strains of GBS were serotyped with coagglutination. Clinical data were obtained from hospital notes.
Results   A total of 144 invasive strains, 78 from neonates and infants and 66 from adults, were serotyped. The most common isolates from neonates and infants were types III (62%), Ia (18%), and V (9%). The most common isolates from adults were types III (29%), Ib (23%), V (21%) and II (15%). A majority of the adults (94%) had an underlying medical condition. The most common serotypes of the 114 strains isolated from the genital tract of pregnant women were types III (32%), V (22%), Ia (13%), Ib (13%) and II (11%).
Conclusions   Serotype III was the single most frequent GBS isolate from infants and adults. Serotype V, which appeared first in 1992, was the third most frequent isolate. A vaccine containing five GBS capsular polysaccharides appears to be appropriate for the Swedish population.     

Fusobacterium invasive infections in children: a retrospective study in two French tertiary care centres

The purpose of this investigation was to describe the clinical and biological characteristics and evolution of invasive Fusobacterium infections in children admitted to two French paediatric tertiary care centres. Children who were admitted from 1998 to 2009 to two tertiary care centres for invasive Fusobacterium infection were included in a retrospective study. Thirty-one children with a median age of 5.7 years (interquartile range, IQR [2.3; 9.3]) were included. Nine children had an underlying condition, most commonly sickle cell disease (n?=?3) or immunodeficiency (n?=?3). Two children had skin effraction prior to the infection. The major sites of infection were the head and neck (n?=?14) and abdomen (n?=?10). Three children suffered from atypical Lemierre’s syndrome. More than half of the children had a bacterial co-infection (58 %). Six children were hospitalised in an intensive care unit, and 67 % of them had a chronic underlying disease. None of the children died. Six children with negative cultures had Fusobacterium identified through 16S RNA-PCR. Fusobacterium is responsible for severe infection in children. Microbiological diagnosis might be improved by the wider use of molecular detection.     

Group B streptococcal infections in children in a tertiary care hospital in southern Taiwan.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is widely recognized as a leading cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis. Recently, GBS infections in older children have been increasingly noted. This retrospective study investigated the clinical features, distribution of serotypes, and antimicrobial susceptibility of GBS isolates in a tertiary care center in southern Taiwan over a 12-year period. GBS isolates recovered from various infected sites in 54 children treated from June 1991 through December 2002 were studied. These children were divided into those with disease onset of up to 3 months of age (group 1) and those with disease onset after 3 months of age (group 2). Patients in group 1 were subdivided into early-onset disease (EOD, <7 days of age, 7/30) and late-onset disease (LOD, > or =7 days to 3 months of age, 23/30). Sepsis (90% vs 8%; p<0.01) and meningitis (40% vs 4.2%; p<0.01) were observed more frequently in group 1, whereas urinary tract infection (UTI; 45.8% vs 6.7%; p<0.01) and acute tonsillitis (33.3% vs 0%; p<0.01) were noted more frequently in group 2. Underlying conditions were more common in group 2 than in group 1 (50% vs 10%; p<0.01), especially in patients with UTI. The most frequently encountered serotype was serotype III (56%). Patients in group 1, especially those with LOD, and those who had meningitis or sepsis, were prone to develop serotype III infections (p<0.05). All isolates were susceptible to penicillin G and cephalothin. About 50% of isolates were susceptible to erythromycin, azithromycin, and to clindamycin. In conclusion, GBS infection in children has different characteristics in different age groups. Serotype III is the most prevalent serotype in children. GBS isolates in southern Taiwan are still very susceptible to penicillin G.     

Hypogammaglobulinemia in a pediatric tertiary care setting

Hypogammaglobulinemia has been described as a secondary consequence of many disorders. It is also the seminal finding in many primary immune deficiencies. There are few studies examining the global etiologies of hypogammaglobulinemia. This study undertook a database discovery of all cases of laboratory-defined hypogammaglobulinemia identified in a large tertiary care pediatric hospital setting between August of 1990 until June of 2006. Eight thousand three hundred and four IgG levels were sent during that time frame. One thousand two hundred and ninety-five specimens from 680 individual patients exhibited hypogammaglobulinemia and these patients represent the study population. The majority of cases in whom an identifiable cause was found had pre-existing conditions and the IgG level was sent as part of a monitoring process. Of the 366 patients who had an IgG level obtained for diagnostic purposes, nearly half were found to have an immune deficiency. One hundred and seventy-two patients with an immune deficiency were identified. Seven percent of these had severe combined immune deficiency. Seventy-four percent of the immune deficient patients identified required active intervention with IVIG, bone marrow transplantation or other management (not including prophylactic antibiotics). Evaluating all patients with IgG levels less than half of the lower limit for age revealed 122 patients of whom 33% had a primary immune deficiency. This study provides a framework for considering causes of hypogammaglobulinemia. At the study institution, hypogammaglobulinemia was found most often as a secondary immune deficiency due to chemotherapy or from complex cardiac anomalies. The magnitude of the secondary hypogammaglobulinemia in a tertiary care setting requires public health consideration as these patients have an unknown risk of infection and an unknown risk of prolonged viral shedding; issues which could be important in epidemic settings.     

Lymphoma subtypes in India: a tertiary care center review

Clinical and Experimental Medicine - Lymphomas are a group of neoplasm arising from immune cells with varied clinical presentation, molecular profile, morphology and immunophenotype. The...     

Invasive group A,C and G streptococcal disease in western Norway: virulence gene profiles,clinical features and outcomes

Invasive group A streptococcal (iGAS) disease is endemic in Norway, but data on invasive group C and group G streptococcal (iGCS/GGS) disease are lacking. We investigated the characteristics of iGAS and iGCS/GGS infections in western Norway from March 2006 to February 2009. Clinical information was retrospectively obtained from medical records. GAS and GCS/GGS isolates were emm typed and screened for the presence of 11 superantigen (SAg) genes and the gene encoding streptococcal phospholipase A₂ (SlaA). GCS/GGS isolates were also subjected to PCR with primers targeting speG^dys. Sixty iGAS and 50 iGCS/GGS cases were identified, corresponding to mean annual incidence rates of 5.0 per 100 000 and 4.1 per 100 000 inhabitants, respectively. Skin and soft tissue infections were the most frequent clinical manifestations of both iGAS and iGCS/GGS disease, and 14 iGAS patients (23%) developed necrotizing fasciitis. The 30-day case fatality rates of iGAS and iGCS/GGS disease were 10% and 2%, respectively. emm1, emm3 and emm28 accounted for 53% of the GAS isolates, and these types were associated with severe clinical outcome. SAg gene and SlaA profiles were conserved within most of the GAS emm types, although five profiles were obtained within isolates of emm28. stG643 was the most prevalent GCS/GGS emm type, and speG^dys was identified in 73% of the GCS/GGS isolates. Neither GAS SAg genes nor SlaA were detected in GCS/GGS. Our findings indicate a considerable burden of both iGAS and iGCS/GGS disease and a high frequency of necrotizing fasciitis caused by GAS in our community.     

Fungal infections in the soft tissue: A study from a tertiary care center

Isolated fungal soft-tissue infections are uncommon but may cause severe morbidity or mortality, especially among immunosuppressed patients. In this study, a total of 56 soft-tissue specimens from patients with clinical suspicion of fungal infection collected at a tertiary care centre in Chennai during the period December 2005 to May 2007 were evaluated. Among the culture positives, majority were from diabetic patients. Among the 34 culture positives, the isolates consisted of Candida 12, Fusarium 4, Rhizopus 1 and Aspergillus 3 one each of Absidia corymbifera and Apophysomyces elegans. Treatment of fungal soft-tissue infection requires a team approach of surgeons, pathologists and microbiologists.     

A foodborne outbreak of a group A streptococcal infection in a Japanese university hospital

We describe an outbreak of foodborne tonsillopharyngitis caused by group A streptococcus (GAS), a rarely reported event that occurred during a campus orientation meeting in Japan. Of 461 students and staff members who had eaten boxed lunches during a meeting at Kitasato University, 298 developed sore throat and/or fever, and 285 underwent medical examination. Amoxicillin was prescribed when throat culture specimens yielded GAS. The attack rate was 64.6%. T-25 GAS was isolated from 150 examined persons. Of 65 patients who received amoxicillin for 3 days, GAS was eradicated before the first follow-up throat culture in 46 (70.8%) cases. Susceptibility was demonstrated to penicillins, cephalosporins, and macrolides in 86 GAS isolates obtained more than once from a given patient. GAS strains isolated at various time points were indistinguishable by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and prtF1 was present. GAS strains were often difficult to eradicate because of a short initial treatment period, patient compliance problems, and the presence of prtF1.     

Molecular epidemiology of the sil streptococcal invasive locus in group A streptococci causing invasive infections in French children

We found 31 different emm-toxin genotypes among 74 group A streptococcal isolates causing invasive infections in French children. The predominant emm types were emm1 (25%), emm3 (8%), emm4 (8%), emm6 (7%), and emm89 (9%). Sixteen percent of isolates harbored the streptococcal invasive locus, half of them belonging to emm4.     

Fetal skeletal dysplasias in a tertiary care center: radiology,pathology, and molecular analysis of 112 cases

Fetal skeletal dysplasias are a heterogeneous group of rare genetic disorders, affecting approximately 2.4–4.5 of 10,000 births. We performed a retrospective review of the perinatal autopsies conducted between the years 2002–2011 at our center. The study population consisted of fetuses diagnosed with skeletal dysplasia with subsequent termination, stillbirth and live‐born who died shortly after birth. Of the 2002 autopsies performed, 112 (5.6%) were diagnosed with skeletal dysplasia. These 112 cases encompassed 17 of 40 groups of Nosology 2010. The two most common Nosology groups were osteogenesis imperfecta [OI, 27/112 (24%)] and the fibroblast growth factor receptor type 3 (FGFR3) chondrodysplasias [27/112 (24%)]. The most common specific diagnoses were thanatophoric dysplasia (TD) type 1 [20 (17.9%)], and OI type 2 [20 (17.9%)]. The combined radiology, pathology, and genetic investigations and grouping the cases using Nosology 2010 resulted in a specific diagnosis in 96 of 112 cases.     

An audit of consent refusals in clinical research at a tertiary care center in India

Background and Rationale:

Ensuring research participants’ autonomy is one of the core ethical obligations of researchers. This fundamental principle confers on every participant the right to refuse to take part in clinical research, and the measure of the number of consent refusals could be an important metric to evaluate the quality of the informed consent process. This audit examined consent refusals among Indian participants in clinical studies done at our center.

Materials and Methods:

The number of consent refusals and their reasons in 10 studies done at our center over a 5-year period were assessed. The studies were classified by the authors according to the type of participant (healthy vs patients), type of sponsor (investigator-initiated vs pharmaceutical industry), type of study (observational vs interventional), level of risk [based on the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) “Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research on Human Participants”], available knowledge of the intervention being studied, and each patient''s disease condition.

Results:

The overall consent refusal rate was 21%. This rate was higher among patient participants [23.8% vs. healthy people (14.9%); P = 0.002], in interventional studies [33.6% vs observational studies (7.5%); P < 0.0001], in pharmaceutical industry-sponsored studies [34.7% vs investigator-initiated studies (7.2%); P < 0.0001], and in studies with greater risk (P < 0.0001). The most common reasons for consent refusals were multiple blood collections (28%), inability to comply with the study protocol (20%), and the risks involved (20%).

Conclusion:

Our audit suggests the adequacy and reasonable quality of the informed consent process using consent refusals as a metric.KEY WORDS: Autonomy, consent, India, reason, refusal, risk     

Haemophilus influenzae carriage in children attending French day care centers: a molecular epidemiological study

The nasopharyngeal Haemophilus influenzae flora of healthy children under the age of 3 years attending day care centers in three distinct French geographic areas was analyzed by sampling during two periods, spring 1999 (May and June) and fall 1999 (November and December). The average carrier rate among 1,683 children was 40.9%. The prevalence of capsulated H. influenzae carriers was 0.4% for type f and 0.6% for type e. No type b strains were found among these children, of whom 98.5% had received one or more doses of anti-Haemophilus b vaccine. Among the strains, 44.5% were TEM-type beta-lactamase producers and nine (1.3%) were beta-lactamase-negative ampicillin-resistant strains. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis restriction patterns showed a large diversity with 366 SmaI patterns from 663 strains. Among the strains isolated during a given period, 33% were isolated simultaneously in more than one area. In each area, depending on the sampling period, 68 to 72% of the strains had new pulsotypes and persistence of 28 to 32% of the strains was noted. For the 297 beta-lactamase-producing strains, 194 patterns were found. The genomic diversity of these strains was comparable to that of the whole set of strains and does not suggest a clonal diffusion. Among the beta-lactamase-producing strains isolated in November and December, depending on the area, 66 to 73% had new pulsotypes with persistence of only 27 to 33% of the strains. In any given geographic area, colonization by H. influenzae appears to be a dynamic process involving a high degree of genomic heterogeneity among the noncapsulated colonizing strains.