Drug-resistant tuberculosis: controversies and challenges in pediatrics

Tuberculosis remains one of the top two causes of death caused by a single infectious disease worldwide, despite curative therapy. Children with tuberculosis are especially difficult to detect, since acid fast bacilli smears and cultures are usually negative and clinical signs are nonspecific or lacking. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, or tuberculosis resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampin, has emerged in most areas of the world over the past 20 years. Treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is more expensive and difficult. The second-line tuberculosis medications required for treatment are more toxic and less efficacious than standard treatment. These medications are not readily available in many areas of the world where drug resistance is most common. Fluoroquinolones are one of the most promising classes of second-line medications, but are not generally recommended for use in children. Ethambutol is recommended in the initial treatment of tuberculosis in children treated in areas where there is a risk of drug-resistant disease and the susceptibility of the source case is not known. Some experts have been hesitant to use ethambutol due to the risk of visual impairment associated with the drug and the difficulties in monitoring vision in young children. Pediatric drug formulations are not available for most antituberculosis medications, even the first-line tuberculosis drugs. Treatment of children exposed, infected or ill with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is reviewed with special emphasis on second-line drugs, including recommended dosage, available formulations and necessary monitoring. While new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis have decreased in most developed countries over the past 10 years, cases continue to increase in many developing countries and among immigrants from high-risk areas. Tuberculosis and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis are serious threats requiring worldwide strategies to control and treat. Better diagnostic tests, medications, public health strategies and vaccines will all be needed to eliminate tuberculosis.     

Drug-resistant tuberculosis: controversies and challenges in pediatrics

Tuberculosis remains one of the top two causes of death caused by a single infectious disease worldwide, despite curative therapy. Children with tuberculosis are especially difficult to detect, since acid fast bacilli smears and cultures are usually negative and clinical signs are nonspecific or lacking. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, or tuberculosis resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampin, has emerged in most areas of the world over the past 20 years. Treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is more expensive and difficult. The second-line tuberculosis medications required for treatment are more toxic and less efficacious than standard treatment. These medications are not readily available in many areas of the world where drug resistance is most common. Fluoroquinolones are one of the most promising classes of second-line medications, but are not generally recommended for use in children. Ethambutol is recommended in the initial treatment of tuberculosis in children treated in areas where there is a risk of drug-resistant disease and the susceptibility of the source case is not known. Some experts have been hesitant to use ethambutol due to the risk of visual impairment associated with the drug and the difficulties in monitoring vision in young children. Pediatric drug formulations are not available for most antituberculosis medications, even the first-line tuberculosis drugs. Treatment of children exposed, infected or ill with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is reviewed with special emphasis on second-line drugs, including recommended dosage, available formulations and necessary monitoring. While new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis have decreased in most developed countries over the past 10 years, cases continue to increase in many developing countries and among immigrants from high-risk areas. Tuberculosis and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis are serious threats requiring worldwide strategies to control and treat. Better diagnostic tests, medications, public health strategies and vaccines will all be needed to eliminate tuberculosis.     

Reviewing hybrid coronary revascularization: challenges,controversies and opportunities

Two main approaches to myocardial revascularization currently exist, coronary artery bypass and percutaneous coronary intervention. In patients with advanced coronary artery disease, coronary artery bypass surgery is associated with improved long term outcomes while percutaneous coronary intervention is associated with lower periprocedural complications. A new approach has emerged in the last decade that attempts to reap the benefits of bypass surgery and stenting while minimizing the shortcomings of each approach. This new approach, hybrid coronary revascularization, has shown encouraging early results. Minimally invasive techniques for bypass surgery have played a large part of bringing this approach into contemporary practice.     

Acute HIV revisited: new opportunities for treatment and prevention

Inability to recognize incident infection has traditionally limited both scientific and public health approaches to HIV disease. Recently, some laboratories have begun adding HIV nucleic acid amplification testing to HIV diagnostic testing algorithms so that acute (antibody-negative) HIV infections can be routinely detected within the first 1-3 weeks of exposure. In this review article, we will highlight critical opportunities for HIV treatment and prevention that are presented by these diagnostic strategies.     

Pediatric skin care: guidelines for assessment, prevention, and treatment

The review of literature suggests the pediatric population is at risk for skin breakdown and therefore pressure ulcer development. The literature reveals limited information on pediatric skin care issues in comparison to the adult population. The prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers and maintenance of skin integrity in the pediatric population often is not a high priority especially in the critically ill child. Research has demonstrated that children differ from adults in the anatomical sites of skin breakdown; however, treatment remains the same. It is important to have an understanding of the underlying physiology of ulcer formation, the factors responsible for ulcer development, and the factors that put infants and children at risk for developing pressure ulcers. Accurate assessment, documentation, prevention, and treatment are all key factors.     

儿童艾滋病诊断与治疗现状及挑战

据估计,截至2008年底,全球有210万15岁以下儿童感染HIV.母婴阻断策略的实施是目前最为有效的控制婴幼儿感染的方式,通过成功的干预,母婴传播的风险可以降至2%以内,但是这样的干预在大多数资源有限的国家仍未广泛普及甚至不可及.尽管在过去的十年中,婴幼儿及儿童HIV感染的诊断和治疗方面取得了巨大的进展,但是全球每天仍有1 150例15岁以下的新感染者发生,其中90%,发生在发展中国家.     

Multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae: challenges for treatment,prevention and infection control

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Management of antimicrobial resistance in multi-drug-resistant-Klebsiella pneumoniae (MDR-KP) is a major challenge for clinicians. The optimal treatment option for MDR-KP infections is still not well established. Combination therapies including high-dose meropenem, colistin, fosfomycin, tigecycline, and aminoglycosides are widely used, with suboptimal results. New antimicrobials targeting MDR-KP have been developed during the last decades and are now at various stages of clinical research.

Areas covered: The PubMed database was searched to review the most significant literature on the topic, with a special consideration for articles coming from endemic countries.

Expert commentary: We reviewed the currently available treatment options, discussing the characteristics of new antibiotics with activity against MDR Gram-negative bacteria and the strategies for preventing the spread of MDR-KP. While we wait for real-world data from novel compounds, coordinated strategies and common efforts in infection control and stewardship programs remain the cornerstone for limiting, or potentially reversing, conditions that favor the spread of MDR-KP.     

Renovascular hypertension: balancing the controversies in diagnosis and treatment

There is considerable controversy about how to test for renovascular hypertension and, with the development of percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA) and stenting, how to treat it. Which noninvasive diagnostic test should be considered, and when is renal angiography called for? Which patients will benefit from conservative medical therapy, and when is PTRA appropriate?     

Generalized convulsive status epilepticus in adults and children: treatment guidelines and protocols

Generalized convulsive status epilepticus (GCSE) has a high morbidity and mortality, such that the rapid delivery of anticonvulsant therapy should be initiated within minutes of seizure onset to prevent permanent neuronal damage. GCSE is not a specific disease but is a manifestation of either a primary central nervous system (CNS) insult or a systemic disorder with secondary CNS effects. It is mandatory to look for an underlying cause. First-line therapies for seizures and status epilepticus include the use of a benzodiazepine, followed by an infusion of a phenytoin with a possible role for intravenous valproate or phenobarbital. If these first-line medications fail to terminate the GCSE, treatment includes the continuous infusion of midazolam, pentobarbital, or propofol.     

Atherosclerosis prevention and treatment in children and adolescents

The atherosclerotic process starts in childhood and studies show its development in fetuses. Clinical manifestation often occurs only in the sixth decade of life. Adolescence is a critical period in the development of atherosclerosis, because fatty streaks may change to transition plaque owing to genetic and environment factors. Healthcare by professionals plays a crucial role in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis, identifying poor lifestyle, positive family history of early cardiovascular disease, or other diseases such as dyslipidemia, obesity, arterial hypertension and diabetes. Dyslipidemia in childhood and adolescence should be treating by dietary therapy and change in lifestyle. Children with high-risk lipid abnormalities should be considered for drug treatment.