Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura due to Mixed Viral Infections

An 11-year-old boy presented with epistaxis, petechial hemorrhages, easy bruising, and purpuric rash. He was diagnosed to have immune thrombocytopenic purpura and evidence of concomitant parvovirus B19 and dengue viral infection.     

Approach to a Child with Sore Throat

Sore throat is one of the common reasons for outpatient and emergency visits among children. It could be because of several etiologies; of these bacterial pharyngitis is the most important. Major challenge for the clinician is to diagnose group A beta hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS) pharyngitis and diphtheria, which are associated with serious complications. Throat swab smear with culture and rapid antigen tests are useful for making the diagnosis but the later may not be available in resource poor settings. Many clinical scores have been devised to diagnose GABHS with variable success but usually clinical features, epidemiological criteria and expert clinical judgment with or without supportive investigations indicate need for antibiotics. A child with sore throat and toxic look may have diphtheria or parapharyngeal/retropharyngeal abscess, and therefore should be hospitalized.     

Acute Chest Pain

Chest pain is a worrisome symptom that often causes parents to bring their child to emergency department(ED) for evaluation. In the majority of cases, the etiology of the chest pain is benign, but in one-fourth of the cases symptoms are distressing enough to cause children to miss school. The clinician’s primary goal in ED evaluation of chest pain is to identify serious causes and rule out organic pathology. The diagnostic evaluation includes a thorough history and physical examination. Younger children are more likely to have a cardiorespiratory source for their chest pain, whereas an adolescent is more likely to have a psychogenic cause. Children having an organic cause of chest pain are more likely to have acute pain, sleep disturbance due to pain and associated fever or abnormal examination findings, whereas those with non-organic chest pain are more likely to have pain for a longer duration. Chest radiograph is required in some, especially in patients with history of trauma . In children, myocardial ischemia is rare, thus routine ECG is not required on every patient. However, both pericarditis and myocarditis can present with chest pain and fever. Musculoskeletal chest pain, such as caused by costochondritis and trauma, is generally reproducible on palpation and is exaggerated by physical activity or breathing. Pneumonia with or without pleural effusion, usually presents with fever and tachypnea; chest pain may be presenting symptom sometimes. In asthmatic children bronchospasm and persistent coughing can lead to excess use of chest wall muscles and chest pain. Patients’ who report acute pain and subsequent respiratory distress should raise suspicion of a spontaneous pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum. ED management includes analgesics, specific treatment directed at underlying etiology and appropriate referral.     

Raised Intracranial Pressure (ICP): Management in Emergency Department

Raised intracranial pressure is a life threatening condition; unless recognized and treated early, it may progress into herniation syndrome and death. Symptoms and signs are neither sufficiently sensitive nor specific, hence a high index of suspicion and vigilance are needed for early recognition. Immediate goal of management is to prevent / reverse herniation and to maintain good cerebral perfusion pressure. The therapeutic measures include stabilization of airway, breathing and circulation, along with neutral neck position, head end elevation by 30°, adequate sedation and analgesia, minimal stimulation, and hyperosmolar therapy (mannitol or 3% saline). Short-term hyperventilation (to achieve PCO₂ ≈ 30 mm Hg) using bag ventilation can be resorted to if signs of impending herniation are present.     

Regression in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Objectives  

To understand the characteristics of autistic regression and to compare the clinical and developmental profile of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in whom parents report developmental regression with age matched ASD children in whom no regression is reported.     

Study of nosocomial primary bloodstream infections in a pediatric intensive care unit

Bloodstream infections (BSI) are the commonest cause of nosocomial infections (NI) in PICU. Knowledge about their magnitude, risk factors and outcome are important in devising appropriate prevention and control measures. Our objective was to study the incidence, etiology, risk factors and outcome of primary BSI in PICU. A prospective cohort of 285 patients consecutively admitted to PICU from July 2003-04, having a stay of >48 h, were enrolled and monitored for BSI till discharge from ICU or death. Primary BSI was defined as per CDC criteria 1988. Data of patients with BSI was compared with those without BSI with respect to demographic details, PRISM III, primary diagnosis, nutritional status, device utilization and invasive procedures to identify risk factors for BSI. Variables significant on univariate analysis were subjected to multiple logistic regression analysis. Outcome was measured as length of PICU stay (LOS) and survival or death. There were 116 episodes of primary BSI in 86 (30%) patients; the incidence being 31.2 episodes/1000 patient days. The mean age of the patients with BSI was 3.7 +/- 3.5 years. Predominant isolates were Gram-negative (53.5%); Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 21) being the commonest. Staphylococcus aureus (n = 18) was the most common Gram-positive organism. Seven of the 9 (77.8%) yeast isolates were Candida tropicalis. Younger age, higher PRISM III, lower hemoglobin, pre-existing infection, higher frequency and duration of device utilization (CVC, urinary catheter, endotracheal tube, mechanical ventilation) were significant risk factors on univariate analysis. On multiple logistic regressions, hemoglobin (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.1-1.4, p = 0.002) duration of urinary catheter (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.84-0.98, p = 0.015) and pre-existing infection (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.23-0.93, p = 0.03) were independent risk factors for primary BSI. The median LOS was significantly longer in patients with BSI compared to those without (16 vs. 7 days, p = 0.0001) 47% of patients with BSI died as compared to 26% deaths in the whole cohort (p = 0.002). Just over half the cases of BSI in our PICU were caused by Gram-negative bacteria. Lower hemoglobin, pre-existing infection and prolonged duration of urinary catheter were independent risk factors identified on multivariate analysis. BSI was associated with significantly higher mortality and longer stay in our PICU.     

Strangulation injury, A fatal form of child abuse

Strangulation is a common method of committing murder, though underreported in Indian literature. We managed a girl child, victim of child abuse who later succumbed to its neurological complications. This case report describes the clinical features associated with such injuries and complications which should be anticipated in such cases.     

Safety,tolerability, and effectiveness of oral zonisamide therapy in comparison with intramuscular adrenocorticotropic hormone therapy in infants with West syndrome

West syndrome is a distinct, infantile onset, epileptic encephalopathy, associated with poor neurodevelopmental outcome. The present study was designed as a randomized, open-label, pilot study to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and effectiveness of oral zonisamide therapy in comparison with adrenocorticotropic hormone therapy in infants with West syndrome. Thirty infants with West syndrome were randomized to receive treatment with either synthetic, intramuscular adrenocorticotropic hormone (30–60 IU) or oral zonisamide (4–25 mg/kg/day). The study participants had a long treatment lag and preponderance of male sex (90%). The primary effectiveness outcome measure was the cessation of epileptic spasms at 2 weeks of initiation of therapy and persistent till 6 weeks as per West Delphi consensus statement recommendations. Comparison of efficacies of zonisamide versus adrenocorticotropic hormone was as following: the cessation of epileptic spasms (27% vs. 40%, p = 0.70), resolution of hypsarrhythmia at 14 days (20% vs. 33%, p = 0.68) and resolution of hypsarrhythmia at 6 weeks (36% vs. 71%, p = 0.14). Overall, the study observed a poor efficacy of both adrenocorticotropic hormone and zonisamide therapy, which is probably due to long treatment lag and a high proportion of structural aetiology. However, oral zonisamide appeared to be safe and tolerable in the study.