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Pediatric Vasculitic Syndromes:A 7-year-old boy presented to his primary care pediatrician with a 24-hour history of vomiting, abdominal pain, and low-grade fever. The child appeared stable. A viral illness was diagnosed. The child was sent home, and his parents were advised to give him adequate fluids as well as acetaminophen as needed for fever.
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Juvenile Nasopharyngeal AngiofibromaSixteen-year-old boy referred to pediatric emergency department (ED) by his primary care physician with a history of headache, blurred vision, and mild proptosis of right eye. Vision: 20/200 OD (right eye) and 20/25 OS (left eye).
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Honors for 4 Pediatric HeroesDr Bhagwan Das Bang received the Pediatric Hero Award at The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition (NCE) in Washington, DC today (October 20, 2009).
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Asthma Therapy Complicated by Peters Plus SyndromeThe authors describe the case of a 2-year-old girl with severe persistent asthma whose disease management was complicated by this rare clinical diagnosis.
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Newborn With Urinary DysfunctionDuring circumcision, a newborn is noted to have continuous dribbling of urine from his meatus and stool from his anus. After several minutes of observation, the urinary stream appears weak and remains a constant trickle. The baby boy was born at term via an uncomplicated spontaneous vaginal delivery.
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History of Cough in an Infant and a ToddlerA 6-month-old boy with 1-week history of dry cough that worsened at night. He had been wheezing off and on for the past month and had visited the emergency department on one occasion.
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Henoch-Schönlein Purpura in an 18-Year-Old BoyThis palpable, nontender, nonblanching rash had developed on the elbows of an 18-year-old boy and spread to the ankles and feet. The rash was accompanied by moderate abdominal pain associated with episodes of nonbloody emesis that did not change with eating or bowel movements. Diffuse joint pain developed the day after the rash appeared.
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Consultations & Comments: A "New" Twist on the Technique of Umbilical Catheterization?We heard from several readers about a Photo Essay we recently published in our February issue entitled "The Butterfly Technique: A New Method of Inserting an Umbilical Vessel Catheter."1 The authors, Lisa A. Wood, MD, and Mark J. Polak, MD, described modifications of standard catheter insertion techniques that facilitated successful line placement.
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Asthma Update: Pearls You May Have MissedABSTRACT: Asthma is a very serious yet very controllable illness. In acute exacerbations, bronchospasm can be reversed with nebulized albuterol (2.5 to 5 mg); give 2 additional treatments at 20-minute intervals and then every hour for the first few hours until wheezing resolves. Subcutaneous terbutaline and epinephrine are alternatives. Systemic corticosteroids may be needed to manage the acute attack (eg, 2 mg/kg of oral prednisone or pred-nisolone). In addition, an anticholinergic agent (eg, inhaled ipratropium) may be used. IV magnesium (25 to 50 mg/kg) and heliox have shown promising results in acute asthma. Maintenance therapy is indicated when daily symptoms occur more than twice per week or when nighttime symptoms occur more than twice per month; such therapy may also be warranted for an infant with exacerbations that occur less than 6 weeks apart or more than 3 times per year, or when other risk factors are present. Inhaled corticosteroids are the cornerstone of maintenance therapy and are mandatory for all patients with persistent asthma. Alternative treatments for children younger than 5 years include cromolyn and an oral leukotriene modifier (montelukast). Patient and parent education helps ensure proper drug administration, monitoring, and compliance.
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6-Month-Old Girl With Genital MassChild Protective Services (CPS) has asked you to evaluate a 6-month-old girl with a genital mass. The goal is to determine whether the "weird lump in the baby's private area"--noted while the child's diapers were being changed in day care--was the result of sexual abuse.
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Chronic Recurrent Multifocal Osteomyelitis: REFERENCES:ABSTRACT: Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) is an inflammatory bone disease that occurs primarily in childhood. The clinical picture often is confused with bacterial osteomyelitis. Awareness of CRMO as a clinical entity helps avoid diagnosis and treatment delays. Our patient, an 8-year-old girl, presented with acute left hip pain. One month after presentation, a lytic lesion was seen on plain radiographs; biopsy revealed nonspecific inflammation. It was not until more than 2 years later, when multifocal bone lesions and psoriasis developed, that the diagnosis became clear. Our patient's case demonstrates several key points: not all children with CRMO present with multifocal disease, patients frequently have comorbid inflammatory conditions, and there are no diagnostic laboratory studies. The optimal treatments remain unknown.
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Diagnostic Challenges Associated With Pediatric Tuberculosis: 2 CasesA 10-week-old white baby girl with a history of difficulty in breathing presented with stridor, tachypnea, wheezing, and increased work of breathing.
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Hematemesis Caused by Esophageal DuplicationA17-month-old girl was hospitalized 3 weeks earlier because of gagging and retching emesis that contained blood-streaked mucus. Her symptoms persisted and she was transferred to a tertiary care center for further workup.
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Ménétrier DiseaseA previously healthy 16-month-old boy was hospitalized because of vomiting of 10 days' duration, fever of 4 days' duration (temperature up to 38.6°C [101.4°F]), and watery diarrhea. He also had had a maculopapular rash, which resolved the day before presentation. Family history was unremarkable.
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Wiskott-Aldrich SyndromeThis 9–month–old boy was initially evaluated at age 6 weeks for an extensive eczematous rash on the head and antecubital and diaper areas and blood and mucus in the stool with each diaper change over a 2– to 3–week period. The symptoms were attributed to milk allergy, and the infant’s formula was changed. At 8 weeks of age, a petechial rash developed on the boy’s trunk and legs. His symptoms persisted despite multiple formula changes, and he was referred to the emergency department.
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Staphylococcal Scalded Skin Syndrome in a 5-Year-Old BoyA 5-year-old boy was brought to the emergency department by his parents because of a rash that covered his entire body. The rash had started 2 days earlier, initially on the boy’s face, abdomen, and legs and had spread to his back, buttocks, and hands. There was a 1-day history of tactile fever when the child was sent home from school. He had no sick contacts and his immunizations were up-to-date. He had no significant medical history.
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Adenoviral Hepatitis in an Immunocompetent ChildAdenovirus infection is usually benign in healthy children, but it can be complicated by severe or fatal pneumonia, myocarditis, and hepatitis. Consider adenovirus infection in children with fulminant hepatic failure.
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Consultations & Comments: Do You Recognize This Lesion?Consultations & Comments: Do You Recognize This Lesion?
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Folk Remedy as a Cause of Septicemia in a Child With LeukemiaA 15-year-old Hispanic boy with refractory T-cell acute lymphoid leukemia was hospitalized because of fever and pain and swelling of the right knee of 3 days' duration. The patient was taking nelarabine for a recurrence of his leukemia, which was diagnosed a year earlier. He appeared nontoxic. His temperature was 39.28C (102.68F). Other vital signs were within normal limits. The right knee was warm and tender, with mild restriction of movement.
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Case In Point: Subconjunctival Hemorrhages in a Teenage BoyA 13-year-old Hispanic boy presented to emergency department with a 1-day history of red eyes. The eye changes were not associated with vision changes, increased tearing, discharge, pain, fever, or trauma.
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Mandible Fracture After a Motor Vehicle AccidentA 4-year-old girl was brought to the emergency department after she sustained an injury to her jaw in a car accident. She had been restrained in the rear passenger seat with a seat belt. She had not lost consciousness and was not ejected from the vehicle.
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May-Thurner SyndromeA 14-year-old girl with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was evaluated for worsening left leg pain of 1 week’s duration. A month earlier, she had presented with left knee arthritis and a vasculitic rash; the antinuclear antibody titer was positive. In addition, she had leukopenia, myositis, hypocomplementemia, and mild proteinuria.
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Perianal Finding--Sexual Abuse or Normal Variant?A 23-month-old girl was brought to the pediatrician's office by her mother who was concerned about "bulging down there." The child's mother reported that a "bump" had been present in the girl's diaper area since her birth and that it had been growing.
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Podcast: Addressing Parents’ Concerns About Vaccinating Boys Against HPV InfectionYou and your colleagues are undoubtedly hearing questions from a lot of concerned parents about the new guidelines for vaccinating young boys against HPV infection. What are the chief concerns-and how can you best address those concerns?
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Cerebral Palsy: A Multisystem ReviewABSTRACT: Most cases of cerebral palsy (CP) are the result of congenital, genetic, inflammatory, anoxic, traumatic, toxic, and metabolic disorders. A minority of cases result from asphyxia at birth. Nearly three-quarters of children with CP aged 7 years had a normal neurological evaluation at birth. Abnormal motor development usually provides the first diagnostic clue. Neuroimaging is recommended if the cause of CP has not been established with perinatal imaging. MRI is preferred to CT. Management of the multisystemic manifestations begins with a comprehensive medical evaluation by a multidisciplinary team that includes family members. Therapy is aimed at maximizing the patient's level of function. Key areas include ambulation, cognitive skills, activities of daily living, hygiene, and rehabilitation into society.
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Headache Secondary to Epidural AbscessTwo weeks before admission, he had visited the emergency department (ED) because of the headache. Migraine was diagnosed and ibuprofen had been prescribed. The headache persisted despite NSAID therapy, and the patient returned to the ED 2 days later. At that time, he had upper respiratory tract symptoms and a temperature of 39.4C (102.9F). CT scans of the head without contrast demonstrated pansinusitis with complete opacification of the frontal sinuses and frontal soft tissue swelling. The patient was admitted and given ampicillin/sulbactam intravenously for 3 days.
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Young Girl With “Bumpy” Red EyeFive-year-old girl with redness and light sensitivity of the right eye of 2 days' duration. She denied any significant pain or decreased vision. She initially presented to an urgent care clinic, where application of polymyxin B/trimethoprim eye drops 4 times a day was prescribed.
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PompholyxFor 3 days, a 10-year-old boy had an itchy, tense, vesicular rash on the fingers of both hands (A). He was otherwise healthy.
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Henoch-Schönlein Purpura and Nonpitting EdemaA 10-year-old girl has had a worsening rash for 1 week. The mildly pruritic, nontender eruption initially appeared on the child's thighs and then spread to the arms and face. The child's right hand, feet, and ankles have been swollen for the past 4 days, which has made ambulation intermittently painful.
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Juvenile Nasopharyngeal AngiofibromaSixteen-year-old boy referred to pediatric emergency department (ED) by his primary care physician with a history of headache, blurred vision, and mild proptosis of right eye. Vision: 20/200 OD (right eye) and 20/25 OS (left eye).
