Infectious Diseases

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have expanded their recommendation for flu vaccination coverage to include all patients ages 6 months through 18 years.

A number of factors are associated with recurrent croup, notably laryngopharyngeal reflux and subglottic stenosis, according to a study presented at the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting and OTO EXPO held from Sept. 21 to 24 in Chicago.

The use of influenza vaccine in pregnant women can decrease the risk of influenza in their infants up to six months of age and offer protection against febrile respiratory illness in both mothers and infants, according to research published online Sept. 17 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

According to a study in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, bacterial infections such as Staphylococcus aureus may be a possible cause of suddent infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Children of older fathers may have a higher risk of bipolar disorder, and family-focused therapy along with medication is effective in treating bipolar-related depression in adolescents, according to the results of two studies published in the September issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Bacteria or fungi in a mother's amniotic fluid may play a larger role in premature birth than previously believed, according to the August 26 PLoS One.

Moderate-to-severe ear infections in children may damage a taste-sensing serve that could pave the way for overeating and adult obesity, reported researchers at the American Chemical Society Fall 2008 meeting.

Infants who are given antibiotics in the first three months of life may wheeze at 15 months, likely due to the presence of chest infections, as reported in the Clinical and Experimental Allergy.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved six influenza vaccines for the 2008-2009 season.

A discussion of influenza vaccines, inactivated and live cold adapted attenuated virus; influenza virus and the immune response in children; and the differences in immune response elicited by both types of vaccine.

Continuous antibiotic prophylaxis in children with vesicoureteral reflux may be ineffective.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) report News and Numbers, children ages 4 and younger were hospitalized more than 34,000 times in 2006 due to skin infections, a 150% increase since 2000.

A gene linked to obesity may also have a hand in influencing appetite in children, according to the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Prophylactic antibiotics administered to children an hour or less before spinal surgery may reduce the subsequent risk of infections, according to the online Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

Five new changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) yearly recommendations to fight the flu call for more and earlier immunizations.

A discussion of the problems associated with the new CDC recommendations for immunizing children with the flu vaccine.

Infections during the first year of life may increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis later in life, according to new findings.

Two doses of a whole-virus vaccine against H5N1 avian influenza produced on Vero cell cultures induced neutralizing antibodies against multiple H5N1 strains, indicating its usefulness against this virus with pandemic potential, according to research published in the June 12 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

A 4-day-old girl was brought to the emergency department (ED) for evaluation of a copious discharge from the right eye with associated swelling and redness of the eyelid (Figure 1). The discharge began 2 days earlier and had become profuse and yellow-green. Chemosis and injection of the conjunctiva of the right eye were also noted (Figure 2).

ABSTRACT: Children who present with rash and fever can be divided into 3 groups: the first group includes those with features of serious illness who require immediate intervention. The second and third groups include those with clearly recognizable viral syndromes and those with early or undifferentiated rash. The morphology of lesions among children with symptoms of serious illness offers clues to the underlying cause. Purpura or ecchymoses in a well-appearing child may not be associated with serious illness; a large percentage of children who present with fever and purpura have Henoch-Schönlein purpura. Kawasaki disease typically manifests with blanching rash and fever. Vesicular or bullous lesions and fever are the hallmark of erythema multiforme, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome. Umbilicated papules and pustules are the sine qua non of molluscum contagiosum and varicella.

Children who present with rash and fever can be divided into 3 groups: the first group includes those with features of serious illness who require immediate intervention. The second and third groups include those with clearly recognizable viral syndromes, and those with early or undifferentiated rash.

Household secondhand smoke exposure during infancy increases the risk of severe infection during childhood, according to the May 27 online Tobacco Control.

Immunization rates among children living in the inner city and enrolled in subsidized health care are just over half of national averages, a recent study has found.

With all the talk over the past year about preventing human papilloma virus in girls, the fact that boys get HPV as well is often downplayed. A small study from researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, provided new insight into the under-recognized issue of HPV infection in young males.

Neonatal viral infections are four to eight times more common than systemic bacterial diseases, but often go unrecognized. “Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the most common causes of infant death and permanent disability in America,” said Michael Cannon, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta.

Nosocomial infections are a growing problem in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) along with methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci, multidrug- resistant gram negative organisms, Candida and respiratory virii.

The electromagnetic fields produced in incubators may create changes in newborns' heart rate variability, according to research published online May 1 in the Archives of Disease in Childhood -- Fetal & Neonatal Edition.

Vital signs were normal. The patient had left-sided periorbital edema with slight ecchymosis and enophthalmos. There was conjunctival injection of the left eye, but no hyphema was noted. Pupils were equal, round, and reactive. Extraocular muscles revealed some restriction with upward gaze. Tympanic membranes were intact without hemotympanum. Nasal and oral examination findings were normal.

A mother's diet around the time of conception may play a role in determining the gender of her baby, findings published April 22 in the online Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences suggest.

According to interim results of a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 2007-2008 influenza season was moderately severe, and two of three vaccine strains were not optimally matched with circulating viruses.