The Pediatric infectious disease journal
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Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. · Aug 2004
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in childhood: epidemiologic, clinical and laboratory features.
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a central nervous system demyelinating disease that usually follows an apparently benign infection in otherwise healthy young persons. The epidemiology, infectious antecedents and pathogenesis of ADEM are poorly characterized, and some ADEM patients are subsequently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). ⋯ ADEM is a potentially severe demyelinating disorder likely to be increasingly diagnosed as more magnetic resonance imaging studies are performed on patients with acute encephalopathy. Further characterization of the central nervous system inflammatory response will be needed to understand ADEM pathogenesis, to improve diagnostic and treatment strategies and to distinguish ADEM from MS.
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Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. · Aug 2004
Cerebrospinal latex agglutination fails to contribute to the microbiologic diagnosis of pretreated children with meningitis.
We conducted a 10-year retrospective study of all children who had cerebrospinal fluid latex agglutination testing for bacterial antigens performed at 1 tertiary care urban children's hospital. Of the 176 patients with culture-negative meningitis who were pretreated with antibiotics before lumbar puncture, none had a positive latex agglutination study (0 of 176; 95% confidence interval, 0-2%). Latex agglutination studies identified no additional cases of bacterial meningitis beyond those identified by culture in pretreated patients. Clinical decision-making algorithms for the management of pretreated patients at risk for bacterial meningitis should not include latex agglutination testing.
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Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. · Jul 2004
Review Case ReportsCavitating tuberculosis in an infant: case report and literature review.
Primary cavitating tuberculosis is a rare complication of primary tuberculosis in young children. In the absence of a known adult source case, the diagnosis of tuberculosis in children can be difficult. We describe an 8-month-old baby with primary cavitating tuberculosis, in whom there was considerable delay in diagnosis, and review the literature.
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Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. · Jul 2004
In situ diagnosis of central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection without peripheral blood culture.
Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBIs) are frequent complications of the use of long term central venous catheters (CVCs). Comparative quantitative culture of blood obtained via the CVC and a peripheral vein (PV) is a well-accepted method of diagnosing CRBI; however, an alternative definition for use when a PV culture is not available is desirable. ⋯ Our study suggests that comparison of colony counts from 2 lumens of a double lumen catheter is acceptable for diagnosis of CRBI when a PV culture is not available. Further validation is needed before discontinuing the recommendation to obtain a PV culture.
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Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. · Jun 2004
Comparative StudyLow birth weight infants and Calmette-Guérin bacillus vaccination at birth: community study from Guinea-Bissau.
In developing countries, low birth weight (LBW) children are often not vaccinated with Calmette-Guérin bacillus (BCG) at birth. Recent studies have suggested that BCG may have a nonspecific beneficial effect on infant mortality. We evaluated the consequences of not vaccinating LBW children at birth in Guinea-Bissau. ⋯ The policy of not vaccinating with BCG at birth had a negative impact on vaccination coverage for LBW children. Early BCG vaccination had no large negative impact on TST and BCG scarring. Mortality was lower for BCG-vaccinated than for unvaccinated LBW children controlling for available background factors. BCG vaccination of LBW children may have a beneficial effect on survival that cannot be explained by protection against tuberculosis. Future studies should examine possible adverse effects from equalizing BCG policy for LBW and NBW children.