Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Acute management of dengue shock syndrome: a randomized double-blind comparison of 4 intravenous fluid regimens in the first hour.
Dengue hemorrhagic fever is an important cause of morbidity among Asian children, and the more severe dengue shock syndrome (DSS) causes a significant number of childhood deaths. DSS is characterized by a massive increase in systemic capillary permeability with consequent hypovolemia. Fluid resuscitation is critical, but as yet there have been no large trials to determine the optimal fluid regimen. ⋯ The most significant factor determining clinical response was the pulse pressure at presentation. A comparison of the colloid and crystalloid groups suggested benefits in children presenting with lower pulse pressures who received one of the colloids. Further large-scale studies, stratified for admission pulse pressure, are indicated.
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Life-threatening or even fatal bee infections can rarely develop after bee stings.
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Comparative Study
Noninvasive measurement of microvascular leakage in patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever.
Dengue shock syndrome (DSS) is a potentially lethal complication of dengue virus infection associated with hypotension and leakage of plasma water into the extravascular space. To determine whether the underlying pathophysiology of DSS is distinct from that in milder forms of the disease, we assessed microvascular permeability, by use of strain gauge plethysmography, in Vietnamese children with DSS (n=19), or dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) without shock (n=16), and in healthy control children (n=15). ⋯ There was no significant difference in K(f) between the 2 groups of patients with dengue; this suggests the same underlying pathophysiology. We hypothesize that in patients with DSS, the fluctuations in K(f) are larger than those in patients with DHF, which leads to short-lived peaks of markedly increased microvascular permeability and consequent hemodynamic shock.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Oral cefixime is similar to continued intravenous antibiotics in the empirical treatment of febrile neutropenic children with cancer.
Empiric oral antibiotic therapy for febrile neutropenic cancer patients has been suggested as a means to decrease hospitalization, but the safety of this approach has not been adequately studied in children. We compared continued iv antibiotic therapy with switching treatment to orally administered cefixime in a group of selected febrile neutropenic children for whom blood cultures were sterile after 48 h of incubation. ⋯ Rates of treatment failure were similar in the oral cefixime group (28%) and in the iv antibiotic group (27%; P=1.0). Results support the safety of oral cefixime therapy for low-risk febrile neutropenic children, a therapeutic approach that would facilitate earlier outpatient management and decrease the costs of treatment.