Infectious Diseases

A comparison of real-time polymerase-chain-reaction-based testing of liquid and dried-saliva specimens with standard rapid culture of saliva specimens obtained at birth showed that PCR assays of both types of saliva specimens have high sensitivity for detecting congenital cytomegalovirus infection.

Giving children intravenous (IV) fluids early in the course of Escherichia coli infection appears to lower the odds of developing severe renal failure.

Imagine if you had a quick and easy way to prove to a parent that their child?s illness was viral not bacterial, and that an antibiotic was not necessary. That day may be coming sooner than you think. Israel researchers have developed such a test that is time-saving, easy to perform and may soon be commercially available.

A prospective study described the uropathogen frequencies and antimicrobial resistance rates of first UTI in 209 children who were diagnosed at the ED of a Belgian hospital.

To help establish utility of surrogate markers of serious bacterial infection in the post-pneumococcal vaccination era, investigators compared the diagnostic properties of these markers and clinical evaluation for detecting SBIs.

We must realize, as physicians, that learning the "art of medicine" goes hand-in-hand with learning the art of communication.

A first national survey of ophthalmology specialists reveals that transmission of ocular toxocariasis (OT) continues to place children at risk of debilitating ophthalmologic disease, including permanent vision loss, from unintentional ingestion of zoonotic parasites shed by dogs and cats.

Neonates who are vitamin D-deficient at birth may have increased risk of developing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) during their first year of life, according to a study in Pediatrics.

Skin Antibiotics - MRSA causes most purulent skin and soft tissue infections in children,antibiotic for skin infections

Results of a prospective clinical and imaging study delineate the characteristics and clinical evolution of first urinary tract infection (UTI) in children with fever.

C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), white blood cell count (WBC), and absolute neutrophil count (ANC) have similar diagnostic properties and are superior to clinical evaluation in detecting serious bacterial infection (SBI) in children with fever without source who have been vaccinated against Streptococcus pneumoniae, Canadian researchers report.

A 14-month-old girl presented with persistent fever, cough, and worsening rash of 5 days’ duration. On the first day of the illness, the infant was brought to an acute care clinic for evaluation.

For children with uncomplicated skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs), careful wound care and follow-up may be more important than the initial choice of antibiotic, new findings suggest.

The parents of a 4-year-old boy complain that he has developed a frightening, rapidly progressive skin rash over the course of 3 days.

Australian researchers say that children with type 1 diabetes mellitus are almost 10 times more likely to have enterovirus infection than children without the disease. The odds of infection also are higher in children diagnosed with prediabetes.

Five-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.

Trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine may be associated with febrile seizures in infants and children aged 6 to 23 months who received the vaccine this current flu season, according to a vaccine safety update released by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Pregnant women who get vaccinated against influenza appear to reduce the risk for their infants younger than 6 months old from being hospitalized for influenza.

Physicians should be on the alert for secondary bacterial infections in children with H1N1.

Among febrile infants 56 days old or younger, those with a positive CSF enterovirus polymerase chain reaction test result had a shorter hospital length of stay than febrile infants of the same age who did not undergo such testing.

This 14-month-old girl was brought for evaluation of marked swelling and erythema of the left eyelids (A) The mother had noticed a green discharge and mild swelling of the eye 2 nights earlier.

To identify parents' beliefs and barriers related to influenza immunization of school-aged children and to evaluate how accepting parents are of school-based influenza immunization, investigators surveyed parents of students at an elementary school in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Over the past decade, the United States has had tremendous success in achieving very high immunization compliance rates among children, sometimes as high as 91%.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and FDA have noted an increase in reports of bloodborne infection transmission, primarily hepatitis B virus, resulting from shared use of fingerstick and point-of-care blood testing devices.

The H1N1 virus is expected to again be a major risk this flu season.

A 10-month-old boy with an asymptomatic rash is brought to your office by his mother. The rash, which began on the legs and spread to the arms, face, and buttocks, has been present for 3 days. Other than rhinorrhea and nasal congestion for the past 3 to 5 days, the infant has been well, although fussier than usual, especially at night. His appetite is normal. The rash has persisted despite the application of bacitracin, petroleum jelly, and cortisone. He has had no sick contacts with a similar rash or illness. His immunizations are up-to-date.

FDA has authorized for use a new test for the diagnosis of H1N1 influenza virus infections. This test was developed by the CDC.

“Drug rash” is a common pediatric complaint in both inpatient and outpatient settings. This term, however, denotes a clinical category and is not a precise diagnosis. Proper identification and classification of drug eruptions in children are important for determining the possibility of-and preventing progression to-internal involvement. Accurate identification is also important so that patients and their parents can be counseled to avoid future problematic drug exposures.

The precautionary list of things to avoid during pregnancy is a long one. In this issue, researchers from the CDC remind us that there is another pathogen of which pregnant women should be wary.

A 12-year-old girl presented to the emergency department with progressing generalized inflammatory symptoms (fever and malaise), visual difficulty, severe inspiratory dyspnea, and 2 painless lesions on the right upper lip that had persisted for a few days. She had been well until 2 days before presentation, when she noticed a small pimple-like lesion above the right upper lip that was followed rapidly by facial edema, erythema, and constitutional symptoms.