Infectious Diseases

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With influenza being one of the most common reasons for hospitalization of children, finding the most effective vaccination combination is increasingly important. That?s what researchers recently set out to do, finding that although the live attenuated influenza vaccine nasal spray and trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine shots are effective, only the nasal spray may confer additional immunity. Could a change in guidelines be on the horizon?

For many pediatricians, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) may be the oral antibiotic of choice when a patient presents with a community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin infection, but another drug?clindamycin?may actually work better, according to a new study. Find out why the experts recommend clindamycin, even though there seemed to be good reasons to prescribe TMP-SMX.

According to an evaluation of the cost effectiveness of immunoprophylaxis with palivizumab against respiratory syncytial virus infection, based on actual cost and observed RSV incidence rates in various pediatric risk groups during the 2004 to 2005 RSV infection season in Florida, the answer is no.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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).

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.