Acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) were studied during a 2-year period in 521 preschool children living in a marginal area of Guatemala City. There were 3,646 episodes of ARI detected during 26,329 child-weeks at risk, for an incidence of 14 per 100 child-weeks or 7.2 episodes per child per year. The median duration of ARI episodes was 11 days. The highest incidence of ARI was observed in children 6-23 months old. Boys had more respiratory tract illnesses than did girls; the presence of a cigarette smoker in the household was associated with higher morbidity. Acute lower respiratory tract illnesses (ALRI) were more common among younger infants 0-5 months old, with nutritional status having no apparent effect. Parental formal education and crowding in households were found to be directly related to the incidence of ALRI. In general, ARI morbidity interfered with appropriate physical growth.

Acute Disease↗

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[Lipoid nephrosis in children. Development and anatomo-clinical correlation].

Lipoid nephrosis was identified by light, immunofluorescence and electron microscopy in 34 children aged 1 month to 10 years (23 males). These patients were followed up for a mean of 6.8 years (range 2.2 to 14 years). Treatment included oral prednisone (2 mg.kg.day for 4 weeks and then four days a week for 2 months). In steroid dependent or resistant patients oral cyclophosphamide 2.5 mg.kg.day was given for 2 months. Satisfactory responses to steroid therapy were recorded in 73.5% steroid dependence in 23.5% and steroid resistance in 3% of cases respectively. As a whole, 97% of patients responded before 8 week to steroids, cyclophosphamide or both. No morphologic differences were recorded from kidney biopsies among corticoid responders, dependents or resistants, neither between first and second biopsies which were done in four steroid dependent and one steroid resistant children. Slight morphologic differences were observed depending on the time elapsed from initial symptoms to renal biopsy: 39 days (means) when total disappearance of foot processes was seen (5 cases); 11 month (means) in 14 cases with partial pedicular absence and 20 months (means) in 15 children with segmental pedicular absence alternating with zones of normal foot process morphology. The total number of nephrotic episodes was 149, with a mean of 4.3 recurrences per patient, including three children (all girls) whose disease never recurred. Serious infections were detected in 4.7% of recurring episodes. At 5 years follow up 94% of patients were in remission. No deaths occurred among these patients.

Child↗

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[Chronic hemodialysis in children].

The clinical features of eight patients, four females, aged 4 to 15 years under chronic hemodialysis for terminal renal failure (creatinine clearance 10 ml.min.1,73 m2 or less) are reported. Initial diseases were Alport syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, chronic glomerulonephritis (n = 2), bilateral polycystic kidney, prune belly syndrome and reflux nephropathy (n = 2). Distal vascular approach by means of arteriovenous fistulas was preferred for these patients and the kinetic urea model was used to evaluate the performance of the procedure. Patients required nine to twelve hours of hemodialysis per week for optimal results. Mean weight decreases of 1 to 3 kg and reductions in blood urea nitrogen and serum potassium of 40 mg.dl and 2,5 mEq.1, respectively, were observed. The main complications of hemodialysis were the disequilibrium syndrome, infections at the site of insertion of the arteriovenous fistulae and congestive heart failure. Three patients were submitted to renal transplantation with live donors homografts: one died and the other two remain alive but under chronic hemodialysis. Five children are attending school regularly, and two of them are waiting a kidney donor for transplantation. Despite encouraging results chronic hemodialysis in children constitutes only primary supportive therapy prior to renal transplantation.

Adolescent↗

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[Idiopathic hypercalciuria. Differential diagnosis].

In 50 children with hematuria or urolithiasis and idiopathic hypercalciuria, and in 15 control children, urinary calcium/creatinine concentration rates were measured after fasting and after calcium loading. Patients were classified into two groups depending on the results of an orally administered calcium loading test. Children were considered to have absorptive hypercalciuria (42%) when they had low fasting urinary calcium/creatinine concentration ratio (less than 0.21), and a large increase of this index after calcium administration (greater than 0.28). Patients were labeled as renal hypercalciuria (32%) if they had high fasting urinary calcium/creatinine concentration ratio (greater than 0.21), and variable increases of it after calcium overload. A third group of children (26%), were not classifiable by means of this test. Our data support the contention that this simple ambulatory test is very useful in the diagnostic workup of idiopathic hypercalciuria.

Calcium↗

PubMedDate not supplied