Pediatric small cell variant of Ki-1 (CD30) + T-cell lymphoma with germ-line configuration of the T-cell receptor gene.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to G Paret.
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We report a case of life-threatening hemothorax three months after surgical repair of pectus excavatum. Angiography revealed the hemorrhage to originate from a laceration of the phrenic artery secondary to dislodgment of the metal strut used for the repair. Awareness of this rare complication in patients after repair of pectus excavatum is required.
Torticollis is a common clinical sign encountered by pediatricians in a wide variety of childhood illnesses including those from traumatic, neurologic, infectious, inflammatory, and psychogenic causes. We describe a case of spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SPM) manifested as acute torticollis. To the best of our knowledge, torticollis as a result of spontaneous pneumomediastinum has not yet been described. Pneumomediastinum should be included in the differential diagnosis of torticollis.
Gastrointestinal perforation is a surgical emergency in the pediatric patient and any delay in diagnosis might be hazardous. In immunocompromised children, the clinical signs of perforation may be blunted. We describe a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and a perforated appendix and ileum in whom computerized tomography (CT) revealed extraluminal air that was not initially identified on plain abdominal film. Our case demonstrates the importance of early abdominal CT and ultrasound examination in detecting these potentially lethal complications.
OBJECTIVE: To study the validity and safety of the traditional apnea test in children, and to evaluate a mathematical equation estimating the hemodynamic response to the apnea test. DESIGN: A prospective clinical study. SETTING: Pediatric ICU. PATIENTS AND PARTICIPANTS: 38 pediatric patients suffering severe brain injury aged 2 months to 17 years, undergoing apnea testing for brain death. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Apnea tests were performed 61 times (once in 19 patients, twice in 15, and 3 times in 4 patients). Mean PaCO2 was 41.1 +/- 10.6 mmHg before apnea and increased to 68.0 +/- 17.6 at 5 min. PaCO2 increased to 81.8 +/- 20.1 and 86.0 +/- 25.6 at 10 and 15 min, respectively. There was a mean PaCO2 increase by 5.38 +/- 1.4 mmHg/min in the first 5 min, and 2.75 +/- 0.5 mmHg/min during the next 5 min. We found a statistically significant (p < 0.05) linear relationship between the natural logarithm of PaCO2, time, and the logarithm of the initial level of PaCO2. An inverse linear relationship (p < 0.05) was found between systemic mean arterial pressure (MAP) and initial level of PaCO2 presented as mathematical correlations and nomograms. CONCLUSIONS: By using our model for predicting MAP and PCO2 prior to apnea testing, hemodynamic embarrassment can be anticipated and prevented, thus allowing a safer procedure in the detection of brain death. Despite the fact that continuous cardiorespiratory monitoring is important, hemodynamic disturbances can be estimated before the apnea test, thus allowing a safer approach to brain death detection.
BACKGROUND: Monitoring of end-tidal CO2 levels, performed routinely nowadays in most operating rooms, is obligatory in our hospital for all anesthesia patients. Levels are dependent on pulmonary blood flow, ventilation, and CO2 content of blood. When ventilation is kept constant, the end-tidal CO2 closely follows pulmonary blood flow. METHODS: Reduction of end-tidal CO2 in the expired air was used to adjust tightness of the pulmonary band in 10 patients with complex cardiac anomalies, all including ventricular septal defect, who underwent pulmonary artery banding. Other parameters were systemic blood pressures and distal pulmonary artery pressures. RESULTS: There were no operative deaths. Average reduction was 3.8 mm Hg (range, 2 to 10 mm Hg; p < 0.001 by paired t test), average increase in systolic blood pressure was 14 mm Hg (range, 4 to 20 mm Hg; p < 0.03 by Wilcoxon sign rank test), distal pulmonary artery pressure was reduced from 56 mm Hg (range, 37 to 79 mm Hg) to 29 mm Hg (range, 20 to 38 mm Hg; p < 0.03 by t test), and postoperative pulmonary artery to systemic pressure ratio averaged 0.36 mm Hg (range, 0.24 to 0.49 mm Hg, difference from preoperative value, p < 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: End-tidal CO2 tension is a simple and convenient, yet highly reliable parameter for adjusting pulmonary artery band tightness.
Following an acute dystonic crisis, a 6-year-old boy with hereditary torsion dystonia developed rhabdomyolysis. To our knowledge, hereditary torsion dystonia has never been reported as a cause of rhabdomyolysis. Early diagnosis and treatment of rhabdomyolysis should be considered in children with severe dystonia in order to prevent renal failure.
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Acute acalculous cholecystitis is a virulent disease that occurs most commonly in critically ill patients. Imaging studies may facilitate earlier diagnosis and may decrease the morbidity and mortality rates. The authors report on a 30-month-old child with acute acalculous cholecystitis after surgical repair of tetralogy of Fallot. A review of the clinical pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment is included.
Morbidity in rubella is generally mild, and neurological complications are rare, varying from 1:6000-1:24,000. We describe an 11-year-old girl with severe manifestations of rubella encephalitis. The onset of encephalitis most often occurs within 1-6 days after development of the typical rash. Neurological features vary and include encephalitis, carotid artery thrombosis, myelitis, optic neuritis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, and peripheral neuritis. Rubella should be considered in the differential diagnosis of encephalitis despite the current vaccination program in Israel. Such cases should be prevented by encouraging widespread early childhood vaccination.
3 children with the clinical picture of bacterial meningitis are described. Lumbar puncture was not done on admission due to increased intracranial pressure, cardiopulmonary shock, or petechial rash with suspected coagulopathy. Prompt treatment with broad spectrum antibiotics resulted in successful outcomes. The diagnosis of meningitis can usually be made clinically and the bacteriological diagnosis from blood cultures. We maintain that in fulminating cases lumbar puncture might prove fatal, and should therefore be deferred until the child's condition improves. However, if bacterial meningitis is suspected and lumbar puncture is delayed, intravenous antibiotics should be given immediately after blood is drawn for culture.
BACKGROUND AND METHODS: Emergency endotracheal drug administration has become an acceptable route for drug delivery during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the site of endotracheal epinephrine injection is an important factor in its absorption. Epinephrine (1:1000), in a dose of 0.02 mg/kg diluted in 2 mL of saline, was given to ten anesthetized mongrel dogs. Each dog was studied twice: once when the epinephrine was injected into the endotracheal tube, and on another day, through the endotracheal tube via a flexible catheter wedged into a peripheral bronchus. Arterial blood samples for plasma epinephrine concentration determinations were collected, before and at 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, and 30 mins after each intratracheal drug administration. RESULTS: Both routes of epinephrine administration significantly increased plasma concentrations within 1 min of injection. Higher plasma epinephrine concentrations were achieved after peripheral bronchial epinephrine administration (maximal concentration 8.9 +/- 3.2 vs. 2.0 +/- 0.4 ng/mL), and the total dose absorbed was significantly (76.5 +/- 13.5 vs. 36.7 +/- 6.5 ng/min/mL, p < .05) higher. The time interval to reach maximal concentration was significantly shorter with the peripheral bronchial dosing than with the endotracheal route (1.3 +/- 0.2 vs. 2.7 +/- 0.5 min, p < .05). Neither group demonstrated a significant change in heart rate, and both had similar, minor decreases in BP for > 2 to 5 mins. There were no significant differences between the arterial blood gases of the two groups at various stages of the experiment. CONCLUSIONS: In dogs, epinephrine administered via the peripheral bronchial route has a clear pharmacologic advantage over the endotracheal route. This advantage may be more important during cardiopulmonary resuscitation conditions and other low flow states, and may account for the failure observed with the endotracheal route in recently published clinical reports.
Acute renal insufficiency after cardiopulmonary bypass can lead to a significant morbidity from fluid overload and electrolyte disturbance, impede pulmonary gas exchange, and postpone weaning from mechanical ventilation. The limitations placed on free water intake result in severe restriction of nutrition while diuretic therapy causes electrolyte imbalance. Artificial renal support either in the form of peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis may be complicated by sepsis and hemodynamic instability. We reviewed our experience with the use of continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration, an extracorporeal technique for removal of solutes, toxins, and water in critically ill patients with cardiac failure complicated by acute renal insufficiency and hemodynamic instability after cardiopulmonary bypass. Ten infants and children with renal insufficiency caused by low cardiac output had continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration instituted for indications including sepsis, volume overload, oliguria for more than 24 hours nonresponsive to diuretic therapy, and the need for hyperalimentation. All were supported by mechanical ventilation and receiving high-dose inotropic support. Arterial and venous vascular access was successfully obtained by cannulation of the femoral artery and vein in nine patients. Anticoagulation of the circuit was achieved with heparin infusion (6 to 20 micrograms/kg/hr) and monitored by measurement of activated clotting time. The continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration circuit was replaced if there was clot formation, or at 3 days after placement. Dialysis solution (Dianeal) 1.5% or 0.5% was infused as prefilter dilution. With the use of continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration, 20 to 100 m/hr of ultrafiltrate was removed, which allowed correction of hypervolemia, and caloric intake increased from 13.5 kcal/kg/day to 79.5 kcal/kg/day. Continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration was maintained between 5 hours and 8 days and was well tolerated in all patients. Serum urea and creatinine levels declined during continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration. We conclude that continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration is a safe and effective method for fluid and electrolyte homeostasis and that it thus allows hyperalimentation in infants and children after cardiac operations.
Involvement of the gastrointestinal tract is rare in varicella. We report a previously healthy young girl with perforation of the stomach that appeared to be a complication of varicella. Varicella inclusion bodies were demonstrated at the site of gastric perforations. On surgery, an organoaxial volvulus of the stomach was demonstrated.
During the period 1975 to 1988, 78 triplet pregnancies that reached a gestational age greater than or equal to 20 weeks were treated in our department--a prevalence of 1/849 deliveries. A total of 69 (88%) of the pregnancies occurred after treatment with ovulation-induction agents. The most common complication of pregnancy was premature contractions. Elective cervical cerclage neither prolonged gestation nor decreased fetal loss. The mean gestational age at delivery was 33.2 weeks + 3.8 weeks and 86% of the patients were delivered of premature infants. The perinatal and neonatal mortality rates were 93/1000 and 51/1000, respectively. Our results show a higher proportion of low Apgar scores and respiratory disorders in the third vaginally delivered infants. Follow-up of very low birth weight infants revealed four infants (10.5%) with severe neurologic handicaps. Results of this study suggest that cesarean section is the preferred mode of delivery in triplet pregnancies. Maternal, fetal, and neonatal risks of triplet gestations are relatively low and compare favorably with recent reports on twin pregnancies.
Handwashing is acknowledged as a critical factor in the prevention of nosocomial infection. Nonetheless, health care personnel often wash their hands inadequately. The purpose of this study was to examine the flora of hands and the frequency of handwashing of physicians working in primary care pediatric community clinics. The fingers of the dominant hand of 55 physicians working in 12 clinics were sampled for bacterial cultures. Only 354/720 (49%) of the expected handwashings by 17 board-certified pediatricians were recorded as having been performed. None of them washed their hands after each contact with an examined child. All physicians' hands were found to be contaminated with microorganisms. Staphylococcus species were isolated from 47 (85.4%) of the physicians' hands. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was found on the hands of 9.1% of the physicians. Such contaminated hands may serve as a potential vector of community-acquired infection with highly resistant organisms. Compliance with handwashing recommendations among these physicians was low. An active educational infection control program must be introduced in ambulatory pediatric community clinics.
A report on a 15-year-old male with a diagnosis of poliomyelitis-like syndrome (Hopkins' syndrome) following an asthmatic attack is presented. The prognosis of Hopkins' syndrome is usually poor and the patients remain with permanent paralysis of the affected limb. The outcome correlates with severity of the initial injury to the anterior horn cell as reflected by abnormal electrophysiologic studies. This is the first case report of treatment with i.v. gamma globulin in Hopkins' syndrome which resulted in a nearly complete recovery.
The ideal pharmacologic treatment for the management of children with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia in the perioperative period has not been defined. In this report we describe our experience using adenosine diagnostically and therapeutically in the pediatric intensive care unit, and summarize the practical aspects of its use at the perioperative period.