Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

H F Krous

Publications and source records attributed to H F Krous.

103 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Intrathoracic petechiae in sudden infant death syndrome: relationship to face position when found.

Previous studies have not addressed the relationship of intrathoracic petechiae (IP) to the position of the face when a caretaker finds a victim of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The aims of this retrospective study were to determine (1) the rate of the facedown position in SIDS (not to be confused with the prone body position), (2) if the facedown position occurred more frequently among SIDS victims with intrathoracic petechiae than those without petechiae, and (3) if the facedown position occurred more frequently among cases with more severe petechial hemorrhage of the thymus. We selected 199 SIDS cases from the San Diego SIDS Research Project database and grouped them as IP-present and IP-absent. Each case was analyzed with regard to the face position when found unresponsive or dead. Among these 199 cases, 37% were found face-down, which represents 51% of the 142 cases found prone. The two groups were similar with respect to age, sex, and rate of premature birth. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of the IP-present group and 9% of the IP-absent group were found in the facedown position (P = 0.057; 95% confidence interval for the difference = 0.3%, 40%). Cases were also grouped by severity of thymic petechiae and analyzed regarding face position. Neither age nor the facedown position was associated with greater severity of thymic petechiae. The wide confidence interval yielded by our analysis of IP limits our ability to clarify the precise pathophysiologic role of external oronasal obstruction in SIDS. While it remains possible that a subset of SIDS cases occur as a result of external obstruction, we are unable to generalize its importance. Internal airway obstruction and rebreathing with terminal gasping, both of which have been documented in sudden infant death, remain other possible scenarios leading to the production of IP.

Airway Obstruction↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Death due to electrocution in childhood and early adolescence.

OBJECTIVES: To delineate the clinicopathological features of fatal childhood electrocutions and to identify specific risk factors. METHODS: Coronial files in Adelaide (Australia) were searched from 1967 to 2001 and Medical Examiners' files in San Diego (USA) were searched from 1988 to 2001, for cases of deaths of children and adolescents younger than 16 years attributed to electrocution. RESULTS: Sixteen cases were identified aged between 10 months and 15 years (mean 8.0 years) with a male : female ratio of 5 : 3. Deaths were due to accidents occurring while playing with or near faulty electrical equipment at home or at school (n = 8), electrical equipment while in the bath (n = 2), damaged outdoor electrical equipment (n = 1), overhead wires (n = 1), and a high voltage electricity substation (n = 1). In addition, one death was due to suicide involving an electrical appliance placed in a bath, and two other deaths occurred in older children who were moving equipment under overhead wires. No homicides were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood deaths due to electrocution are rare and are more likely to occur when children are playing around electrical wires or equipment, and often result from either faulty apparatus, or a lack of understanding of the potential dangers involved. The majority of deaths (11/16; 69%) occur in the home environment. In contrast to adult electrical deaths, high-voltage electrocutions, suicides and workplace deaths are uncommon. Strategies for eliminating childhood electrocution should concentrate on ensuring safe domestic environments with properly maintained electrical devices.

Accidents, Home↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Patterns of measles pneumonitis.

As a result of the enlarging pool of unvaccinated children and young adults, there has been an increase in serious measles pneumonitis in our areas. We recently examined autopsy and/or lung biopsy material from five children with fatal measles pneumonitis. Two patients were immunocompromised because of either prematurity or acute leukemia and died 13-16 days following onset of symptoms. Both had classic giant cell pneumonitis, with readily demonstrable intranuclear inclusions. Three other children without known immunocompromise had a more prolonged course. The lungs of these patients lacked the classic pattern and displayed instead a spectrum of less specific findings ranging from organizing diffuse alveolar damage to interstitial pneumonia with giant cells, but without viral inclusions. An accompanying necrotizing bronchiolitis was also present. Electron microscopy and/or detection of elevated measles-specific immunoglobulin M was necessary to confirm the diagnosis in these apparently immunocompetent patients. We conclude that the histologic features of fatal or serious measles pneumonitis are variable and depend to some extent on the immunocompetence of the host as well as the duration and tempo of the disease. Ancillary studies may be necessary to establish the diagnosis in cases lacking classic histopathologic features.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Congenital mesoblastic nephroma: cytogenetic comparison to leiomyoma.

We report the karyotype analysis of a congenital mesoblastic nephroma (CMN), a usually benign renal tumor occurring most commonly during early infancy. The tumor was composed of interlacing bundles of spindle-shaped cells and it displayed both the classic and cellular histologic patterns. Immunoperoxidase studies showed reactivity for vimentin and actin. The tumor cell karyotype included additional chromosomes 11 and an altered chromosome 12. Trisomy or tetrasomy of chromosome 11 is present in five of six reported cases and may represent a frequent alteration in the karyotype of the CMN. Furthermore, breakpoints in the q13-15 region of chromosome 12 are commonly seen in leiomyomas, which are histologically similar to the CMN. Thus, the karyotype described here illustrates another similarity between the two tumor types.

Chromosome Aberrations↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lingual bronchogenic cyst in a child: an unusual site of presentation.

We describe a 4-year-old hispanic male with a bronchogenic cyst (BC) in the base of the tongue. To our knowledge, a BC has not been previously reported in the oral cavity. BC is a developmental anomaly believed to originate from abnormal detachments of accessory lung buds from the ventral foregut. We postulate that the unusual location of the BC in the present case is related to the primitive foregut origin of tongue epithelium posterior to the foramen cecum and the sulcus terminalis. A BC in the base of the tongue appears to represent the most proximal expression of aberrant accessory lung bud detachment from the primitive foregut.

Bronchogenic Cyst↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Histopathological findings in a male with late-onset ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency.

Late onset of symptoms in a 12 1/2-year-old male with ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency were associated with unusual histological features in the liver. The patient presented with an acute onset of hyperammonemia and altered mental status after a 2-day prodrome of vomiting and lethargy. Physical examination showed a combative and disoriented male with icteric sclerae but with no fever or hepatomegaly. The plasma ammonia level was 282 microM. Enzyme assays of liver tissue obtained by percutaneous needle biopsy showed OTC activity of approximately 3% of normal; carbamyl phosphate synthetase was normal. Histopathological findings included severe microvesicular centrilobular steatosis. Hepatic architecture and reticulin framework were well preserved. Many hepatocyte nuclei were filled with glycogen. Electron microscopy showed mitochondria that were rounded and expanded with cristae at the edge of the mitochondrial membrane. In contrast to other reports, only slight variations in size and shape were seen. Megamitochondria and intramatrical paracrystalline inclusions were not identified. The cytoplasm contained scattered fat globules, peroxisomes, and dilated smooth endoplasmic reticulum. The prominent mitochondrial abnormalities commonly found in OTC deficiency were notably absent.

Biopsy↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Minor inflammatory lesions and sudden infant death: cause, coincidence, or epiphenomena?

Minor inflammatory changes are often found in tissues of infants who die suddenly. Recently it has been proposed that these infiltrates signal significant underlying infectious disease and are responsible for death. Currently there is no unanimity about the percentage of cases in which inflammatory infiltrates occur and no international consensus in regard to the minimal criteria required for their diagnosis or their significance. We recommend that the presence of minor inflammatory infiltrates should not detract from the diagnosis of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) until further study has determined otherwise.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Acquired lesions in transplanted kidneys.

A retrospective study of acquired renal lesions in 42 renal transplants in children revealed a variety of histologic lesions. Although acute and chronic rejection changes were the most frequent, a number of metabolic, infectious, vascular, and other lesions were encountered. Renal biopsy allows rapid diagnosis of these lesions, permitting rational planning for therapy.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Apparent rupture of the ventricular septum after myocardial infarction in an infant with congenital heart disease.

Clinical and angiocardiographic simulation of rupture of the interventricular septum, in an infant with an endocardial cushion defect and documented myocardial infarction is reported. Close straddling of a proven congenital muscular apical ventricular septal defect by trabeculae carne is believed to have led to the angiocardiographic simulation of a post-infarction apical ventricular septal defect. In the surgical approach to post-infarction ventricular septal defects, the implication of such a simulation could be important.

Heart Rupture↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Subcutaneous granuloma annulare: recognition and treatment.

Subcutaneous granuloma annulare (SGA) is a benign inflammatory disorder that occurs in children. The profiles of 12 children with SGA who were diagnosed and treated at our institution were reviewed. The patients presented with a rapidly growing, painless soft-tissue mass of the extremities or scalp. Parental concerns of malignancy and lack of recognition of this condition by the physician led to excessive diagnostic testing and, on occasion, inappropriate therapy. The mean age at presentation was 3.9 years, and the mean follow-up after biopsy study was 3.4 years. The lesions were most commonly located about the elbow, knee, and scalp. While complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and plain radiographs were helpful in ruling out other conditions, no ancillary test was specific for this disorder. In all cases, definitive diagnosis required a biopsy sample. Excisional biopsy was diagnostic but not therapeutic, because 75% of the children had one or more recurrences of this condition at either local or distant sites. Two of the subsequent lesions resolved spontaneously, and no child within the study group has progressed to any recognized systemic illness or connective-tissue disorder.

Adolescent↗