Clinical and laboratory findings of 78 paediatric patients with infections due to enteroinvasive bacteria were analysed. The material included 33 cases of Yersinia enterocolitica, 21 of Campylobacter jejuni, 21 of Salmonella and 2 of Shigella infection, reflecting the current order of frequency ot these enteropathogens in Finnish paediatric population. Diarrhoea was the presenting symptom in 73% of the cases with Yersinia, 90% with Campylobacter and 100% with Salmonella. Conversely, abdominal pain on admission occurred more frequently (p less than 0.01) in patients with Yersinia (68%) than with Campylobacter (38%) or Salmonella (24%). Diarrhoea caused by each of the three enteric bacteria was clinically indistinguishable, with gross blood and mucoid stools occurring in most of the cases. However, faecal leucocytes were more frequently present in diarrhoea due to Y. enterocolitica (87%) and C. jejuni (83%) than Salmonella (36%); p less than 0.025). Diarrhoea due to Y. enterocolitica was typically associated with signs of systemic response, including fever greater than or equal to 39 degrees C, WBC count over 11 X 10(9)/l, and C-reactive protein greater than or equal to 10 mg/l. These criteria may thus be helpful in differentiating Yersinia infections from other cases of exudative diarrhoea in children. The clinical picture of Y. enterocolitica infection probably reflects the more invasive nature of this enteropathogen as compared with C. jejuni or Salmonella.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical evaluation of radioimmunoassay of nasopharyngeal secretions and serology for diagnosis of viral infections in children hospitalized for respiratory infections.

Viral diagnosis was performed using radioimmunoassay (RIA) for virus antigen in nasopharyngeal secretions (NPS) and complement-fixation (CF) tests of paired sera from specimens of 90 children hospitalized for acute respiratory infection. Major respiratory viruses sought for by both methods (adenoviruses, influenza A and B viruses, parainfluenza virus type 3, respiratory syncytial virus) were detected in 40 (44%) of the patients; 15% of the diagnoses were made by NPS-RIA alone. Serologic diagnosis of other viral infections was confirmed in six additional cases. In the different clinical entities a viral diagnosis was established as follows: pneumonia, 50%; upper or middle respiratory infection with no wheezing, 43%; acute laryngitis, 54%; and wheezing bronchitis, 29%. In each clinical entity the virus-positive and virus-negative patients had similar total leukocyte counts, mean C-reactive protein levels and mean erythrocyte sedimentation rates. There was no difference in the duration of hospitalization between the patients with positive and negative viral studies. It was not possible to divide the patients into clinical subgroups according to the presence or absence of detectable viral infection.

Antigens, Viral↗

PubMedDate not supplied

First international conference on infections in children in Arab countries.

This conference was the first of its kind but the need for similar meetings in the future was recognized by the participants. Considering the vast importance of infectious diseases in children in Arab countries, research in this area should receive a high priority in pediatrics. Improvements of diagnosis, management and prevention would appear particularly rewarding and could lead to significant results in a relatively short period of time.

Adolescent↗