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Biomedical subjects

A Garoufi

Publications and source records attributed to A Garoufi.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Hypercalciuria in children with febrile convulsions.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether idiopathic hypercalciuria may be implicated in the pathogenesis of febrile convulsions. METHODS: We studied 38 children (22 boys) with febrile convulsions (mean (+/- SD) age 3.25 +/- 1.09 years) and 45 healthy children (28 boys) of similar age who served as controls. Twenty-four hour urine calcium and phosphate, as well as serum calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase and intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentrations were determined. RESULTS: Hypercalciuria (urine Ca >4.0 mg/kg bodyweight per 24 h) was found in nine children with febrile convulsions (23.7%) and in three controls (6.7%). Hypercalciuric children excreted significantly more phosphate in their urine (37.0 +/- 11.6 mg/kg bodyweight per 24 h) than normocalciuric children (18.7 +/- 8.7 mg/kg bodyweight per 24 h) and controls (20.2 +/- 7.6 mg/kg bodyweight per 24 h). They also had higher serum intact PTH concentrations (49.87 +/- 15.36 pg/mL) than normocalciuric (35.39 +/- 15.67 pg/mL) and control children (28.21 +/- 14.00 pg/mL). According to the calcium-loading test, eight of nine children with hypercalciuria had the renal type of the disorder. Furthermore, hypercalciuric children had significantly more convulsive episodes (2.77 +/- 1.98) than normocalciuric children (1.86 +/- 1.24). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that renal hypercalciuria may be implicated in the pathogenesis of febrile convulsions.

Calcium↗

Reactive thrombocytosis in children with upper urinary tract infections.

UNLABELLED: The relationship between reactive thrombocytosis and the level of urinary tract infections was studied in 48 children. Platelets were counted before, during and after treatment. Reactive thrombocytosis was noticed in 74% of children with upper and in 14% with lower urinary tract infections. A significant rise in the platelet count presented in another five children (15%) with upper urinary tract infections. CONCLUSION: Reactive thrombocytosis was found almost exclusively in the renal parenchymal infections, usually during the recovery phase.

Adolescent↗

Atrial natriuretic peptide in children with idiopathic hypercalciuria.

We measured plasma atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) levels in 30 children with idiopathic hypercalciuria (IH) and 19 normal controls (NC). A calcium (Ca) loading test was performed in all patients to determine the type of IH. Subsequently plasma ANP, cAMP and renin activity (PRA), serum total and ionized Ca, intact parathyroid hormone, aldosterone, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D as well as urine Ca, cAMP, and electrolytes were determined in all subjects. The mean (SD) plasma ANP levels were significantly lower in patients with renal hypercalciuria (RH) [21.4 (4.8) pg/ml] than in those with absorptive hypercalciuria (AH) [26.8 (7.6) pg/ml, P<0.05] and NC [27.6 (6.6) pg/ml, P<0.001]. PRA was significantly lower in AH [2.9 (1.3) ng/ml per hour] than in RH patients [7.8 (6.8) ng/ml per hour, P<0.01] and in NC [6.8 (4.6) ng/ml per hour, P<0.005]. Serum aldosterone values were significantly lower in AH [14.5 (11.4) ng/dl] than in RH patients [25.4 (14.1) ng/dl, P<0.05] and in NC [32.6 (20.5), P<0.001]. The lower plasma ANP levels in RH than in AH patients and in NC may be due to Ca depletion. The lower PRA and serum aldosterone levels in AH than in RH patients and in NC may be attributed to Ca excess.

Aldosterone↗

Cat scratch disease in Greece.

An indirect fluorescent antibody test for Bartonella henselae, B quintana, and B elizabethae was performed in all 18 children who presented to our paediatric outpatient clinic with cat scratch disease over a six year period. Serum samples were taken on admission, after 15 days, and after six months. Diagnosis was confirmed in 15 patients (83%) and was based on seroconversion or a fourfold change of the antibody titre to B henselae in 12 patients and on a single high titre (> 128) in three patients. Lymphadenopathy was present in all patients, erythema nodosum in one, osteomyelitis in one, hepatitis in one, transverse myelitis in one, and liver or spleen granulomata, or both, in three patients. Cat scratch disease developed in autumn or winter in 12 patients. All had a history of physical contact with a cat. Our study shows that our clinical suspicion was accurate in the diagnosis of cat scratch disease in a high percentage of patients presenting to a hospital and that indirect fluorescent antibody testing for B henselae is a useful diagnostic tool.

Adolescent↗

Carbamazepine hypersensitivity and rickettsiosis mimicking Kawasaki disease.

We report on two patients whose clinical presentation resembled that of Kawasaki disease. The first patient was a boy with epilepsy, whose symptoms first appeared following treatment with carbamazepine. The second boy had Mediterranean Spotted Fever. The significance of medical history in avoiding overdiagnosis of Kawasaki disease is emphasized.

Blood Cell Count↗

[Cat-scratch disease associated with osteomyelitis].

A case of cat-scratch disease in an 8 year-old girl is reported. The inoculation injury followed by regional lymphadenopathy was typical of Parinaud syndrome. This patient also had vertebral lesions on scintigraphy, x-rays and CT scan. While the oculoglandular localization spontaneously improved within a few weeks, osteomyelitic lesions remained grossly unchanged after almost 2 years of follow-up.

Cat-Scratch Disease↗