Is procalcitonin a good marker of renal lesion in febrile urinary tract infection?
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Eddy Bodart.
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We report the history of an 8-year-old girl who was treated for suspected lung lesions of respiratory papillomatosis with Indole-3-Carbinol, local and intravenous injections of Cidofovir for 27 months. This is the first report where a complete cure of the lung lesions occurred in a child, and was sustained for at least 24 months.
Exercise-induced asthma (EIA) is a possible cause of poor physical performance in children. No data are available on the value of respiratory symptoms to discriminate children with bad physical fitness from children with EIA. We evaluated respiratory symptoms in school-age children during and after exercise in relation to EIA. The population of 149 primary schools (849 classes with 15,241 children) was enrolled in the study. EIB was assessed using the 6-min free-running-test (6MFRT) in 15,241 children. At the end or at premature arrest of the 6MFRT, signs reported by the children and clinical symptoms observed by supervising physicians were recorded. Peak flow measurements were obtained before and 5 and 10 min after the 6MFRT, a decrease of 15% or more being defined as significant. The 6MFRT was positive in 7.4% of primary schoolchildren. Girls were more likely to have a positive test than boys (8.5% vs. 6.4%, P < 0.001), and children living in urban areas more than those living in rural areas (8.9% vs. 7.0%, P < 0.01). Premature arrest was seen in 3.5% (i.e., n = 353) of the children. The main reasons for premature arrest were dyspnea and chest pain. Among them, only 21% had a positive 6MFRT, while 89% with a positive 6MFRT could terminate the test. Premature arrest, breathlessness, chest tightness, wheezing, and cough had a positive predictive value to detect a EIA of 21.9%, 20.8%, 36.4%, 41.2%, and 28.3%, respectively, and a sensitivity of 10.8%, 29.5%, 14.9%, 4.8%, and 13.0%, respectively. In conclusion, EIA was detected in 7.4% of schoolchildren. A slightly higher incidence was observed in girls and children from an urban area. Neither premature arrest nor clinical signs and symptoms were good predictors of EIA in primary schoolchildren.
A 4.5-year-old boy with complement deficiency developed infection of the psoas caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Pyomyositis of the psoas muscle is uncommon but should be included in the differential diagnosis of fever and lameness. The most useful diagnostic test is computed tomography guided needle aspiration, and underlying conditions should be sought.
The purpose of this study was to characterise Lyme meningitis (LM) in a Belgian paediatric population and to suggest findings that could allow early distinction from aseptic meningitis (AM). The medical records of patients hospitalised between 1993 and 2000 and with a discharge diagnosis of LM (n=14) or AM (n=16) were retrospectively reviewed. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare data. Of the patients, 16 were identified with AM and 14 with LM, amongst which 7 presented with isolated LM and 7 with associated peripheral facial palsy (PFP). Patients with AM, when compared with LM, complained of more pronounced signs and symptoms of meningitis (fever, headaches, and neck stiffness); they statistically displayed a shorter period of symptoms before admission (1.6 vs 15 days), higher neutrophilic component (mean 56% vs 2.4%), and lower protein levels (mean 0.39 vs 1.12 g/l) on cerebrospinal fluid analysis. In the neuroborreliosis group, the duration of symptoms was shorter and the cerebrospinal protein level was lower in cases of LM associated with PFP compared to isolated LM (mean 1.3 vs 15 days; mean 0.55 g/l vs 1.12 g/l). Conclusions. Our results suggest that some clinical data and laboratory findings may help the physician to diagnose aseptic or Lyme meningitis before completion of serologic testing. LM should be suspected in cases of meningitis with very low CSF neutrophilic counts and high protein levels associated with prolonged duration of symptoms, low grade fever, and absence of pronounced signs of meningitis.
Adenoidectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures in children. On rare occasions it can be complicated by a retropharyngeal abscess (RA). We report the case of a 9-year-old girl with an RA extending to the mediastinum following adenoidectomy. The mediastinal collection was successfully treated with computed tomography-guided percutaneous drainage to avoid extensive surgical procedure. Surgeons should be aware of these dramatic complications and should avoid overzealous surgery in the removal of the adenoid tissue.