Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to F Franchini.
Because of the increase arrival of extra-community people, now it is easy to meet with new pathologies or with old ones that we believed disappeared. We describe a case of infibulation practice observed in a thirteen year old coloured adolescent. She was admitted for an unknown-provenance fever.
It is known that a great number of subjects, mainly little girls, frequently go to pediatric's observation for recurrent episodes of pollakiuria, dysuria or burning miction. They often complain enuresis, sometimes tenesmus so intense that they arrive at the incontinence (urge incontinence). Many of these cases, quickly defined as cystitis, really revealed that they weren't. Repetitively negative bacteriologic examinations allow us to classify them as "sham syndromes", as Stephens called them. According to what we said above, we wondered whether any recurrent cystitis are not favoured by missed observation of definite rules.
Our experiences at the "Centro di Profilassi Antirabbica" of the "Dipartimento di Pediatria" suggest to us some thoughts: though the seriousness of the lesions is important also for the patient's aestethics, mostly for girls, the physician must always take into consideration the infectious consequences of the bite itself. Among these bacterial infections mostly frequent enough are those overlapping the deepest wounds as the bites of cates are. Therefore adequate early preventive attendances (within the 24 hours) are necessary. The importance of prevention against rabies, luckily very rare in our country, but to be always afraid of and to be always taken into consideration because of its emotional impact, is to be highlighted.
Great changes have occurred in the adolescent behaviour in the last twenty years; this has caused a great increase in the number of the transmitted by sexual intercourse diseases. These, along with the adolescent habits changing, have so widely spread among young people, that one third of the recorded case are actually referred to this group of age. So, a matter of great social interest, which would require a common effort by the adolescents' families, the teachers and by the adolescents themselves, to be faced in the most proper way, has arisen. But the greatest commitment is asked for to the specialized in infectious diseases pediatricians, who are called to state the best strategy to efficaciously fight adolescents' STD. Pediatricians' specific competence and experience can build up the major security to face the prevention and diagnostic matters and their therapy as well.
The authors describe a case of haematuria due to the von Willebrand disease. The purpose of this article is to stimulate the performing of coagulation tests in patients with a pre-renal haematuria.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Infectious diarrhea is a common disorder in children in Italy, which may lead to hospitalization especially during infancy. In order to obtain data about epidemiology and clinic pictures of acute diarrhea, the carts of 1295 paediatric outpatients, hospitalized for this pathology in the time between 1990-1996 at the Children's Hospital "Meyer" of Florence, were analyzed. An offending organism could be isolate in 43.3% of patients; Rotaviruses are the leading cause of diarrhea, followed by salmonella spp. Furthermore the role of Campylobacter as common bacterial pathogen worldwide has been clarified.
The emergency in the laboratory is a serious problem. The Authors, starting from management evaluations, try to analyse the problems related to the urgent examinations in the Laboratory of a Pediatric Hospital. They propose executive ways for the best working of the same laboratory.
The Authors studied the possibility of using some dip sticks visual for urinalysis. One hundred of urine samples have been analyzed at the beginning with the instrumental laboratory analytical system and then with the dip sticks visual; the results put in evidence that there is a real discrepancy as far as glucose is concerned. Glucose is overestimated in dip sticks visual method. Bilirubin, blood and proteins are in a decreasing order the most different items. Concerning to pH the results have been comparable. Specific weight cannot be compared to the laboratory method, on the other hand it can be used for screening. On the whole the Authors are quite satisfied about dip sticks visual method; it can be used in order to accelerate diagnosis and avoid pre-analytical mistakes.
In the period of adolescence the problems due to diseases go down and those due to the personality of young boys and girls increase. While the former can be cured by drugs, the latter need much reflection and help from Pediatricians.
The authors suggest a program of diffusion of posters which invite young adolescents to pay attention to the symptoms of the S.T.D. They suggest also to found a telephone line where the adolescent can call for any problem or question.
The authors suggest an executive protocol for the infections due to the sting of a tick in a child. They report the experience they had observing 92 children in the period between spring and autumn in the year 1996.
Twelve children of age ranged from 4 to 34 months with Haemophilus influenzae type b meningitis treated at Meyer Hospital of Florence, were retrospectively reviewed. Eight patients had subdural effusion demonstrated with TC, RM and transfontanellar ultrasonography. All patients are cured without sequelae.
The Pediatrician is daily in contact with a large number of adolescents, and therefore is able to recognize those who display behavioural problems. The Pediatrician is often asked for advice in order to solve practical problems such as the choice of school, the practice of sports, ecc. His advice is somehow conditioned by his previous experiences as an adolescent and, if he is a parent himself, by his present familial situation. In the last years, the problems of the adolescents and the fears of their parents have changed, the main concern being today the one for work, due to the high levels of unemployment and underemployment affecting our society. In this situation, some of the most frequent attitudes of parents towards adolescents seem to be erroneous, such as asking them for social success at any cost (e.g. attending unwelcome studies or performing inappropriate sports). This leads to failures that often prove to be unbearable for young people not trained to face and overcome frustration. Parents also seem often to underestimate the possibility of their own "child" being involved in episodes of hooliganism, shoplifting, violence like the ones daily described by the media. The excessive idealization of adolescents by their parents seems to be one of the main causes of this situation. The Pediatrician can intervene with advice, in order to orientate adolescents towards realistic life objectives and a satisfactory development of their personality.
The authors describe the case of an elder adolescent who showed an imposing symptomatology due to the abuse of anabolic drugs. They urge the pediatricians to warn their patients about the use of such drugs.
The authors describe a new case of infantile acute haemorrhagic oedema in a six-month-old child. Even being a vasculitis the authors do not retain to assimilate it to the Schönlein-Henoch syndrome.
The modern pediatric is interested also in the adolescent. Sometimes disorders of the behaviour lived of a teenager in a family on risk can lead to attempts of suicide. The authors will analyze at the basis of their experience like pediatrics this problematic.