Neuroimaging of central nervous system tuberculosis

A 20-month-old female, not immunized with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, was admitted due to a four-day history of fever and cough. In the past three months, she presented respiratory infections, weight loss and enlarged cervical lymph nodes. On day two of admission, she displayed drowsiness and positive Romberg's sign; cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) workout revealed 107/ul cells, low glucose and high protein levels. Ceftriaxone and acyclovir were initiated, and she was transferred to our tertiary hospital. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed punctiform focal areas of restricted diffusion in left capsular lenticular region suggestive of vasculitis secondary to infection. Tuberculin skin test and interferon-gamma release assay were positive. She started tuberculostatic therapy, but two days later she presented tonic-clonic seizures and impaired consciousness. Cerebral computed tomography (CT) revealed tetrahydrocephalus (Figure 1), needing external ventricular derivation. She had a slow clinical improvement, requiring several neurosurgical interventions and developing a syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic secretion alternating with cerebral salt wasting. Positive results for Mycobacterium tuberculosis were obtained by CSF culture and by polymerase chain reaction in CSF, bronchoalveolar lavage and gastric aspirate specimens. Repeated brain CT showed a large-vessel vasculitis with basal meningeal enhancement, typical of central nervous system (CNS) tuberculosis (Figure 2). She completed one month of corticosteroids and maintained antituberculosis treatment. At two years of age, she has spastic paraparesis and no language skills. Portugal had 1836 cases of tuberculosis (17.8 per 100000) in 2016 and was considered a low-incidence country; consequently, BCG vaccination is not universal (1). We present a severe case of CNS tuberculosis with intracranial hypertension, vasculitis and hyponatremia, associated with poorer outcomes (2). A high index of suspicion allowed prompt start of antituberculosis treatment. Diagnosis was corroborated by microbiological positivity and a typical triad in neuroimaging (hydrocephalus, vasculitis and basal meningeal enhancement) (3), which we wish to emphasize.

Multifocal Infantile Hepatic Hemangiomas Complicated by Consumptive Hypothyroidism: The Benefits of Early Diagnosis and Treatment

Infantile hepatic hemangiomas (IHH) account for 12% of all childhood hepatic tumors. Most IHH are diagnosed within the first 6 months of life and involute spontaneously; however, some require medical treatment. The present report describes a case of multifocal IHH associated with subcutaneous and lingual hemangiomas, complicated by consumptive hypothyroidism and successfully managed with oral propranolol and thyroid replacement therapy, without documented adverse effects. Consumptive hypothyroidism is a rare complication of IHH, but suggestive of multifocal/diffuse subtypes. The authors intend to reinforce the importance of early referral to a Vascular Anomalies Center and treatment with propranolol in selected patients.

Prospective study of loss of health-related quality adjusted life years in children and their families due to uncomplicated and hospitalised varicella

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS

Although usually benign, varicella can lead to serious complications and sometimes long-term sequelae. Vaccines are safe and effective but not yet included in immunisation programmes in many countries. We aimed to quantify the impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in terms of quality-adjusted life years (QALY) in children with varicella and their families, key to assessing cost-utility in countries with low mortality due to this infection.

METHODS

Children with varicella in the community and admitted to hospitals in Portugal were included over 18 months from January 2019. Children's and carers' HRQoL losses were assessed prospectively using standard multi-attribute utility instruments for measuring HRQoL (EQ-5D and CHU9D), from presentation to recovery, allowing the calculation of QALYs.

RESULTS

Among 109 families with children with varicella recruited from attendees at a pediatric emergency service (community arm), the mean HRQoL loss/child was 2.0 days (95 % CI 1.9-2.2, n = 101) (mean 5.4 QALYs/1000 children (95 % CI 5.3-6.1) and 1.3 days/primary carer (95 % CI 1.2-1.6, n = 103) (mean 3.6 QALYs /1000 carers (95 % CI 3.4-4.4). Among 114 families with children admitted to hospital because of severe varicella or a complication (hospital arm), the mean HRQoL loss/child was 9.8 days (95 % CI 9.4-10.6, n = 114) (mean 26.8 QALYs /1000 children (95 % CI 25.8-29.0) and 8.5 days/primary carer (95 % CI 7.4-9.6, n = 114) (mean 23.4 QALYs/1000 carers (95 % CI 20.3-26.2). Mean QALY losses/1000 patients were particularly high for bone and joint infections [67.5 (95 % CI 43.9-97.6)]. Estimates for children's QALYs lost using the CHU9D tool were well correlated with those obtained using EQ-5D, but substantially lower.

CONCLUSIONS

The impact of varicella on HRQoL is substantial. We report the first measurements of QALYs lost in hospitalised children and in the families of children both in the community and admitted to hospital, providing important information to guide vaccination policy recommendations.

Demographic and clinical features of pediatric vasculitis: a single-center study

INTRODUCTION

Vasculitides are rare systemic conditions which may occur in childhood. This study aims to document demographic and clinical features of systemic vasculitides in a tertiary center, comparing our outcomes with previously published studies of other international centers.

METHODS

Patients presenting with systemic vasculitis before 18 years of age, admitted to a tertiary Portuguese center at diagnosis or during follow-up, from 2009 to 2020, were retrospectively included in this study.

RESULTS

In our study, we included 138 patients. The youngest patients at diagnosis were in the Kawasaki's disease (KD) group, with a median age at diagnosis of 2.26 years old (IQR 1.07-6.20), as opposed to the Behçet's syndrome (BS) group with a median age at diagnosis of 13.41 years old (IQR 10.19-16.75), which was significantly higher (p 90% in both IgA Vasculitis (IgAV) and KD. Gastrointestinal symptoms were common in all groups (15-50%), rarer in BS (17%). Arthritis and arthralgia were highly prevalent in IgAV (65%). The American Heart Association criteria of diagnosis for complete KD were met in 62% of cases. No significant difference was found in age distribution between complete and incomplete diagnosis (p=0.616). Mean duration of fever in KD was 9.6 ±2.1 days, which was higher than anticipated. Renal manifestations in IgAV (11%) and ophthalmic involvement in BS (22%) were lower than expected. There was a notable number of children reporting joint involvement in KD (27%). We also noticed a slightly higher prevalence of vascular events in BS (30%).

CONCLUSIONS

Each specific vasculitis assessed had different key symptoms, but there are several complaints and signs shown by our patients, some of them overlapping between vasculitides and others very atypical, such as recurrent epididymitis in BS due to microvasculitis. We can state that most of our findings are in concordance with current literature, with some notable exceptions. Pediatric multicentric population-based studies are warranted to increase research and design clinical trials concerning this field of knowledge.

Detection of a de novo heterozygous ANK2 variant in a child with autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy: a case report

Background

The pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not fully clarified. Next-generation sequencing technologies have greatly enhanced the identification of new genes associated with ASD. Variants in ANK2 gene are known to correlate with a broad spectrum of clinical cardiac phenotypes, but, more recently, it has also been pointed out as a candidate gene for the etiology of ASD.

Case presentation

We report the case of a female patient with ASD and epilepsy in whom clinical exome sequencing was performed for etiological enlightenment. A heterozygous variant of uncertain significance was identified in the ANK2 gene: c.3412C > T p.(Arg1138Ter). The child was submitted to a formal cardiac evaluation, ruling out cardiovascular abnormalities. The genetic variant was searched in her parents and was negative in both, suggesting a de novo variant, which favors its pathogenicity.

Conclusions

We recognize the challenge of assessing variant pathogenicity in candidate genes for ASD, and ANK2 gene is currently not associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man database. Nonetheless, our case can be added to other published reports of de novo ANK2 variants in children with ASD and neurological phenotypes (including seizures), some without cardiac impairment. Hopefully, this study provides a more detailed phenotypical description that is often lacking, and it may contribute to a better understanding of the association between ANK2 and ASD.

Neonatal Urinary Tract Infection and Renal Nodular Lesion: A Rare Case of Xanthogranulomatous Pyelonephritis

Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis (XPN) is an uncommon variant of chronic pyelonephritis with a poorly understood pathogenesis and a challenging diagnosis. It is rare in pediatric patients, particularly in the neonatal period. We report the case of an 18-day-old female neonate admitted to the emergency room due to macroscopic hematuria and poor feeding. Urinalysis revealed leukocyturia and she was initially admitted under the clinical suspicion of acute pyelonephritis. Renal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a progressive nodular lesion in the middle third of the left kidney. Given the suspicion of renal abscess or neoplasm, the patient was transferred to our tertiary hospital. Urinary catecholamines and tumor markers had normal values. Percutaneous kidney biopsy confirmed XPN. Posterior computed tomography scan excluded extension to neighboring structures. A conservative management with systemic antibiotic therapy was decided. She completed 7 weeks of systemic antibiotic therapy (ampicillin and cefotaxime) with progressive reduction of lesion size and posterior calcification. Follow-up at 3 years was uneventful. The lipid profile and study of neutrophil function were normal. Voiding cystourethrography excluded vesicoureteral reflux. The authors intend to highlight the importance of a high index of suspicion of XPN to allow preoperative diagnosis. Histopathological assessment is mandatory to confirm XPN and exclude other entities mimicked by focal and unilateral progressive disease. There are only a few published cases of optimal clinical evolution solely with broad-spectrum antibiotics; however, this may allow a beneficial nephron-sparing approach in selected patients.

Comparison of two concentrations of NALC-NaOH for decontamination of sputum for mycobacterial culture

This study compared the effect of using two different concentrations of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) in the N-acetyl-L-cysteine-sodium hydroxide (NALC-NaOH) method for sputum decontamination on smear and culture positivity and the proportion of contaminated cultures: 14% of cultures were contaminated using the standard final 1% NaOH concentration during processing compared to 11% contaminated cultures using a final 1.25% NaOH concentration (P < 0.008). The proportion of cultures positive for mycobacteria decreased from 21% to 11% for sputum processed with 1% and 1.25% final NaOH concentrations, respectively (P < 0.001). Our findings suggest that a small reduction in culture contamination did not justify the considerable loss of positive cultures.