Epstein–Barr virus-related dacryocystitis: a case report

Background and objective

Acute dacryocystitis is an atypical and rare manifestation of pediatric mononucleosis still widely underdiagnosed in clinical practice. We report this rare condition and describe challenges in its diagnosis and treatment on the basis of a presented case.

Case presentation

A 6-year-old Caucasian girl without any ophthalmic history was admitted for right preseptal cellulitis requiring intravenous antibiotic therapy. During hospitalization, she developed a fluctuating lump in the nasolacrimal region which resembled an abscess, both clinically and radiologically. There was no spontaneous purulent discharge. Serology was positive for acute mononucleosis and Epstein–Barr virus-related dacryocystitis was diagnosed. Following multidisciplinary discussion, she was treated conservatively with digital lacrimal sac massages and intravenous antibiotic therapy with an excellent outcome.

Discussion

This rare form of Epstein–Barr virus is poorly documented in the literature, and thus barely known. As initial symptoms are nonspecific (rhinitis, fever, eyelid edema and erythema lack of purulent discharge, and moderate bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy), diagnosis is often difficult. Nevertheless, differentiating between dacryocystitis and abscess is crucial to select the appropriate treatment and avoid unnecessary, potentially harmful surgery. Conservative management of dacryocystitis appears to be the gold standard of treatment.

Conclusion

Acute dacryocystitis in children free of ophthalmic history should raise suspicion of primary Epstein–Barr virus infection. With conservative treatment, prognosis appears to be excellent; therefore, surgery should be avoided as much as possible.

Hedonic perception of odors in children aged 5-8 years is similar across 18 countries: Preliminary data

OBJECTIVE

Olfactory preference emerges very early in life, and the sense of smell in children rapidly develops until the second decade of life. It is still unclear whether hedonic perception of odors is shared in children inhabiting different regions of the globe.

METHODS

Five-hundred ten healthy children (N = 510; n_girls = 256; n_boys = 254) aged from 5 to 8 years from 18 countries rated the pleasantness of 17 odors.

RESULTS

The hedonic perception of odors in children aged between 5 and 8 years was rather consistent across 18 countries and mainly driven by the qualities of an odor and the overall ability of children to label odorants.

CONCLUSION

Conclusions from this study, being a secondary analysis, are limited to the presented set of odors that were initially selected for the development of U-Sniff test and present null findings for the cross-cultural variability in hedonic perception of odors across 18 countries. These two major issues should be addressed in the future to either contradict or replicate the results presented herewith. This research lays fundament for posing further research questions about the developmental aspects of hedonic perception of odors and opens a new door for investigating cross-cultural differences in chemosensory perception of children.

Olfactory stimulation may promote oral feeding in immature newborn: a randomized controlled trial

Premature newborns have an increased mortality and morbidity due to respiratory immaturity and inefficient oral feeding performance. Transient assistance with feeding tubes until oral performance improves is required with consequent hospital admission. Based on a controlled and randomized study, we tested whether olfactory stimulation compared to odorless stimulation could accelerate the switch from feeding tube to satisfactory oral feeding. Fifty newborns were included and randomly assigned to either odorless or olfactory stimulation with anise or cinnamon. The main outcome measurement was the duration of the hospital stay. The odor-stimulated group could be discharged from hospital on average 3.4 days earlier than the control group (p = 0.12). When including only more mature newborns into the analysis (n = 39), the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). This trend emphasizes that olfaction may have its place in early feeding stimulation.

[Cochlear implantation - better safe than sorry]

The benefit of cochlear implants in the mtreatent of profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss is undeniable. In Switzerland, bilateral cochlear implantation is the treatment of choice in bilateral deafness in children. Due to the anatomical relations of the cochlea and the vestibule, vestibular function can be affected during implantation. Bilateral vestibular areflexia can significantly impair the quality of life and a child's development. Therefore, even if the theoretical risk of bilateral vestibular arefilxia after cochlear implantation is only about 1%, it must be taken into account. Vestibular function assessment must be part of the pre-implantation workup. For bilateral implantations, we recommend a sequential procedure. The second implantation will take place only if the vestibular function is preserved in the other side.