A 14-year-old boy is brought to the emergency department for evaluation of fever and headache. The mother relates that her son has had a worsening headache for 56 days. She says that she took him to a walk-in clinic, and he was put on amoxicillin for a sinus infection. His headaches have been getting worse and that he is now having fevers as high as 103.6°F . The mother says that he normally is very active and that he currently has a summer job at a local park clearing out underbrush. Since he has become ill, he has had such a decrease in energy that he cannot go to work. He has had a decrease in his appetite and has been sleeping more. He denies any sore throat, abdominal pain, chest pain, dysuria, vomiting, or diarrhea. On examination, he is an uncomfortable young man whose vital signs are: temp 101.9°F, RR 26, HR 124, and BP 79/56. is head, ear, eye, nose, and throat examination reveals normal TMs, a mildly erythematous hypopharynx, and some shotty cervical lymphadenopathy. His lungs are clear. His cardiac examination is normal. His liver edge is palpable just below the right costal margin and is mildly tender. His spleen is not palpable. His skin examination is normal with the exception of scattered petechiae around his ankles and wrists. A CBC reveals WBC 13,000 with 65% segs and 22% lymphs, hematocrit of 35, and platelet count of 95,000. His electrolytes reveal a Na 125, K 5.1, Cl 102, and bicarbonate 21. His BUN and Cr are normal.What additional testing would be warranted at this point?
Answer(s): A
Typical symptoms include a summertime fever, headache, petechial rash, thrombocytopenia, and hyponatremia. This may be mistaken for a systemic enteroviral infection, or enteroviral encephalitis, but the presence of thrombocytopenia and hyponatremia would exclude this diagnosis. Still disease (systemic- onset JRA) would have an elevation of acute-phase reactants, including the WBC and platelet count. Fourteen years old is an unlikely age for Kawasaki disease, and the acute phase reactants would likewise also be elevated.RMSF is a very serious infectious illness. Appropriate antimicrobial therapy, usually doxycycline, needs to be started as soon as the diagnosis is seriously considered, as this can prevent some of the more severe sequelae. The use of systemic corticosteroids has no place in the management of RMSF. Confirmation of RMSF is serologic. Rising IgG titers or the presence of IgM titers to R. rickettsii is a confirmation of RMSF
A 41/2-year-old girl is brought to your office during summertime hours for ear pain. She has been swimming at camp for the past few days and now has copious cloudy discharge from her left external auditory canal with pain on movement of the pinna.What is the most likely diagnosis?
Answer(s): C
The constellation of ear pain, pain with movement of the pinna, and cloudy discharge from the ear canal in a child who has been swimming frequently is most probably OE, also known as "swimmer's ear." Perforated TMs can occur, often as the result of an untreated otitis media, a foreign body inserted deep in the ear or from barotrauma. This can cause ear pain and may have a cloudy drainage if the perforation is the result of otitis media. Neither otitis media nor perforated TMs typically cause pain on movement of the pinna. Mastoiditis is a rare infection that usually results from extension of an untreated otitis media into the mastoid air cells. The common findings on examination would be an acute otitis media and tenderness over the mastoid area behind the ear. Temporomandibular joint dysfunction can cause ear pain, but the common finding is tenderness anterior to the ear, not pain with movement of the ear or drainage from the ear canal. It would also be uncommon in a child this age.The most common cause of acute OE is Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Treatment for acute OE will involve topical antimicrobials which cover P. aeruginosa, often in combination with a topical steroid. A commonly used treatment consists of eardrops containing neomycin, polymyxin B, and hydrocortisone (Cortisporin Otic), four drops into the affected ear four times a day for 710 days. Alternative therapy consists of oflaxacin drops twice a day into the affected ear for 710 days. For chronic OE, yeast becomes a more important pathogen, and therapy should be directed as such.
A 41/2-year-old girl is brought to your office during summertime hours for ear pain. She has been swimming at camp for the past few days and now has copious cloudy discharge from her left external auditory canal with pain on movement of the pinna.What organism is the most common cause of this infection?
A 41/2-year-old girl is brought to your office during summertime hours for ear pain. She has been swimming at camp for the past few days and now has copious cloudy discharge from her left external auditory canal with pain on movement of the pinna.What is the best course of treatment for this patient?
Answer(s): E
Parents bring you a 9-month-old boy they recently have adopted from western Russia. They have sparse medical records of the child's past. They do know that the boy was the result of a sexual assault on the mother and was given up at birth. The child has been in a "baby home" for 5 months. The records which accompanied the boy indicate that there had been some testing done. These tests include HIV, hepatitis B and C serologies, and a rapid plasma reagin (RPR), all of which are negative at 8 months of age. There is what appears to be a Russian immunization record as well. It seems to indicate that the child has had three diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP), three oral polio, and three hepatitis B vaccinations. There is also an indication that BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin) was given.The parents are interested in having the boy tested for infections. What is the most appropriate evaluation at this time?
Repeating all serologies is important. The prior negative testing should be included in the medical record, but should not dissuade one from confirming the result. The collection of stool for ova and parasites (O + P) is an important evaluation but should not be the only testing performed. ACBC is not an adequate screen for infections.The diagnosis of FAS includes findings of characteristic facies, growth retardation, and CNS impairment. The characteristic facies of FAS includes flat philtrum, thin upper vermilion border, short palpebral fissures, micrognathia, microphthalmos, and microcephaly.BCG is a common vaccine administered in countries outside of the United States. The presence of a positive reaction to a PPD in a child who has had a prior BCG is still concerning. The presence of a 15- mm reaction is considered positive and warrants a CXR and initiation of anti TB treatment. The negative CXR would indicate TB exposure, and INH alone is recommended. Sputum collection is usually unwarranted in asymptomatic children.
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