Epidemiology and clinical presentation of pandemic influenza A [H1N1] among hospitalized children in Kuwait

To describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of children hospitalized for the 2009 influenza A H1N1 infection in Kuwait. A retrospective chart review of hospitalized children with laboratory-confirmed influenza A H1N1 infection in two hospitals in Kuwait was conducted. Epidemiological characteristics, clinical features, risk factors for severe disease, complications and mortality were analyzed. The medical records of 197 children hospitalized for the 2009 pandemic H1N1 infection from August 2009 to January 2010 were reviewed. The majority of the children [104; 52.8%] were admitted during the month of October. The median age was 2 years. Most of the admitted children were in two age categories: 64 infants 5 years [31%]. The most frequent presentations were fever in 193 [98%], cough in 155 [79%] and runny nose in 105 [53%] cases. The majority of the admitted children [109; 55%] had been previously healthy. All children received an antiviral agent [oseltamivir], and antibiotics were administered to 147 [75%]. Bacterial co-infections occurred in 3 [1.5%] of all hospitalized children. Six [3%] children were admitted to the intensive care unit, of whom 4 [66%] required artificial ventilation. There was only 1 mortality. The pandemic H1N1 infection was associated with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations. The majority of hospitalized children had previously been healthy. Most of the admitted children had an uncomplicated clinical course

Immune associated complication in meningococcal disease; a report of two cases

Meningococcal disease is one of the most feared infections in children. In recent years, little attention has been focused on the complications of meningococcal disease in the sub-acute phase, the so-called immune associated complications. Its main features are arthritis, vasculitis, episcleritis, pericarditis and very rarely nephritis. We report two siblings with meningococcal disease. The first developed arthritis and vasculitis while the younger sister developed only arthritis of the right ankle. To the best of our knowledge this is the first case report to be published in Kuwait