Thalamic Pain Syndrome Due to Cytomegalovirus Vasculitis in an HIV- Positive Child.

Dejerine-Roussy syndrome, also known as the ‘thalamic pain syndrome’ is a condition in which the body becomes hypersensitive to pain as a result of damage to the thalamus, a part of the brain that affects sensation. Association of this syndrome with HIV is rare with few case reports described in adults. We report a 10-year-old male child who was HIV positive and had developed this syndrome due to cytomegalovirus vasculitis.

PFIC type III in infant presenting as acute liver cell failure.

An eight-month-old female, delivered to consanguineous parents, presented with acute liver cell failure. Her investigations showed progressive cholestatic jaundice, high liver enzymes and high gamma-glutamyl transferase. Hepatitis and inborn errors of metabolism were excluded. The liver biopsy showed a prominent parenchymal bile stasis without features of bile obstruction or paucity of bile ducts. These findings wee suggestive of Byler disease or progressive familial intra hepatic cholestasis type III (PFIC III) which begins in infancy and usually progresses to cirrhosis and hepatic failure in the first few years of life.

Ortner Syndrome in Infants.

Ortner syndrome or cardiovocal syndrome refers to hoarseness of voice due to recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis secondary to cardiovascular disease. We present three cases of Ortner syndrome in infants with congenital heart disease. All the three cases had moderate to severe pulmonary hypertension with moderately dilated pulmonary artery. We believe that the dilated pulmonary artery caused compression of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve resulting in hoarseness of voice.

Diaphragmatic Hernia Presenting as Gastrointestinal Bleeding.

We report a 5-year-old girl who presented with persistent iron-deficiency anemia. She had a history of abdominal pain and recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding. Highresolution computed tomography, esophagogastroduodenoscopy and barium meal examination revealed a congenital diaphragmatic hernia with intermittent gastric volvulus. The anemia was the result of Cameron lesions associated with diaphragmatic hernia.

Fatal thyrotoxic periodic paralysis with normokalemia.

We present a 10-year-old girl who presented to our emergency services with difficulty in breathing of 2-days duration and progressive weakness of a month's duration. In a previous admission elsewhere, she had not been detected to have hyperthyroidism or electrolyte abnormalities. On admission, the child was in hypercapnic respiratory failure with tachycardia and hepatomegaly. A small goiter as well as signs of thyrotoxicosis were present. Laboratory investigations showed anemia, mildly elevated liver enzymes and serum potassium of 4.8mEq/L. Despite intubation and ventilation and other supportive management including propranolol, the patient could not be saved. Post-mortem biopsy of the thyroid showed diffuse hyperplasia of the follicles and muscles showed evidence of thyroid myopathy.

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.

The authors report 6 children with the diagnosis of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Diagnosis was based on clinical and radiological findings. The most common presenting symptoms were fever and disturbed consciousness, followed by cranial nerve abnormalities and pyramidal signs. Brain MRI showed hyperintense signals on T2-weighted images, most commonly in the subcortical and periventricular white matter, brainstem, basal ganglia and thalamus. The lesions were bilateral, asymmetrical and highly variable in size and number. A preceding infection was present in 3 of 6 children. Early high-dose corticosteroids were given to all the patients. All patients recovered clinically. Follow-up ranged from 10 months to 2 years. No relapses were observed during this period. Early high-dose steroid therapy seems to be an effective treatment in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.

Tuberous sclerosis with hypothyroidism and precocious puberty.

Tuberous sclerosis complex has been associated though infrequently, with abnormalities in the endocrine tissues. Alterations in thyroid function, in patients with tuberous sclerosis have been reported rarely. We report a patient with tuberous sclerosis complex who presented with hypothyroidism and precocious puberty.

Budd-Chiari syndrome due to antithrombin III deficiency.

Budd-Chiari syndrome is a disease complex with varied etiology and is one of the causes of post-hepatic portal hypertension. We report a 2 year-old boy who presented with Budd-Chiari syndrome due to congenital antithrombin III deficiency, who was managed with an expandable metal stent placed in the inferior vena cava and oral anticoagulation.