Upper gastrointestinal bleeding in children in southern Iran.

Objective. To find out whether the causes of upper GI bleeding in our center in a developing country differed from developed countries. Methods. Children presenting to our center with upper GI bleeding from March 2002 to March 2007, were retrospectively evaluated. Informations were retrieved from patient’s history and physical examination and results of upper GI endoscopy regarding etiology of bleeding, managements, use of medications which might predispose patient to bleeding, and the mortality rate. Results. From 118 children (67 boys; with age of 7.7±4.7 yrs) who underwent upper GI endoscopies, 50% presented with hematemesis, 14% had melena and 36% had both. The most common causes of upper GI bleeding among all patients were gastric erosions (28%), esophageal varices (16%), duodenal erosions (10%), gastric ulcer (8.5%), Mallory Weiss syndrome tear (7.8%), duodenal ulcer (6.8%), esophagitis (1.7%) and duodenal ulcer with gastric ulcer (0.8%). The causes of bleeding could not be ascertained in 20.5% of cases. No significant pre-medication or procedure related complications were observed. Endoscopic therapy was performed in 13.5% of patients. In 14.4% of patients, there was a history of consumption of medications predisposing them to upper GI bleeding. Two deaths occurred (1.7%) too. Conclusion. The findings in the present study showed that half of upper GI bleedings in pediatric patients from south of Iran, were due to gastric and duodenal erosions and ulcers. This study concludes that the causes of upper GI bleeding in children in our center of a developing country, are not different from those in developed ones.

Clinical profile of dengue hemorrhagic fever cases in Mexico

OBJETIVO: El dengue hemorrágico en México es una enfermedad emergente desde 1994. La circulación de los cuatro serotipos incrementa el riesgo de epidemias de dengue hemorrágico. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se reportan los datos clínicos y epidemiológicos de los casos de dengue hemorrágico confirmados y notificados por el IMSS de 1995 a 2003. Se analizaron las características clínicas y epidemiológicas entre grupos. Para el control y la evaluación final de las variables se utilizó un modelo multivariado. RESULTADOS: Los casos fueron asignados en dos grupos: 438 con dengue clásico, que incluye 109 casos con manifestaciones hemorrágicas sin trombocitopenia, y 977 casos de dengue hemorrágico con 79 defunciones. Los factores de riesgo asociados a las defunciones fueron: hematemesis (RR 2.6; IC 95 por ciento 1.4-4.6) y melena (RR 2.2; IC 95 por ciento 1.2-3.7). CONCLUSIONES: El cuadro clínico descrito para la población del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social permite identificar factores pronósticos que ayuden al clínico a prevenir y manejar adecuadamente los casos severos de dengue hemorrágico.