Brucella melitensis infection of ventriculo-peritoneal shunt: a form of neurobrucellosis manifested as gastrointestinal symptoms

A report of a 9 year-old child with Myelomeningocele who has a ventriculo-peritoneal [VP] shunt presented with gastrointestinal symptoms and peritonitis. The patient had no cNS symptoms but the cerebrospinal fluid was positive for Brucella melitensis. We discuss neurobrucellosis in children, its various presentations, complications and challenges in treatment, choice of antibiotics and duration

unusual combination of extrapulmonary manifestations of tuberculosis in a child

We report the case of a 10-year-old girl who presented to the emergency department with acute abdominal pain. She was diagnosed as having extrapulmonary tuberculosis [TB] with multifocal osteomyelitis of the spine and ribs, peritonitis and intestinal involvement. We describe the clinical presentation of this unusual constellation of the disease in the absence of pulmonary involvement in a child and discuss the diagnostic challenges and treatment of these rare forms of TB

Preventing child abuse and neglect in Saudi Arabia: are we ready?

Although child abuse and neglect [CAN] have been recognized by medical professionals for the last 20 years, child protection services and child maltreatment prevention programs are still emerging in Saudi Arabia. This paper will review the progress made in the country in terms of recognition and implementation of child protection services. Furthermore, it will draw attention to the essential steps required to start child maltreatment prevention programs, as CAN prevention is currently viewed as a global health-care priority with an emphasis on evidence-based interventions. In addition, this paper will assess Saudi Arabia's readiness to prevent CAN and the challenges that will be faced by the professionals in implementing evidence-based CAN prevention programs