Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations.

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations rarely present in childhood. Two cases are presented in this report. Both the cases presented clinically with cyanosis and clubbing without a cardiac murmur. The second case had cerebral abscess in addition. Both the cases underwent a contrast-enhanced echocardiography which suggested the presence of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations. The first case also underwent 99mTc radionuclide scan and pulmonary angiography. The cases are being reported for their characteristic clinical features and for emphasizing the role of non-invasive modalities like contrast-enhanced echocardiography and radionuclide scan in reaching the diagnosis.

Glanzmann's thrombasthenia.

Glanzmann's thrombasthenia (GT) is an uncommon cause of bleeding in children. We diagnosed two siblings as having GT on the basis of flow cytometric studies. Both had cutaneous bleedings and epistaxis since early childhood. Hematological investigations revealed prolonged bleeding time and a normal platelet count. Both the patients had absence of aggregation of platelets with the agonist adenosine diphosphate. Absence of the GPIIb/IIIa receptor was confirmed by flow cytometry. A short review of the disorder is presented.

Chloroquine induced parkinsonism.

A case of parkinsonism is reported in a 5-years-old male child following prolonged use of chloroquine. The patient presented with reduced spontaneous movements and speech with an expressionless face and a parkinsonian gait but no tremors. His investigations including CT scan brain, CSF study and serum ceruloplasmin were normal. Chloroquine was discontinued and the patient was started on oral trihexyphenidyl. The patient showed gradual recovery and the drug was successfully withdrawn. The toxic manifestations were only transient and reversible.