Comparison of Open and Ultrasound-Guided Placement of Central Venous Catheter in Children Weighing Less Than Five Kilograms; A Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVES: Ultrasound is currently utilized to locate the internal jugular vein (IJV), reduce the complications of catheter placement, and increase the likelihood of accessing IJV. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of ultrasound in reducing complications during catheter placement in children weighing less than 5 kg. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The current randomized clinical trial was performed on 111 children weighing less than 5 kg who required a central venous catheter (CVC). Children were divided into two groups: in the first group (Seldinger group; n = 55), a CVC was inserted using the Seldinger wire method under ultrasound guidance, and in the second group (open surgical cutdown (OSC); n = 56), the catheter was inserted via the open method. Two weeks after catheter placement, patients were evaluated for thrombosis, catheter occlusion, catheter tip migration, infection, catheter removal, and catheter dysfunction. RESULTS: The success rate of catheter placement in the ultrasound-guided method was 85.5%. The incidence of thrombosis (3.6% vs. 5.4%), infection (1.8% vs. 7.4%), and bleeding (zero vs. 3.6%) was lower in the Seldinger group, but the difference was not significant (p ˃ 0.05). Hematoma (7.3% vs. 3.6%) occurred less frequently in the patients of the OSC group (p = 0.33). Hemothorax, pneumothorax, catheter migration, and occlusion did not occur in any of the patients. In the OSC group, two deaths (3.6%) occurred due to underlying diseases. CONCLUSION: When ultrasound is used to insert a CVC in children weighing less than 5 kg, the incidence of complications is not significantly different compared to when the open method is employed.

Different clinical presentations of choledochal cyst among infants and older children: A 10-year retrospective study.

Choledochal cyst is a rare and often benign congenital cystic dilation throughout the biliary tree. Due to the benign nature of choledochal cyst among early-diagnosed patients, the clinical assumption and diagnosis seem to be of utmost significance. Therefore, we sought to assess different clinical manifestations of choledochal cyst and relevant laboratory findings in infants and older children.Retrospectively, medical records of all patients with the diagnosis of choledochal cyst between 2005 and 2015 were reviewed. Demographic data, initial clinical presentation, positive findings on physical examination, history of any remarkable behavior such as persistent and unexplained crying and poor feeding, and diagnostic imaging modalities were listed. In addition, laboratory values for total and direct bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, prothrombin time, and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) were recorded for each patient. Patients were divided into 2 groups; younger than 1-year-old (infants), and 1 year to 18 years old (older children). Demographic data, clinical data, and laboratory values were compared between the infants and older children.Thirty-two patients with a diagnosis of choledochal cyst were included in the study: 9 patients (28.12%) were infants and 23 patients (71.87%) were older children. Abdominal pain was the most common presenting symptom (62.5%), followed by nausea/vomiting (59.4%) and jaundice (28.1%). None of the patients presented with the classic triad of abdominal pain, jaundice, and right upper quadrant mass. Seventeen older children (73.91%) presented with nausea and vomiting, while 2 subjects (22.22%) in the infantile group presented with this feature (P = .01). Similarly, abdominal pain was found in 20 older children (86.95%); however, none of the infants presented with abdominal pain at diagnosis (P < .001). By contrast, the abdominal mass was more detected in infants than the older children (33.33% vs. 0%, P = .01). In terms of laboratory values, the median PTT was 44 and 36 s in infants and older children, respectively (P = .04).Infants were more likely to present with abdominal mass and older children were more likely to have nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Furthermore, infants had more prolonged PTT than older children, implying a potential bleeding tendency.

Is there any correlation between radiologic findings and eradication of symptoms after pyloromyotomy in hypertrophic pyloric stenosis?

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (HPS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders during early infancy, with an incidence of 1-2:1000 live births in the world. In this study, we aimed to investigate the correlation between radiologic findings and eradication of symptoms after pyloromyotomy in HPS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and twenty-five (102 boys and 23 girls) patients with suspected infantile HPS were treated surgically by Ramstedt pyloromyotomy between March 21, 2004 and March 20, 2014 at paediatric surgery ward of Tabriz Children's Hospital, Iran. The demographic features, clinical findings, diagnostic work-up, operation type and postoperative specifications of the patients were studied retrospectively. RESULTS: Male to female ratio was 4:1. The patients were 16-90 days of old and the mean age was 39 ± 1.42 days. The range of pyloric canal length was 7.60-29.00 mm and the mean length was 19.54 ± 3.42 mm. Pyloric muscle diameter was 2.70-9.00 mm, and the mean diameter was 4.86 ± 1.14 mm. Seventy-two percent of patients had episodes of vomiting after operation. Mean time of persistence of vomiting after pyloromyotomy was 15.73 ± 0.15 h. Mean discharge time was 55.22 ± 0.08 h. Radiologic findings did not show any significant correlation with persistence of vomiting or discharge time. CONCLUSION: The present study revealed that radiographic findings could not predict postoperative symptom eradication after pyloromyotomy in HPS.

Primary Pulmonary Fibrosarcoma With Bone Metastasis: a Successful Treatment With Post-Operation Adjuvant Chemotherapy.

INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary fibrosarcoma has been an extremely rare tumor in children. Wide surgical resection of infantile fibrosarcoma would be the treatment of choice. CASE PRESENTATION: Post-operative chemotherapy has shown the benefit in the cases of residual disease after initial surgery and metastatic disease in the literature. We have presented the case of a 70-days old male child with primary infantile fibrosarcoma of the left lung and distant metastasis of skull. CONCLUSIONS: The aim of this publication was to highlight the role of adjuvant chemotherapy to improve outcome of infantile fibrosarcoma with residual tumor and / or metastatic disease.

A rare case of aphallia with right kidney hypoplasia and left kidney dysplasia.

Aphallia or penile agenesis is an extremely rare congenital anomaly with an estimated incidence rate of 1 in 10 to 30 million births. We report a rare case of aphallia with right kidney hypoplasia and left kidney dysplasia in a 10-day old Iranian-Azeri male. The patient had creatinine rise and renal failure due to dysplastic left kidney and hypoplastic right kidney and expired on fifth day of admission. There were only six cases of renal malformation associated with aphallia in the literature review. Three of the cases were complicated by Potter sequence and one of them was accompanied by chronic renal failure. Our case had a unique presentation because of bilateral renal malformation and subsequent renal failure without the Potter sequence.

Hydatid cyst in children: A 10-year experience from Iran.

BACKGROUND: Hydatid disease is one of the major world-wide health problems especially in endemic countries. Due to lack of statistics about this disease, various aspects of hydatidosis in children in North-West of Iran have been studied in this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 59 children with hydatidosis referring Tabriz Children Hospital, Tabriz, Iran from 2001 up to 2011. We surveyed chief complaint of patients, number, size and location of cysts in children and also we studied cysts as if they are infected or ruptured or not. RESULTS: Average age of 59 patients (32 [54.2%] males and 27 [45.8%] females) was 7.93 ± 3.0. The most common chief complaints were cough and pain. Number of cysts was higher in females (2.00 ± 2.8 vs. 1.52 ± 1.0). The most common locations of cysts are lung and liver (52 patients); however, other organs had been also affected. CONCLUSIONS: Lung hydatidosis is more common than hepatic hydatidosis in children than adults and it is more frequent in males. Hydatid disease should be considered in differential diagnoses of liver and lung cystic lesions in children.