Resolution of a posttraumatic pancreatic pseudocyst with octreotide acetate in a pediatric patient.

A pancreatic pseudocyst is a complication of abdominal trauma in pediatric patients. Octreotide acetate is an effective adjunct therapy used in combination with traditional surgical approaches. We describe a 19-month-old boy with a pancreatic pseudocyst secondary to blunt abdominal trauma who was successfully managed with octreotide acetate in combination with percutaneous drainage and the placement of a pancreatic stent. Octreotide acetate 1 µg/kg/hour was administered as a continuous intravenous infusion for 24 hours, followed by 2.5 µg/kg/dose every 12 hours subcutaneously for 11 days. The patient was discharged after the pseudocyst had resolved and oral feeding was restored. He had no recurrence of the pseudocyst. The published literature regarding octreotide acetate therapy for pediatric pancreatic pseudocysts is limited. Previously reported cases demonstrated successful resolution of pancreatic pseudocysts with varying doses of intravenous and subcutaneous octreotide acetate within 23-30 days; however, with our patient's regimen, along with surgical interventions, the pseudocyst resolved within 11 days. In addition, our patient's regimen involved higher doses of octreotide acetate given more frequently than those reported in the literature. This case report illustrates that use of higher octreotide acetate dosages may be a potential adjunct therapy to surgical interventions for the management of pancreatic pseudocysts in children.

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-induced hepatotoxicity in a pediatric patient.

Due to the escalating rates of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infection, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) is being used increasingly in the pediatric population for skin and soft tissue infections. Although this combination agent has been associated with a hypersensitivity syndrome involving cutaneous skin eruptions, pediatric cases of TMP-SMX-induced hepatotoxicity are rare. We describe a relatively healthy, 9-year-old boy who developed a CA-MRSA skin and soft tissue infection and was treated with TMP-SMX. After 14 days of therapy, he was taken to the emergency department with a 3-day history of fever, headache, and neck pain. He was diagnosed with a viral syndrome, acetaminophen was prescribed, and he was sent home. Three days later, the patient returned to the emergency department with fever, vomiting, decreased energy and appetitie, and suprapubic abdominal pain, and he was hospitalized. Laboratory test results revealed elevated liver function test values. After other potential causes of liver toxicity were excluded, TMP-SMX was determined to be the cause of his acute liver toxicity. The drug was discontinued, his symptoms resolved, and his liver function tests returned to normal. Use of the Naranjo adverse drug reaction probability scale indicated a probable relationship (score of 5) between the patient's development of hepatotoxicity and the TMP-SMX therapy. This rare adverse reaction to TMP-SMX has been reported in adults; however, to our knowledge, it has been reported in only five other children. Due to the increasing use of TMP-SMX in children, clinicians should be aware of this potentially life-threatening, immunemediated hypersensitivity reaction. Fortunately, however, the hepatotoxicity appears to resolve after discontinuation of the TMP-SMX therapy in most reported cases. This case report illustrates the importance of early detection of drug-induced hepatotoxicity and timely drug discontinuation to prevent the need for liver transplantation.