Discourage malpractice lawsuits: a commonsense approach.

They key to avoiding malpractice lawsuits is prevention. There are a number of practices that dentists should use to help them avoid such lawsuits. By following these practices in the office every day, much of the patient misconception and confusion that leads to a lawyer finding grounds for a suit can be avoided.

[Meningococcal sepsis and DIC in childhood: a report of a clinical case]. / Sepsi meningococcica e C.I.D. in età pediatrica: discussione di un caso clinico.

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a frequent complication of meningococcal sepsis in children. The clinical course variability, the severity of manifestations and the need of an early diagnosis for appropriate treatment, guides us to report a case of meningococcal sepsis and DIC. The patient, male, prematurely born, 11 months years old, presented himself with high fever of sudden onset, malaise, diarrhea, diffuse skin rash with abdominal petechiae, and no clinical evidence of meningitidis. Initial hematochemical findings, peripheral leukocytosis, quantitative and qualitative changes in plasma coagulation factors, liquoral hypocellularity together with the development of signs of meningeal irritation (stiff neck and back) were considered diagnostic clues for meningococcal sepsis associated with DIC. A gram-negative diplococcus was cultured from liquor. Primary goals of the treatment of this life-threatening clinical picture were the elimination of the bacterial component, the correction of clotting disorders and careful control of shock and metabolic acidosis often related with DIC. The patient then received a wide spectrum Cephalosporin, fresh frozen plasma, appropriate electrolyte solutions and eventually heparin, which led to a complete control and resolution of symptomatology.

[Children with hemorrhagic diathesis: correct diagnostic and therapeutic approach]. / Il bambino con diatesi emorragica: corretta impostazione diagnostica e terapeutica.

Bleeding defects are of great interest in pediatrics since the prevalence of congenital forms and the early appearance of acquired ones. The pathology itself and the therapy indeed can often interfere with the growing-up patients. Bleeding defects have been identified with an heterogeneous group of clinical disease that differs from one another in etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology and incidence in population. Bleeding diathesis is the common symptom: bleeding tendency may be mild, moderate or severe, localized or generalized, cutaneous or mucosal, superficial or deep. Bleeding disorders may be classified as a) defects in the primary haemostasis, which include quantitative and qualitative abnormalities of platelets and vascular disorders and b) defects in secondary haemostasis, which include intravascular disorders (blood coagulation). Careful history and clinical examination are essential in diagnosis of bleeding disorders. History of patient should be taken a) to differentiate acquired from congenital disease and to know the way of hereditary transmission (family history); b) to know exactly the disease's start and the mutual relation with former or accompanying disease; c) mutual relation with drugs token. Subsequently a careful physical examination should be done. A specific hemorrhagic diathesis has been seen with a deficiency of primary or secondary haemostasis. A deficient or late haemostatic plug in small vessels can cause superficial, interstitial bleeding that may be intracutaneous or intramucosal and is called purpura. In coagulation factor deficiency the haemostatic plug cannot be consolidated by fibrin: spontaneous hematomas, hemarthrosis and ecchymoses often occurs. The initial laboratory work up for screening patients with bleeding disorders should include first step tests to differentiate bleeding disorders for bone-marrow malignancies; from virus infections carrying screening of major viruses and from hepatic diseases. Second step laboratory examination includes a) platelet count or estimation of platelet number on blood smear; b) bleeding time to test small vessel integrity and platelet function; c) aPTT, PT, AP to measure clotting activity; d) fibrinogen determination. With this battery of screening test it is usually possible to determine the general area of the defect (abnormalities of platelets number or function or congenital defect of one or more clotting factors activity). Acute idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura is the most common bleeding disorders in childhood. Usually no therapy may be required no matter platelet count. Patients with a significant hemorrhagic tendency are treated either with prednisone (2 mg/kg orally in divided daily doses) for a period of 2 weeks or with a 5 days course of special polyvalent intact immunoglobulin (400 mg/kg/die) for intravenous use.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

[Treatment of hemophilia in children]. / Il trattamento dell'emofilia in età pediatrica.

Thanks to recent developments and evolution in prenatal diagnosis and early onset within the first year of life, hemophilia may now be considered a pathology of primarily pediatric interest. The treatment of hemophilia in children has furthermore undergone a number of changes that include 2 main events in therapy that have served to modify the quality of life of the hemophiliac. The first of these events regards blood products and the prevention of viral infections, hepatitis and HIV transmission. Prevention is based on various factors which include: donor selection, immunization, product testing and heat treatment of blood products. The second extremely important aspect of treatment in hemophilia is the concept of global assistance, which includes: the treatment of the bleeding episode itself, and an ongoing psycho-social support system. In this paper we suggest some practical treatment schedules for the therapy of bleeding episodes in addition to examining the severe side effects of HIV and Hepatitis viruses. The message which our paper attempts to transmit is that the hemophilic child must be ideally assisted in an exclusively pediatric environment.