Urticaria as a Rare Side Effect of Polyethylene Glycol-3350 in a Child: Case Report.

Polyethylene glycol electrolyte (PEG-3350) solution is usually used for bowel emptying before colonoscopy in adults. It has also been reported to be safe in children. It is thought that bowel irrigation with this solution can be a useful treatment alternative for poisoning with slow releasing drugs, swallowed packaged substances, enteric coated drugs, drugs not binding to charcoal, and heavy metals in children. Due to high molecular weight of PEG-3350, its absorption from the in-testinal mucosa is very low (0.2%). Therefore, it is less likely to have side effects. A three-year-old girl bit and ate one-third of an alkali battery and was brought to our pediatric emergency unit. Vital signs and results of physical examination and laboratory investigations were normal. Irrigation of the bowels with PEG-3350 solution given orally at a rate of 20 mL/kg/h was initiated. Upon excretion of feces of normal appearance in the sixth hour, irrigation was continued. Since rashes and itching start-ed throughout her body in the thirtieth hour after administration of 9 L PEG-3350, the irrigation was discontinued and the patient was administered antihistamines. Rashes and itching regressed within one hour of its discontinuation. This suggested that they were due to the irrigation solution. There are five adult cases of allergic reactions to PEG-3350 reported in the literature. The case presented is the first pediatric patient developing allergic reaction to PEG-3350.

Severe scorpion envenomation in children: Management in pediatric intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: Scorpion envenomation is a common public health problem worldwide and children are at greater risk of developing severe cardiac, respiratory and neurological complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of antivenin and/or prazosin use on prognosis of scorpion-envenomed children admitted to pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). METHODS: The standardized medical records of 45 children hospitalized with severe scorpion sting in PICU were retrospectively evaluated. General characteristics of the children, clinical and laboratory findings, treatment approaches and prognosis were evaluated. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients were 6.1 +/- 4.1 years ranging between 4 month and 15 years. Male to female ratio was 1.8. Thirty-three (71.1%) cases of scorpion stings came from rural areas. Twenty-six (57.8%) of the patients were stung by Androctonus crassicauda. The most common sting localization was the foot-leg (55.6%). The mean duration from the scorpion sting to hospital admission was 4.5 +/- 2.6 hours. The most common findings at presentation were cold extremities (95.5%), excessive sweating (91.1%) and tachycardia (77.7%). The mean leukocyte count, and serum levels of glucose, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine phosphokinase and international normalized ratio were found above the normal ranges. Prazosin was used in all patients, dopamine in 11 (24.4%) and Na-nitroprusside in 4 (8.8%) patients. Two children died (4.4%) due to pulmonary oedema. These children, in poor clinical status at hospital admission, needed mechanical ventilation, and death occurred despite use of antivenin and prazosin in both of them. CONCLUSION: The current management of children with severe scorpion envenomation consists of administration of specific antivenom and close surveillance in a PICU, where vital signs and continuous monitoring enable early initiation of therapy for life-threatening complications. The aggressive medical management directed at the organ system specifically can be effective. Our data indicated that when admission to hospital is late, the beneficial effect of antivenom and/or prazosin is questionable in severe scorpion stings.