ABSTRACT
Transfusion-transmitted malaria (TTM) in neonates is rare. TTM can occur in both endemic and nonendemic areas because the current tests used to screen the donor blood for malaria are unreliable when there is low parasitemia. Malaria must be considered as an important differential diagnosis for neonatal sepsis after exchange transfusion. Management strategy in TTM in the neonatal period is not standardized; exchange transfusion is often considered. We used intravenous artesunate in a case of severe malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax in a 30-week preterm neonate after packed red blood cell transfusion on day 19 of life. This is the first clinical report of parenteral artesunate successfully used in the neonatal period. We emphasize the need for further investigation of the safety and efficacy of intravenous artesunate in the treatment of severe neonatal malaria.
Subject(s)
Antimalarials/administration & dosage , Artemisinins/administration & dosage , Infant, Premature, Diseases/drug therapy , Malaria, Vivax/drug therapy , Transfusion Reaction , Artesunate , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Infant, Premature , Infusions, Intravenous , Malaria, Vivax/transmissionABSTRACT
Atypical manifestations of acute hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection include ascites, pleural effusion, acute renal failure, aplastic anemia, and neurological manifestations. Although association of HAV and acute cholecystitis is known, presentation of hepatitis A infection with acute cholecystitis has not been reported in pediatric emergency medicine literature. Primary acute acalculous cholecystitis in children is rare and commonly attributed to systemic infections. We report a case of a child developing acute viral cholecystitis as a presenting feature of sporadic HAV infection and review HAV-associated cholecystitis in children. The article provides a brief illustration of evaluating acute abdominal pain in older children in the emergency department in a developing country.
