Enhanced urinalysis improves identification of febrile infants ages 60 days and younger at low risk for serious bacterial illness.

OBJECTIVE: Investigators have sought to establish "low-risk" criteria to identify febrile young infants who can be observed safely without antibiotics. Previous studies have used criteria for standard urinalysis to identify suspected urinary tract infection; however, cases of urinary tract infection have been missed. Enhanced urinalysis, using hemocytometer cell count and Gram stain performed on uncentrifuged urine, has been shown to have greater sensitivity and negative predictive value than standard urinalysis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of criteria that incorporate enhanced urinalysis to identify febrile young infants who are at low risk for serious bacterial illness (SBI). METHODS: Institutional guidelines were established in 1999 to evaluate in a retrospective cohort study infants who were /=38.0 degrees C. "Low-risk" criteria included 1) well appearance without focal infection (excluding otitis media); 2) no history of prematurity, illness, or previous antibiotics; 3) peripheral white blood cell count (WBC) between 5 and 15 000/mm(3); 4) absolute band count

Idiopathic priapism.

Idiopathic priapism is rarely seen in children. Two children with idiopathic priapism are presented, followed by a detailed discussion of priapism. Particular attention is paid to idiopathic priapism. Additionally, an algorithm for diagnosing and managing children presenting with priapism is presented.

Caterpillars: an unusual source of ingestion.

PURPOSE: To describe a series of patients seen in a pediatric emergency department with adverse effects following an ingestion of a caterpillar. METHODS: Case series. RESULTS: Ten patients presented to the emergency department following ingestion of a caterpillar. Adverse effects ranged from drooling and refusal to drink to diffuse urticaria. Six patients were admitted and five underwent direct laryngoscopy and bronchoscopy in the operating room. None of the 10 patients had an adverse outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Previously not described, significant adverse effects can occur following ingestion of a caterpillar. In addition, although not previously reported, the caterpillar of the Hickory Tussock moth can cause adverse effects in humans.

Oropharyngeal manifestations of lepidopterism.

OBJECTIVE: To describe previously unreported oropharyngeal manifestations and management of caterpillar ingestion. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. SETTING: Tertiary children's hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 733 cases of exposure to caterpillars from January 1, 1994, to November 1, 1997, were reviewed. Twenty-six patients had oropharyngeal exposure with 8 patients ingesting the caterpillar. Ages ranged from 7 months to 7 years with 14 boys and 12 girls. INTERVENTIONS: All patients had a thorough examination of the oropharynx for caterpillar spines. For children who ingested a caterpillar, direct laryngoscopy, bronchoscopy, and esophagoscopy with removal of caterpillar spines were performed. RESULTS: At the point of caterpillar contact, buried caterpillar spines with focal erythema were observed. The lips, tongue, and buccal mucosa were the most frequently involved areas. The esophagus was involved in 8 of the patients. No postoperative complications were noted. CONCLUSION: With individualized care and prompt removal of venomous caterpillar spines, complications are not likely to result from caterpillar ingestion.

Evaluation of a new rapid antigen detection kit for group A beta-hemolytic streptococci.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the use of a new rapid antigen-detection kit for group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus and compare results with previously published studies. METHODS: Throat swabs were obtained prospectively from patients, aged one to 18 years, presenting to the emergency department, acute concerns clinic, and walk-in clinic of an urban tertiary care children's hospital. Throat swabs were first inoculated on a 5% sheep blood agar plate and then used for the streptococcus A optical immunoassay (OIA) kit. Results of both the throat culture and the rapid antigen-detection test were then compared. RESULTS: Two-hundred thirty-three patients were enrolled. Seventy-three patients had a positive culture and 63 patients had a positive OIA. Fifteen patients had a false negative result for the OIA kit and five patients had a false positive result. Test sensitivity was 79.5%, specificity was 96.9%, positive predictive value was 92.1%, and negative predictive value was 91.2% CONCLUSION: Although previous studies have demonstrated OIA kit sensitivities as high as 98.9% and authors have, as a result, recommended that the performance of a backup throat culture for a negative OIA test is unnecessary, our results do not support this. A sensitivity of 79.5% is not sufficiently high to justify omission of a standard throat culture. Accordingly, all OIA tests that are negative should be confirmed by the performance of a throat culture.