Fever, marked tachycardia and vesiculobullous rash in an infant with Chikungunya fever.

We describe a 3-month-old male infant who presented with acute onset fever, irritability and marked tachycardia. ECG was suggestive of atrial tachycardia. He developed erythematous blanchable skin rash on day 2 of illness, which progressed to vesiculobullous lesions over a few days' time. The child was managed with intravenous adenosine, carefully monitored fluid boluses, oxygen supplementation and close monitoring. Tachycardia improved within 24 hours. Blood for Chikungunya PCR was positive. The child was discharged after 5 days of hospitalisation with bullous lesions evolving into hyperpigmented macules followed by crusts and hypopigmentation by day 10.

Vitamin D Deficiency and Critical Illness.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in critically ill children and assess its association with severity of illness and other outcomes associated with critical illness. METHODS: Eighty children aged 2 mo to 12 y, admitted with medical conditions to the pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital were enrolled in this prospective observational study. Vitamin D levels were obtained during the first hour of stay. Severity score was assessed using the Pediatric Risk of Mortality III (PRISM III) within first 12 h of admission. RESULTS: Vitamin D deficiency {25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] levels < 20 ng/ml} was observed in 67 (83.8%) children. Vitamin D deficient children had significantly higher PRISM III score compared to vitamin D sufficient children [10 (IQR:5-15) vs. 6 (IQR:3-7); p 0.0099]. 25(OH)D levels had a significant negative correlation with PRISM III score (ρ -0.3747; p 0.0006). CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D appears to be of utmost importance in critically ill children.