Hyperdense Red Blood Cells and Spherocytosis

peer reviewedA 12-year old female, suffering from recurring episodes of icterus and abdominal pain, is hospitalized in emergency. She is not anemic but her hemogram reveals a high level of hyperdense red blood cells (32%; controls 0-2.5%) and an abnormal reticulocyte count (201 x 10(3)/microL; controls 29-84 x 10(3)/microL), indicating a 3.5 fold increase in RBC production. The same abnormalities are found in the patient's mother. The blood smear shows few spherocytes. RBC osmotic fragility is increased only after incubation. Hereditary spherocytosis is diagnosed following electrophoresis of membrane proteins which reveals a deficiency in band 3, a protein which links the lipid bilayer to the cytoskeleton. This case of hemolytic anemia-illustrates the physiopathologic and diagnostic significance of hyperdense RBC, which reflect the cell dehydration associated with the membrane disorder

Erythema Multiforme Caused by a Mycoplasma Infection: A Case Report

peer reviewedErythema multiforme (EM) is an immune-mediated disease categorized into EM minor and EM major, also called Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), not to be confused with toxic epidermal necrosis (TEN), as physiopathological pathways are throughly different. Mycoplasma pneumoniae is an intracellular germ, generally responsible for atypical respiratory infections. It may be associated with erythema multiforme, eventually recurrent, illustrated by the present case report

How I explore ... a retroperitoneal mass in children

peer reviewedDetection of a retroperitoneal mass in children needs a fast and accurate exploration. Wilms tumor and neuroblastoma, the most frequent, will be presented more in detail including their clinical and biological characteristics, their diagnostic tests and their primary therapeutic treatments

Retroperitoneal mass in children : about two clinical cases of wilms tumor and neuroblastoma

peer reviewedDetection of a retroperitoneal mass in children needs a fast and accurate exploration. We present the case- reports of 2 children under the age of 5 years admitted to the University Hospital of Liège, one with a Wilms tumor and one with a neuroblastoma

F-18 FDG PET in infectious diseases in children.

PURPOSE: The aim is to report our observations regarding the role of F-18 FDG PET in children's infectious processes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A presentation is made of 3 neonatal infections unresponsive to treatment, 2 invasive infections in immunocompromised children, and 1 discitis in an immunocompetent child. PET or PET/CT was performed to address a specific question pertaining to the management of the diseases. Results were correlated with the clinical outcome. The impact on patient management is discussed. RESULTS: In 1 neonate, PET localized the infection in a bone which allowed surgical curettage. In another one, it localized the infection in recently renewed exogenous material and led to subsequent removal. It was negative in the third one, whose evolution was rapidly favorable. In the immunocompromised children, treatment of invasive infection was adapted according to the metabolic inflammatory activity of the disease. In a limping child with slight abnormalities on bone scintigraphy but major misleading involvement on MRI, PET/CT demonstrated hypermetabolism limited to a disc, thus avoiding further invasive procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Although not meant as a first choice examination, F-18 FDG PET should be considered in difficult cases of neonatal infection or in challenging diagnoses like discitis in the young child. It provides more accurate staging and treatment monitoring of the inflammatory process in invasive infections of immunocompromised children

Schinzel-Giedion syndrome

We describe a female infant with the Schinzel-Giedion syndrome. Features present in 11 patients include coarse face, midface retraction, urogenital anomalies, poor skull vault mineralisation and variable anomalies of the long bones. Outcome is poor and mental retardation is the rule among survivors. Prenatal diagnosis seems unreliable. Facial features change dramatically with age and diagnosis is likely to be easily missed beyond the neonatal period. No metabolic defect has been detected. Inheritance is probably autosomal recessive. © 1993 Springer-Verlag.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Diagnosis and Treatment of Pancreatic Injuries in Children

peer reviewedPancreatic injury after trauma can occur in the child as an isolated lesion after a minor injury. The consequences can be severe in the absence of prompt diagnosis and treatment. Determination of mechanism of injury, clinical examination, blood amylase levels and abdominal CT-scan are first line steps for the evaluation of the injury. ERCP and MRI can be useful tools to further document injury to the pancreatic duct. In the absence of duct injury, conservative treatment can be applied. For the other cases, the treatment is surgical although newer techniques may be applied in selected cases

Clinical case of the month. Nutcracker syndrome in association with a painful nephrologic disease

peer reviewe

An in vitro test bench reproducing coronary blood flow signals

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