Characteristics of pediatric pulmonary hydatid cyst in Mashhad, North East of Iran.

Hydatid disease is an important health problem in endemic areas like Iran. Unlike adults, the occurrence of pulmonary hydatid cyst is greater than hepatic cysts in pediatric population. In this study we evaluated the characteristics of pediatric pulmonary hydatid cyst in our region. We reviewed the medical records of all children with the diagnosis of pulmonary hydatid cyst in Dr Sheikh’s children hospital between 2015-2019. 30 patients were enrolled during the study period. Diagnosis was confirmed using imaging and serology tests.Mean age of patients was 8.5±2.1 years (range:6-14 years). 73% were male and 80% were living in rural areas. All patients were symptomatic at presentation and the most frequent symptom was cough (76%) followed by dyspnea (43%). The most frequent site of involvement was the lower lobe of the right lung (30% of patients) and bilateral involvement was seen in 16.7% of patients. 13.3% of patients had simultaneous hepatic involvement. Complications were reported as follows: pleural effusion 30%, superinfection and abscess formation 16.7% and pneumothorax in one patient. All patients underwent surgical treatment. Lobectomy was performed in 5 cases (16.6%). Pulmonary hydatid cyst must be considered in children with respiratory symptoms in endemic areas. Early diagnosis might lower the risk of complications and lobectomies

Pulmonary Sequestration Infant with Unusual Presentation: A Case Report

Background: Pulmonary sequestration (PS) is characterized by a separate segment of the lung that receives anomalous vascular supply separate from the pulmonary arteries. Here we report the case of a 4-year-old girl with dyspnea and recurrent pneumonia who was finally diagnosed as a case of PS. Case presentation: A 4-year-old girl was admitted to Imam-Reza hospital, Mashhad city, Iran, with a history of coughing and dyspnea from two years ago. On the CXR, consolidation can be seen in the left lower lobe. As there was a high likelihood of aspiration or pneumonia following her past medical history, the patient underwent bronchoscopy. More investigation with HRCT revealed vascular anomaly. CMRI (Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging) showed no cardiac abnormality. More findings showed a large collateral artery originated from left lateral side of abdominal aorta. This collateral artery went upward to the LLLL (the Lower Lobe of Left Lung) and anastomosed directly with two large posterior segmental tributary of the left lung pulmonary veins. Hyper-vascular pattern of both lungs was also observed in the MRI. Conclusion: To avoid misdiagnosis, PS should be considered in differential diagnosis in infants with chronic cough and dyspnea. These patients should be referred to a tertiary center to receive appropriate treatment

The Effects of Botulinum Toxin Type A on Reducing Sialorrhea in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Self-Controlled Clinical Trial

Background: Cerebral palsy stands as the main cause of mobility disability in childhood, and the accompanying sialorrhea exacerbates health and psychological issues for both the child and the family. We aimed to assess the effect of botulinum toxin type A on reducing sialorrhea in children with cerebral palsy.Methods: This self-controlled clinical trial was executed among children afflicted with cerebral palsy. The Teacher Drooling Scale was used as the data collection tool. The intervention involved the administration of botulinum toxin A, with a dosage ranging from 30 to 50 units in each parotid gland, skillfully guided by a radiologist using ultrasound. Sialorrhea scores were compared before and after the injection.Results: Our study included 21 children with cerebral palsy and sialorrhea. After the two post-injection weeks, a noteworthy drop was observed in the sialorrhea score (4.10±0.831) compared to the pre-injection score (4.71±0.463). The sialorrhea score until the ninth month after injection (1.121±3.43) was still significantly lower than the score before injection.Conclusion: The injection of botulinum toxin A emerges as a potent medication, significantly curtailing the drooling among patients with cerebral palsy. This finding can be used to prevent aspiration pneumonia and reduce social and psychological complications in this population

Convulsion Associated with Gastroenteritis

Convulsion with mild gastroenteritis is an afebrile seizure associated with viral gastroenteritis in a healthy child without fever, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, meningitis, or encephalitis. Convulsion with mild gastroenteritis is more common in children aged 1 to 2 years. Usually, Convulsions are brief generalized tonic colonic type. Most convulsions occur within first 24 hours of illness onset. Rotaviral gastroenteritis is known as the most common type of gastroenteritis associated with Convulsion. Laboratory investigations are normal. Also EEG and neuroimaging are usually normal. Long term antiepileptic treatment is not necessary. It is usually a benign condition with good prognosis and no risk for developing epilepsy in future. Considering this etiology of seizure could prevent supernumerary evaluations and long-term antiepileptic treatment

Microbiology of Upper Respiratory Tract Pathogens in Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited genetic disorder with chronic respiratory manifestations. The respiratory symptoms may start very early in life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of respiratory pathogens in children with CF. In this clinical laboratory study, 100 CF patients were prospectively collected from February 2016 to March 2017. Microbiological cultures and antimicrobial susceptibility tests of the most frequently isolated upper respiratory tract bacteria were performed. According to the results of this study, Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequent microorganism 24 (24%) in CF patients followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa 21 (21%). In children younger than one-year-old, Enterococci and Klebsiella pneumonia were the most frequently isolated pathogens. In other age groups, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeroginosa were most frequent. All pathogens showed more sensitivity to Ceftriaxone, Amikacin, and Ceftazidime. However, Staphylococcus aureus was most sensitive to Cefoxitin, Clindamycin, and Linezolid and Pseudomonas aeroginosa were most sensitive to Amikacin, Ceftazidime, and Ceftriaxone respectively. In conclusion, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeroginosa were the most frequent microorganisms in CF patients in our population. In patients younger than one-year-old, the most frequent pathogens were Enterococci and Klebsiella. All pathogens and Pseudomonas aeroginosa were sensitive to Ceftriaxone, Amikacin, and Ceftazidime but Staphylococcus aureus was most sensitive to Cefoxitin, Clindamycin, and Linezolid respectively. It seems that Ceftriaxone, Amikacin, and Ceftazidime are the most suitable antibiotics for the treatment of pulmonary infections in CF patients in our population

The Effect of Outpatient Management of Cystic Fibrosis Exacerbation on Pulmonary Function Tests: A Clinical Trial

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease which involves multiple organs including respiratory tract. It results in chronic respiratory signs and symptoms which exacerbate with frequent lung infections. The majority of exacerbations require hospitalization and intravenous antibiotic therapy as part of the management. The aim of this survey was to study the effectiveness of outpatient management of pulmonary exacerbations on pulmonary function tests.Methods: This randomized clinical trial included all CF patients older than 6 years old who presented with a pulmonary exacerbation and were able to perform Spirometric tests. All eligible CF patients first referred to pulmonary function tests center to determine forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), residual volume (RV), total lung capacity (TLC) and airway specific resistance (SRaw). Then, they were treated outpatiently for 2 to 4 weeks and after that, they underwent all the tests again; and the participants’ improvements in pulmonary function tests after outpatient treatment were investigated.Result: In this study, 32 patients were enrolled including 13 women (40.6%) and 19 men (59.4%). Mean and standard deviation (SD) of pulmonary variable, before and after the treatment were investigated. All of them were statistically significant. Sub-analysis of data based on gender was also performed showing that outpatient treatment led to significant improvements in all of the variables except for the percentage of RV in females (p value = 0.08).Conclusion: The findings revealed that outpatient management of CF exacerbations effectively improved values of FEV1, SRaw and TLC along with reducing RV values and air trapping. Thus, applying this method on appropriately selected CF patients, may prevent unnecessary hospitalization and subsequent disadvantages

Assessment of the Blood Lead Level in Children with Unexplained Failure to Thrive (FTT) admitted to Pediatrics Emergency Ward of Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad, Iran

BackgroundLead is a strong and stable toxin, harmful especially to children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Nearly 27% of children aged under 5 years suffer from failure to thrive (FTT). Due to the probable harmful effects of lead poisoning on children’s growth, in this study we aimed to assess the blood lead level in children with unexplained failure to thrive.MethodsThis analytic cross-sectional study was performed on 200 children under 2 years of age who were referred to Ghaem hospital, a referral hospital in Mashhad city-Iran. The participants were divided into two equal groups, one with unexplained FTT (group A), and children with normal weight (group B). Baseline characteristics were obtained by a research-made questionnaire. Blood samples were taken by the hospital nurses who were blind to the study groups. Blood lead level was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometric method (Perkin Elmer 3030). ResultsThe mean ± standard deviation (SD) of blood lead level in FTT group and control group were 7.3±3.32 µg/dL and 6.37±5.93 µg/dL, respectively. Blood lead level was significantly higher in FTT group than control group (P=0.001). Baseline Charactistics (such as hgender, parental educational level, gestational age, and socio-economic status of the family) were not significantly different between the two groups (P>0.05).ConclusionThe results of our study revealed that blood lead level was higher in children with FTT. So Lead poisoning may be a potential cause of unexplained FTT. So, measuring blood lead level can be useful in diagnostic workup of patients with FTT

Case Report of a Vanished Aspirated Foreign Body; Cough may be more Helpful

Foreign body aspiration is a potentially life-threatening event especially in those who are younger than 5 years old. Aspiration could be presented as a spectrum, ranging from absolutely asymptomatic event to more sever events including choking, respiratory distress and cyanosis or even death. Although foreign bodies in lung may not be visualized on X-ray, X-ray radiography is considered as a first step in localizing aspirated foreign bodies. Bronchoscope as rigid or flexible optic fiber is the main device used in removing aspirated foreign bodies. However, in some cases, as the present case report, previous foreign bodies which were localized in lung could travel back to the mouth and be ingested. In this report, we discussed a case of foreign body aspiration in a 10 year-old girl referred to Dr. Sheikh Hospital, Mashhad, Iran, whose foreign body located in the lower lobe of the left lung returned and was ingested before bronchoscopy after some episodes of sever coughing

Effects of Coenzyme Q10 Level on Clinical Parameters in Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Background: Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a hereditary autosomal recessive genetic disorder that can affect many organs including the lungs and the digestive system. We aimed to assess the effects of coenzyme Q10 level on clinical parameters in cystic fibrosis patients. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional study was performed on 40 patients (13 females and 19 males) with cystic fibrosis who were admitted in Masih Daneshvari Hospital in Tehran- Iran, in 2017. A researcher-made questionnaire was distributed among them, and then the height, weight and arm circumference of the patients were measured and also their serum Q10 levels were evaluated. Then, the pulmonary function was evaluated using a 6-minute respiration test and a spirometry test. Finally, their total scores were calculated based on Shwachman score. Results: The age range of participants was from 6 to 27 years old. Anthropometric indices such as weight (p=0.02, r=-0.408), age (p=0.016, r=-0.422), height (p=0.002, r=-0.520), birth weight (p=0.0113, R=-0.286), and height at birth (p=0.037, r=-0.37) had a significant negative relationship with coenzyme Q10. There was relationship between anthropometric indices and spirometry tests, including the association of FEV1 (act) with weight (p=0.00), and arm circumference (p=0.00) which were determined. Conclusion: According to the results, there was no direct relationship between muscle mass and Q10. Besides, the mean age of Q10 was greater than that of in age group of 9-16 years old, which can be considered for nutrition or childhood reserves for coenzyme Q10 production, which is decreased due to increasing age and lack of intake or loss of body power for the production of coenzyme Q10

The Etiology of Bronchiectasis in Iran

BackgroundBronchiectasis is defined by permanent and abnormal widening of the bronchi. Although this process occurs in the context of chronic airway infection and inflammation, since there is no accurate estimation of the etiology of the disease. This study aimed to determine the most important cause of bronchiectasis in Tehran, Iran.Materials and MethodsIn this retrospective cohort study we used the information of 91 patients admitted to two subspecialty lung hospitals in Tehran-Iran, where a wide range of bronchiectasis patients from around the country referred during 2013to 2014 period. Patients referring with the manifestation of chronic productive cough who had not responded to conventional treatment with the evidences of bronchiectasis on high resolution computed tomography were included. Data were analyzed using SPSS-16.0.ResultsThe etiology of bronchiectasis was diagnosed in 73 of 91 patients (80.2%), the most important of which included cystic fibrosis, post infectious, and primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). The most common causes of bronchiectasis in the children group (Age ≤ 18 years), were cystic fibrosis (57.1%), allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillusis (14.3%) and PCD (9.5%), respectively. In the adults group (Age >18 years), the most common causes were post infectious (22.6%), PCD (15.7%) and cystic fibrosis (14.3%), respectively.ConclusionMain causes of bronchiectasis in this study were not significantly different from other studies. Special attention should be paid to the probable causes of bronchiectasis in order to effectively execute on-time diagnosis, proper treatment and management of complications