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Growth of children during maintenance hemodialysis has been reported to be uniformly poor, with a mean annual loss of 0.4 to 0.8 SD in height. We adopted an intensive program of closely monitored energy and protein intake with dialysis urea clearances exceeding conventional recommendations. Twelve prepubertal or early pubertal children (aged 7 months to 14 years) were monitored for an average of 2.2 years (range 4 to 81 months) while receiving maintenance hemodialysis. These children received an average of 90.6% and 155.9% of their recommended energy and protein nutritional intake, respectively. With a prescribed urea clearance of 5 mL/kg/min, we achieved a mean single treatment urea clearance normalized for total body water of 2.00, a urea reduction ratio of 84.7%, and an average time of hemodialysis of 14.8 h/wk, all well beyond current guidelines. Over the course of dialysis treatment, the improvement in height SD score was+0.31 SD/y (+0.32 excluding the 2 children treated with recombinant human growth hormone). Normal growth was achieved without overt obesity and was associated with normal pubertal growth spurt. These findings suggest that the combination of increased dialysis and adequate nutrition can promote normal growth in children treated with long-term hemodialysis.

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A 7-year-old boy with deficient activity of methylmalonyl coenzyme A mutase (mut-methylmalonic acidemia) was seen in severe metabolic crisis. After hemodialysis and clearance of toxic metabolites, severe lactic acidosis persisted with multiorgan failure. Glutathione deficiency was noted and high-dose ascorbate therapy (120 mg/kg) commenced. Glutathione deficiency may contribute to the lactic acidosis observed during decompensation in patients with methylmalonic acidemia.

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OBJECTIVE: To determine whether adding vancomycin to central venous catheter (CVC) flush solution would significantly reduce the incidence of bacteremia attributable to luminal colonization with vancomycin-susceptible organisms. STUDY DESIGN: Fifty-five children with cancer and eight children given total parenteral nutrition by the surgery or nutrition support services were randomly assigned to receive a heparin CVC flush solution (n = 31) or a heparin-vancomycin CVC flush solution (n = 32). RESULTS: During 9158 catheter days, 6.5% of the patients in the heparin group and 15.6% of the patients in the heparin-vancomycin group had bacteremia attributable to luminal colonization with vancomycin-susceptible organisms (p = 0.43). The mean rates of bacteremia attributable to luminal colonization with vancomycin-susceptible organisms were 0.6/1000 catheter days in the heparin group and 1.4/1000 catheter days in the heparin-vancomycin group (p = 0.25). There was no significant difference between the groups when the time to the first episode of bacteremia attributable to luminal colonization with a vancomycin-susceptible organism was compared by means of Kaplan-Meier survival estimates. Streptococcus viridans infection was not attributable to luminal colonization. CONCLUSION: The addition of vancomycin to heparin CVC flush solution did not reduce bacteremia with vancomycin-susceptible organisms. Bacteremia with Streptococcus viridans was not related to the use of a CVC.

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Of 254 children who were 1 to 6 years of age and were tested at two major inner-city emergency departments, 65% had no record of previous lead screening in the previous 30 months, and 71% (97/137) and 50% (58/117), respectively, had blood lead levels > or = 0.48 mumol/L (10 micrograms/dl). The emergency department may be an appropriate resource for lead screening of selected inner-city children.

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The expression of cardiac dysfunction in pediatric patients with myocarditis may not be conspicuous. While older children with myocarditis may abruptly present with pleuritic or angina-like pain, infants and toddlers with fulminant disease are unable to verbalize such complaints. Cardiac compromise in preverbal children may only be inferred from variable examination findings that include gallop rhythm, tachycardia, malignant dysrhythmias, murmur, rub, and signs of congestive heart failure. The emergency physician is likely to overlook a cardiac origin for wheezing in a child with a past medical history of asthma. Therapeutic modalities chosen for reactive airway disease may adversely influence the outcome of a patient with myocarditis.

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Two cases of neonatal upper respiratory tract obstruction caused by herpes simplex virus are described. Infection of the upper respiratory tract with this virus should be included in the differential diagnosis of fever and stridor during the neonatal period.

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A retrospective review was conducted of 22 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected children under 13 years of age presenting to an inner city pediatric emergency department to determine their clinical manifestations of disease and utilization of emergency department services. When compared with a population of 78 normal children, the infected children were more likely to present with cough, difficulty in breathing, and lethargy. Pneumonia, diarrhea, and dehydration were more common diagnoses in the infected children, who were more likely to be admitted, had more invasive procedures, and required more professional staff to provide care. There was no significant difference in the frequency of visits (visits/month of age) when comparing the two groups. As expected, the infected children presented with problems associated with pediatric HIV-1 infection. Our results suggest that HIV-1-infected children require an increased level of care in the emergency department and subsequent admission to the hospital. These children did not visit the emergency department more frequently than the controls. This may be the result of an active outpatient HIV clinic in our hospital, which is available to both scheduled and unscheduled patients.

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