Chronic Q Fever Endocarditis in an Omani Child: The First Pediatric Case Report from Oman.

Q fever endocarditis is the most common presentation of chronic infection of Coxiella burnetii, but it rarely occurs in the pediatric age group. We report the first case of Q fever endocarditis in an Omani child. The affected 11-year-old female lives in the Al Batinah governorate in the north of Oman and was known to have congenital heart disease. She presented with features of chronic blood culture-negative endocarditis. The C. burnetii infection was confirmed with the indirect immunofluorescence assay. The patient responded well to a combination of doxycycline and hydroxychloroquine therapy.

Gastrointestinal Basidiobolomycosis: First case report from Oman and literature review.

Gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis (GIB) is a rare fungal infection with few reported cases worldwide. We report here the first case diagnosed in Oman in a previously healthy 5-year-old Omani female child who had been thought initially to have an abdominal malignancy. The case was referred to the Royal Hospital, Muscat, Oman, in July 2012. She was treated successfully with surgical resection and prolonged antifungal therapy (voriconazole). Physicians, including clinicians, radiologists and pathologists, should have a high index of suspicion for GIB when a patient presents with an abdominal mass and fever.

Management of Infants and Children who are Contacts of Contagious Tuberculous Patients.

Contact investigation and management form the key for tuberculosis (TB) control in countries with a low tuberculosis incidence. Oman, with a low TB incidence, has implemented contact investigation and management as one important strategy to control TB. However there is a lack of clear guidelines for the investigation and treatment of contacts, especially with regard to children who are contacts of TB cases. The failure to manage children in contact with infectious TB cases indicates a missed opportunity to prevent TB disease in a population which is prone to progress rapidly to severe and complicated illness. This article attempts to provide a concise and practical approach for managing infants and children who are in contact with TB patients. Essential steps in a variety of possible scenarios are briefly discussed.