Neonatal severe COVID-19 infection complicated by Staphilococcus aureus could be misinterpreted as MIS-C?: case report and review of literature.

At 23 days of life a neonate presented to the emergency room with crying and decreased oral intake. His parents were positive to SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), but he turned out negative. After one week he was admitted to NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) for respiratory failure, and nasopharyngeal swab (PCR test: polymerase chain reaction test) was positive for SARS-CoV-2. On examination the child had fever, tachy-dyspnea, reduced oxygen saturation, tachycardia, abdominal distension and tenderness, irritability and hypertonia. Blood exam showed respiratory acidosis, lymphocytopenia, hypoalbuminemia and coagulopathy; CRP (C reactive protein), procalcitonin, D-dimer, ferritin and NT-proBNP (N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide) were elevated. Chest X-ray revealed bilateral interstitial infi ltration and abdomen ultrasound a thin fl uid effusion; echocardiography was normal. SARS-CoV-2 PCR tests on CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) and stool were also positive. He was started on non-invasive intermittent positive pressure respiratory ventilation, treated with antibiotic therapy, methylprednisolone, intravenous immunoglobulins, and antiplatelet therapy. Rapid clinical improvement was seen with remission of fever after eight days. The child complicated with bacterial super-infection presenting as pleural empyema. As presented in our case, it is not always easy to differentiate between severe forms of COVID-19 and MIS-C. Due to the rarity of these presentations in neonates, multicentric collaboration is needed to identify the specifi c characteristics of the two forms, better defi ne diagnostic criteria, and treatment options.

Short stature: an ordinary sign for an unordinary diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Short stature (SS) is a relatively early sign of poor health. Only in 5% of cases we can explain it through the presence of endocrinological pathologies. Therefore, if SS is present since the first months of life, it is necessary to investigate all systemic disorders with secondary effects on growth. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 16-months-old male infant with severe SS apparently not associated with other clinical signs or symptoms. The patient arrived to our attention after he was hospitalized for an Echovirus enteritis, associated to moderate neutropenia (800/mm3) and hypertransaminasemia (AST 116 U/L, ALT 88 U/L) at the age of 13 months. SS was detected in that occasion. Since SS persisted even after the complete resolution of enteritis symptoms, he was taken care by our unit. CONCLUSIONS: SS appeared in the first months of life and associated with moderate neutropenia and hypertransaminasemia led us to the diagnosis of Shwachmann-Diamond syndrome. We recommend paying further attention to this condition during the differential diagnosis of children with severe SS.