Bacterial Brain Abscess and Life-Threatening Intracranial Hypertension Requiring Emergent Decompressive Craniectomy After SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Healthy Adolescent.

Acute coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection usually results in mild symptoms, but secondary infections after SARS-CoV-2 infection can occur, particularly with comorbid conditions. We present the clinical course of a healthy adolescent with a brain abscess and life-threatening intracranial hypertension requiring emergent decompressive craniectomy after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. A 13-year-old healthy immunized male presented with invasive frontal, ethmoid, and maxillary sinusitis and symptoms of lethargy, nausea, headache, and photophobia due to a frontal brain abscess diagnosed three weeks after symptoms and 11 days of oral amoxicillin treatment. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was negative twice but then positive on amoxicillin day 11 (symptom day 21), when magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 2.5-cm right frontal brain abscess with a 10-mm midline shift. The patient underwent emergent craniotomy for right frontal epidural abscess washout and functional endoscopic sinus surgery with ethmoidectomy. On a postoperative day one, his neurological condition showed new right-sided pupillary dilation and decreased responsiveness. His vital signs showed bradycardia and systolic hypertension. He underwent an emergent decompressive craniectomy for signs of brain herniation. Bacterial PCR was positive for Streptococcus intermedius, for which he received intravenous vancomycin and metronidazole. He was discharged home on hospital day 14 without neurological sequelae and future bone flap replacement. Our case highlights the importance of timely recognition and treatment of brain abscess and brain herniation in patients with neurological symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection, even in otherwise healthy patients.

Pediatric solid organ injury operative interventions and outcomes at Harborview Medical Center, before and after introduction of a solid organ injury pathway for pediatrics.

BACKGROUND: Although nonoperative management has become the standard of care for solid organ injury, variability exists in the care patients receive, and there are limited data regarding nonoperative management in patients with high grades of organ injury and substantial overall injury. We aimed to evaluate operative intervention frequency, including splenectomy, and patient outcomes before and after institution of the pediatric solid organ injury pathway at Harborview Medical Center (HMC) in 2005. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted at HMC for all pediatric solid organ injury patients from 2001 to 2012. Patients were identified in the Harborview Trauma Registry via DRG International Classification of Diseases-9th Rev. (ICD-9) codes for the presence of liver and spleen injuries. Demographic information, clinical characteristics, and ICD-9 procedure codes were also obtained from the trauma registry. Outcomes including splenectomy, a related abdominal surgery (exploratory laparotomy, spleen or liver repair, or splenectomy), mortality, and length of stay were compared between periods before and after 2005, adjusted for Injury Severity Score (ISS). RESULTS: The pediatric solid organ injury population at HMC (n = 712) has a high frequency of high-grade injury (35% Grade IV or V) and a high level of overall injury severity (median ISS, 21). Splenectomy was rare and remained stable over time despite an increase in severity of injury (from 2.4% to 0.8%, p = 0.44, among patients with isolated injury and from 4.0% to 3.3%, p = 0.78, among patients with nonisolated injury). Other abdominal surgeries also remained stable over time. Mortality decreased among patients with nonisolated injury (from 11.2% to 4.8%, p = 0.01). Length of stay decreased among patients with isolated organ injury, from a median of 4 days (interquartile range, 3-5 days) to 2 days (interquartile range, 2-3 days) (p < 0.0005) as well as within the lower ISS strata among patients with nonisolated organ injury (from a median of 4 days to 2 days among ISS < 12, p = 0.007; from 5 days to 3 days among ISS of 12-20, p = 0.0001; and from 7 days to 4 days among ISS of 21-33, p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Care in the recent period (2005-2012) was associated with a stable, low frequency of splenectomy; decreased mortality for patients with nonisolated injury; and decreased hospital length of stay among most subsets of patients, suggesting improved care despite an increase in patients' severity of injury. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic study, level IV; epidemiologic study, level III.

Radiation exposure from pediatric head CT: a bi-institutional study.

BACKGROUND: Medical radiation from CT should be kept as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA), particularly in young patients. OBJECTIVE: To examine radiation dose from head CT in children in a trauma center (TC) and a regional children's hospital (RCH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A random sample of 240 children (0-3, 4-9, 10-14 years of age) from the TC were compared with a similar cohort from the RCH. All children had undergone at least one head CT scan without contrast enhancement; data from PACS and Department of Radiology Information System were used to estimate normalized effective dose (ED). Lifetime attributable risk of cancer incidence was estimated using the Biologic Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) VII report. RESULTS: The mean normalized ED was significantly higher in the youngest children at the TC (2.74 mSv in those aged 0-3 years vs. 2.23 mSv in those aged 10-14 years; P<0.001) and at the RCH (2.44 mSv in those aged 0-3 years vs. 1.71 mSv in those aged 10-14 years; P<0.001). Each decreasing year of age was independently associated with a 0.06 mSv higher mean normalized ED (P<0.001). After adjusting for the age difference between the institutions, the mean normalized ED was 0.44 mSv lower at the RCH than at the TC across all ages (95% CI 0.31-0.58, P<0.001). A higher lifetime attributable risk of cancer was associated with younger age. CONCLUSION: The radiation dose from head CT in children as defined by the normalized ED was highest in the youngest children and varied significantly between institutions in this bi-institutional study.

Complications associated with arterial catheterization in children.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the prevalence of and risk factors associated with arterial catheterization complications in a large pediatric patient population in an effort to generate hypotheses for future prospective study of arterial catheter placement. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Patients discharged between January 1, 2000, and March 31, 2005, from 33 children's hospitals belonging to the Child Health Corporation of America. PATIENTS: Patients were 10,394 children identified from the Pediatric Health Information System database. Inclusion criteria included age 1 month to 18 yrs, admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit, received an arterial catheter for monitoring, and hospitalized for >or=1 day following catheter placement. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We assessed complications as defined by ICD-9 coding associated with arterial catheterization, including thrombosis, embolism, and infection. Complications were reported in 10.3% (1,072) of patients, most frequently infection/inflammation (61.8%), complication of vascular device not otherwise specified (14.9%), mechanical complications (14.1%), and embolic or thrombotic issues (7.5%). Independent predictors of complications associated with arterial catheterization were age (compared with 1-4 months) of 5-11 months (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.25-1.82) or 1-2 yrs (OR 1.39; 95% CI 1.09-1.78), insertion of catheters after the first hospital day and need for cardiac surgery (OR 1.31; 95% CI 1.03-1.68), bone marrow transplantation (OR 1.79; 95% CI 1.19-2.70), and dialysis (OR 1.36; 95% CI 1.05-1.77). There was no association of arterial catheter complications with patient gender, Medicaid status, or presence of coagulopathy or shock. CONCLUSIONS: Complications associated with arterial catheterization are common in critically ill children. Significantly, we were unable to account for the potential confounding effect of central venous catheterization in this study secondary to limitations of ICD-9 coding. This study serves as a hypothesis-generating report of a large pediatric sample and suggests the need to carefully assess arterial catheter-associated complications in a prospective study independent of central venous catheters.

A natural history of melanomas and dysplastic nevi: an atlas of lesions in melanoma-prone families.

BACKGROUND: Few long-term clinical and histologic data for melanocytic lesions have been available based on the mutation status of families at an increased risk of melanoma. In the current study, the authors describe the clinical and histologic features of dysplastic nevi and melanoma over time in families at an increased risk of melanoma with differing germline mutations in CDKN2A, CDK4, or not yet identified genes. METHODS: Thirty-three families with > 2 living members with invasive melanoma were evaluated clinically and followed prospectively for up to 25 years. All the participants were evaluated by the same study team at the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health or in local clinics. After informed consent was obtained, family members (n = 844) were examined and photographed. Blood was obtained for genetic studies; genotyping for CDKN2A and CDK4 was performed. Sequential photographs of melanocytic lesions were taken as part of the clinical evaluations. When melanocytic lesions were removed, the histology was reviewed. Representative photographs and photomicrographs were selected for six classes of lesions and three mutation groups. RESULTS: All the families were found to have members with dysplastic nevi and melanoma; 17 had mutations in CDKN2A, 2 had mutations in CDK4, and 14 had no mutations in either gene identified. The majority of dysplastic nevi either remain stable or regress; few change in a manner that should cause concern for melanoma. With careful surveillance, melanomas can be found early. CONCLUSIONS: The melanomas and dysplastic nevi that were found to occur in the study families did not appear to vary by the type of mutation identified in the families.