Knowledge and management of fever among Moroccan parents.

Parents often have misperceptions about childhood fever, and little information is available about the home management of feverish children in Morocco. In this study of the perceptions, knowledge and practices of families regarding children's fever, the parents of 264 febrile children aged 0-16 years were interviewed in a paediatric emergency department in Rabat in 2011. Only 3.5% of parents knew the correct temperature definition for fever, 54.4% determined their children's fever using a thermometer, and the preferred site was rectal. Most of them (96.8%) considered that fever was a very serious condition, which could lead to side-effects such as brain damage (28.9%), seizures (18.8%) paralysis (19.5%), dyspnoea (14.8%) and coma (14.8%). Paracetamol was used by 85.9% and traditional treatments by 45.1%. Knowledge about the correct definition of fever was significantly associated with parents' profession, educational level and receipt of previous information and advice from health professionals.

Van Wyk-Grumbach syndrome: The importance of thyroid function tests in a child presenting with multicystic ovaries.

INTRODUCTION: Van Wyk-Grumbach syndrome (VWGS) is a rare presentation of long-standing hypothyroidism, characterized by delayed bone age, enlarged bilateral multicystic ovaries, and isosexual precocious puberty. CASE PRESENTATION: We report here the clinical details of the case of Van Wyk Grumbach Syndrome in an 11-year-old girl who was first presented to the pediatric surgeon for hemoperitoneum. The patient underwent an emergency exploratory laparotomy, which showed enlarged ovaries with multiple cysts that were bleeding. She also had severe hypothyroidism, hyperprolactinemia, hyperestrogenism, pituitary adenoma, and delayed bone age. Significant improvement in symptoms was noted after thyroid hormone replacement therapy. IMPORTANCE AND CONCLUSION: This case highlights that it is crucial to consider thyroid assessment in a patient with multicystic ovaries to avoid misdiagnosis, unnecessary investigations for malignancy and/or surgical intervention, and possible complications.

[A rare cause of cervical swelling in a child: Solitary plexiform neurofibroma]. / Une cause rare de masse cervicale chez l'enfant : le neurofibrome plexiforme isolé.

Plexiform neurofibroma is a rare benign tumor of the peripheral tissue cells developed in the perineurium. Often considered pathognomonic of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1 or von Recklinghausen disease), it can be solitary without NF1, especially in children. The diagnosis is essentially pathological and treatment is primarily surgical to avoid malignant degeneration. We report on a case of cervical solitary plexiform neurofibroma discovered in a 9-year-old child.

[Partial facial duplication (a rare diprosopus): Case report and review of the literature]. / Duplication faciale partielle (un diprosope rare): à propos d'un cas et revue de littérature.

INTRODUCTION: Diprosopus, or partial facial duplication, is a very rare congenital abnormality. It is a rare form of conjoined twins. Partial facial duplication may be symmetric or not and may involve the nose, the maxilla, the mandible, the palate, the tongue and the mouth. OBSERVATION: A male newborn springing from inbred parents was admitted at his first day of life for facial deformity. He presented with hypertelorism, 2 eyes, a tendency to nose duplication (flatted large nose, 2 columellae, 2 lateral nostrils separated in the midline by a third deformed hole), two mouths and a duplicated maxilla. Laboratory tests were normal. The cranio-facial CT confirmed the maxillary duplication. DISCUSSION: This type of cranio-facial duplication is a rare entity with about 35 reported cases in the literature. Our patient was similar to a rare case of living diprosopus reported by Stiehm in 1972. Diprosopus is often associated with abnormalities of the gastrointestinal tract, the central nervous system, the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and with a high incidence of cleft lip and palate. Surgical treatment consists in the resection of the duplicated components.

[Congenital afibrinogenemia: a case report]. / Afibrinogénémie congénitale: à propos d'une nouvelle observation.

Afibrinogenemia is a rare autosomal recessive disease. Its clinical manifestations vary in severity, ranging from minimal bleeding to cataclysmic hemorrhage, and can begin at birth or, sometimes, later. We report a case of a female infant, 10 months of age, hospitalized in the pediatrics department because of a postvaccination hematoma. Biologic exploration found congenital afibrinogenemia. Through this case, we review the clinical features of this disease and its management.