Childhood scurvy: an unusual cause of refusal to walk in a child.

Scurvy, or vitamin C deficiency, is rarely presented to a rheumatology clinic. It can mimic several rheumatologic disorders. Although uncommon, it may present as pseudovasculitis or chronic arthritis. Scurvy still exists today within certain populations, particularly in patients with neurodevelopmental disabilities, psychiatric illness or unusual dietary habits.Scurvy presentation to the rheumatologist varies from aches and mild pains to excruciating bone pain or arthritis. Musculoskeletal and mucocutaneous features of scurvy are often what prompts referrals to pediatric rheumatology clinics. Unless health care providers inquire about nutritional habits and keep in mind the risk of nutritional deficiency, it will be easy to miss the diagnosis of scurvy. Rarity of occurrence as compared to other nutritional deficiencies, combined with a lack of understanding about modern-day risk factors for nutritional deficiency, frequently leads to delayed recognition of vitamin C deficiency. We report a case of scurvy in a mentally handicapped Saudi child, who presented with new onset inability to walk with diffuse swelling and pain in the left leg. Skin examination revealed extensive ecchymoses, hyperkeratosis and follicular purpura with corkscrew hairs, in addition to gingival swelling with bleeding. Clinical diagnosis of scurvy was rendered and confirmed by low serum vitamin C level. The patient did extremely well with proper nutritional support and vitamin C supplementation. It has been noticed lately that there is increased awareness about scurvy in rheumatology literature. A high index of suspicion, together with taking a thorough history and physical examination, is required for diagnosis of scurvy in patient who presents with musculoskeletal symptoms. Nutritional deficiency should also be considered by the rheumatologist formulating differential diagnosis for musculoskeletal or mucocutaneous complaints in children, particularly those at risk.

Attitudes and barriers towards participation in an acupuncture trial among breast cancer patients: a survey study.

BACKGROUND: As breast cancer patients increasingly use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), clinical trials are needed to guide appropriate clinical use. We sought to identify socio-demographic, clinical and psychological factors related to willingness to participate (WTP) and to determine barriers to participation in an acupuncture clinical trial among breast cancer patients. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey study among post-menopausal women with stage I-III breast cancer on aromatase inhibitors at an urban academic cancer center. RESULTS: Of the 300 participants (92% response rate), 148 (49.8%) reported WTP in an acupuncture clinical trial. Higher education (p = 0.001), increased acupuncture expectancy (p < 0.001), and previous radiation therapy (p = 0.004) were significantly associated with WTP. Travel difficulty (p = 0.002), concern with experimentation (p = 0.013), and lack of interest in acupuncture (p < 0.001) were significant barriers to WTP. Barriers differed significantly by socio-demographic factors with white people more likely to endorse travel difficulty (p = 0.018) and non-white people more likely to report concern with experimentation (p = 0.024). Older patients and those with lower education were more likely to report concern with experimentation and lack of interest in acupuncture (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Although nearly half of the respondents reported WTP, significant barriers to participation exist and differ among subgroups. Research addressing these barriers is needed to ensure effective accrual and improve the representation of individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Use of a precious resource: parental decision making about using autologous umbilical cord blood in studies involving young children with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To assess parental decision making and experiences in an autologous umbilical cord blood infusion study in young children with type 1 diabetes (T1D). METHODS: Surveys were completed with 22 parents of children with T1D who received infusion and 22 parents who declined infusion. RESULTS: Parents who stored umbilical cord blood were middle-aged, highly-educated, Caucasian, married, and privately insured. Parents of children who did not receive infusion declined because they did not want to deplete their cord blood supply. Parents of children who decided to have their children participate in the infusion study were similar on approaches to storing cord blood and attitudes about research as compared to parents who declined to have their children participate in the infusion. Parents of children who received infusion were positive about their experiences and held expectations that infusion would lead to a T1D cure. CONCLUSIONS: The manner in which cord blood is stored needs to be considered so that participation in future studies does not risk depletion of the cord blood supply. In addition, it appears that the process of storing umbilical cord blood leads to restricted demographic characteristics of eligible participants, which may impact recruitment in clinical trials. These results are relevant to designing future cord blood studies in T1D and other non-malignant diseases.

Factors associated with refusal of childhood vaccines among parents of school-aged children: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: The rate of nonmedical exemptions to school immunization requirements has been increasing, and children with exemptions have contributed to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. OBJECTIVES: To determine why parents claim nonmedical exemptions and to explore differences in perceptions of vaccines and vaccine information sources between parents of exempt and fully vaccinated children. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Colorado, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Washington. PARTICIPANTS: Surveys were mailed to the parents of 815 exempt children (cases) and 1630 fully vaccinated children (controls randomly selected from the same grade and school) recruited from 112 private and public elementary schools. Surveys were completed by 2435 parents (56.1%). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Parental reports. RESULTS: Most children (209 [75.5%] of 277) with nonmedical exemptions received at least some vaccines. The most common vaccine not received was varicella (147 [53.1%] of 277 exempt children). The most common reason stated for requesting exemptions (190 [69%] of 277) was concern that the vaccines might cause harm. Parents of exempt children were significantly more likely than parents of vaccinated children to report low perceived vaccine safety and efficacy, a low level of trust in the government, and low perceived susceptibility to and severity of vaccine-preventable diseases. Parents of exempt children were significantly less likely to report confidence in medical, public health, and government sources for vaccine information and were more likely to report confidence in alternative medicine professionals than parents of vaccinated children. CONCLUSION: Continued efforts must be made to educate parents about the utility and safety of vaccines, especially parents requesting nonmedical exemptions to school immunization requirements.

Understanding why women decline HIV testing.

BACKGROUND: The Department of Health (DH) set a target for HIV testing--uptake should be at least 90% by 31 December 2002 (Department of midwife Health, 2000), i the number of 80% decrease in n order to see a babies born with HIV (Tookey et al, 2002). As an exercise to measure Newham Healthcare Trust against this standard and review the antenatal care HIV-positive women received, the maternity unit undertook an audit. One in 160 pregnant women receiving antenatal care in the London Borough of Newham are HIV positive (Communicable Disease Screening Centre, 2003), according to the HIV anonymous screening programme, however the rate of transmission to the baby is virtually zero, when babies were followed up at birth, six months and one year Healthcare NH S Trust, 2003). Newham's HIV testing uptake ranges from 80% to 90% (with an average of 88%). A strategy for improving the uptake has been to explore why the 10% to 20% of women decline testing; hence the Trust underwent an audit to explore the reasons women gave when they declined testing. Audit findings Some 2138 forms were returned over a seven-month period, of which 328 (15%) were from women who declined HIV testing. Uptake within that period ranged from 74% to 90%. Ten new positive women were identified. The HIV-specialist midwife carries a caseload and is aware of all positive women, therefore was able to identify the new cases. The reasons given for decline ranged from cultural and religious beliefs to those who said they were not at risk. Practice implications Where women are aware of their HIV status, services can be put in place to support them through their pregnancy and life as a positive parent, equally important is the ability to minimise the risk of transmission to babies, therefore it is vital that women understand the purpose of early diagnosis through testing and its consequences. Midwives have a vital role to play in ensuring pregnant women receive adequate information to form their decision. If a woman chooses not to have the test, midwives should explore her reasons without prejudice. It is also recommended that women who decline testing are reoffered the HIV test at their subsequent antenatal visit, allowing them the opportunity to digest the information and discuss it with a partner. The purpose of the audit was to assess how the Trust would meet the DH target (90% uptake), as part of a review of the maternity HIV service.