Use of the Novel Therapeutic Agent Miltefosine for the Treatment of Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis: Report of 1 Fatal and 1 Surviving Case.

Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) is a fulminant central nervous system infection caused by the thermophilic free-living ameba Naegleria fowleri. Few survivals have been documented and adequate treatment is lacking. We report 2 PAM cases, 1 fatal and 1 surviving, treated with the novel antiparasitic agent miltefosine.

Neonatal herpes disease following maternal antenatal antiviral suppressive therapy: a multicenter case series.

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to describe herpes simplex virus (HSV) disease in neonates whose mothers received suppressive acyclovir therapy for HSV infection. STUDY DESIGN: A multicenter case series of 8 infants who developed neonatal HSV disease following maternal antiviral suppressive therapy during pregnancy. RESULTS: Eight infants were identified from New Jersey (5), Maine (1), New York (1), and Texas (1) between 2005 and 2009. All 6 mothers of infants infected with HSV who were screened prenatally for group B Streptococcus were positive; 1 mother was not tested and the other had bacterial vaginosis and genital human papillomavirus infection. Six mothers had a first clinical episode of genital HSV infection during this pregnancy; mothers with a prior history of genital HSV had no clinically recognized outbreak during the pregnancy. Perinatal transmission of HSV occurred in 7 infants (despite suppressive therapy until the day of delivery in 5 instances). Seven of 8 patients were born at term; 6 infants were male. In 7 of 8 cases, HSV was diagnosed by 8 days of age. Five infants had skin, eye, and mucous membrane disease, 2 had central nervous system disease (without and with disseminated disease), and one had intrauterine/disseminated disease. CONCLUSIONS: Although maternal antiviral suppressive therapy is an increasingly wide practice, physicians caring for neonates should be aware that suppressive therapy does not prevent neonatal HSV disease, which can have an atypical clinical presentation and drug resistance.

Primary ecthyma gangrenosum as a presenting sign of leukemia in a child.

Ecthyma gangrenosum is a type of skin infection characterized by black eschars on an erythematous base. It most commonly occurs with pseudomonas infection in an immunocompromised setting. We present a case of primary ecthyma gangrenosum as the presenting sign of pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in a child.

Isolated herpes simplex keratoconjunctivitis in a neonate born by cesarean delivery.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection can be devastating in the neonate. The disease most commonly presents as 1 of 3 clinical manifestations: disseminated visceral infection (with and without central nervous system involvement), isolated meningoencephalitis, and infection limited to the skin, eyes, and/or mucous membranes (SEM). Exposure leading to neonatal infection typically occurs as peripartum vertical transmission, most typically by direct contact with urogenital lesions or infected genital secretions, or as an ascending infection exploiting disrupted chorioamniotic membranes. We present a novel case of a newborn girl who developed HSV-2 keratoconjunctivitis despite being delivered via an elective, uncomplicated, repeat cesarean over intact chorioamniotic membranes in the absence of active clinical maternal HSV infection and despite having a negative medical history of previous orolabial or genital herpetic infection.

Management of acute bacterial rhinosinusitis.

Acute bacterial rhinosinusitis is an infection of the nasal epithelium and paranasal sinus mucosa, usually caused in children by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and, less frequently, group A Streptococcus species. The clinical diagnosis is based on daytime cough that may be worse at night or purulent rhinorrhea, or both, lasting at least 10 days, often worsening after a period of initial improvement after initial symptoms of the common cold, and often associated with facial or dental pain, facial fullness, or swelling, headache, and fever. Sinusitis is diagnosed clinically; radiographic evaluation is not indicated for diagnosis. When the disease persists despite treatment, or is complicated by potential intracranial or orbital extension, CT is the preferred imaging modality. Initial therapy should be amoxicillin in a high dosage (80-90 mg/kg/day). Treatment is generally for 10 to 14 days and for at least 7 days beyond the time of substantial improvement in symptoms. Complications of acute bacterial rhinosinusitis in children are rare.