[Congenital cytomegalovirus infection]. / Infección congénita por citomegalovirus.

INTRODUCTION: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most frequent cause of intrauterine infection and an important cause of auditory system damage and mental retardation in humans. Clinical presentation varies from asymptomatic form to lethal systemic dissemination. OBJECTIVES: To describe clinical and laboratories manifestations, age at the moment of diagnostic, treatment and diagnostic test used in congenital cytomegalovirus infection. POPULATION, MATERIAL AND METHODS: Observational, retrospective and descriptive study. Clinical histories of congenital CMV infected infants evaluated by Infectology Department of the Hospital General de Niños Dr. Ricardo Gutiérrez between January 2002 and December 2006 were analyzed. RESULTS: Seventeen patients were evaluated. Mean age at diagnosis was 2.6 months. The most frequent symptom/sign were hepato-splenomegaly (76 %), jaundice (47 %), petechiae and hearing deficit (41 %). Anemia (53 %) and thrombocytopenia (40 %) were the most common laboratory abnormalities. Diagnosis was made exclusively by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-CMV in one third of the patients, whereas one third was diagnosed by serology and the other third for both test. Five patients received ganciclovir as treatment. Only one had neutropenia. CONCLUSIONS: Differential diagnosis of all newborns with hepatoesplenomegaly, jaundice and petechiae and anemia and/or thrombocytopenia must include congenital cytomegalo-virus infection. Early diagnosis allows a prompt intervention and a strict audiological follow up.

[Longitudinal study in children with the nephrotic syndrome and minimal glomerular lesion]. / Estudio longitudinal en niños con síndrome nefrótico y lesión glomerular mínima.

Twenty-one children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome and minimal changes on renal biopsy were followed during all the disease. The average of follow-up was 37 months, with a range from 12 to 124 months. Recurrent proteinuria was the most important feature during the follow-up; 14 out of the patients showed frequent relapses, but only 2 patients showed major complication (peritonitis, septicemia) during relapses. Frequent relapses appeared most frequently in patients who began the disease before their fourth birthday, showed allergic history, had hypertension and red blood cells in urine, or had recurrent infections and finally, in those where proteinuria reappeared soon after prednisone therapy was ended. Prednisone alone was successful to induce remission, but it did not prevent frequent relapses. The association clorambucil-prednisone allowed lengthening of the period of remission and possibly for this reason the rate of relapses fell during the first 37 months of the follow-up. There are no signs which permit to predict the length of the disease and the frequent relapses can occur even after many years from the beginning of the disease. Special care of these patients avoids major complications.