[Fungal colonization in preterm neonates weighing less than 1500g admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit]. / Colonisation à levures chez les prématurés de moins de 1500g hospitalisés en réanimation néonatale.

Fungal colonization is a common occurrence in preterm neonates. Our objective was to describe the profile and characteristics of fungal colonization in preterm infants admitted to the Martinique NICU. From March 2012 to January 2013, an epidemiological prospective cohort study was conducted with 57 very low-birth-weight infants. Cutaneous, rectal, gastric, respiratory, and urinary swabs were collected on admission, then every week for 4 weeks. The prevalence of fungal colonization was 68% (39/57): 46% by Malassezia species, 28% by Candida parapsilosis, 19% by C. albicans, 5% by C. glabrata, and 2% by C. guilliermondii. The colonized patients had a duration of parenteral nutrition and antibiotic therapy longer than the others (P<0.05). Nosocomial colonization (after 2 days of life) occurred in 52% of cases: Malassezia species and C. parapsilosis were the commensal skin yeasts most frequently implicated. Forty-nine percent (28/57) had suspected invasive fungal infections that received probabilistic treatment. Only one case of invasive fungal infection with C. glabrata was diagnosed. This study highlights the important role played by nosocomial transmission in the colonization of preterm newborns. Mycological surveillance cultures in the NICU are very useful for monitoring fungal ecology and can improve the prevention of fungal colonization in preterm infants at risk of invasive fungal infection.

[Deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) intoxication in a 2-year-old child]. / Un cas d'intoxication aiguë par la belladone (Atropa belladona) chez une enfant de 2ans.

Plant intoxications account for 5% of all intoxication cases according to French anti-poison centers. We report an uncommon case of intoxication with deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) in a 2-year-old child. The child presented at the ER with an atropinic syndrome, both central and peripheral, after ingestion of wild berries a few hours before. The fruit and leaves brought in by the mother allowed the anti-poison center to identify belladonna, in agreement with clinical findings. The child was kept in the intensive care unit for 48 h and progression was favorable with symptomatic treatment.