Paracetamol infusion-related severe hypotension and cardiac arrest in a child.

Paracetamol (also known as Acetaminophen) is an antipyretic, non-opioid analgesic, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), and is one of the most commonly used medications worldwide. In recent years, IV paracetamol has been frequently used in hospitalized patients to reduce fever and pain. Significant adverse reactions associated with intravenous paracetamol are extremely rare. Typically reported adverse events include hypotension, malaise, hypersensitivity reaction, liver enzyme elevation, and thrombocytopenia. We present herein a case of IV paracetamol infusion-related severe hypotension and cardiac arrest.

The Frequency of Epileptiform Discharges in Celiac Disease.

BACKGROUND: We studied patients with celiac disease to define the frequency of epileptiform discharges on electroencephalography. METHODS: A total of 307 children with a diagnosis of celiac disease (study group) and 197 age- and sex-matched healthy children as controls (control group) were included in this study. The study group was further divided into newly diagnosed celiac disease patients (n = 216) and patients who were on a gluten-free diet (n = 91) for at least 6 months. Medical histories of all children including age, sex, symptoms, weight, height, physical examination findings, and laboratory data were recorded. All patients underwent an electroencephalograph in a pediatric neurology electroencephalograph laboratory with a 32-channel electroencephalograph for 30 minutes. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients were defined to have epileptiform discharges (spike/sharp-wave discharges); 24 (7.8%) of those patients were in the celiac disease group and 1 (0.5%) was in the control group (P = 0.001). Among those 24 patients, 21 (9.7%) were in newly diagnosed celiac disease group and 3 (3.3%) were in the gluten-free diet group (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Patients diagnosed with celiac disease are prone to epileptiform activities on electroencephalography and should be evaluated carefully. Moreover, strict adherence to a gluten-free diet early should be advised in those patients with epileptiform activities because it may effectively decrease the occurrence of epileptiform activities.