Infectious Mononucleosis: Rapid Evidence Review.

Infectious mononucleosis is a viral syndrome characterized by fever, pharyngitis, and posterior cervical lymphadenopathy. It is usually caused by Epstein-Barr virus and most often affects adolescents and young adults 15 to 24 years of age. Primary transmission is through close personal contact with a person who is infected, particularly their saliva. Cost-effective, efficient initial laboratory testing for acute infectious mononucleosis includes complete blood count with differential (to assess for greater than 40% lymphocytes and greater than 10% atypical lymphocytes) and a rapid heterophile antibody test. The heterophile antibody test has a sensitivity of 87% and specificity of 91% but can have a false-negative result in children younger than five years and in adults during the first week of illness. The presence of elevated liver enzymes increases clinical suspicion for infectious mononucleosis in the setting of a negative heterophile antibody test result. Epstein-Barr viral capsid antigen-antibody testing is more sensitive and specific but more expensive and takes longer to process than the rapid heterophile antibody test. Treatment of infectious mononucleosis is supportive; routine use of antivirals and corticosteroids is not recommended. Current guidelines recommend that patients with infectious mononucleosis not participate in athletic activity for three weeks from onset of symptoms. Shared decision-making should be used to determine the timing of return to activity. Immunosuppressed populations are at higher risk of severe disease and significant morbidity. Epstein-Barr virus infection has been linked to nine types of cancer, including Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and some autoimmune diseases.

A Threat to Military Combat Power: Dietary Supplements.

BACKGROUND: The use of dietary supplements by young warfighters is pervasive and comes with a readiness cost, especially in the deployed setting. Predatory targeting and marketing by various unscrupulous companies put this population at risk for a higher than baseline risk for adverse events. METHODS: We report on 6 serious adverse events experienced by warfighters while deployed in Kuwait and Afghanistan. Presented is a discussion of current practice gaps and solutions, as well as details regarding how polypharmacy contributes to the seriousness of the threat posed by problematic supplements. RESULTS: The morbidity associated with the 6 cases of dietary supplement adverse events compromised mission readiness and was costly in terms of health and health care expenditures. CONCLUSION: The military dietary supplement issue needs exposure, review, and action at the highest levels of government.

Eating Disorders in Primary Care: Diagnosis and Management.

Eating disorders are potentially life-threatening conditions characterized by disordered eating and weight-control behaviors that impair physical health and psychosocial functioning. Early intervention may decrease the risk of long-term pathology and disability. Clinicians should interpret disordered eating and body image concerns and carefully monitor patients' height, weight, and body mass index trends for subtle changes. After diagnosis, visits should include the sensitive review of psychosocial and clinical factors, physical examination, orthostatic vital signs, and testing (e.g., a metabolic panel with magnesium and phosphate levels, electrocardiography) when indicated. Additional care team members (i.e., dietitian, therapist, and caregivers) should provide a unified, evidence-based therapeutic approach. The escalation of care should be based on health status (e.g., acute food refusal, uncontrollable binge eating or purging, co-occurring conditions, suicidality, test abnormalities), weight patterns, outpatient options, and social support. A healthy weight range is determined by the degree of malnutrition and pre-illness trajectories. Weight gain of 2.2 to 4.4 lb per week stabilizes cardiovascular health. Treatment options may include cognitive behavior interventions that address body image and dietary and physical activity behaviors; family-based therapy, which is a first-line treatment for youths; and pharmacotherapy, which may treat co-occurring conditions, but should not be pursued alone. Evidence supports select antidepressants or topiramate for bulimia nervosa and lisdexamfetamine for binge-eating disorder. Remission is suggested by healthy biopsychosocial functioning, cognitive flexibility with eating, resolution of disordered behaviors and decision-making, and if applicable, restoration of weight and menses. Prevention should emphasize a positive focus on body image instead of a focus on weight or dieting.

Association of Splenic Rupture and Infectious Mononucleosis: A Retrospective Analysis and Review of Return-to-Play Recommendations.

BACKGROUND: Infectious mononucleosis is typically a self-limited disease commonly affecting young adults. Splenic rupture is a rare but serious complication affecting 0.1% to 0.5% of patients with mononucleosis. Current guidelines (based on published case reports) recommend complete activity restriction for 3 weeks after onset of mononucleosis symptoms to reduce rupture risk. We examined actual timing of mononucleosis-associated splenic injury using a large repository of unpublished patient data. HYPOTHESIS: The risk of splenic injury after infectious mononucleosis will remain elevated longer than previously estimated. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case series. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 4. METHODS: The Military Health System Management Analysis and Reporting Tool (M2) was used to conduct a retrospective chart review. Coding records of TRICARE beneficiaries aged 5 to 65 years between 2006 and 2016 were screened. Patients diagnosed with both splenic injury and mononucleosis-like symptoms were identified, and their medical records were reviewed for laboratory confirmation of infection and radiographically evident splenic injury. RESULTS: A total of 826 records of splenic injury were found in M2. Of these, 42 cases met the study criteria. Mean time to splenic injury was 15.4 (±13.5) days. Only 73.8% (n = 31) of injuries occurred within 21 days, and 90.5% (n = 38) of splenic injuries occurred within 31 days of symptom onset. CONCLUSION: A substantial number of splenic injuries occur between 21 and 31 days after symptom onset. While most splenic injuries were atraumatic, consideration should be given to extending return-to-play guidelines to 31 days after symptom onset to minimize risk. Risk of chronic pain after splenic injury may be higher than previously believed. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The risk for postmononucleosis splenic injuries remains elevated longer than current guidelines suggest. Restricting activity for 31 days after mononucleosis symptom onset may reduce the risk of splenic injury.

Disorders of Puberty: An Approach to Diagnosis and Management.

Disorders of puberty can profoundly impact physical and psychosocial well-being. Precocious puberty is pubertal onset before eight years of age in girls and before nine years of age in boys. Patients with early isolated pubertal changes, prepubertal linear growth, and no worrisome neurologic symptoms typically have a benign pattern of development and should be monitored in the appropriate clinical context. Among patients with true precocious puberty, or full activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, most girls have an idiopathic etiology, whereas it is commonly due to identifiable pathology on imaging in boys. History and physical examination should be followed by measurements of serum follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and testosterone (boys) or estradiol (girls); thyroid function testing; and bone age radiography. Brain magnetic resonance imaging should be performed in girls younger than six years, all boys with precocious puberty, and children with neurologic symptoms. Delayed puberty is the absence of breast development in girls by 13 years of age and absence of testicular growth to at least 4 mL in volume or 2.5 cm in length in boys by 14 years of age. Constitutional delay of growth and puberty is a common cause of delayed puberty; however, functional or persistent hypogonadism should be excluded. History and physical examination should be followed by measurements of serum follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and testosterone (boys) or estradiol (girls); and bone age radiography. Abnormal growth velocity necessitates assessment of serum thyroid function, prolactin, and insulinlike growth factor I. Boys 14 years and older and girls 13 years and older may benefit from sex steroid treatment to jump-start puberty. Referral to a pediatric endocrinologist may be warranted after the initial evaluation.

Exertional Heat Stroke and American Football: What the Team Physician Needs to Know.

Football is recognized as a leading contributor to sports injury secondary to the contact collision nature of the endeavor. While direct deaths from head and spine injury remain a significant contributor to the number of catastrophic injuries, indirect deaths (systemic failure) predominate. Exertional heat stroke has emerged as one of the leading indirect causes of death in high school and collegiate football. This review details for the team physician the unique challenge of exercising in the heat to the football player, and the prevention, diagnosis, management, and return-to-play issues pertinent to exertional heat illnesses.

Treatment outcomes of adolescents with Iselin's apophysitis.

This study assessed the presentations and outcomes of patients treated for Iselin's apophysitis. A total of 27 patients with Iselin's apophysitis were retrospectively analyzed for presentation, treatment, and clinical outcome. The mean age of presentation was 11.5 years (range: 9.2-15 years). All patients played sports, and their symptomatic severity and acuity varied. Treatments included rest, footwear modification, use of a controlled ankle movement boot, and use of a post-op shoe. Treatment lasted for an average of 24 days (range: 14-33 days), and the average time to return to play was 38 days (range: 14-53 days). All cases healed, with three reinjuries and no nonunions. Six cases were initially misdiagnosed as a fracture or tendonitis, indicating the need for further education on the diagnosis and natural history of Iselin's apophysitis.