Invasive pneumococcal pneumonia is the major cause of paediatric haemolytic-uraemic syndrome in Taiwan.

AIM: Streptococcus pneumoniae-associated haemolytic uraemic syndrome (SP-HUS) is a major concern of paediatric acute renal failure in Taiwan; it leads to significant morbidity and mortality during the acute phase and to long-term morbidity after an acute episode. METHODS: Twenty children diagnosed with HUS between 1 May 1995, and 31 December 2008 was enrolled. Clinical variables related to laboratory data, organ involved, and outcomes were examined between patients with and without SP-HUS. RESULTS: Thirteen of the 20 (13/20, 65%) patients required dialysis, nine (9/20, 45.0%) developed hepatic dysfunction, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), gastrointestinal bleeding, and hypertension, respectively. They were the second most common extrarenal complication except empyema (11/20, 55%). Two (10%) died and seven (35%) of the survivors developed long-term renal morbidity. Twelve of the 20 patients (60%) were diagnosed with SP-HUS. Younger age, female children, higher white blood cell count, higher alanine transaminase, higher lactate dehydrogenase and high incidence of DIC were significantly common in SP-HUS cases. All SP-HUS cases were complicated with pleural effusion, empyema, or both. Positive Thomsen-Freidenreich antigen (T-Ag) activation was 83% sensitive and 100% specific for SP-HUS, and a positive direct Coombs' test was 58% sensitive and 100% specific. CONCLUSION: Invasive pneumococcal infection is the most common cause of HUS in Taiwan. Positive T-Ag activation and a direct Coombs' test are rapid predictors of SP-HUS in children with invasive pneumonia.

Nonenteropathic hemolytic uremic syndrome: the experience of a medical center.

BACKGROUND: Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is an uncommon cause of acute renal failure in children. In contrast to Western countries, most HUSs in Taiwan are caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. In this article, we demonstrate the clinical courses of children with HUS in Taiwan and try to explain the pathophysiology of complications. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of children with HUS who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, between January 1997 and February 2008. The clinical courses, laboratory data, complications, and prognosis were recorded. We divided the patients into dialysis group and non-dialysis group. The laboratory data for the two groups were expressed as mean, standard deviation, and range. RESULTS: Nine patients were enrolled in the study, and all were diagnosed with S pneumoniae-associated HUS. One patient had meningitis, and the others had pneumonia. The mean durations of anemia and thrombocytopenia were 19.2 days and 10.2 days, respectively. Five patients received renal replacement therapy because of oligouria. The average of the peak total bilirubin levels of patients in the dialysis and non-dialysis groups were 24.6 ± 20.7mg/dL and 3.8 ± 1.9mg/dL, respectively. In addition to one patient who had meningitis, four other patients experienced central nervous system (CNS) complications. The mean durations of hypertension in five patients with CNS manifestations and four patients without CNS manifestations were 16.8 ± 7.8 days and 4.8 ± 6.6 days, respectively. Two patients died in acute stage, and most of the others had regained normal renal function at discharge or during follow-up. CONCLUSION: (1) Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common causative pathogen of HUS in Taiwan; (2) the mean duration of hypertension in patients with CNS manifestations was much longer than that in patients without CNS manifestations; and (3) the average of the peak total bilirubin levels of patients in the dialysis group was much higher than that in the patients of the non-dialysis group.

Nonobstructive dilation of urinary tract and later development of obstruction: report of one case.

Cases of nonobstructive dilation of the upper urinary tract subsequently becoming obstructive are rare. We report a case involving a male child approximately 2.5 years old (29 months) who presented with an obstruction of the ureterovesical junction, which had been diagnosed and treated for nonobstructive dilation at another hospital 15 months earlier. At our hospital, we found no ureteral orifice by cystoscopic examination. Exploratory surgery was performed and complete obstruction of the ureterovesical junction was observed. We resected the segment involved in the obstruction and performed an ureteroneocystostomy. Patients found to have nonobstructive dilation of the urinary tract, a common and often innocuous finding, need careful follow-up to ensure that obstructions that may develop later can be treated in a timely manner.

Treatment course of steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome: emphasized on treatment effect.

AIM: Children with steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome (SDNS) need long-term steroid usage to maintain sustained remission. Cyclophosphamide is a well-known alternative agent to spare the use of steroids and avoid the side-effects that result from long-term steroid therapy. Most children may continue to have SDNS despite receiving cyclophosphamide. Additional alternative drugs may be needed. In the present study, the effects on SDNS of sequential treatment after cyclophosphamide usage were established. METHODS: Forty-six children with SDNS were enrolled in this retrospective uncontrolled study. In addition to prednisolone, patients were treated with cyclophosphamide as a first-line alternative drug. Children who still had SDNS despite cyclophosphamide therapy received chlorambucil, levamisole or another course of cyclophosphamide. The treatment responses were recorded and the mean duration of follow up was 96 months. RESULTS: Seventeen patients (37%) experienced no relapse after cyclophosphamide therapy. Twenty-five patients (54%) had varied responses. Only four patients showed no effect. Children who still had SDNS despite cyclophosphamide therapy received second or more alternative drugs. Cyclophosphamide with or without chlorambucil resolved steroid-dependency in 33 of 46 (72%) children who either had complete remission or developed steroid-sensitive, rather than steroid-dependent, nephrotic syndrome. CONCLUSION: With the exception of four patients who were lost to follow up and four who were refractory and needed other treatment, most children with SDNS could spare the steroid (complete remission or steroid sensitive nephrotic syndrome) after using one or more of these modulating agents.

Fas expression on peritoneal macrophages during continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis peritonitis.

BACKGROUND: Peritonitis is a common complication of end stage renal failure (ESRF) patients receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Peritoneal macrophage may participate in the activation of specific T cells and in the generation of local cell-mediated immunity to various pathogens. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possible role of macrophage in CAPD patients with peritonitis. METHODS: We evaluated the expression of Fas receptor (CD95), ICAM-1 (CD54), CD25, and CD69 by two-color flow cytometry on extravasted macrophages from 16 ESRF patients on CAPD with peritonitis (peritonitis-positive) and compared them to 11 ESRF patients on CAPD without peritonitis (peritonitis-negative) and normal controls. RESULTS: We found an increased expression of CD95, CD54, and CD25 on macrophage in peritonitis-positive group compared to controls (all p < 0.001). In the peritonitis-positive group, the CD95 expression was significantly higher than that of the peritonitis-negative group (p < 0.001). The expression of CD54, CD25, and CD69, however, was not significantly different between the peritonitis-positive and peritonitis-negative CAPD subgroups. CONCLUSION: We found an abnormally increased percentage of macrophage-expressing Fas receptor and ICAM-1, and the percentage of CD95+ macrophage, but not those of other markers, were increased among the subset of CAPD patients with peritonitis. The later finding suggests that this macrophage phenotype is associated with peritonitis occurring in CAPD.

Biopsy proven acute tubular necrosis associated with vancomycin in a child: case report and literature review.

Vancomycin-related nephrotoxicity typically manifests as acute tubulointerstitial nephritis. The drug does appear, however, to increase the nephrotoxicity of concurrently administered aminoglycosides. The extent of direct tubular toxicity attributable to vancomycin, especially in the absence of aminoglycoside treatment, does not appear to have been previously described. We report a case of biopsy-proven acute tubular necrosis secondary to vancomycin toxicity in a 13-year-old boy where there was no likely alternate explanation for toxic or ischemic injury. No hemodialysis was required, and the patient made a full recovery with subsequently regained renal function.

De novo urothelial carcinoma in a pediatric recipient of living donor kidney graft.

De novo urothelial carcinoma is relatively rare among post-transplant malignancies and never reported in pediatric kidney transplant recipients. In this paper, we reported one 12-yr-old male case with painless gross hematuria as the initial manifestation of de novo urothelial carcinoma in living donor graft pelvis. We emphasize the importance that cystoscopy and retrograde pyelography of native and transplant kidneys should be performed in all kidney transplant recipients with painless gross hematuria.

Imaging findings in fibroepithelial polyps causing ureteropelvic junction obstruction: report of one case.

Fibroepithelial polyps causing ureteropelvic junction obstruction are rarely reported in the pediatric age group. We report a 9-year-old boy who had ureteropelvic junction obstruction that proved to be owing to benign fibroepithelial polyps. Intravenous pyelography showed hydronephrosis with filling defects at the left ureteropelvic junction. Operative exploration revealed several finger-like polypoid neoplasms obstructing the lumen. The involved segment was resected and a dismembered pyeloplasty was performed. Fibroepithelial polyps were diagnosed by histology. The clinical imaging findings, features and methods of surgical treatment of this rare lesion are discussed.

Outbreak of dysentery associated with ceftriaxone-resistant Shigella sonnei: First report of plasmid-mediated CMY-2-type AmpC beta-lactamase resistance in S. sonnei.

We document the first report of plasmid-encoded CMY-2-type AmpC beta-lactamase identified among Shigella sonnei isolates resistant to ceftriaxone and obtained after an outbreak of bacillary dysentery in Taiwan. One hundred eighty-two children in two elementary schools in Yu-Li, Taiwan, where an outbreak occurred after a typhoon hit this area in 2001, were enrolled in this study. Clinical and epidemiologic data on the infected children were collected. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was performed on the isolates to determine the genetic relatedness of outbreak strains. Plasmid analysis and PCR were performed to identify beta-lactamase genes responsible for ceftriaxone resistance. Forty-seven children from the two elementary schools were culture positive for S. sonnei in this outbreak. Twenty-three children were asymptomatic. Of the total isolates 55.3% were resistant to ampicillin. One hundred percent of the isolates obtained from children in school A were initially susceptible to both ampicillin and ceftriaxone. Of isolates obtained from school B 96.2% were nonsusceptible to ceftriaxone. However, two isolates from school A developed resistance to ampicillin during the course of treatment. All 18 available isolates showed closely related PFGE patterns (4, 4a, 4b, and 4c). CMY-2-type AmpC beta-lactamase was responsible for ceftriaxone resistance in ceftriaxone-nonsusceptible isolates; Southern blot hybridization confirmed that such a resistance gene was located on the plasmid. This is the first report of plasmid-mediated CMY-2-type AmpC beta-lactamase in S. sonnei. Ampicillin-resistant isolates can develop during the course of antibiotic treatment.

Childhood urinary tract infection: a clinical analysis of 597 cases.

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY: To gain new insights into the epidemiology, genitourinary (GU) tract anomalies, etiologies, susceptibility of urinary pathogens to antibiotics in children with urinary tract infection (UTI) during the past decade in Taiwan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: By reviewing medical charts for patients admitted to Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital between January 1995 and December 2003, we identified and enrolled patients 14 years of age or less admitted due to UTI that was confirmed by positive urine culture. RESULTS: A total of 597 patients made up our sample. Sixty-eight percent of patients were 1 year old or younger. Boys predominated infant cohort (68.1%). Twenty-seven point one percent of the patients were found in urinalysis to have 5 white blood cells or fewer per high power field and 17.6% had positive nitrite reaction. The pathogens were Escherichia coli, the most common (74.7%), followed by Proteus spp. (6.7%), and Klebsiella spp. (6.4%). E. coli was resistant to ampicillin in 82.0% of the cases, followed by sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (55.2%), gentamicin (24.9%), and cefazolin (24%). Resistance to ampicillin and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim tended to increase year by year. Forty point seven percent (164/408) of patients had GU tract anomalies, the most common being vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) (87/164, 53.0%). Thirty-three point two percent of the patients with acute pyelonephritis, confirmed by 99mTc dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) renal scan, had VUR. CONCLUSION: Our cohort was predominated by boys, especially in those less than a year old. E. coli, the most common pathogen, had a higher rate of resistance to ampicillin and sulfamethoxazole/ trimethoprim. The pathogens that cause UTI were found to be becoming increasingly resistant to the common antimicrobial agents used in this study. The most common GU tract anomaly was VUR, yet the incidence was lower than that of other reports. A positive DMSA renal scan finding was a good indicator for prediction the possibility of VUR in UTI patients.