Pulmonary and thoracic infection by Fusobacterium nucleatum. / Infección pulmonar y torácica por Fusobacterium nucleatum.

INTRODUCTION: Fusobacterium nucleatum is an anaerobic bacillus that is part of the oral microbiota and dental pla que. This can cause local and potentially remote infections, which are exceptional in pediatrics. Ob jective: To present the case of a patient with lung injury with chest wall invasion by Fusobacterium nucleatum. CLINICAL CASE: An 11-year-old female immunocompetent patient who consulted due to a two-week history of cough, night sweats, without fever or weight loss, and increased volume at the left spleen thoracic level. There was no history of chest wall trauma or travel outside the country. Two weeks before the onset of symptoms, she was treated for dental caries. Imaging studies and CT scan showed left spleen pneumonia, which invades the pleura and the chest wall. A minimal thoracotomy was performed, releasing a thick, foul-smelling liquid. The studies for common germs and tubercu losis were negative. Hematology ruled out tumor lesions. The anaerobic study reported the develo pment of Fusobacterium nucleatum. The patient was treated with penicillin followed by amoxicillin presenting good clinical and radiological responses. The dental procedure was suspected as the cause of infection. CONCLUSIONS: Fusobacterium nucleatum can occasionally cause remote or extra-oral in fections in immunocompetent patients, such as pneumonia with chest wall invasion, therefore it is necessary to bear it in mind.

[Evaluation of children with tuberculosis contact]. / Estudio del niñio en contacto con paciente tuberculoso.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a worldwide infectious disease, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Koch bacilli), that has re-emerged since the decade of the 80's in relation to the pandemic of HIV infection. Chile has one of the lowest TB prevalence rates in Latin America. In children, TB exhibits some differences from adult disease in terms of pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and probability of progression from the infected state to disease, making it more difficult to diagnose and increasing the likelihood of developing the disease once the infection is acquired. There is a National Program for the Prevention and Control of TB that allows us to develop prevention and chemoprophylaxis strategies. This article summarizes these strategies to guide the study and management of children in contact with TB patients.

Estudio del niño en contacto con paciente tuberculoso / Evaluation of children with tuberculosis contact

La tuberculosis (TBC) es una enfermedad de distribución mundial, producida por Mycobacterium tuberculosis (bacilo de Koch), que ha re-emergido desde la década de los 80 en relación a la pandemia de VIH. Chile es uno de los países latinoamericanos con menores tasas de prevalencia de TBC. En los niños, la TBC presenta algunas características distintas al adulto en cuanto a patogenia, clínica y probabilidad de progresión desde una infección latente a enfermedad, siendo más difícil realizar el diagnóstico y mayor la probabilidad de desarrollar enfermedad una vez infectados. Existe un Programa Nacional de Prevención y Control de la TBC que nos permite plantear estrategias de prevención y quimioprofilaxis. Este artículo esquematiza estas estrategias para orientar el estudio y manejo de niños que entran en contacto con pacientes con TBC.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a worldwide infectious disease, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Koch bacilli), that has re-emerged since the decade of the 80’s in relation to the pandemic of HIV infection. Chile has one of the lowest TB prevalence rates in Latin America. In children, TB exhibits some differences from adult disease in terms of pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and probability of progression from the infected state to disease, making it more difficult to diagnose and increasing the likelihood of developing the disease once the infection is acquired. There is a National Program for the Prevention and Control of TB that allows us to develop prevention and chemoprophylaxis strategies. This article summarizes these strategies to guide the study and management of children in contact with TB patients.

Tuberculosis laríngea diagnosticada en una escolar / Laryngeal tuberculosis diagnosed in a school girl

Tuberculosis is at the present time a worldwide endemic disease. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis is less frequent than the pulmonary form and its diagnosis represents a challenge. Laryngeal tuberculosis accounts for less than 1 percent of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. In this report, we present a case of laryngeal tuberculosis diagnosed in a 12 years old girl at the pediatric department of a general hospital. The patient had a six months history of hoarseness and persistent cough. At the time she was admitted at the hospital she complainted about stridor, odynophagia, weakness and respiratory distress. A cervical mass was the main finding at her physical exam. A laryngeal nodule was shown after practicing a direct laryngoscopy. The biopsy of this lesion revealed presence of a granulomatous inflammatory process compatible with tuberculosis. Besides the samples of sputum taken at her admission for acid -fast bacilli direct examination and culture were positive. We would like to emphasize the delay in diagnosing this case, because of the outpatient clinical study failed in proposing to carry out a direct laryngoscopy in this patient, despite she complainted of hoarseness and persistent cough.

La tuberculosis (TBC) es en la actualidad una endemia a nivel mundial. La tuberculosis extrapulmonar, menos frecuente que la forma pulmonar constituye un desafío diagnóstico. La forma laríngea representa menos del 1 por ciento de las tuberculosis extrapulmonares. En esta publicación, presentamos un caso de tuberculosis laríngea diagnosticada en una escolar de nuestro servicio de pediatría hospital Dr. Gustavo Fricke, cuyos síntomas cardinales fueron disfonía y tos presentes durante 6 meses previo al diagnóstico. Al momento de ingreso al servicio se había agregado compromiso del estado general, odinofagia estridor y dificultad respiratoria. Al examen físico destacaba la presencia de masa cervical. El diagnóstico se realizó mediante laringoscopia directa que evidenció nódulo en cuerda vocal derecha cuya biopsia reveló presencia de proceso inflamatorio crónico granulomatoso compatible con TBC. Las baciloscopías y cultivo de Koch de expectoración, realizados al momento del ingreso, resultaron positivos. Cabe destacar el retraso diagnóstico del caso, debido a que nunca se planteó realizar laringoscopia durante el estudio ambulatorio, pese a la presencia de disfonía y tos persistente.