Recurrent Abdominal Pain in Children.

Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) in children is defined as at least three episodes of pain that occur over at least three months and affect the child's ability to perform normal activities. RAP is most often considered functional (nonorganic) abdominal pain, but an organic cause is found in 5% to 10% of cases. Further workup is warranted in children who have RAP and fever, vomiting, blood in the stool, more than three alarm symptoms, or a history of urinary tract infections. Physical examination findings that should prompt further workup include weight loss or failure to grow; jaundice; costovertebral tenderness or back pain with lower extremity neurologic symptoms; liver, spleen, or kidney enlargement; an abdominal mass; or localized tenderness on abdominal examination. Workup may include complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein level, fecal guaiac testing, fecal ova and parasite testing, or urinalysis. Pregnancy testing and screening for sexually transmitted infections should be considered in adolescents or if there are concerns about sexual abuse. Abdominal radiography can be helpful for diagnosing obstruction or constipation. Abdominal ultrasonography identifies an abnormality in up to 10% of children with RAP who meet criteria for further workup, compared with 1% of those who do not meet these criteria. Functional abdominal pain is a clinical diagnosis and no workup is needed. Management of functional abdominal pain focuses on improving quality of life, reducing parent and child concerns about the seriousness of the condition, and reducing the disability associated with pain rather than complete resolution of pain. Although evidence is lacking for most pharmacologic treatments of functional abdominal pain, psychological therapies such as cognitive behavior therapy and hypnotherapy have been shown to be beneficial.

Acute Abdominal Pain in Children.

Acute abdominal pain accounts for approximately 9% of childhood primary care office visits. Symptoms and signs that increase the likelihood of a surgical cause for pain include fever, bilious vomiting, bloody diarrhea, absent bowel sounds, voluntary guarding, rigidity, and rebound tenderness. The age of the child can help focus the differential diagnosis. In infants and toddlers, clinicians should consider congenital anomalies and other causes, including malrotation, hernias, Meckel diverticulum, or intussusception. In school-aged children, constipation and infectious causes of pain, such as gastroenteritis, colitis, respiratory infections, and urinary tract infections, are more common. In female adolescents, clinicians should consider pelvic inflammatory disease, pregnancy, ruptured ovarian cysts, or ovarian torsion. Initial laboratory tests include complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein, urinalysis, and a pregnancy test. Abdominal radiography can be used to diagnose constipation or obstruction. Ultrasonography is the initial choice in children for the diagnosis of cholecystitis, pancreatitis, ovarian cyst, ovarian or testicular torsion, pelvic inflammatory disease, pregnancy-related pathology, and appendicitis. Appendicitis is the most common cause of acute abdominal pain requiring surgery, with a peak incidence during adolescence. When the appendix is not clearly visible on ultrasonography, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging can be used to confirm the diagnosis.

PURLs: A more palatable alternative to oral rehydration therapy for kids.

Parents no longer need to struggle to get their kids to drink electrolyte solutions during episodes of mild gastroenteritis; apple juice works just as well.

Evaluation of primary immunodeficiency disease in children.

One in 2,000 children younger than 18 years is thought to have a primary immunodeficiency disease. Antibody, combined B-cell and T-cell, phagocytic, and complement disorders are the most common types. Children with these diseases tend to have bacterial or fungal infections with unusual organisms, or unusually severe and recurrent infections with common organisms. A family history of primary immunodeficiency disease is the strongest predictor of a person having this type of disease. When an immunodeficiency disease is suspected, initial laboratory screening should include a complete blood count with differential and measurement of serum immunoglobulin and complement levels. The presence of lymphocytopenia on complete blood count suggests a T-cell disorder, whereas a finding of neutropenia suggests a phagocytic disorder. Abnormal serum immunoglobulin levels suggest a B-cell disorder. Abnormalities on assay of the classic or alternative complement pathways suggest a complement disorder. If laboratory results are abnormal, or if clinical suspicion continues despite normal laboratory results, children should be referred for further evaluation. Human immunodeficiency virus infection should also be considered, and testing should be performed, if appropriate; this infection often clinically resembles a T-cell disorder.

Common adverse effects of antiretroviral therapy for HIV disease.

Family physicians are treating patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus in their practices more often. Long-term complications of this disease are multifactorial and can be related to the virus itself or to adverse effects of antiretroviral therapy. Each drug class has side effects: nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors are associated with lactic acidosis, lipodystrophy, and hyperlipidemia; non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors are associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms, rash, liver toxicity, and lipid abnormalities; and protease inhibitors are associated with gastrointestinal intolerance and glucose and lipid abnormalities. The entry inhibitor maraviroc and the integrase inhibitor raltegravir have been approved for treatment-naive and treatment-experienced patients. Maraviroc is associated with bronchitis, nasopharyngitis, and esophageal candidiasis. Adverse effects of raltegravir are comparable to those experienced with placebo, with the exception of increased risk of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis. Information about drug interactions for both of these medications is limited. Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors are primarily metabolized through the cytochrome P450 system, and as a result have numerous drug-drug interactions. Monitoring for adverse effects of antiretroviral therapy includes a complete blood count and comprehensive metabolic profile every three to six months. A lipid profile and urinalysis for proteinuria should be per- formed annually. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry should be considered in patients older than 50 years. Long-term morbidity related to antiretroviral therapy includes liver, renal, glucose, and lipid abnormalities, and cardiovascular and bone disease. With some exceptions for lipid management, these morbidities can be managed as in the general population.