Clinical Experience with Daptomycin in Pediatrics.

INTRODUCTION: The management of gram-positive infections has been complicated in recent years by the emergence of antimicrobial resistance, leaving fewer options for therapy. Daptomycin is a lipopeptide antibiotic used for the systemic treatment of gram-positive infections. It has a distinct mechanism of action and a favorable side effect profile, and it requires once/day dosing. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetic data in neonatal and pediatric patients. The objective of this study was to review our experience with daptomycin use for the treatment of gram-positive infections in these patient populations. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of electronic medical records of hospitalized children who received daptomycin between October 2008 and June 2014 for the treatment of proven gram-positive infections. RESULTS: Of the 146 patients who received at least 3 days of daptomycin therapy, 109 patients had a proven gram-positive infection and were included for further analysis. Of the 109 patients, 71 were males (65%) and the median age was 12 years (range: 2.5 mo to 24 yrs). The median duration of therapy was 12 days (range: 3-121 days; mean = 16 days). Catheter-related bloodstream infections were the most common type of infections (n=81 patients) in those receiving daptomycin treatment. One hundred seven patients (98%) had documented improvement and resolution at the time of hospital discharge. One hundred four patients (95%) had a baseline creatine phosphokinase (CPK) level obtained. Of these 104 patients, 48 (46%) had at least one follow-up CPK level after the start of therapy. Three patients' charts showed laboratory evidence of elevated CPK values. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients demonstrated clinical improvement after receiving daptomycin as primary therapy for proven gram-positive infections. Larger randomized controlled trials focusing on safety and efficacy are necessary to assess these outcomes with daptomycin use in the pediatric population.

Mollaret's meningitis due to human herpesvirus 6 in an adolescent.

We report the first pediatric case of Mollaret meningitis in an adolescent female with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in remission. This patient had signs and symptoms consistent with meningitis, with three episodes over a 3-month period. Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) was identified during her last episode from polymerase chain reaction assay of a cerebrospinal fluid specimen. She was treated successfully with foscarnet, after which HHV-6 was undetectable in her cerebrospinal fluid.

El uso de la videoconferencia como una herramienta en la educación pediátrica internacional / The use of videoconferen as a tool in International Pediatric Education

Se desarrolló un programa piloto educativo de teleconferencia para determinar la factibilidad de realizar rondas de educación pediátrica en un entorno internacional. Mediante el uso de teleconferencia se desarrollaron rondas educativas entre el Hospital de Niños de Johns Hopkins en San Petesburg, Florida y Pediatras de Guatemala y el Salvador. El programa fue desarrollado para evaluar la viabilidad de que los médicos de postgrado participen en la educación internacional a través de videoconferencias. Para compensar las diferencias de horario entre los países participantes se usaron conferencias previamente grabadas, obtenidas de un banco de datos de conferencias magistrales pediátricas. Para aliviar la barrera del idioma y proporcionar interacción "cara a cara" con el público, especialistas locales con amplio conocimiento sobre el tema estuvieron presentes durante las conferencias. La asistencia y las puntuaciones de satisfacción fueron evaluadas a través de una encuesta que cada participante respondió al final del evento. Los aspectos técnicos y costos del programa fueron mínimos y el promedio de puntuaciones de satisfacción fueron altas. para responder con éxito algunos de los problemas didácticos en teleconferencia internacional, se introdujeron nuevos conceptos tales como el uso de conferencias previamente grabadas, participación de especialistas locales trabajar en horarios regionales y reducción de los costos.

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole therapy for children with acute osteomyelitis.

BACKGROUND: The emergence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has complicated the conventional management of osteomyelitis. While oral clindamycin is commonly used to treat acute CA-MRSA osteomyelitis, the emergence of inducible clindamycin resistance among CA-MRSA isolates has made alternative therapy necessary. The excellent oral bioavailability, susceptibility profile, favorable palatability, and low cost of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) make this drug an attractive option for treating osteomyelitis, yet its clinical efficacy for osteomyelitis has not been established. METHODS: Between October 1998 and September 2009, 20 children who received a TMP-SMX-containing regimen for acute osteomyelitis at All Children's Hospital were identified from hospital records, and their cases reviewed for clinical outcome and drug safety. RESULTS: Patients ranged in age from 9 months to 17 years. Twelve (60%) of the patients were male. Causative pathogens were found in 8 (40%) cases of which 5 were CA-MRSA and 3 were methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus. Eleven patients (55%) received TMP-SMX as their primary therapy. The median dose of TMP-SMX was 16.4 mg/kg/d. During TMP-SMX therapy, 8 patients (40%) experienced adverse events; all were considered mild. Duration of total therapy was 26 to 59 days, with a median of 40 days. All 20 patients were considered cured of their infection at the end of therapy. CONCLUSION: Orally administered TMP-SMX appears to be a useful and well-tolerated therapy for treatment of acute osteomyelitis in children. Further prospective comparative studies will be needed to confirm this observation.

Healthcare worker knowledge of measurement and documentation of tuberculin skin test reaction.

A cross-sectional survey of 210 healthcare workers at a pediatric teaching hospital was performed to assess knowledge of published guidelines for proper measurement and documentation of tuberculin skin test results. We conclude that many healthcare workers have inadequate knowledge for optimal measurement and documentation of tuberculin skin test results.