This study sought to evaluate the initial management of children with parapneumonic effusion admitted to all French university hospitals.A nationwide survey of all 35 university hospitals took place in 2011 to assess practices for children with parapneumonic effusion, using a hypothetical clinical vignette and a standardised questionnaire. Two to four paediatricians per hospital were interviewed and asked about their initial management, probabilistic antibiotic therapy and its adaptation to microbiological results and subsequent course. Answers from paediatricians working in emergency departments, intensive care units and conventional paediatric units were compared.Of the 100 paediatricians contacted, 95 responded. Of these, 98% would order an initial blood test, 70% would order diagnostic thoracentesis, and all would start immediate antibiotic therapy: 31% with a single drug, 67% with two drugs and 2% with three drugs. The most frequent initial choices were third-generation cephalosporin alone (17%) or combined with rifampicin (34%) or vancomycin (24%). Adaptation varied according to drug used, dose and duration, especially when the microorganism was not Streptococcus pneumoniae. Practices did not differ significantly among the different groups of paediatricians.Standardised management of parapneumonic effusion, including routine thoracentesis and more consistent prescription of antibiotics, is needed.
Pediatricians need to be aware that adolescents with high level of immunosuppression including rituximab may develop severe forms of COVID-19.These cases may be complicated by organizing pneumonia and long term sequelae.
Abstract Introduction Esophageal atresia (EA) is frequently associated with other malformations although few data are available. Objective Describe tracheobronchial, pulmonary and/or vascular malformations in patients with EA using chest CT scans. Methods Monocentric retrospective study in children with EA, born between 1996 and 2013, who had a CT scan during their follow-up, reviewed by a pediatric radiologist. Results Among 234 children with EA, 48 patients underwent a CT scan available for interpretation, among which 69% were performed to explore persistent respiratory symptoms. Thirty-nine children (81%) were type III EA, 13 (27%) had a VACTERL association. Six patients (13%) had a pulmonary malformation: 4 lobar agenesis, 1 right pulmonary aplasia, and 1 congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation. All these patients presented with at least one associated malformation. Combined with the results of laryngotracheal endoscopy (n = 30), 43 patients (90%) had a tracheobronchial anomaly: tracheomalacia for 40 (83%), tracheal stenosis for 12 (25%), right tracheal bronchus for 2 (4%), communicating bronchopulmonary foregut malformation for 1 (2%). Combined with the results of echocardiography (n = 47), 7 patients (15%) had an isolated vascular anomaly, 8 (17%) had an isolated congenital heart disease and 7 (15%) had both. CT scans permitted the diagnosis of 6 pulmonary malformations (13%), 15 tracheobronchial anomalies (31%), and 2 vascular anomalies (4%). Only one patient (2%) in our study presented with an isolated EA. Conclusion Our study confirms the association of tracheobronchial, pulmonary, and vascular anomalies in patients with EA. Contrast-enhanced CT scan is complementary to echocardiography and laryngotracheal endoscopy in the exploration of persistent respiratory symptoms.
Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare inherited disease that affects the movement of the respiratory cilia. The main clinical manifestations are chronic upper and lower respiratory symptoms and recurrent lung infections, particularly bacterial and viral infections. Fungal infections are not usually associated with PCD. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a rare complex immune hypersensitivity reaction to Aspergillus fumigatus reported in patients with asthma and cystic fibrosis. Only three cases of ABPA associated with adult PCD have been described in the literature. Herein, we reported on two cases of ABPA in two boys aged 10 and 13 years with PCD. Both had severe lung disease and chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. One patient was diagnosed according to the typical clinical features of ABPA, while the other was diagnosed during a scheduled visit with no clinical changes but worsening pulmonary function and radiologic anomalies. The diagnosis of ABPA was confirmed in the two patients who then improved after receiving specific treatment. These two cases were the first to describe the occurrence of ABPA in children with PCD. We recommend that physicians involved in the management of children with PCD be aware of this potential complication.
