Pertussis in neonates

Article Abstract:

Pertussis or whooping cough is a severe and acute bacterial infection of the lungs caused by Bordetella pertussis, a small round (coccobacillus) bacterium. The prevalence of whooping cough in early childhood has increased and 50 percent of the reported cases affect infants. Eighty-one percent of susceptible children develop pertussis after household contact with an infected individual. Immunity to pertussis is life-long after exposure to the bacteria, but immunity begins to wane several years after vaccination. It is reported that 95 percent of those vaccinated against pertussis are vulnerable to infection 12 years later. Three case studies of pertussis in newborns are outlined. All three infants were brought to the hospital in a life-threatening condition. In each case the proper diagnosis was initially missed, and the source of the infection was the adolescent mother who had a respiratory infection. Young adults who have decreasing immunity are a typical source of infection to susceptible infants. Although the infants did not have all of the symptoms and blood test results typical of pertussis infection, the delay in diagnosis was related to the clinician not identifying the relationship between the respiratory difficulty of the mother and that of the infant. The possibility that the adult's condition may significantly improve by the time the infant becomes ill further complicates the diagnosis of the infant with pertussis. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Evaluation, Diagnosis, Whooping-cough, Whooping cough, Pertussis vaccines

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New insights into idiopathic infantile arterial calcinosis: three patient reports

Article Abstract:

Idiopathic infantile arterial calcinosis (IIAC) is a rare condition of calcification of the large and medium-sized arteries, where the cause is unknown. Its symptoms occur in the first month of life and may include feeding intolerance, respiratory distress, hypertension or heart failure. Three newborn siblings with this calcinosis are described; all died within the first month of life. In two of the three babies, the diagnosis was made by ultrasound performed before birth; however, the ultrasound examinations remained normal until the third trimester. The major problem for IIAC patients is control of hypertension; congestive heart failure and decreased blood supply to the heart muscle are common causes of death. Although the occurrence of this condition among siblings has been previously reported, the method of transmission is not known. This condition is one of the calcific diseases (involving deposits of calcium), with subsequent tissue dysfunction, but the factors involved and their sequence are not clear. This study suggests the involvement of certain negatively charged molecules, proteoglycans, in the calcification process. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Abnormalities, Calcium in the body, Calcium (Nutrient), Arteries, Calcification

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Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia at high altitude

Article Abstract:

Hyperbilirubinemia is an excess of bilirubin in the blood of a newborn baby resulting from hepatic (liver) dysfunction or immaturity. Based upon a retrospective study it has been reported that at increased altitude (higher than 3,100 meters) there was a greater frequency of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, as compared with the frequency occurring at a lower altitude (1,600 meters). In this prospective study, it was found that the incidence of hyperbilirubinemia in infants born at 3,100 m was 39 percent, compared with an incidence of 16 percent occurring in the babies born at 1,600 meters. The cord blood bilirubin values were greater in the infants born at the higher altitude than the values of infants born at the lower altitude. At the higher elevation there was sustained elevation of bilirubin in both bottle-fed and breast-fed infants. These findings suggest that there is a response in the body to the decreased availability of oxygen at increased elevations, which results in increased production and delayed excretion of bilirubin, causing elevated levels of bilirubin in the blood. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Causes of, Environmental aspects, Neonatal jaundice, Hyperbilirubinemia, Altitude, Influence of

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