Agnieszka Krauze

Plastic bronchitis: an unusual cause of atelectasis.

A 4-year-old boy was admitted to a regional hospital with a 2-day history of fever, cough and dyspnea. His past medical history was unremarkable. On admission, the child presented with fever (38.5 ° C) and respiratory distress. The breath sounds were diminished on the left side. The C-reactive protein level and white blood cell count were elevated (5 mg/dl, normal range 0–1, and 15.2 ! 10 9 /l, respectively). The chest radiograph revealed partial atelectasis of the left lung ( fig. 1 ). Treatment with an antibiotic and mucolytic agent was initiated and the patient was transferred to a referral hospital. On the next day, he underwent bronchoscopy, which revealed a whitish rubbery material occluding the left main stem bronchus. A large bronchial cast was removed with a rigid bronchoscope. The shape of the cast outlined the bronchial anatomy ( fig. 2 ), but location and extension of the cast were somewhat discordant with the chest radiograph. The cast was composed of mucus and fibrinous material containing epithelial cells, macrophages and lymphocytes. Microbiological examination of the cast including cultures for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, fungi and mycobacteria gave negative results. Within several days, the white blood cell count returned to normal. A control chest radiograph showed complete resolution of the left lung atelectasis ( fig. 3 ). RePublished online: September 30, 2009

Risk factors for local complications in children with community acquired pneumonia

The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors that could predict the development of local complications (parapneumonic effusion/pleural empyema, necrotizing pneumonia, and lung abscess) in children with community‐acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Contact allergens in cosmetics used in atopic dermatitis: analysis of product composition

Conflicts of interest: There are no conflicts of interest to declare. (1). Their liberal and frequent application results in reductions in inflammation and AD severity (1). Because of diminished skin barrier function, AD patients are at risk of developing contact sensitization (2). Even cosmetic products advertised as hypoallergenic were recently found to contain contact allergens (3). In this study, we systematically searched for sensitizing compounds present in moisturizers used in Poland, in order to estimate the chance of exposure of AD patients to contact sensitizers.

Analysis of the prevalence of allergens listed in European baseline series in products composition used in atopic dermatitis available in Polish online drugstores

Background Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory skin disease. Due to deficient skin barrier function, patients with AD are exposed to higher risk of contact sensitization and allergic contact dermatitis. Basic therapy of AD should consist of optimal skin care pointed at the skin barrier defect with regular use of emollients. Unfortunately, products from this group can potentially comprise compounds listed in European Baseline Series (EBS) used in the patch test allergens. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of allergens listed in European Baseline Series included in preparations available in polish online drugstores. Method About 40 online drugstores were searched by two independent researchers. We included preparations described by the manufacturers as “emollients” or “products able for treatment of atopic dermatitis” and subsequently assessed for their presence of chemical compounds included to list of the EBS(28 most common allergens). The analysis also included the cost of each product (all collected on the same day, 28 Jan 2014).

Wirusowe zapalenie wątroby typu A jako czynnik etiologiczny niedokrwistości aplastycznej

Wirusowe zapalenie wątroby typu A (WZW A) to jedna z najczestszych na świecie chorob zakaźnych. W Polsce az 93% dzieci do 15 roku zycia nie ma przeciwcial chroniących przed nią. Konsekwencjami przebycia WZW A mogą byc aplazja szpiku, zoltaczka cholestatyczna, ostra niewydolnośc nerek, a nawet ostra niewydolnośc wątroby prowadząca do zgonu. WZW A jest przyczyną okolo 0,3–8% nabytych anemii aplastycznych (NAA) u dzieci, ktorych przebieg na ogol jest bardzo ciezki i konczy sie śmiercią u ok. 50% chorych. W latach 1990–2006 w obu klinikach u 81dzieci rozpoznano NAA, w tym u 6 z nich po przebytym WZW A. 4 pacjentow otrzymalo leczenie farmakologiczne, a 2 dzieci mialo wykonany przeszczep komorek hematopoetycznych od zgodnego dawcy rodzinnego. Do dziś 3 dzieci zyje w remisji, w tym jedno po przeszczepie. Zmarlo 3 pacjentow.