Jesda Singhavejsakul

Cytomegalovirus-associated manifestations involving the digestive tract in children with human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Objective To study the clinical manifestations of gastrointestinal cytomegalovirus disease in children with human immunodeficiency virus infection. Methods Review of clinical records of eight human immunodeficiency virus–infected children and histopathologically confirmed gastrointestinal cytomegalovirus disease from 1995 to 2001. Results Six of the eight children were younger than 1 year. The most common clinical presentations were fever and chronic diarrhea. Lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage and bowel perforation were noted in four and three patients, respectively. The colon was the most commonly affected site, followed by the small bowel and esophagus. The diagnosis was established by histopathology, obtained during endoscopy and surgery. Mucosal edema, erythema, and ulcer comprised the most common endoscopic findings. Two patients with fever, chronic diarrhea, and lower gastrointestinal bleeding developed remission after being treated with a 14-day course of ganciclovir. Conclusion Gastrointestinal cytomegalovirus disease can result in serious life-threatening complications, such as bowel perforation and massive gastrointestinal bleeding. Patients with chronic diarrhea and fever of unidentified cause might benefit from gastrointestinal endoscopy for early diagnosis and treatment. Although ganciclovir does not eradicate the infection and relapses are frequent, this treatment can prevent complications and reduce morbidity.

Clinical prediction rules for failed nonoperative reduction of intussusception

Purpose The nonoperative reduction of intussusception in children can be performed safely if there are no contraindications. Many risk factors associated with failed reduction were defined. The aim of this study was to develop a scoring system for predicting the failure of nonoperative reduction using various determinants. Patients and methods The data were collected from Chiang Mai University Hospital and Siriraj Hospital from January 2006 to December 2012. Inclusion criteria consisted of patients with intussusception aged 0–15 years with no contraindications for nonoperative reduction. The clinical prediction rules were developed using significant risk factors from the multivariable analysis. Results A total of 170 patients with intussusception were included in the study. In the final analysis model, 154 patients were used for identifying the significant risk factors of failure of reduction. Ten factors clustering by the age of 3 years were identified and used for developing the clinical prediction rules, and the factors were as follows: body weight <12 kg (relative risk [RR] =1.48, P=0.004), duration of symptoms >48 hours (RR =1.26, P<0.001), vomiting (RR =1.63, P<0.001), rectal bleeding (RR =1.50, P<0.001), abdominal distension (RR =1.60, P=0.003), temperature >37.8°C (RR =1.51, P<0.001), palpable mass (RR =1.26, P<0.001), location of mass (left over right side RR =1.48, P<0.001), ultrasound showed poor prognostic signs (RR =1.35, P<0.001), and the method of reduction (hydrostatic over pneumatic, RR =1.34, P=0.023). Prediction scores ranged from 0 to 16. A high-risk group (scores 12–16) predicted a greater chance of reduction failure (likelihood ratio of positive [LR+] =18.22, P<0.001). A low-risk group (score 0–11) predicted a lower chance of reduction failure (LR+ =0.79, P<0.001). The performance of the scoring model was 80.68% (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve). Conclusion This scoring guideline was used to predict the results of nonoperative reduction and forecast the prognosis of the failed reduction. The usefulness of these prediction scores is for informing the parents before the reduction. This scoring system can be used as a guide to promote the possible referral of the cases to tertiary centers with facilities for nonoperative reduction if possible.

Adenovirus infection: A potential risk for developing intussusception in pediatric patients

The pathogenesis of intussusception without obvious anatomical leading points remains unclear. The objective of this study was to determine a feasibility of association between certain gastroenteritis viruses and intussusception. This was a prospective cohort study. Forty intussusception cases and 136 acute gastroenteritis controls with comparable age and gender were separately consecutively enrolled and relevant clinical data of both groups were recorded. The clinical specimens collected from all patients were screened for adenovirus, rotavirus, norovirus, and astrovirus by PCR and RT‐PCR using specific primers. The genomes of detected viruses were characterized further to identify their genotypes by nucleotide sequencing. In 40 intussusception cases, adenovirus, rotavirus, and norovirus were detected in 12 (30.0%), 2 (5.0%), and 2 (5.0%), respectively while astrovirus was undetectable. In contrast, 136 acute gastroenteritis patients, adenovirus, rotavirus, and norovirus were detected in 11 (8.1%), 24 (17.7%), and 24 (17.7%) patients, respectively and again astrovirus was undetectable. The detection of adenovirus in intussusception patients was significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.001) with an odd ratio of 4.87 (95%CI: 1.95, 12.16). Interestingly, molecular analysis of adenovirus genome demonstrated that all of adenovirus detected in intussusception patients belonged to adenovirus C. This could be a potential risk factor or pathogenesis for developing intussusception in the cases of those without apparent anatomical leading points. J. Med. Virol. 88:1930–1935, 2016.

Enema reduction of intussusception: the success rate of hydrostatic and pneumatic reduction

Purpose Intussusception is a common surgical emergency in infants and children. The incidence of intussusception is from one to four per 2,000 infants and children. If there is no peritonitis, perforation sign on abdominal radiographic studies, and nonresponsive shock, nonoperative reduction by pneumatic or hydrostatic enema can be performed. The purpose of this study was to compare the success rates of both the methods. Methods Two institutional retrospective cohort studies were performed. All intussusception patients (ICD-10 code K56.1) who had visited Chiang Mai University Hospital and Siriraj Hospital from January 2006 to December 2012 were included in the study. The data were obtained by chart reviews and electronic databases, which included demographic data, symptoms, signs, and investigations. The patients were grouped according to the method of reduction followed into pneumatic reduction and hydrostatic reduction groups with the outcome being the success of the reduction technique. Results One hundred and seventy episodes of intussusception occurring in the patients of Chiang Mai University Hospital and Siriraj Hospital were included in this study. The success rate of pneumatic reduction was 61% and that of hydrostatic reduction was 44% (P=0.036). Multivariable analysis and adjusting of the factors by propensity scores were performed; the success rate of pneumatic reduction was 1.48 times more than that of hydrostatic reduction (P=0.036, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.03–2.13). Conclusion Both pneumatic and hydrostatic reduction can be performed safely according to the experience of the radiologist or pediatric surgeon and hospital setting. This study showed that pneumatic reduction had a higher success rate than hydrostatic reduction.

Intrathoracic gastric volvulus

A 10-day-old boy was referred for repair of left-side diaphragmatic hernia (Fig. 1). The following day he developed worsening respiratory distress. A follow-up chest radiograph showed a large, oval-shaped radiolucency suggesting massive intrathoracic gastric dilatation, presumably through the diaphragmatic hernia (Fig. 2). At surgery, an organoaxial gastric volvulus through a Bochdalek hernia was found. There were multiple decompressed bowel loops posterior to the gastric volvulus.

Prognostic indicators for failed nonsurgical reduction of intussusception.

Purpose To identify the risk factors for failure of nonsurgical reduction of intussusception. Methods Data from intussusception patients who were treated with nonsurgical reduction in Chiang Mai University Hospital and Siriraj Hospital between January 2006 and December 2012 were collected. Patients aged 0–15 years and without contraindications (peritonitis, abdominal X-ray signs of perforation, and/or hemodynamic instability) were included for nonsurgical reduction. The success and failure groups were divided according to the results of the reduction. Prognostic indicators for failed reduction were identified by using generalized linear model for exponential risk regression. The risk ratio (RR) was used to report each factor. Results One hundred and ninety cases of intussusception were enrolled. Twenty cases were excluded due to contraindications. A total of 170 cases of intussusception were included for the final analysis. The significant risk factors for reduction failure clustered by an age of 3 years were weight <12 kg (RR =1.48, P=0.004), symptom duration >3 days (RR =1.26, P<0.001), vomiting (RR =1.63, P<0.001), rectal bleeding (RR =1.50, P<0.001), abdominal distension (RR =1.60, P=0.003), temperature >37.8°C (RR =1.51, P<0.001), palpable abdominal mass (RR =1.26, P<0.001), location of mass (left over right side) (RR =1.48, P<0.001), poor prognostic signs on ultrasound scans (RR =1.35, P<0.001), and method of reduction (hydrostatic over pneumatic) (RR =1.34, P=0.023). The prediction ability of this model was 82.21% as assessed from the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Conclusion The identified prognostic factors for the nonsurgical reduction failure may help to predict the reduction outcome and provide information to the parents.

Intussusception in Premature Baby: Unusual Cause of Bowel Obstruction and Perforation

Intussusception in a premature baby is a rare condition. We report a male preterm infant, who developed abdominal distension and abdominal wall erythema. He was operated with suspicion of NEC but an ileo-ileal intussusception and intestinal perforation were encountered at operation.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome following esophageal varice sclerotherapy

We report serious pleuropulmonary complications in a 6-year-old girl with an underlying extrahepatic biliary atresia who underwent esophageal varice sclerotherapy (EVS). The EVS was performed paravariceally with a 25-gauge disposable injection needle using polidocanol as a sclerosant. A total of 11 ml of the agent was injected in this session. The patient reported epigastric pain and developed a high fever with tachypnea at 11 and 17 h after the procedure, respectively. After 72 h following the EVS, she became dyspnic and required much more oxygen therapy. A follow-up chest X-ray revealed a moderate right pleural effusion and widening of the mediastinum. The arterial blood gas, obtained during FiO2 of 0.8, revealed PaO2 of 123 mmHg. Bilateral alveolar infiltration was noted in the follow-up chest X-rays. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was diagnosed. She was supportively treated with mechanical ventilator, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and right chest drainage. The patient was discharged home after a 3-week hospitalization with propranolol prophylaxis. A pathogenesis of ARDS following EVS was reviewed.