Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci Staphylococcus epidermidis and other coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), once considered nonpathogenic commensal organisms, now are recognized clearly as potential true pathogens, particularly in hospitalized patients and those with indwelling foreign bodies. Multiple surveys have shown that CoNS are the…
Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge substantial use of Robert S. Duam’s work in this chapter in the previous edition. Staphylococcus aureus is the most virulent species of the genus Staphylococcus and the most common pathogen isolated among pediatric patients in North…
The ability to differentiate among distinct groups of organisms and to communicate with a common language about organisms in the context of disease is essential for clinical microbiologists and for physicians caring for patients. The official taxonomic ranks for naming…
The treatment and prognosis of pediatric HIV infection have changed dramatically since the start of the epidemic in the 1980s. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Panel on Antiretroviral Therapy and Medical Management of HIV-Infected Children has developed…
Opportunistic infections (OIs) were key to the identification of the AIDS and have been a major cause of HIV-associated morbidity and mortality. An unusual clustering of cases of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia ( Pneumocystis pneumonia, PCP) in the early 1980s led…
Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge the use of substantial material from this chapter in the previous edition. Most cases of HIV infection in infants and young children result from perinatal transmission, which can occur in utero, during labor and delivery, or…
In the absence of antiretroviral therapy, most HIV-1 infections in children are due to mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. In settings where maternal HIV testing and treatment are available most infections occur during adolescence (see Chapter 109 )…
The epidemiology of infection with HIV type 1 (HIV) in infants, children, and adolescents has evolved dramatically since the first case of pediatric HIV infection was described in 1983. This evolution is due in part to improvements in the management…
Corticosteroids play a key role in the management of many neoplastic, autoimmune, allergic, and autoinflammatory disorders. Corticosteroids are used for their lympholytic and antiinflammatory effects during infection, for example, to prevent airway obstruction during croup or Epstein-Barr virus−associated tonsillitis, or…
Biologic response modifying drugs (BRMs) are substances that interact with the host immune system and modify it. BRMs include cytokines, chemokines, and antibodies that occur naturally in the body to protect against infections. Synthetic BRMs generally target or mimic natural…