In children and adolescents, inguinal lymphadenopathy often occurs as part of generalized lymphadenopathy caused by systemic disease. In contrast, isolated inguinal lymphadenopathy commonly results from localized infections of the groin, buttocks, lower abdominal wall, or lower extremities. Firm or fixed…
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), while youth age 15–24 account for only one-quarter of the sexually active population in the US, they are responsible for nearly half of the 20 million new sexually transmitted infections…
Infections of the genitourinary tract in children remain a significant health concern, accounting for 52–56 hospitalizations per 100,000 children with the majority of these children <2 years old, and more than 1.1 million US physician visits annually. Of all infectious…
The finding of even some eosinophils in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) raises the suspicion of certain pathologic states. Helminthic infestation of the central nervous system (CNS), particularly with the rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis, is the most common cause of eosinophilic…
Despite diverse causes of focal suppurative nervous system infections, a few mostly gram-positive bacterial species predominate, usually related to the infectious portal. Risk factors include cyanotic congenital heart disease (CCHD), hematogenous spread from distant infected sites, penetrating trauma/instrumentation, or contiguous…
Inflammation of the central or peripheral nervous system can produce a myriad of symptoms depending on the site of injury. The inflammation often arises during, or in response to, an infection. However, the same syndrome can be seen when there…
Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain parenchyma. Typical signs and symptoms include fever, headache, and altered mental status. Patients often will have associated meningeal inflammation (i.e., meningoencephalitis ) . For the purposes of this chapter, the terms encephalitis and meningoencephalitis…
The term acute aseptic meningitis (AM) was introduced in 1925 to describe a self-limited central nervous system (CNS) syndrome characterized by acute onset of fever and meningeal irritation in which the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) exhibited a mononuclear pleocytosis and was…
Recurrent meningitis typically is defined as two or more separate episodes of meningitis and associated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis that occur weeks to months apart with full recovery between events. In contrast, recrudescence or relapsed meningitis represents the persistence of…
Chronic meningitis is defined arbitrarily as persistent or progressive signs and symptoms of meningeal irritation plus cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis lasting for at least 4 weeks without improvement. The symptoms of chronic meningitis vary, but most patients have a gradual…