Pertussis is an acute respiratory tract infection; the term pertussis means “intense cough” and is preferable to whooping cough, because most infected individuals do not “whoop.” Etiology Bordetella pertussis is the cause of epidemic pertussis and the usual cause of…
The selection of optimal antibiotic therapy for presumed bacterial infection is based on the assessment of the balance of benefits and risks of specific therapy for each child. Prescribing the right antibiotic(s) early in the course of a serious infection…
Acute Phase Response Stimuli of many kinds, including infection, trauma, hemorrhage, or ischemia, activate the innate immune system through binding of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and/or danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) to pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) on the surface of neutrophils, monocytes,…
Botulism is a neuroparalytic disease of humans and other animals caused by the action of a heat-labile neurotoxin produced almost exclusively by Clostridium botulinum. Botulism is categorized by modes of acquisition: (1) infant botulism, which results from intestinal colonization, outgrowth,…
Classification Anaerobic bacteria predominate on normal skin and among the bacterial flora of mucous membranes. , Infections caused by anaerobic bacteria are common, arise from the sites where they are normal flora (endogenous), and can be serious or life-threatening. Anaerobic…
Pertussis is an acute respiratory tract infection that was well described in the 1500s and endemic in Europe by the 1600s; its current worldwide prevalence is dampened only by continuous use of active immunization. Sydenham first used the term pertussis…
In 1918, Helmholz recognized the cryptogenic nature and underdiagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI) in the newborn. His observations still hold true today. There are no specific signs of UTI in a newborn; the clinical presentation can vary, ranging from…
Mucopurulent Rhinorrhea Mucopurulent rhinorrhea (i.e., purulent nasal discharge) denotes nasal discharge that is thick, opaque, and colored. It occurs at any age and usually is a manifestation of a self-limited and uncomplicated viral upper respiratory tract infection (URI). Mucopurulent rhinorrhea…
Optimal evaluation of patients with prolonged, recurring, or periodic fever requires extensive review of signs and symptoms to establish the onset and cardinal features of illness, to define the exact fever pattern, and to understand the context of illness within…
Generally, in differentiating between bacterial and viral causes of febrile illnesses in children, the more mucous membranes involved in the patient’s illness (e.g., conjunctiva, throat, respiratory, gastrointestinal tract), the more likely the cause is viral. When multiple mucous membranes are…