Blood And Pharyngeal Swab Polymerase Chain Reaction Testing: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Implications in Children With Acute Nonbacterial Encephalitis.

Background: Children with acute nonbacterial encephalitis are often treated with extended antimicrobial therapies. Negative results from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examinations frequently lead to unnecessary prolongation of empirical treatments due to uncertain etiology. To enhance the identification rate of infectious causative agents, additional tests are increasingly performed on non-CSF specimens, including viral polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing on blood or pharyngeal swabs.

Optimizing antimicrobial routes: risk factor analysis for intravenous therapy in children with preseptal orbital cellulitis.

Background: The optimal route of antimicrobial administration for preseptal orbital cellulitis (OC) in children remains uncertain. While mild cases may be managed with oral therapy, distinguishing between mild and severe presentations is challenging. The recently proposed ASSET score offers a tool for assessing the severity of skin and soft tissue infections, but prospective validation in large cohorts of preseptal OC is lacking.

Esophageal food bolus impaction in children: A 15-year experience and a review.

Objectives: We aimed to analyze the episodes of esophageal food bolus impaction (EFI) occurred over a time of 15 years in children admitted to a large pediatric emergency department (PED), documenting their clinical presentation, underlying pathology, management, biopsy rate, and follow-up visits. Additionally, to combine our institutional experience with the existing literature, a comprehensive review was conducted.

Methods: We reviewed the medical records of all children presenting to our PED with EFI from 2010 to 2024.