Whooping cough is a relatively new infectious disease afflicting human beings, compared with other infectious diseases, and is undergoing a resurgence despite decades of vaccination. The oldest known epidemic is thought to be the Paris outbreak of 1578. In this Historical Review, we describe three epidemics of whooping cough in Persia, which although arising roughly one century before the Paris outbreak, have not been examined in detail. A great amount of epidemiological detail was reported that not only distinguishes the various stages and complications of whooping cough, but also reveals unique immunological aspects of this disease. The first of these epidemics is the oldest recorded whooping cough epidemic. On the basis of epidemiological features, we propose that this whooping cough epidemic was the first to have taken place in Persia and might have been part of the first pandemic. This theory pushes back the date of first documented emergence of whooping cough by almost a century, which matches molecular data about its spread. Here, we discuss features of these early epidemics in relation to their initial emergence, potential origins, and spread to Europe.

Choledochal cyst is a rare and often benign congenital cystic dilation throughout the biliary tree. Due to the benign nature of choledochal cyst among early-diagnosed patients, the clinical assumption and diagnosis seem to be of utmost significance. Therefore, we sought to assess different clinical manifestations of choledochal cyst and relevant laboratory findings in infants and older children.Retrospectively, medical records of all patients with the diagnosis of choledochal cyst between 2005 and 2015 were reviewed. Demographic data, initial clinical presentation, positive findings on physical examination, history of any remarkable behavior such as persistent and unexplained crying and poor feeding, and diagnostic imaging modalities were listed. In addition, laboratory values for total and direct bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, prothrombin time, and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) were recorded for each patient. Patients were divided into 2 groups; younger than 1-year-old (infants), and 1 year to 18 years old (older children). Demographic data, clinical data, and laboratory values were compared between the infants and older children.Thirty-two patients with a diagnosis of choledochal cyst were included in the study: 9 patients (28.12%) were infants and 23 patients (71.87%) were older children. Abdominal pain was the most common presenting symptom (62.5%), followed by nausea/vomiting (59.4%) and jaundice (28.1%). None of the patients presented with the classic triad of abdominal pain, jaundice, and right upper quadrant mass. Seventeen older children (73.91%) presented with nausea and vomiting, while 2 subjects (22.22%) in the infantile group presented with this feature (P = .01). Similarly, abdominal pain was found in 20 older children (86.95%); however, none of the infants presented with abdominal pain at diagnosis (P < .001). By contrast, the abdominal mass was more detected in infants than the older children (33.33% vs. 0%, P = .01). In terms of laboratory values, the median PTT was 44 and 36 s in infants and older children, respectively (P = .04).Infants were more likely to present with abdominal mass and older children were more likely to have nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Furthermore, infants had more prolonged PTT than older children, implying a potential bleeding tendency.

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Introduction and Aims: Depending on the size of the gap between esophageal ends, esophageal atresia is divided into short-gap and long-gap. The latter makes surgical repair more difficult, posing further unexpected challenges for operating surgeons. Therefore, predicting the presence of long-gap esophageal atresia prior to surgery is of clinical significance. The aim of this study was to compare kidney anomalies between patients with long-gap and short-gap esophageal atresia. Methods: In a retrospective study between 2007 and 2015, medical records of all newborns managed for esophageal atresia/tracheoesophageal fistula were reviewed. The kidney anomalies including hydronephrosis, kidney agenesis, ectopic kidney, extrarenal pelvis, horseshoe kidney, vesicoureteral reflux, and other anomalies were recorded. Demographic data and the kidney anomalies were compared between the long-gap and short-gap esophageal atresia patients. Results: Four hundred and twenty children with esophageal atresia were studied. Of these, 356 patients with complete ultrasonographic assessment of urinary system were divided into short-gap esophageal atresia (310 patients, 87%) and long-gap esophageal atresia (46 patients, 13%) groups. The most common kidney anomaly in both groups was hydronephrosis (43 patients, 12%), followed by agenesis (14 patients, 3.9%), and ectopic kidney (7 patients, 1.9%). Among the studied kidney anomalies, kidney agenesis was detected in 9 (2.9%) and 5 (10.8%) patients in the short-gap and long-gap esophageal atresia groups, respectively (P=0.02, Odds ratio= 4.07). Binary logistic regression analysis also revealed that only kidney agenesis was related to the presence of long-gap esophageal atresia (P=0.01). Conclusions: Among the kidney anomalies, only kidney agenesis seems to predict the presence of long-gap esophageal atresia. This may imply the ultrasonographic significance of kidney agenesis in discrimination between two types of esophageal atresia, i.e. short-and long-gap, prior to the surgical approach.