We studied 19 infants with a mean age of 3.8 months who presented with features consistent with acute lead encephalopathy following the use of traditional medicines. All presented with convulsions; CT scans of the brain on admission showed brain oedema in four, atrophy in four and normal findings in 11. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis in nine patients showed pleocytosis in six and a high protein content in eight. The median lead level in these 19 infants which encephalopathy was 3.6 mumol/l (74.5 micrograms/dl). Seven had a mean lead level of only 2.7 mumol/l (56.9 micrograms/dl) which is much below 70 micrograms/dl, the level usually proposed as the threshold for encephalopathy. Thirteen infants developed brain damage during follow-up; statistical analysis correlated the lead level at 2 months post chelation with an abnormal neurological outcome. Our findings indicate that in very young infants acute lead encephalopathy may occur at lead level lower than previously reported.
Six infants, three of them neonates, were diagnosed as having acute lead poisoning; four of them had acute encephalopathy. All had been given an indigenous preparation, 'Bint Al Zahab' (Daughter of Gold), for abdominal colic and early passage of meconium after birth. Chemical analysis of this powder revealed a lead content of 82.5%. The index case had anaemia with punctate basophilia, dense metaphysial lines on X-ray and markedly raised blood lead levels, arousing a strong index of suspicion for the early diagnosis of subsequent cases. Computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan in three cases showed signs of early cerebral cortical atrophy. The picture of cerebral oedema was absent in the four cases of acute lead encephalopathy. The importance of prevention and the ideal management is discussed.
Four neonates with congenital Factor X deficiency presented soon after birth with bleeding episodes. Two of the newborns had intracranial hemorrhages; one of them also had antenatal ventricular dilatation and postnatal hydrocephalus and died of massive intracerebral hemorrhage at four months. One patient was lost for follow up. The two surviving infants were followed up for four years and two years respectively, while on replacement therapy with three injections of 40 units/kg prothrombin complex a month. In spite of markedly elevated prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time, these two infants remain free of major bleeding manifestations except for troublesome petechiae and ecchymoses. A schedule for substitution therapy with Factor X is proposed for infants and children to prevent bleeding in severe Factor X deficiency.
The recommended operative management of unruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm consists of closure of the mouth of the aneurysm with or without aortic valve surgery. We report a case of unruptured aneurysm producing right ventricular outflow tract obstruction. Closure of the mouth of the aneurysm failed to relieve the obstruction, which was subsequently achieved by excising the aneurysmal wall overlying the outflow tract.
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