During pregnancy, steroids are usually used in maternal diseases such as adrenal failure or other autoimmune diseases, e.g. idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), Crohn’s disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, scleroderma, Addison’s disease and hyperemesis gravidarum, HELLP syndrome. Endogenous or exogenous maternal steroids are metabolized by the placental enzyme 11 beta-hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase type 2. Prednisolone and methylprednisolone are highly sensitive to this enzyme, while dexamethasone and betamethasone are less well metabolized. Steroids which can cross the placental barrier are administered in cases like fetal lupus, congenital adrenal hyperplasia and for enhancement of fetal lung maturation, whereas steroids used in maternal diseases are usually the ones with low affinity to the placenta; however, in case of long-term use or in high doses, placental enzyme saturation occurs and thus, resulting in fetal adrenal suppression. Antenatal steroids can lead to low birth weight, as observed in our patient. Here, we report a case with fetal adrenal suppression due to maternal methylprednisolone use presenting with early hypoglycaemia and late hyponatremia in neonatal period and requiring three-month replacement therapy. Conflict of interest:None declared.
Brucella infections have a wide spectrum of symptoms especially in children, making the diagnosis a complicated process. The gold standard for the final diagnosis for brucellosis is to identify the Brucella spp. isolated from blood or bone marrow cultures. The main purpose of this work was to evaluate the factors affecting the isolation of Brucella spp. from blood cultures. In our study, the ratio of fever, presence of hepatomegaly, and splenomegaly were found to be higher in the bacteremic group. In addition, C-reactive protein levels and liver function enzymes were found to be higher in the bacteremic group. In our opinion, while evaluating the febrile child with suspected Brucella infection, we highly recommend sampling blood cultures regardless of the history of previous antimicrobial therapy and duration of the symptoms.
Arthrogryposis-renal dysfunction-cholestasis syndrome is a rare lethal disorder that involves multipl organ system. It is inherited autosomal recessive and caused by defects in the VPS33B and VIPAR genes. Three cardinal findings of this syndrome are arthrogryposis, renal tubular dysfunction and cholestasis.The other organ involvements including ichthyosis, central nervous system malformation, platelet anomalies, congenital heart defects and severe failure to thrive are sometimes associated with this syndrome. Clinical findings, organ biopsy and mutational analysis can help for diagnosing but there is no curative treatment except supportive care. Several symptoms of this condition are already usually present in the neonatal period: arthrogryposis, neonatal cholestasis, skin lesions, among others. Usually survival is until the first year of life. We present a newborn whose evolution was rapidly fatal.
Radioactive iodine (RAI) is used effectively in the treatment of hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer, but it is contraindicated during pregnancy. RAI treatment during pregnancy can lead to fetal hypothyroidism, mental retardation and increased malignancy risk in the infant. Pregnancy tests must be performed before treatment in all women of reproductive age. However, at times, RAI is being used before ruling out pregnancy.We herein present a male newborn infant with congenital hypothyroidism whose mother was given a three-week course of methimazole therapy for her multiple hyperactive nodules and subsequently received 20 mCi RAI during the 12th week of her pregnancy. The patient was referred to our neonatology unit at age two weeks when his thyrotropin (TSH) level was reported to be high in the neonatal screening test. Physical examination was normal. Laboratory investigations revealed hypothyroidism (free triiodothyronine 1.55 pg/mL, free thyroxine 2.9 pg/mL, TSH 452 mU/L, thyroglobulin 20.1 ng/mL). The thyroid gland could not be visualized by ultrasonography. L-thyroxine treatment was initiated. Conflict of interest:None declared.
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