Introduction: Multidrug-resistant typhoid fever (MDRTF) is defined as typhoid fever caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi strains (S. Typhi), which are resistant to the first-line recommended drugs for treatment such as chloramphenicol, ampicillin and trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole. Since the mid-1980s, MDRTF has caused outbreaks in several countries in the developing world, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality, especially in affected children below five years of age and those who are malnourished. Methodology: Two methods were used to gather the information presented in this article. First PubMed was searched for English language references to published relevant articles. Secondly, chapters on typhoid fever in standard textbooks of paediatric infectious diseases and preventive and social medicine were reviewed. Results: Although there are no pathognomonic clinical features of MDRTF at the onset of the illness, high fever ( > 104°F), toxaemia, abdominal distension, abdominal tenderness, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly are often reported. The gold standard for the diagnosis of MDRTF is bacterial isolation of the organism in blood cultures. Ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone are the drugs most commonly used for treatment of MDRTF and produce good clinical results. Conclusion: MDRTF remains a major public health problem, particularly in developing countries. Mass immunization in endemic areas with either the oral live attenuated Typhi 21a or the injectable unconjugated Vi typhoid vaccine, rational use of antibiotics, improvement in public sanitation facilities, availability of clean drinking water, promotion of safe food handling practices and public health education are vital in the prevention of MDRTF.

Histopathological examination is considered as gold standard procedure for arriving at a final diagnosis of various lesions of the human body. However, it is limited by a number of alterations of normal morphologic and cytological features that occur as a result of presence of artifacts. These artifacts may occur during surgical removal, fixation, tissue processing, embedding and microtomy and staining and mounting procedures. They can even lead to complete uselessness of the tissue. It is therefore essential to identify the commonly occurring artifacts during histopathological interpretations of tissue sections. This article reviews the common artifacts encountered during slide examination alongside the remedial measures which can be undertaken to differentiate between an artifact and tissue constituent.

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Based on this review of the clinical and laboratory features of dengue fever and leptospirosis, we conclude that following the heavy rainfall event on 26 July 2005, there was a concurrent outbreak of leptospirosis and dengue among children presenting to our hospital.

Background and ObjectiveOctreotide is a somatostatin analogue and has been used off-label for a variety of conditions. There are no specific guidelines for the use of octreotide in neonates and its safety and efficacy have not been systematically evaluated. The objective of this study is to present our experience of using octreotide therapy in neonates.MethodsThis is a retrospective study of neonates who received octreotide therapy during their hospital stay over a 15 years period (2003–2017) in a tertiary neonatal centre. The demographic details and indications of octreotide therapy including time of initiation, route, dose, duration and adverse effects of therapy were noted. The clinical course following octreotide administration was also analysed.ResultsEleven neonates received octreotide therapy during the study period, of which nine had chylothorax and two had chylous ascites. Resolution of the chylous effusion with octreotide therapy was achieved in 4 out of 11 (36.3%) of the cases. The median duration of octreotide therapy in cases with successful resolution was 17.5 days. With the exception of minor side effects such as hyperglycaemia, none of the patients had any significant side effects that required discontinuation of therapy.ConclusionOctreotide was used safely as an adjunctive therapy for the treatment of chylothorax and chylous ascites in neonates. However, larger prospective controlled trials are required to establish the optimal dose, time of initiation, duration and efficacy of octreotide therapy in neonates.

Ortner syndrome or cardiovocal syndrome refers to hoarseness of voice due to recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis secondary to cardiovascular disease. We present three cases of Ortner syndrome in infants with congenital heart disease. All the three cases had moderate to severe pulmonary hypertension with moderately dilated pulmonary artery. We believe that the dilated pulmonary artery caused compression of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve resulting in hoarseness of voice.

Piperacillin/tazobactam is a commonly prescribed antibiotic and is generally considered safe. We report a case of a 2-year-old girl who developed hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis and bradycardia after receiving intravenous piperacillin-tazobactam for bronchopneumonia. Upon withdrawal of the drug, serum potassium normalized in 2 days. Hypokalemia is a serious adverse effect of piperacillin-tazobactam and should be suspected while treating patients with this drug. Early recognition and prompt withdrawal of the drug will result in lesser morbidity.

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