Selected Infectious Disease Emergencies

Abstract

Fever is common in children, and serious etiologies with significant sequelae must be identified and treated. This chapter discusses the classic and atypical presentations of several important pediatric infectious disease conditions, including bacterial and viral meningitis (inflammation of the meninges that typically occurs in response to an infectious process), infectious encephalitis (inflammation of the brain parenchyma that presents clinically with neurologic dysfunction), retropharyngeal abscess (a potentially life-threatening airway emergency secondary to an infection of the retropharyngeal soft tissue space), and cat scratch disease secondary to Bartonella henselae infection (an infectious lymphadenopathy after exposure to cats or cat fleas). Diagnostic confirmation and treatment of these conditions are also discussed.