Sequelae from meningococcal meningitis in children: a critical analysis of dexamethasone therapy.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of dexamethasone as an adjunctive therapy to antibiotics in children with meningococcal meningitis.

Method: A total of 81 children diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis hospitalized in sequence were studied at the University Hospital of São Paulo University, with the objective of evaluating the presence of sequelae in four different groups of patients, following the administration of dexamethasone: Group I - 25 patients who received the first dose at least 10 minutes before the introduction of the antibiotic therapy; Group II - 19 patients who received the corticosteroid concomitantly; Group III - 14 patients for which the dexamethasone was administered after beginning the antibiotic scheme; Group IV - 23 patients that did not receive dexamethasone. The groups were evaluated for homogeneity through the prognostic indexes and clinical and laboratory characteristics, based on the records obtained at hospitalization.

[Evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of dexamethasone in meningococcal meningitis].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of dexamethasone as an auxiliary therapeutic tool to the antibiotics in hospitalized children with meningococcal meningitis. METHODS: A retrospective clinical comparative study was undertaken with children from a pediatric ward affected by laboratory proved meningococcal meningitis at a university hospital. Cases of children in state of shock at admission or deceased in the first 24 hours were excluded.

[Idiopathic primary pulmonary hemosiderosis: treatment with cyclophosphamide and prednisone].

The authors present the case of a child diagnosed as having idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis at five years of age who had a good clinical outcome at the age of ten years. Initially the patient was treated with prednisone and chloroquine with poor results. When cyclophosphamide was added to prednisone, the patient demonstrated clinical and radiological remission.

[Evaluation of the establishment of a clinical pediatrics program for the students of 6th year of medicine at the University Hospital of the Universidade de São Paulo].

The authors present an educational investigation performed with students of the 6th year of the University of São Paulo Medical School. The results of the diagnostic evaluation employed with the fifth grade students in 1984 defining the target-population of the future course; the results of the questionnaire used with the assistants of, the teaching body of the course. The formulation of the terminal objectives of the course and the results of its operation during 1985, are presented.

[A serological inquiry for the detection of antibodies against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in children in a general ward].

The results of a serum inquiry for detection of antibodies against the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus in a non selected group of children, patients of a general pediatric ward, are reported. Of the 441 cases, the ELISA test gave a positive result for 1.1% of them.