[Pneumomediastinum in a young girl with anorexia nervosa].

Background: Pneumomediastinum is a rare complication of anorexia nervosa. It may occur in patients with severe weight loss and a history of induced vomiting.

Case Report: A 14 year-old girl was admitted suffering from severe anorexia nervosa.

Acquired sideroblastic anaemia during treatment of Wilson's disease with triethylene tetramine dihydrochloride.

We report one case of acquired sideroblastic anaemia in a patient treated for Wilson's disease with triethylene tetramine dihydrochloride (TTH). No other cause of acquired sideroblastic anaemia was found, and neither iron nor pyridoxine therapy could correct this anaemia. In contrast, decreasing the dose of TTH led to disappearance of ringed sideroblasts.

Thrombosis in systemic lupus erythematosus: a French collaborative study.

A retrospective study was undertaken of 120 children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) seen in Paris and its immediate suburbs who fulfilled at least four of the American College of Rheumatology diagnostic criteria for SLE, and in whom the disease was diagnosed before the age of 16 and between January 1975 and December 1987. Eleven of these children (eight girls and three boys) all more than 10 years of age (mean follow up 8.1 years; range 3-13) had thrombotic episodes (9%).

[Visceral candidiasis in 2 children treated for acute leukemia].

The authors report two cases of splenic and hepatosplenic candidiasis occurring during a protracted neutropenia induced by chemotherapy for acute leukemia (lymphoblastic and myeloblastic respectively). Fungal infection was revealed by persistent or recurrent fever after correction of neutropenia. Diagnosis was suggested by findings at abdominal ultrasonography.

[Pregnancy and motherhood after liver transplantation in terminal autoimmune active hepatitis with primary amenorrhea].

We report the case of a young patient with end-stage auto-immune chronic active hepatitis and primary amenorrhea who became pregnant 18 months after orthotopic liver transplantation. She continued an uncomplicated pregnancy on treatment with ciclosporin A and spontaneously gave birth to a full term and healthy child.

[Abuse in adolescence. Incest. Apropos of 21 cases].

While violent behavior and delinquency in youth have been extensively described, the different patterns of violence that adolescents are subjected to in their families are far less known. Physical abuse is probably as frequent as in childhood and offers some distinctive features because of its appearance or prolongation in adolescence. Moreover, sexual assaults become more important, especially in girls.

[Child health in the school environment].

The authors studied the consequences of the present school system on children's health. They emphasize the causes of failures, mostly related to a misappreciation of children's individual differences and inequalities of the rate of physical and psychoaffective development. Overloaded school days, the lack of respect of sleep and extra-curricular needs, the overlooking of attention capacities were also studied.

[Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in an adolescent hemophiliac].

In an adolescent with hemophilia B, the diagnosis of AIDS was established in face of cachexia, orodigestive candidiasis, associated with lymphopenia, major decrease in T4/T8 ratio with marked decrease in T helper cells and presence of LAV-antibodies. The patient died rapidly from a cerebral infection due to Toxoplasma gondii. Difficulties in diagnosis and treatment of cerebral toxoplasmosis are discussed.

[Risk-taking behavior and accidents in adolescence in developed countries].

Injuries due to accidents are the primary cause of fatalities among adolescents. Between the ages of 10 and 19, mortality caused by accidents augments significantly, and there is an excess of male mortality, increasing with age. This mortality has remained virtually unchanged over the past 25 years, except for a small narrowing of rate differences by sex.

[Medicine without boundaries, or the adolescent in the hospital].

Some of the most common problems set by the hospitalization of adolescents are summarized and the general conditions and specific problems attendant to this activity are analyzed. Answering the health requirements of adolescents implies that a pluridisciplinary staff be permanently prepared to take action. Strict requirements concerning the distribution of tasks between staff members are necessary.

[Adolescent medicine: who cares for what?].

The expression of adolescence can be defined as a psychic maturation crisis. The purpose of this study was to better understand the specific institutional and health care needs this particular age group requires. The authors have analysed the nature of adolescent care within a pediatric ward, using data obtained from interview material.

[A 3-year study of adolescent hospitalization in a department of pediatrics (author's transl)].

A 3-year experiment in adolescent hospitalization in a department of pediatrics is described. Details are given concerning patient referral to this specialized sub-unit and staff behavior.

Membranous glomerulonephritis and hepatitis B surface antigen in children.

Of 33 children with membranous nephropathy screened for HBs Ag, 14 were found to be HBs Ag carriers, whereas HBs Ag was detected in 3 of 170 and 4 of 100 children with glomerular and nonglomerular kidney diseases, respectively. HBs Ag was often associated with acute hepatitis at onset (five patients) or with elevated transminases values. This high incidence and the prevalence of an unusual subtype (ayw2) suggest a relationship between HBs Ag and the glomerular lesions.

[The role of plasma ferritin determination in screening for iron deficiency. Apropos of a study in 2 groups of children of different socioeconomic background].

A study of 72 children, aged between 6 and 24 months who came from socio-economic background has shown: plasma ferritin levels decrease gradually between 3 weeks and 6 months of age. Between 6 months and two years, levels reach a plateau but the values are lower than those of adults. The mean ferritin level is lower at any given age in children with iron deficiency but plasma ferritin levels may be in the normal range although there is obvious iron deficiency.

[Effects of the main derivatives of vitmain D in 3 siblings with "pseudo-deficiency" rickets].

Three siblings, respectively 20, 16 and 12 years old, presented with hypocalcemic vitamin D resistant rickets (Prader's type). Their clinical history included several periods of spontaneous cessation of therapy, with severe relapses. Since 1973, treatment was strictly observed, allowing to test the therapeutic effects of 25 OH D3, 1-25 (OH) 2 D3 and 1-alpha (OH) D3.