Occurrence of Potential Adverse Drug Events from Prescribing Errors in a Pediatric Intensive and High Dependency Unit in Hong Kong: An Observational Study.

Background: Critically ill pediatric patients are considered at high risk for medication errors. Although much research focuses on the actual errors, equally important are medication errors that, although intercepted, carried the potential for an adverse drug event. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of prescribing errors and potential adverse drug events (pADEs) in a local pediatric intensive and critical care unit (PICU) in Hong Kong.

Attitudes toward neonatal intensive care treatment of preterm infants with a high risk of developing long-term disabilities.

Objectives: To assess (1) the differences in attitudes toward disabilities of 3 groups of subjects involved in neonatal care decision-making: health care workers, mothers of term infants, and parents of preterm infants, and (2) the impact of subject characteristics on these attitudes including parental education level, religion, and severity of disability.

Methods: Five hundred seventy-eight subjects were interviewed, of whom 135 were health care workers, 155 were mothers of term infants, and 288 were parents of preterm infants. We assessed between-group differences of the (1) health state ranking permutations, (2) proportion of subjects willing to save the infant at all costs, (3) pivotal risks of each group to the 5 health states comprising varying combinations of mental, physical, and social disabilities, and (4) impact of personal characteristics on decision-making.

Probable intrafamilial transmission of coxsackievirus b3 with vertical transmission, severe early-onset neonatal hepatitis, and prolonged viral RNA shedding.

Here we report a familial cluster of 3 cases of coxsackievirus B3 infection: a recent history of illness in a woman's 3-year-old son with a coxsackievirus B3-positive stool culture indicated that he probably infected his mother at home during her last week of pregnancy. Consequently, she delivered an infected neonate who developed severe hepatitis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and bilateral intracranial hemorrhage. The neonate remained well for the first 2 days of life.

Persistent Staphylococcus capitis septicemia in a preterm infant.

A preterm infant had persistent Staphylococcus capitis septicemia with 11 consecutive positive blood cultures over a period of 33 days. The clinical evidence suggested that the source of infection probably originated from the gastrointestinal tract. The combination of rifampin and linezolid treatment, together with prolonged stoppage of enteral feeding, successfully terminated the infection.

Atmospheric deposition and fluxes of organochlorine pesticides and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls in aquatic environments of Hong Kong, China.

Concentrations of organochlorine (OC) pesticides and coplanar (dioxin-like) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in bulk deposition were measured at the Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve (MPMNR) and A Chau, which are both important habitats for waterbirds in Hong Kong. OC pesticides exempted from the Stockholm Convention were present in greater concentrations than those that have been restricted for use in the region. Among the OC pesticides, HCB, sigmaDDTs, and sigmaHCHs were detected.