Respiratory infections in low and middle-income countries.

Objectives: To investigate the epidemiology, aetiology, diagnostics and management of childhood pneumonia in low and middle income countries (LMICs).

Design: Review of published english literature from 2019 to February 2024.

Results: Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) still result in significant mortality in children under 5 years of age in LMICs.

Cardiometabolic Risk Profiles of Adolescents Living With Perinatally Acquired HIV in South Africa.

Background: We assessed the Pathological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth (PDAY) score and other potential cardiovascular disease risk factors in adolescents previously enrolled in the Children with HIV Early antiRetroviral (CHER) and International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Network P1060 clinical trials.

Methods: Coronary artery and abdominal aorta (AA) PDAY scores were calculated for 56 participants over 15 years of age using a weighted combination of dyslipidemia, cigarette smoking, hypertension, obesity, and hyperglycemia. A PDAY score ≥1 is associated with early atherosclerosis.

Interventional bronchoscopy in pediatric pulmonary tuberculosis.

Introduction: Lymphobronchial tuberculosis (TB) is common in children with primary TB and enlarged lymph nodes can cause airway compression of the large airways. If not treated correctly, airway compression can result in persistent and permanent parenchymal pathology, as well as irreversible lung destruction. Bronchoscopy was originally used to collect diagnostic samples; however, its role has evolved, and it is now used as an interventional tool in the diagnosis and management of complicated airway disease.

A descriptive study of vancomycin use at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Cape Town.

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship principles guide the clinical use of antimicrobials, including vancomycin, but paediatric vancomycin prescribing practices have not been evaluated in South Africa.

Objectives: To document the use, prescribing practices and monitoring of intravenous vancomycin and the spectrum of bacteria isolated on microbiological culture in children treated with intravenous vancomycin during a 12-month period at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital (RCWMCH).

Method: A retrospective audit of intravenous vancomycin use in children admitted to RCWMCH during 2019 was performed.

A rare mutation causing autosomal dominant STAT1 deficiency in a South African multiplex kindred with disseminated BCG infection.

Background: Autosomal dominant signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) deficiency, part of the Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial disease (MSMD) group, frequently causes disseminated Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) infections, but has not been reported from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where routine birth BCG vaccination is practiced.

Case Presentation: Two half-siblings presented five years apart, with multifocal osteomyelitis as the dominant feature of disseminated BCG, which was successfully treated with antimycobacterial therapy. Whole exome sequencing demonstrated a novel heterozygous substitution in the splice site between intron 13 and exon 14 of the STAT1 gene, NM_007315: c.

Descriptive analysis of infections due to New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales in children at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital.

The increased incidence and absence of antibiotic treatment options for New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM)-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) infection are concerning. Recent reports have highlighted NDM-producing , as a specific concern, as it is an organism which is intrinsically resistant to colistin. In this study, a descriptive analysis of NDM-producing CRE infections was performed at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital.

The Outcome of Accidental Bacille Calmette-Guérin Overdose During Routine Neonatal Immunization.

We report a retrospective study on outcome of 14 newborn infants who received 62.5 times the recommended dose of Bacille Calmette-Guérin for immunization. All infants then received high-dose isoniazid and rifampicin (20 mg/kg/d each) as preventive therapy for 6 months.