Fatal delayed transfusion reaction in a sickle cell anemia patient with Serratia marcescens sepsis.

Patients with sickle cell anemia may require repeated red cell transfusion, putting them at risk for minor blood group alloimmunization and the development of delayed hemolytic transfusion reactions. Although Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in patients with sickle cell anemia, those who have been recently hospitalized are at risk for infection with resistant hospital-associated organisms, and blood transfusion may put the patient at risk of infection with transfusion-associated organisms such as Serratia marcescens and Yersinic enterocolitica. We recently cared for an adolescent with sickle cell anemia who presented to the emergency department with a severe, delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction and Serratia marcescens infection.

Optimizing the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux in children with otolaryngologic symptoms.

Objectives: Although many children with otolaryngologic (ENT) symptoms are being treated for gastroesophageal reflux (GER), how to diagnose GER in children with primarily or exclusively ENT symptoms has yet to be determined. This study compares the incidences of pathologic GER in the upper verses the lower esophagus in a cohort of children with ENT symptoms that were screened for GER.

Methods: The results of extended dual channel intraesophageal pH probe monitoring obtained from 14 infants and 14 children with ENT symptoms were retrospectively analyzed.