Histochemical diagnosis of Hirschsprung disease.

A histochemical staining technique for detection of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in rectal suction biopsies was compared with the presence or absence of ganglion cells in full-thickness or suction biopsies for the diagnosis of Hirschsprung disease (HD) in infants and children. Biopsies from 55 of 58 children were adequate for both the AChE assay and routine pathologic examination for ganglion cells. Two patterns of AChE staining were noted.

Mediastinal cystic hygroma in children.

A 14-month-old child presented with severe respiratory distress from an anterior mediastinal mass. Since its gross appearance suggested malignancy, radical surgical excision was performed. In retrospect, secondary hemorrhage, fibrosis, and chronic inflammation were responsible for the atypical appearance of a benign cystic hygroma.

Intervertebral disc space infection in a child presenting as a psoas abscess: case report.

Intervertebral disc space infection in children is usually a benign, self-limiting process. We report on what is, to our knowledge, the first case of discitis in a child that developed into an anterior paraspinous abscess. This 13-year-old girl had a 3-month history of low back and leg pain and low grade fever.

Preoperative diagnosis of splenic abscess by ultrasonography and radionuclide scanning.

Abscess of the spleen is uncommon and potentially lethal, but until recently it was rarely diagnosed except by exploratory celiotomy or at autopsy. Now, with the advent of radionuclide scanning, ultrasonography, and selective angiography, earlier diagnosis is possible in most cases. We report a case of traumatic abscess of the spleen, which was diagnosed preoperatively and ultrasonography and scanning with gallium citrate Ga 67 and technetium Tc 99m without the need for the more invasive technic of angiography.