[Acute intermittent porphyria is a difficult diagnosis--especially in children].

Background: Acute intermittent porphyria is a rare disease, and it is often confused with other diseases since the symptoms, abdominal pain, paresis and depression are rather common. The disease most often becomes manifest after puberty, but cases in childhood have been described. The present paper deals with a child with onset of acute intermittent porphyria at eight years of age.

[Bacterial arthritis].

During the years 1980-89, 13 patients were hospitalized because of bacterial arthritis of the peripheral joints. There were five juvenile patients (under 15 years of age). The remaining eight patients were adults, of whom seven were older than 50 years.