Mitomycin C in the therapy of recurrent esophageal strictures: hype or hope?

Introduction: Esophageal strictures refractory to conservative treatment represent a major problem in children. The application of Mitomycin C to the site of stricture has been introduced, but the experience with this novel approach remains very limited.

Methods: Systematic review of publications on the topical application of Mitomycin C in children with persistent esophageal stricture.

Surgical management of Wilms tumor with intravascular extension: a single-institution experience.

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyze the clinical presentation, treatment, and outcomes of children with Wilms tumor (WT) and intravascular extension who were treated at a single institution. A retrospective review was conducted of medical records of all children with Wilms tumor and intravascular extension treated at Virgen del Rocio Children's Hospital between 1992 and 2010. Seven patients (median age 3.

Fine-needle aspiration cytopathology in the diagnosis of Wilms tumor.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE The International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) protocol for Wilms tumor (WT) includes preoperative chemotherapy as the initial approach. However, an inadequate treatment may be performed in case of histological misdiagnosis. We evaluated the impact of fine-needle aspiration cytopathology (FNAC) in the diagnosis of unilateral WT in our group of patients.

Vincristine-ticlopidine-aspirin: an effective therapy in children with Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon associated with vascular tumors.

Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon (KMP) is a serious coagulopathy with severe thrombocytopenia (<10,000/mm³) that occurs in the presence of an enlarging vascular tumor such as kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) and tufted angioma (TA). The natural history and treatment of these lesions remain controversial. The authors report a KHE case and a TA case that presented with KMP, describing their successful pharmacological management with vincristine, ticlopidine, and aspirin.

Laparoscopic surgery in a rat model.

Background: The rat is increasingly being used in laparoscopic research. Laparoscopic microsurgical training is critical in order to develop new surgical indications in pediatric patients. This report evaluates laparoscopic splenectomy and nephrectomy in a rat model.

Perinatal clinical and imaging features of CLOVES syndrome.

We report a neonate with antenatal imaging features suggestive of CLOVES syndrome. Postnatal clinical and imaging findings confirmed the diagnosis, with the constellation of truncal overgrowth, cutaneous capillary malformation, lymphatic and musculoskeletal anomalies. The clinical, radiological and histopathological findings noted in this particular phenotype help differentiate it from other overgrowth syndromes with complex vascular anomalies.

Parkes-Weber syndrome associated with a congenital short femur of the affected limb.

The association of capillary malformation, high-flow arteriovenous fistulas, and limb hypertrophy corresponds to Parkes-Weber syndrome. Most of cases are sporadic, although a first familial case has been recently reported. We report the first observation of a Parkes-Weber vascular anomaly with an underlying congenital short femur.

Pediatric parapneumonic empyema, Spain.

Pediatric parapneumonic empyema (PPE) has been increasing in several countries including Spain. Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major PPE pathogen; however, antimicrobial pretreatment before pleural fluid (PF) sampling frequently results in negative diagnostic cultures, thus greatly underestimating the contribution of pneumococci, especially pneumococci susceptible to antimicrobial agents, to PPE. The study aim was to identify the serotypes and genotypes that cause PPE by using molecular diagnostics and relate these data to disease incidence and severity.