Paediatric LOs Flashcards
Asthma
How common is it in children
Explain the pathophysiology (5)
Most common respiratopry illness in children
- IgE type 1 hypersensitivity reaction against foreign proteins detected as antigens
- Th2, eosinophils, mast cells and CD4+ neutrophils form inflammatory infiltrate in the airway epithelium and smooth muscle, leading to airway remodeling (i.e. desquamation, subepithelial fibrosis, angiogenesis, smooth muscle hypertrophy).
- Hypertrophy of airways causes narrowing of lumen and hyperreactivity
- Loss of bronchoconstriction factors (e.g., prostaglandin E2)
How to most patients overcompensate for acute asthma?
resp/ met alkalosis/ acidosis?
if untreated leads to what failure
- hyperventilation
- Resp and metabolic acidosis- CO2 can’t be blown off + increased lactic acid production by respiratory muscles due to prolonged and increased work of breathing, tissue hypoxia secondary to reduced cardiac output and ventilation-perfusion mismatch
- cardiac and respiratpry failure
Assessment of asthma (4)
- Clinical evaluation- history and physical respiratory examination
- Confirmation via pulmonary function testing- stop bronchodilators before test. Spirometry is then done before and after inhaling a SABA bronchodilator. (Signs of airflow limitation prior- low FEV1 and reduced FEV1/FVC ratio) improvement by 12% shows reversibility
- Exclude other possible causes of wheeze- e.g., via volume-flow loop to remove vocal chord dysfucntion
- Provocative testing
Short term treatment of asthma (5)
- Control of triggers- e.g., exposure to dog dander, change job, don’t run on cold mornings
- Drug therapy- bronchodilators (B2-agonists, Anticholinergics), corticosteroids, leukotriene modifiers, mast cell stabilizers, methylxanthines, immunomodulators
- Monitoring
- Patient education
- Treatment of acute exacerbations-relieve symptoms and return patient’s lung function. Use inhaled bronchodilators (B2 agonists and anticholinergics)
Long term management of asthma (2)
- stepwise increase of medication until appropriate control is found (patient adherence to previous stage is crucial before moving on)
- address comorbid factors like obesity
How long does a reliever last?
how many puffs are you allowed per 4 hours?
lasts 2-4 hours
up to 10 puffs per 4 hours
- Stridor is stypically what kind of breath sound?
- it indicates airflow obstruction where?
- obstruction may be due to?
- Insipiratory breath sound
- due to partial obstruction of the upper airway
- in the lumen (foreign. body), in the wall (e.g., tumour or cord palsy) or extrinsic (e.g., goitre)
What is bronchiectasis?
main symptoms
- Chronic inflammation of the bronchi and bronchioles leasind to permanent dilatation and thinning of these airways
- persistent cough, copious purulent sputum, haemoptysis
- What is bronchiolitis
- what is the most common causative agent
- what are the initial symptoms
- what symptoms follow
- symptomatically worst after how many days of infection
- paediatric condition that results in inflammation of the bronchioles
- RSV in 80% of cases (respiratory syncytial virus)
- coryzal (nasal discharge, nasal obstruction, sneezing, sore throat, general malaise and cough)
- dry cough, increased breathlessness
- 4-5 days
How would you diagnose bronchiolitis
Clinical diagnosis:
- Winter months
- Initial coryza, then cough and breathlessness
- Subcostal and intercostal recessions as they struggle to breathe
- hyperinflation of the chest
- fine end respiratory crackles
Pulse oximetry
Other features include:
- wheeze (episodes of apnoea) expiratory>inspiratory
- Liver displaced downwards
- resultant feeding difficulties due to respiratory distress
- encephalopathy due to hyponatraemia
Signs to suggest differential diagnosis
- High grade, persistemt fever: bacterial pneumonia
- Associated lactic acidosis, hepatomegaly or persistemt tachycardia: suggets possible decompensation of cardiac disease
Investigations for bronchiolitis
- SpO2
- CXR- if other disease suspected. In bronchiolitis, expect signs of hyperinflation, atelectasis (partioal or complete collapse of lobe/ lung) and consolidation
- ABG- CO2 retention sign of late stage
- Nasopharyngeal aspirate or throat swab- looking for viral cause
Admit to hospital for bronchiolitis if any of the following (4)
- Apnoea
- Peristent oxygen sat of (50-75%)
- Inadequate oral fluid intake
- Severe respiratory distress (grunting, marked chest recessions, resp rate over 70/min)
Other causes of bronchiolitis include:
- Viruses: parainfluenza, influenza, adenovirus, rhinovirus
- Chlamydia
- M. pneumoniea
bronchiolitis typically affects children aged
should stop by age
3-6 months
2 years
Hospital treatment of bronchiolitis (6)
Mainly supportive and will resolve itself in 2 weeks
- O2 to achieve Sp02 of >92%
- If significant resp distress—– NGT feeding
- bronchodilators for wheeze
- mucolytic therapy
- non-invasice therapy- CPAP and humidified high flow nasal cannula
- antiviral therapy e.g., oseltamavir
prophylaxis for bronchiolitis:
palivuzimab monoclonal antibody
Causes of acute respiratory distress (9)
- Bronchiolitis
- Viral episodic wheeze
- Pneumonia
- Heart failure
- Foreign body
- Anaphylaxis
- Pneumothorax or pleural effusion
- Metabolic acidosis
- Severe anaemia
- Croup is also known as
- what is croup
- commonly caused by which 3 organisms
- peak incidence age is
- affects which ages
- which season is it most common in
- viral laryngotracheobronchitis
- croup is a mucosal inflammation affecting anywhere from the nose to lower respiratory airways
- parainfluenza, rhinovirus and RSV
- 2 years old
- 6 months- 6 years old
the typical features of croup are:
2 initial-
followed by (5) -
coryza and fever
followed by:
- hoarseness (inflammation of the coal cords)
- barking cough (tracheal oedema and collapse)
- harsh stridor
- variable difficulty of breathing w chest recessions
- symtpoms starting and being worse at night
treatment of croup
- airway protection- do not startle child. let otolaryngologist and anaesthetist know emergency airway support may be needed
- treat at home unless recessions, stridor at rest
- steroids- PO dexamthosone or nebulised budesonide
- nebulized adrenaline- transient relief of symptoms
differentiating between viral croup and acute epiglotitis
Croup*** ***Epiglottitis
Time course. Days. Hours
Prodrome. Coryza. None
Cough. Barking. slight iof any
Feeding. Can drink No
Mouth. Closed Drooling saliva
Fever. <38.5. >
Pneumonia
at what ages does pneuemonia incidence peak
most common newborn cause
infant and young child
children over 5
all ages
extremens of age- young and old
- group B strep
- RSV and other resp viruses
- mycoplasma pneumoniae
- mycobacterium tuberculosis at all ages should be considered
Diagnosis of pneumonia
Symptomatic- presence of
- Cough w increasing sputum production
- Dyspnoea
- Pleuritic chest pain
- Rigors or night sweats
- Myalgia
- malaise
- anorexia
- lethargy
Investigations for pneumonia
- CXR- consildation with dullness on percussion
- Pulse oximetry
- ABG
- Urea and electrolyteS
- Blood culture
- Sputum culture
- Urinary antigen testing for legionella and pneumococcus
- PCR
Community acquired pneumonia causes
typical
atypical
Typical:
- Streptococcus pneumoniae (commonest)
- Haemophileus influenzae
- Moraxella catarrhalis
Atypical:
- Mycoplasma pneumoniae
- Staphylococcus aureus
- Legionella
- Chlamydia
pneumonia hiospital acquired causes
Gram negative enterobacteriae (commonest)
Staph aureus
Pseudomonas
Krebsiella
Clostridia
management (8)
most can be treat at home
- consider CURB-65
- antibiotics- usually amoxicillin or clarithromycin
- O2 to keep sats >92%
- IV fluids (shock, dehydration and anorexia)
- VTE prophylaxis
- Analgesia if pleurisy
- Possible chest drain for effusions
- Follow up w CXR at 6 weeks
CURB-65
Use CURB-65 to identify severity and whether it should be treat in the community
- Confusion
- Urea (>7mmol/L)
- Respiratory rate (>30)
- BP (<90/60)
- Age >65
1 point for every category
- 0-1 outpatient
- 2 inpatient
- 3+ ICU
Cystic fibrosis
mendelian inheritcance pattern
which defective gene
what is useful in treating
- Most common life-threatening autosomal recessive condition in Caucasians
- Defective protein called CF (CF transmembrane conductance receptor CFTR)
- cAMP reliant channel found in the membrane of cells.
- Most frequent change (78%) is to the F508 gene
CFTR correctors (Lumicafitor) and CTFR potentiators (Ivacaftor) are useful in treating
cystic fibrosis presentation
newborn
infant
young child
older child and adolescent
Newborn
Diagnosed through newborn screening
Meconium ileus
Infancy
Prolonged neonatal jaundice
Constant chest infections
Malabsorption, steatorrhoea
Young child
Bronchiectasis
Rectal prolapse
Nasal polyp
Sinusitis
Older child and adolescent
Diabetes mellitus
Cirrhosis and hypertension
Distal intestinal obstruction
Pneumothorax or recurrent haemoptysis
Sterility in males
What is meningitis
Causative organisms- which is more severe and which is more common
Inflammation of the meninges covering the brain
Bacterial (more severe)
Neonates
Group B streptococcus
E.Coli
Listeria monocytogenes
1m – 6 years
Neisseria meningitides
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Haemophilus influenza
>6 years
Neisseria meningitides
Strep. pneumoniae
Fungal meningitis (very rare)
meningitis presentation
- Fever
- Headache
- Photphobia
- Lethargy
- Poor feeding/ vomiting
- Irritability
- Hypotonia
- Drowsiness
- Loss of consciousness
- Seizures
- Positive for Bruzinkis and kernigs signs
what does a positive bruzinki’s and Kernig’s sign present as?
bruzinki’s sign-
(flexion of neck while supine causes flexion of the knees and hips)
kernig’s sign-
child lying supine and with hips and knees flexed, there is back pain and extension of the knee)
diagnosis of meningitis
-
Lumbar puncture to obtain CSF to:
- Confirm diagnosis
- Identify possible organism
- Identify antibiotic sensitivity
- Typical changes in CSF
- Bacterial- appears turbid, white cell polymorphs increased, protein very high, glucose very low
- Viral- appears clear, lymphocytes increased, protein normal/ increased, glucose normal/ decreased
- Blood culture or PCR in those who can’t have a lumbar puncture
Presentation of otitis media
on examination with otoscope?
- Pain- child may tug or cradle ear that hurts, or appear irritable or become disinterested with food
- Malaise
- Fever
- Coryzal symptoms
tympanic membrane will look erythematous and may be bulging. If the fluid pressure has perforated the TM there may be a small tear visible with purulent discharge in the auditory canals.
Conductive hearing loss or cervical lymphadenopathy.
explanation of otitis media
Bacterial infection of the middle ear results from nasopharyngeal organisms migrating via the eustachian tube.
Anatomy of Eustachian tube in younger children is immature, typically being shorter, straighter and wide (only becoming oblique as the child grows), meaning infection is more likely.
management of otitis media
- Majority of acute cases will resolve spontaneously within 24 hours, nearly all within 3 days “Watch and wait”.
- Treat all patients with simple analgesics at first
- Grommets can be used in some cases
- Abx management
Abx should be avoided unless significant deterioration or disease progression is seen. Oral abx can be considered if:
- Systemically unwell children not requiring admission
- Known risk factors for complications- e.g., congenital heart disease or immunosuppression
- Unwell for 4 days or more
- Discharge
- Children younger than 2 years with bilateral infection
- Systemically unwell adult
Manegement of chronic OM
- Non-surgical- hearing aid insertion
- Surgical- myringotomy and grommet insertion (grommet if >3 months of bilateral OME
Impetigo
cause
age group
features
infectivity
antibiotics
cause- staphylococcal/ streptococcal skin infectino
age group- infants and young children
features- erythematous macules on face, neck and hands
infectivity- nasal carriage is often source of infection
antibiotics- PO antibiotics e.g., amoxicillin
impetigo
- is it localised
- how contagious is it
- more common in children who
- rupture of vesicles gices characteritic ____ appearance
- infection spreads along the host via
- Which antibiotics used
- localised
- highly contagious
- more common in children with eczema
- rupture of vesicles gices honey-coloured crusted lesions
- infection spreads rapidly to adjacent areas via autoinoculation
- topical Abxs like mupirocin nad narrow spectrum like fluclox
Chicken pox
- How long does it last
- How many organs does it affect
- Usually affects which stage of life
- Usually caused by which virus
- Chicken pox is which stage of the virus
- Acute
- Systemic
- Childhood
- Caricella-zoster virus (human herpes virus type 3)
- Acute invasive phase
- What is shingles
- How are the lesions of chicken pox characterised
- There is a severe risk of neurological complications in which groups
- cHICKENPOX IS SPREAD VIA
- The reactivation of the latent phase
- Macules, papules, vesicles and crusting
- Adults and neonates
- Airborne droplets or aerosolizing particles and direct contact