Paediatrics Flashcards
What is the most common pathogen causing respiratory infections in children?
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
Which virus causes the common cold?
Rhinovirus
What is the treatment for tonsillitis?
10 day course of penicillin
What would you see on examination of the ear in otitis media?
Red, bulging, non reflective tympanic membrane
How to treat otitis media?
co-amoxiclav, analgesia
What are the symptoms of croup?
Barking cough, stridor, hoarseness
What is stridor?
A low pitched inspiratory sound caused by upper airways obstruction
What precededs croup?
Coryza and a fever
In what season does croup most commonly occur?
Autumn
What age would you expect a child with croup to be?
2
Treatment of croup
- Oral dexamethasone - 15mg/kg
What would you hear on auscultation in a patient with bronchiolitis?
Widespread wheeze and crepitations
What are the risk factors for bronchiolitis?
Premature birth, pre-existing lung pathology, immunosuppression
If you suspect upper airways obstruction (e.g. in croup and epiglottitis) what should you not do and why?
EXAMINE THE THROAT - may close airways fully
How will a child with epiglottitis look?
Drooling, sitting open mouthed and upright, not speaking or swallowing, tripod position
Treatment for epiglottitis?
IV Cefuroxime
How to tell the difference between croup and epiglottitis?
- No cough in epiglottitis vs barking cough in croup
- Drooling in epiglottitis
- High grade fever in epiglottitis
What bug causes whooping cough?
Bordetella pertussis
What is the treatment for whooping cough?
Erythromycin
What are the symptoms of whooping cough?
Inspiratory whoop in between coughs, severe cough which may end in vomiting, subconjunctival haemorrhage
What is the most likely cause of pneumonia in newborns?
Group B strep from mother’s genital tract
What are the symptoms of pneumonia?
- Fever
- Increased work of breathing
- Tachypnoea
LABAs e.g. …………. should always be used in conjunction with………?
Salmeterol, inhaled corticosteroids
Asthma add-on therapy in under 5s?
Montelukast
What are the features of a severe asthma attack?
- Silent Chest
- Sats <92%
- Cyanosis
- Fatigue and drowsiness
How to treat a severe asthma attack? (4)
- Oxygen
- Steroids
- B2 agonists
- Ipratropium bromide nebulised
What would you be worried about in a persistent wet cough?
Bronchiectasis
What changes happen in the heart at birth?
The foramen ovale (link between atria) closes
The ductus arteriosus (shunt between aorta and pulmonary arteries) closes
When will neonates present with heart failure?
When the ductus arteriosus closes at 1-2 days old
How will a neonate present with heart failure?
murmur, shock, cyanosis, acidosis, collapse
What makes you think a heart murmer is NOT benign?
- Diastolic
- Thrills
- Radiation
How to treat heart failure in neonates?
Prostaglandins to keep the ductus arteriosus open
What causes heart failure in neonates?
Coarcted aorta, aortic valve stenosis
What causes heart failure in infants?
VSD, AVSD
How does heart failure in infants present?
Breathlessness, pulmonary oedema
How to treat heart failure in infants?
Diuretics and catopril
What is the pathophysiology of kawasaki disease?
Vasculitis of the coronary arteries - causing clots and coronary aneurysms
Who gets kawasaki’s disease?
Boys under 5 years
What are the symptoms of Kawasaki’s?
CRASH and burn:
- Conjunctivitis
- Rash
- Adenopathy - enlarged cervical lymph nodes
- Strabery tongue
- Hands and feet swell and get a rash
- Burn/fever
Treatment of Kawasaki’s?
IVIg and aspirin
What is the possible complication of aspirin in children?
Reye’s syndrome - brain and liver damage
What are the SEPSIS 6? (3 in, 3 out)
- Oxygen
- Fluids
- Antibiotics
- Lactate
- Urine output
- Blood cultures
Which antibiotic to use in suspected sepsis with CNS infection?
Cefotaxime
What are the symptoms of sepsis?
- Tachycardia
- Fever
- Tachypnoea
- Low blood pressure
What would you see in a lumbar puncture in bacterial meingitis?
VERY HIGH WHITE CELLS IN CSF
Treatment of meningitis in patients under 3 months?
IV Cefotaxime and amoxicillin
Treatment of meningitis in 3 months - 16 year olds?
Ceftriaxone
What is the treatment for encephalitis?
IV Acyclovir
What is the usual cause of encephalitis?
HSV - Herpes Simplex Virus
Fever, bulging fontanelles, loss of consciousness, seizure, behavioural change…. what do you think?
Encephalitis
How will the CSF look in bacterial meningitis?
Cloudy/turbid
If the CSF is high in protein and low in glucose, what is the cause of the meningitis?
Tuberculosis (really high and low) or bacterial meningitis
How is necrotising fasciitis treated?
Clindamycin and debridement of necrotic tissue
39 degree fever, diffuse rash, skin shedding, hypotension, fever, chills, vomiting, pain…. what are you thinking?
Toxic Shock Syndrome
What drugs are used to treat tuberculosis and duration of each drug?
RIPE
- Rifampicin (6 months)
- Isoniazid (6 months)
- Ethambutol (2 months)
- Pyrazinimide
Side effect of isoniazid?
Peripheral neuropathy
What qualities would an infection have that would make you worry about HIV?
SPUR: Serious, persistent, unusual and recurrent
A child presents with swollen parotid glands, hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy and thrombocytopenia - what might they have? How would you test for it?
HIV- DNA PCR
What are the clinical features of an IgE immune response?
Rash, facial swelling, anaphylaxis
Within 10 minutes of ingestion
What are the clinical features of a non IgE response to food?
Failure to thrive, abdominal pain, dairrhoea and vomiting
What is the distribution of eczema in infants?
Face and trunk
A pale patient with recurrent infections, epitaxis and bruising comes to you. What are you worried about? What is causing these symptoms?
Leukaemia
Bone marrow infiltration
Leukemia can cause reticuloendothelial infiltration, what symptoms will you get?
Hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy and mediastinal obstruction
Name 2 drugs used in the treatment of leukaemia?
Dexamethasone and vincristine
A headache worse in the morning, vomiting on waking and a personality change in children can be a sign of….?
Raised intracranial pressure e.g. in brain tumours
What are the signs of raised intracranial pressure in infants?
Tense fontaelles, head tilt and developmental delay
What drug reduces cerebral oedema?
Mannitol
What causes painless lymphadenopathy?
Hodgkin Lymphoma
A patient comes and has a palpable abdominal mass. What are your 2 differentials? How would you distinguish them? (Cancer)
Neuroblastoma: child is ill
Nephroblastoma: child is well
What are the symptoms of neuroblastoma?
Abdominal swelling/mass, bone pain, limp, malaise
You take a photo of a 2 year old and her eyes flash white. What condition does she have?You notice something else is wrong with her eye… what is it?
Retinoblastoma, she’s squinting
How long is the treatment for iron deficiency anaemia in infants?
Works in 3 days, lasts 3-6 months
What is the clinical picture in aplastic anaemia?
Features of pancytopenia:
- Anaemia due to reduced red cells
- Infection due tor educed white cells
- Bleeding and bruising due to reduced platelets
What is the inheritance pattern of haemophilia A and B?
X-Linked recessive
What indicates severe haemophilia?
Spontaneous bleeding into muscles/joint space
When does haemophilia present?
Age 1 ish - when children start walking/crawling as they are bumping into things and falling over
What is the inheritance pattern of von Willebrand disease?
Autosomal dominant
What is the difference in bleeds between haemophilia and vWB disease?
Bleeding is not spontaneous in von Willebrand
Which clotting factors are vitamin K dependant?
2, 7, 9 and 10
A 7 year old child comes in with easy bruising, and mucosal bleeding. They had a bad cold 2 weeks ago. Blood tests show low platelets. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Immune thrombocytopenia
When do children with hypermobility get painful limbs?
After exercise
When do growing pains occur?
At night
A child who had food poisoning last week presents with a swollen ankle and a low grade fever - what’s the diagnosis? What is the prognosis?
Reactive arthritis, good! Self limiting
A 2 year old child presents with a hot swollen tender joint. Their hip is flexed, abducted and externally rotated. What is the diagnosis? What would you see on FBC?
Septic arthritis
Raised white cells and inflammatory markers