Paeds - Pyrexia and Rash Flashcards
What is Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)?
ITP is an immune-mediated reduction in platelet count
- Auto-antibiodies directed against glycoprotein IIb/IIIa or Ib-V-IX complex
- Self-limiting - runs course over 1-2 weeks
- Acute form is more commonly seen in children
- Male : Female equally
- Can follow an infection or vaccination
What is Evan’s Syndrome?
A rare auto-immune disorder of
ITP in association with autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA)
- Low platelets
- Low RBCs
- Can include neutropenia
What are the features of ITP?
- Thrombocytopenia
- Purpura & petechiae
- Some spontaneous bleeding - gums + nose + heavy periods
- Can rarely cause spontaneous GI or Brain bleed (<5%)
- Absence of medicines - the following can cause drug induced thrombocytopenia; heparin, alcohol, quinine/quinidine, sulfa drugs
- No lymphadenopathy
- No hepatomegaly or splenomegaly
What investigations can be done to diagnose ITP?
- FBC - identifies low platelets
- Blood film - to rule out Leukaemia
- Bone marrow sample (chronic ITP) - to check for normal no. of platelet parent cells (megakaryocytes))
What is the prognosis of ITP?
- Many children improve within 6-weeks with or without treatment
- 3/4 have improved by 6-months
- When ITP recovers ~ 1 in 20 will have a future episode
How is ITP managed?
Often NO treatment!!
- Inform docs, dentists etc known your child has ITP (bleed risk)
- Avoid drugs; aspirin, ibuprofen (calprofen) & herbal medication - can increase risk of bleeding
- If spontaneous bleeding –> tranxexamic acid TDS (won’t change platelet count but forms clots to prevent bleeding)
- If organ/life threatening bleeding present then all pts recieve:
- Platelet transfusion
- IVIG
- Corticosteroid
What is Testicular Torsion?
A twist of the spermatic cord causing testicular ischaemia and necrosis
- Most common age = 10-30yr old
What are the features of testicular torsion?
-
Pain - sudden onset & severe
- Can be referred to lower abdomen
- Can be intermittent ‘on-off’ pain due to torsion + spontaneous de-torsion
- Nausea & vomiting may be present
-
Swollen, tender testis retracted upwards
- Testis may be red
- Abnormal testicular lie - axis of testicle changes from verticle to more horizontal
-
Cremasteric reflex is lost
- elevation of the testis does not ease the pain
- Cremasteric reflex = stroke of inner thigh causes ipsilateral cremaster muscle to contract and raise testicle
How is testicular torsion managed?
- Immediate urological consult for Surgical exploration
- Pt must fast until surgical review
- If testicle is torted (torsion) then both testes should be fixed as the condition of Bell-Clapper is often bilateral
- Bell Clapper deformity = anatomical anomoly where testicles can freely rotate in tunica vaginalis - accounts for 90% of intra-vaginal torsion
- Analgesia e.g. morphine (testicular torsion causes severe pain)
- Manual de-torsion (if no surgery within 6hrs) - ‘open book’ method of right testicle counter-clockwise and left testicle clockwise
How can testicular torsion be differentiated from epididymitis?
Expert doppler ultrasound
looking for flow of testicular blood vessels
What is a hydatid of Morgagni?
It is an embryological remnant found on the upper pole of the testis
- Torsion of the hydatid of Morgagni classically affects males just before puberty
- Pain - increasing over 1-2 days
- Torted hydatid may be seen (blue dot sign) or felt
- Management:
- Surgical exploration + excision
What is idiopathic scrotal oedema?
- Usually, painless bilateral scrotal swelling & redness
- often in pre-school boy
What is Epididymitis?
Inflammation of the epididymis, and often involves the testis (called Epididymo-orchitis)
- Often bacterial infection
- Spreads from urethra or bladder
- Men < 35 yrs –> gonorrhoea or chlamydia are the usual infections
- Amiodarone –> can cause drug-induced epididymitis - simply stop amiodarone
- Tenderness is often well confined to epididymis (can be used to differentiate from testicular torsion, where pain often affects entire testis)
What conditions cause anaemia via destruction of RBCs?
- G6PD
- Sickle-cell
- Thalassaemia
- Drug / viral induced haemolytic anaemia
- Physiological anaemia of the newborn
Name some conditions that cause anaemia via RBCs being lost?
- Haemorrhagic disease of the newborn
- IBD
- Cowsmilk protein enteropathy
- Clotting disorders
- Menstuation
Name some conditions that cause cause anaemia due to producing RBCs too slowly?
- Blackfan diamond syndrome
- Transient aplastic anaemia
- Iron deficiency anaemia
- Chemotherapy
- Leukaemia
What is sickle cell disease?
Sickle Cell Disease = an autosomal recessive condition that results from a mutation of the beta chain of adult haemoglobin (HbA = α2β2). The mutated beta chain gene now forms an abnormal haemoglobin chain (HbS)
- Commonest genetic disorder in children in UK
- More common in African people
- Heterozygous sickle-cell –> provides protection against malaria
- Heterozygous people are only symptomatic if severely hypoxic
- Sickle RBCs are fragile –> often haemolyse (rupture)
- Sickle RBCs block small blood vessels –> infarction
- Characterised by periods of good health + intervening crisis
What are the different types of a sickle cell crisis?
Various Types of sickle cell crisis:
- thrombotic or ‘painful’ crisis or vaso-occlusive crisis
- sequestration
- acute chest syndrome
- aplastic - due to parovirus infection –> sudden fall in haemoglobin
- haemolytic (rare - fall in haemoglobin due to increased haemolysis)
When do you need an urgent x-ray in sickle cell patients?
- Any respiratory symptoms OR
- Drop in SpO2 → could be ARDS due to sickling in lungs!
What is the treatment for a sickle cell crisis?
- admit to hospital
- analgesia e.g. opiates within 30 mins of presentation to A&E
- rehydrate (IV fluids) - dehydration is a common precipitate of crisis
- oxygen - to correct low SpO2
- antibiotics - if evidence of infection
- blood transfusion - simple or exchange (remove pt blood and replace) if crisis is life-threatening
What is the long-term management for sickle cell disease?
-
Hydroxycarbimide (hydroxyurea) - a chemotherapy treatment also used in sickle cell disease
- Action: increases fetal haemoglobin (2 gamma globin chains instead of 2 beta globins) –> thus reducing no. of attacks
- Taken daily PO
- Monitor - for WBC suppression
- Pneumococcal vaccine every 5 years
-
Lifestyle:
- keep warm
- keep hydrated
- keep regular hours
- eat well
- some suggest penicillin prophylaxis to guard against pneumococcal infection
- Bone marrow transplant (last resort) - but can only be done safely if child has a HLA-identical sibling who can donate bone marrow (90% cure rate but 5% risk of fatal transplant)