Thrombocytopenia is a common hemostatic abnormality in the newborn infant. The early diagnosis of thrombocytopenia and the underlying primary pathology process play an important role in reducing the risk of severe complications and mortality. We performed a 2-year prospective study of 643 neonates admitted to our neonatology unit to determine the frequency, predisposing factors, and clinical impact of thrombocytopenia. Thrombocytopenia developed in 18.2% of the preterm neonates and 0.8% of the term neonates. Prematurity, sepsis, hypoxia, intrauterine growth retardation, and disseminated intravascular coagulation were identified as predisposing factors for thrombocytopenia. The incidence of complications and mortality were higher in thrombocytopenic infants. Especially the prognosis was worse in cases who had mucosal hemorrhage, without a relation with the degree of thrombocytopenia. The thrombocytopenia occurred by day 2 in 43% of the infants, and resolved by day 8 in 61%. The platelet count nadir occurred by day 2. Since thrombocytopenic infants are at greater risk for bleeding, and the thrombocytopenia itself may have contributed to the high mortality, predisposing factors such as prematurity, infections, hypoxia must be eliminated by providing better care, giving adequate hygiene of both mother and the baby during the prenatal, natal, and neonatal period.

Our case illustrates the importance of considering panniculitis in the differential diagnosis of abnormal bruising in children with a normal platelet count and coagulation parameters.

RMS) is a highly malignant soft tissue sarcoma that occurs primarily in childhood, with a high incidence in children under 10 years of age. Approximately 6% to 16% of patients with RMS have bone marrow involvement at presentation.'" There are only a few published descriptions of karyotypes from human RMS; most concern alveolar RMS.3-7We report a child diagnosed as alveolar RMS, demonstrating pseudorosette formation and erythrophagocytosis in bone marrow aspiration, with chromosomal aberration (such as translocation [2; 131) plus double minute chromosomes in chromosomal analysis. CASE REPORTA 3-year-old white girl was admitted to our hospital with difficulty in closing the right eye, a shift to the left of her lips, and gait disturbance. She had a mass in the right auditory canal and a solitary mass of 4 X 4 cm in diameter at the postero-lateral side of the left foot. She was also found to have