Background/Aims. The effects of cholecalciferol supplementation on the course of diabetes in humans and animals need to be better understood. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of short-term cholecalciferol supplementation on biochemical and hematological parameters in mice. Methods. Male diabetic (alloxan, 60 mg/kg i.v., 10 days) and nondiabetic mice were supplemented with cholecalciferol for seven days. The following parameters were determined: serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, phosphorus, calcium, urea, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, red blood cell count, white blood cell count (WBC), hematocrit, hemoglobin, differential cell counts of peritoneal lavage (PeL), and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids and morphological analysis of lung, kidney, and liver tissues. Results. Relative to controls, cholecalciferol supplementation increased serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, calcium, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and red blood cell counts and decreased leukocyte cell counts of PeL and BAL fluids in diabetic mice. Diabetic mice that were not treated with cholecalciferol had lower serum calcium and albumin levels and hemoglobin, WBC, and mononuclear blood cell counts and higher serum creatinine and urea levels than controls. Conclusion. Our results suggest that cholecalciferol supplementation improves the hematological parameters and reduces leukocyte migration into the PeL and BAL lavage of diabetic mice.

Henoch-Schönlein Purpura is an idiopathic vasculitis characterized by deposits of immunoglobulin, mainly IgA, on the walls of small vessels, typically involving the skin, gut, joints, and renal glomeruli. Cutaneous involvement affects specially the lower limbs and buttocks, and it is seldom found on the face and upper limbs. We report the case of a 6-year old girl with purpuric lesions over the auricular, periorbital, malar, and mentonian regions and the upper limbs, arthralgia, and intestinal torsion. After surgical treatment and pulse therapy with glucocorticoids, her symptoms subsided without further complications.

A 25-year-old male, white, with severe hemophilia B (F.IX < 1%) developed a rash of small erythematous macules, purpuric spots and petechia on the lower extremities. These skin lesions were discrete, not pruritic, not papular and with no areas of necrosis. No relationship to previous infection was determined. As the patient did not present any other clinical alteration, he was observed daily on an ambulatory basis in a four days’ period, without any medication. On the fifth day parallel to the disappearance of the skin lesions, the patient began to complain of abdominal pain, in crisis of moderate intensity. As the abdominal discomfort increased rapidly on the following 24 hours, we introduced specific therapy on an in-patient basis. The case evolved to an acute abdominal picture that required surgical intervention. The laparathomy resulted in large ressections of jejunum and ileum that showed large hemmorrhagic and necrotic areas. The post-operative period elapsed without incidents and the patient left the hospital in three weeks. This case that at the beginning could not give us a clear diagnosis of an anaphylactoid purpura shows us once more that in hemophilia, we must transfuse as early as possible.

Objectives: 1) Describe largest population reported in the literature of children with limited oral opening that does not allow for routine orotracheal intubation with direct laryngoscopy. 2) Analyze incidence and outcome of airway compromise or loss in this population. 3) Identify factors that preclude decannulation in children with limited oral opening.Methods: Retrospective chart review of children who were identified by the Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota craniofacial team over the last 15 years as having limited oral opening that did not allow for routine orotracheal intubation by direct laryngoscopy.Results: Ten children (mean age 13 years, range 7-17 years) were identified for inclusion into the study. A total of 109 operations requiring general anesthesia (average of 10.9 per patient, range 0-23) were performed on patients without a tracheostomy in place. Flexible fiberoptic nasal intubation was performed in 58 cases, 37 by otolaryngology (64%) and 21 by anesthesiology (36%). The remainder of airway control was by mask ventilation (33 cases), various methods of orotracheal intubation (12 cases), and unknown (6 cases). There was a total of 118 patient years without a tracheostomy tube in place (average of 11.8 years per patient). During this period there were no episodes of acute airway compromise that resulted in neurologic deficits.Conclusions: Select children with limited oral opening that does not allow for routine orotracheal intubation with direct laryngoscopy can be safely managed without a tracheostomy, even when the child requires frequent procedures under general anesthesia.Objectives: Evaluate the effect of amoxicillin, ibuprofen, or prednisolone on post-tonsillectomy pain in children.Methods: 225 children between 6-10 years-old undergoing cold knife adenotonsillectomy/tonsillectomy were included in the study. Pain was monitored in the first seven days after surgery by the parent's ("Parents' Post-Operative Pain" -PPPM) and child's assignment ("Revised-Facial Pain Scale" -R-FPS). Pain was also indirectly analyzed by the number of analgesic administration and return to solid food intake. 45 children were randomized into 5 distinct groups, with the respective number of patients analyzed after losses and exclusions: 1) control n = 42; 2) amoxicillin 50mg/kg/day, n = 31; 3) oral prednisolone 0.5mg/kd/day, n = 30; 4) ibuprofen 5mg/kg/dose tid, n = 32; 5) amoxicillin plus prednisolone, n = 37. All groups received oral analgesics (dypirone and acetaminophen) to use as required. PPPM was analyzed by a linear regression model with mixed effects with Tukey post-test for multiple comparisons (SAS 9.0). R-FPS and analgesic intake were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis. Return to solid intake was analyzed by Wilcoxon test, considering significant when P < 0.05.Results: Multiple comparisons demonstrated that the evolution of pain, matched day-per-day among the different groups, was not statistically different either by PPPM or R-FPS (P > 0.05). The number of analgesic intake was also similar in all gro...