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The occurrence of Clostridium difficile in faecal specimens of 218 children, aged 2 weeks to 15 years, was studied. The organism was recovered from 43 (20%) of the children (range 2 weeks to 10 years). The isolation frequency was significantly correlated to age. Thus, in children 1 to 8 months of age the organism occurred in 64%, while in children below and above that age C. difficile could only be recovered in 4%. No significant difference in the recovery frequency could be demonstrated between children with (23%) and without (17%) gastroenteritis. C. difficile occurred numerically more often in non-antibiotic treated children (22%) than in those given such drugs (13%). None of the children in the present study had evidence of pseudomembranous colitis. A comparative study of different selective media did not demonstrate any difference in the recovery frequency of C. difficile. The media used were Chopped Meat Glucose broth with cycloserine and either kanamycin or cefoxitin, and Cycloserine-Cefoxitin-Fructose agar.

Using photon absorptiometry the forearm bone mineral content (BMC) was determined in 75 children aged 4 to 16, who all had a low birth weight. Forty-five of them were born preterm AGA (27 boys, 18 girls, mean weight 1 580 g; range 920-2 060 g) and 30 preterm SGA (17 boys, 13 girls, mean weight 1510; range 940-2130 g). The results were compared with a control group of children of the same age, and analyses of covariance with age, height and weight as the covariant factors were performed. The BMC, weight and height did not differ between the children born AGA or SGA. Irrespective of AGA or SGA, the BMC was significantly decreased in boys but the difference was less pronounced and less significant when height and weight were used as covariant factors. Boys who had been born preterm had a less BMC than the control boys for their age but they were also somewhat shorter and lighter than expected with regard to their age.

A study in 50 children suffering from acute brucellosis demonstrated that acute arthritis is a common and often predominant manifestation of the disease. The patients lived in an area where brucellosis is endemic: their ages ranged from six months to 12 years. All patients had a brucella agglutination titer of greater than or equal to 1:320 on admission. The knee and hip joints were most commonly affected with symptoms and findings from only one joint predominating. Associated findings of only moderately elevated ESR and normal leucocyte counts with relative lymphocytosis in the vast majority of the cases made it fairly easy to distinguish acute brucella arthritis from septic arthritis of other origin. A positive blood culture for Brucella melitensis was obtained in 35 of the patients. Treatment with tetracyclines, trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole, with or without combination with streptomycin, resulted in a prompt recovery in all patients. No mortality was seen. Seven patients were readmitted with reinfections during a mean follow-up period of 13 months. Two patients with a history of prolonged fever, malaise and arthralgia were found to have osteomyelitis of the adjacent bone tissue. They also recovered without sequelae.