Introduction. Primary thrombocytosis is very rare in children; reactive thrombocytosis is frequently observed in children with infections, anemia, and many other causes. Aims and Objectives. To identify the etiology of thrombocytosis in children and to analyze platelet indices (MPV, PDW, and PCT) in children with thrombocytosis. Study Design. A prospective observational study. Material and Methods. A total of 1000 patients with thrombocytosis (platelet > 400 × 109/L) were studied over a period of 2 years. Platelet distribution width (PDW), mean platelet volume (MPV), and plateletcrit (PCT) were noted. Results. Of 1000 patients, 99.8% had secondary thrombocytosis and only two children had primary thrombocytosis (chronic myeloid leukemia and acute myelogenous leukemia, M7). The majority of the children belonged to the age group of 1month to 2 years (39.7%) and male to female ratio was 1.6 : 1. Infection with anemia (48.3%) was the most common cause of secondary thrombocytosis followed by iron deficiency alone (17.2%) and infection alone (16.2%). Respiratory infection (28.3%) was the predominant infectious cause observed. Thrombocytosis was commonly associated with IDA among all causes of anemia and severity of thrombocytosis increased with severity of anemia (P = 0.021). With increasing platelet count, there was a decrease in MPV (<0.001). Platelet count and mean PDW among children with infection and anemia were significantly higher than those among children with infection alone and anemia alone. None were observed to have thromboembolic manifestations. Conclusions. Primary thrombocytosis is extremely rare in children than secondary thrombocytosis. Infections in association with anemia are most commonly associated with reactive thrombocytosis and severity of thrombocytosis increases with severity of anemia.

Malignant germ cell tumors are rare tumors of childhood accounting less than 3% of pediatric malignancies, and endodermal sinus tumor (EST) is the most common histological subtype. The vagina is an extremely rare site for germ cell tumors (GCT). A one-year female was admitted with history of bleeding per vagina. She had pallor and a mass was palpable anteriorly on rectal examination. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) showed a tumor mass at the junction of cervix and vagina and biopsy was suggestive of a vaginal EST. The serum alpha fetoprotein (AFP) was elevated. She underwent vaginohysterectomy. The tumor was excised in toto and patient received four courses of cisplatin, etoposide and bleomycin. At one year of follow up, patient was symptom free and serum AFP remained at normal level. EST of the vagina is a rare, highly malignant GCT that exclusively involves children less than 3 years of age. It is both locally aggressive and capable of metastasis. Even though more conservative surgery is advised to maintain sexual and reproductive function, at times, radical surgery is mandatory depending on the infiltration of the tumor to the surrounding structures. Simple tumor excision is not sufficient, as residual cells induce recurrence and make chemotherapy ineffective. The serum AFP level is a useful marker for diagnosis and monitoring the recurrence of vaginal EST in infants.

This is a report of a 4-month-old baby girl who presented with respiratory distress, bronchopneumonia, marasmus and hepatosplenomegaly and proved to have congenital tuberculosis on the basis of a strongly positive Mantoux test and liver biopsy findings. Endometrial biopsy in the asymptomatic mother confirmed the source of infection and the perinatal onset of illness. The age range of previously reported cases of congenital tuberculosis is 1-84 days and this case would appear to be the latest presentation of congenital tuberculosis in the literature.