Background Septic pulmonary embolism is a rare disease in children. We aimed to assess the clinical, microbiological, and radiological characteristics and outcomes of pediatric septic pulmonary embolism (SPE) and to identify any predictive factors for in-hospital mortality in patients with this unusual disease to enhance prognosis and treatment. Methods A retrospective study to search the electronic medical records of children admitted to the pediatric pulmonology unit, Tanta University hospital with the diagnosis of SPE between January 2015 and June 2022. Results Seventeen pediatric patients were identified; ten males and seven females with a mean age of 9.4 ± 5.2 years. The most common presenting complaints were fever and shortness of breath (n = 17) followed by chest pain (n = 9), pallor (n = 5), limb swelling (n = 4), and back pain (n = 1). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was the most common causative pathogen in nine patients. The most common extra-pulmonary septic foci were septic arthritis in five patients (29.4%), septic thrombophlebitis in four patients (23.5%), and infective endocarditis in two patients (11.8%). All patients exhibited wedge-shaped peripheral lesions and feeding vessel sign in CT chest, whereas bilateral diffuse lesions, nodular lesions, and cavitation were present in 94.1% of patients, pleural effusion was identified in 58.8% of patients, and pneumothorax was detected in 41.2% of patients. Fifteen patients improved and survived (88.2%), while two patients died (11.8%). Conclusion Early diagnosis of SPE with vigorous early therapy is critical for a better outcome, including appropriate antibiotics and timely surgical interference to eradicate extra-pulmonary septic foci.

Background Asthma is a multifaceted disease marked by recurrent airway inflammation. The aim of the study is to evaluate the significance of total immunoglobulin E (IgE) in asthmatic children and find the relation of its level to the disease severity Patients and methods Forty-five children with acute bronchial asthma aged between 5 and 16 years, and 15 control children with comparable age and sex distribution were included in the study. All children will be subjected to complete blood picture, Total IgE, and spirometry test Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV1), Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC. Results Among the 45 patients, 57.8% were male, with a median age of 10 years. There were statistically significant differences between the asthmatic groups and the control group as regards sex, weight, total IgE level, FEV1, FVC, and FEV1/FVC ratio. There was a significant positive correlation between IgE level and age, weight and height (r=0.465, P< 0.001, r=0.349, P=0.019, r=0.314, P=0.036, respectively) Conclusion Total IgE level was shown to have a role in the diagnosis of asthma and can be used as a predictor of asthma severity in children