Among children and adults with sickle cell anemia, the median number of pain crises over 48 weeks was lower among those who received oral therapy with l-glutamine, administered alone or with hydroxyurea, than among those who received placebo, with or without hydroxyurea. (Funded by Emmaus Medical; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01179217 .).

Sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma (SEF) is a rare and aggressive tumor for which no standardized treatment regimens are available. The occurrence of this tumor in children and adolescents has been rarely reported, especially in the head and neck region. Involvement of the neuraxis is reported only in a few patients. We report a case of a 13-year-old boy with SEF of the skull with intracranial extension. The tumor recurred after initial resection and rapidly spread to the brain parenchyma and the meninges with no response to surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

A previously healthy 16-year-old male presented with a two day history of persistent epigastric pain. His physical examination was significant for tenderness in the left hypochondriac region with a palpable spleen 2cm below the left sub-costal margin. A CT scan of the abdomen showed a splenic infarct. Heterophile and EBV VCA IgM antibody test were positive. This is a rare case of infectious mononucleosis presenting with splenic infarct in an adolescent male without comorbidities.  Keywords: infectious mononucleosis; splenic infarct.

Life-threatening splenic rupture is rare in neonates with severe hemophilia. There are only 3 cases of splenic rupture in neonates with hemophilia reported in the literature. We present the case of an infant, born to a hemophilia A carrier mother. The infant was asymptomatic until discharge at 48 hours of age, but presented on the third day of life with shock, abdominal distension, and severe anemia. Computed tomography of the abdomen confirmed the diagnosis of splenic rupture with hemoperitoneum. The infant recovered after extensive supportive care surgery and factor replacement.

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