Primary care pediatricians should evaluate children presenting to the ED with a first seizure for age, coexistence of fever, seizure type, associated symptoms and history of head injury. We suggest that electrolytes, blood sugar and emergent brain imaging studies should be arranged based on detailed history-taking and thorough physical examinations, but should not be performed routinely.

Osteoporotic hip fractures cause high mortality in the elderly population. However, few population studies reported the long-term mortality of hip fracture among the elderly in Asian population. This study assessed the incidence, excess mortality, and risk factors after osteoporotic hip fractures through inpatients aged 60 years or older. A total of 143,595 patients with hip fracture were selected from Taiwan National Health Insurance database in the years 1999 to 2009 and followed up until the end of 2010. Annual incidence, mortality and SMR, and mortality and SMR at different periods after fracture were measured. From 1999 to 2005, hip fracture incidence gradually increased and then fluctuated after 2006. From 1999 to 2009, the male-to-female ratio of annual incidence increased from 0.60 to 0.66, annual mortality for hip fracture decreased from 18.10% to 13.98%, male-to-female ratio of annual mortality increased from 1.38 to 1.64, and annual SMR decreased from 13.80 to 2.98. Follow-up SMR at one, two, five, and ten years post-fracture was 9.67, 5.28, 3.31, and 2.89, respectively. Females had higher follow-up SMR in the younger age groups (60-69 yr of age) but lower follow-up SMR in the older age groups (over 80 yr of age) compared with males. Among the studied patients, incidence is gradually decreasing along with annual mortality and SMR. Hip fracture affects short-term but not long-term mortality.

Spinal tuberculosis (STB) is a common manifestation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB). STB accounts for around 2% of all cases of TB and around 15% of extrapulmonary TB cases. The World Health Organization has proposed a global strategy and targets for TB prevention, care, and control after 2015. Under this strategy, patients will receive standard care according to the recommendations and guidelines after confirmation of STB diagnosis. However, current recommendations and guidelines focus on disease and medication therapy management, and recommendations for early detection or decision-making algorithms regarding STB are lacking. In this review, we identified five key components for early diagnosis: (1) risk factors for STB; (2) common symptoms/signs of STB; (3) significant neuroradiological findings of STB; (4) significant laboratory findings of STB, including positive interferon-γ release assays and nonpyogenic evidence in initial laboratory data; and (5) significant clinical findings of STB. Individualized consideration for each patient with STB is essential, and we hope that the algorithm established in this review will provide a valuable tool for physicians who encounter cases of STB.

BackgroundRenal abscesses are relatively uncommon in children but may result in prolonged hospital stays and life-threatening events. We undertook this study to analyze the clinical spectrum of renal abscesses in children admitted to the pediatric emergency department (ED) and to find helpful clinical characteristics that can potentially aid emergency physicians for detecting renal abscesses in children earlier.MethodsFrom 2004 to 2011, we retrospectively analyzed 17 patients, aged 18 years or younger, with a definite diagnosis of renal abscess admitted to the ED. The following clinical information was studied: demographics, clinical presentation, laboratory testing, microbiology, imaging studies, treatment modalities, complications, and long-term outcomes. We analyzed these variables among other potential predisposing factors.ResultsDuring the 8-year study period, 17 patients (7 males and 10 females; mean age, 6.1 ± 4.5 years) were diagnosed with renal abscesses on the basis of ultrasonography and computed tomography findings. The 2 most common presenting symptoms were fever and flank pain (100% and 70.6%, respectively). All of the patients presented with leukocytosis and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. Organisms cultured from urine or from the abscess were identified in 11 (64.7%) patients, and Escherichia coli was the most common organism cultured. All patients were treated with broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics with the exception of 4 children who also required additional percutaneous drainage of the abscess.ConclusionsRenal abscesses are relatively rare in children. We suggest that primary care physicians should keep this disease in mind especially when children present with triad symptoms (fever, nausea/vomiting, and flank pain), pyuria, significant leukocytosis, and elevated CRP levels. However, aggressive percutaneous drainage may not need to be routinely performed in children with renal abscesses.