Neck and Oral Cavity Infections
BACKGROUND Print Section Listen Children with complaints of mouth and/or throat pain may have infections that range from mild and self-limited in nature to severe and life threatening. With the…
Complications of Acute Otitis Media and Sinusitis
BACKGROUND Print Section Listen Uncomplicated acute otitis media (AOM) and sinusitis are generally managed in the outpatient setting with excellent outcomes. Occasionally, complications from these infections arise, and a subset…
Fever and Rash
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Fever, a common presenting complaint in the acute care setting, may be associated with rash. The disorders that present with fever and rash range from benign…
Urinary Tract Infections in Childhood
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common and important clinical problem in childhood and may lead to systemic illness and renal injury in the short term;…
Middle Respiratory Tract Infections and Bronchiolitis
BACKGROUND Print Section Listen Acute bronchiolitis is the most frequent cause of infant hospitalization in the United States. Thus, a significant portion of a pediatric hospitalist’s time is spent caring…
Lower Respiratory Tract Infections
PNEUMONIA Print Section Listen BACKGROUND Epidemiology and Pathophysiology Pneumonia is the leading killer of children worldwide, with nearly 2 million deaths annually among children less than 5 years of age.1,2…
Skin and Soft Tissue Infections
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Intact skin serves as an effective mechanical barrier in the vast majority of healthy infants and children. Constant desquamation continually removes potentially invasive bacteria; however, almost…
Central Nervous System Infections
BACKGROUND Print Section Listen Infections of the central nervous system (CNS) in children continue to pose a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to clinicians. Because of the plethora of bacterial, viral,…
Device-Related Infections
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Invasive medical devices are commonly used in hospitalized children. They result in more than 250,000 infections each year in the United States.1 A catheter-related bloodstream infection…
Bone and Joint Infections
OSTEOMYELITIS Print Section Listen BACKGROUND Osteomyelitis is an inflammatory process of the bone and bone marrow that is generally due to a bacterial infection. The most common form in childhood…
