INDEX OF SUSPICION
David M. Tejeda MD1
Jessica Kaplan MD1
John S. Andrews MD2
Catherine DeAngelis MD2
Neeru Sehgal MD3
1 California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
2 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
3 Rochester, NY
This section of Pediatrics in Review reminds clinicians of those conditions that can present in a misleading fashion and require suspicion for early diagnosis. Emphasis has been placed on conditions in which early diagnosis is important and that the general pediatrician might be expected to encounter, at least once in a while. The reader is encouraged to write possible diagnoses for each case before turning to the discussion, which is on the following page.
We invite readers to contribute case presentations and discussions.
Case 1 Presentation
The parents of a 22-month-old boy complain that he has been increasingly clumsy and cranky for the past 7 days. He initially developed a stumbling gait and now prefers to crawl; he no longer can sit on his own. The child has been afebrile but has had a cough for several weeks. He has been on antibiotics for otitis media (with a presumed labyrinthitis) for 5 days. There have been no other recent illnesses, and he has not been ill in the past.
On examination, the child appears irritable and has occasional jerking movements of his extremities. His temperature is 36.3°C, pulse is 128 beats/min, and blood pressure is 84/40 mm Hg. Chaotic, irregular eye movements are present.
