title: Clinical picture of nephropathia epidemica in children.
abstract: The clinical picture of nephropathia epidemica (NE) among children is poorly understood. We made a retrospective analysis of 32 patients aged 4-15 years treated in hospital for serologically verified recent NE. The most common clinical findings were high fever (100%), nausea (81%), vomiting (72%), tenderness in the kidney area (63%), abdominal pains (59%) and headache (59%). A peculiar symptom of NE, transient visual abnormalities, was found in 25% of patients. Four children had clinical bleeding and 1 had encephalitis. 44% were transiently hypertensive. Renal function was impaired in 84%, proteinuria was present in 97%, hematuria in 73% and leukocyturia in 44%. Other common laboratory findings were thrombocytopenia (87%), leukocytosis (41%), elevated ERS (74%, up to 76 mm/h) and CRP level (89%, up to 97 mg/l), elevated liver enzymes (53%) and hypoalbuminemia (50%). No child needed dialysis therapy and all recovered. NE seems to be less severe in children than in adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mustonen
authors.forename: N P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Huttunen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brummer-Korvenkontio
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vaheri
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006480:Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000503:physiopathology; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies