The purpose of this study was to retrospectively investigate the utility of electroencephalography (EEG) for estimating the recurrence rate of seizures in pediatric patients with normal development who experienced an unprovoked first seizure. Subjects included 100 children aged 0 to 15 years with normal development who underwent an EEG for suspected first seizure between December 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016. Among the 100 subjects, 61 showed EEG abnormalities, and seizures recurred in 43 of them. Normal brain waves were observed in 39 subjects, among whom seizures recurred in 23. No statistically significant difference was found in EEG abnormalities or the rate of seizure recurrence between the groups. The EEG did not appear to be a useful tool for prediction of the possible recurrence of epileptic seizures in the future in this patient population.

Acute transverse myelitis develops with sudden spinal mobility impairment, symmetric sensory impairment, and rectal or bladder impairment. Although it is commonly treated with steroids, there remains no consistent opinion regarding their effectiveness. We present the case of a two-year, eight-month-old male child in whom steroid pulse therapy was effective. This innately healthy child was brought to hospital with the main complaint of disappearance of spontaneous movements of the bilateral upper extremities. He had developed fever and symptoms of a common cold one month prior to initial examination, at which spontaneous movements of the bilateral upper extremities were absent, and deep tendon reflexes were weak. Spontaneous movements of the lower extremities disappeared the following day, and he developed abasia. Magnetic resonance imaging of the spine showed swelling of the spinal cord from C2 through Th4 levels with high signals on T2-intensified images. Based on the clinical and radiological findings, the child was diagnosed as having transverse myelitis. Steroid pulse therapy was immediately initiated that promptly alleviated the decrease in muscle strength in the lower extremities. After the third course, the condition remitted without sequelae. Early diagnosis and steroid pulse therapy were effective in this young child with acute transverse myelitis.

Preterm infants are at high risk of developing invasive staphylococcal disease, not only because of immature host defense mechanisms but also secondary to intensive medical treatment required in the first few weeks of life. Staphylococcus aureus commonly causes superficial skin abscesses. Most patients with small skin abscesses present with localized pain and erythema; however, in some neonates, a skin abscess can rapidly progress to bacteremia and clinical sepsis. Previous reports have described sepsis or bacteremia causing multiple subcutaneous abscesses in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants, mostly due to Gram-negative rods. Ours is the first report to describe the occurrence of multiple staphylococcal pyogenic subcutaneous abscesses secondary to peripherally inserted central catheter-related sepsis in an ELBW infant. We recommend that physicians perform a thorough clinical examination including an inspection of the skin all over the body keeping in mind the possibility of multiple skin abscesses particularly in preterm infants presenting with S. aureus sepsis.