Pediatric infectiology

• Infectiousdiseases of childhood: various infections caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites.
• Autoinflammatory diseases: a new entity that generally includes febrile states accompanied by elevation of inflammation parameters to which are associated with various symptoms, e.g., abdominal symptoms, skin symptoms, etc.
• Targeted immunologic screenings: investigation of recurrent infections, which may be a symptom of an immune deficiency.
• Prevention: vaccinology consultations and other preventive measures.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of infectious diseases may require tests aimed at identifying the microorganism responsible for the infection through a variety of types of tests using samples of different natures:

• Blood.
• Urine.
• Sputum.
• Other fluid or tissue of the human body.

Treatments

The most suitable therapy depends on the microorganism responsible for the disease on the basis of which further analysis is performed to determine which drugs are most effective and arrange for treatment. Among the drugs that might be prescribed are:

• Antibiotics, useful in cases of bacterial infections.
• Antivirals, useful against some viruses.
• Antifungals, useful against fungi.
• Antiparasitics, useful in cases of diseases caused by parasites.

In the presence of a severe infection, hospitalization may be necessary.

In case of auto-inflammatory diseases, treatment is evaluated on a case-by-case basis and includes for example:

• Immunoglobulins.
• Corticosteroids.