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Purpura fulminans 1
Author(s) -
HEINILD SVEND
Publication year - 1947
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1947.tb03695.x
Subject(s) - purpura fulminans , medicine , sepsis , penicillin , rash , dermatology , differential diagnosis , lesion , autopsy , antibiotics , surgery , pathology , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
SUMMARY A brief historical outline is given of the development of the concept of purpura fulminans, and the differential diagnosis is mentioned. The writer reports the case of a previous healthy, sucking infant, 3 weeks old, who died within 48 hours after the appearance of the first symptoms of the lesion. Autopsy revealed the presence of a streptococcal sepsis, presumably originating from an infected diaper rash. On the basis of the literature, it is pointed out that it is most likely that the classical purpura fulminans usually, perhaps always, is an expression of a streptococcal sepsis. The therapeutic consequence of this will be at once ‐ at the very first observation of the lesion ‐ to institute an energetic chemotherapy; and treatment with penicillin should never be omitted.