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Melioidosis is an infectious disease caused by a gramnegative bacillus, Burkholderia pseudomallei. It is known to be endemic in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. There is a recent surge in cases from coastal India. We hereby report four episodes of Melioidosis in 3 children with one child having a recurrent episode. One child was male and two were female, with all the children aged more than ten years (range 10-14years). Fever was the most common symptom followed by abdominal and bone pain in 50% of episodes. Immunocompromised state (post-splenectomy status and steroid therapy) as a predisposing factor was present in 2 children. One child presented with septicemia and succumbed within 72 hours of admission. Ceftazidime/Meropenem and cotrimoxazole were used in intensive and eradication phase respectively. A comprehensive knowledge and high index of suspicion are required to diagnose Melioidosis. Prolonged treatment course with appropriate antibiotics would help in minimizing the mortality and morbidity in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the effectiveness of using ertapenem is pediatric patients with infections acquired from pseudomonas (P.) aeruginosa and acinetobacter species. Topics include the clinical equivalence of ertapenem to cephalosporins in terms of clinical efficacy and tolerability in adults and children, the use of ertapenem for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infection (UTI), skin and soft tissue infections, and intra-abdominal infections, and the pharmacokinetics of ertapenem.