All issues > Volume 40(7); 1997

Case Report

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1997;40(7):1026-1030. Published online July 15, 1997.

A Case of Infectious Mononucleosis Associated with Pleural Effusion and Ascites

Seung-Kyoo SK Han¹, Yun-Jeong YJ Yang¹, Yon-Ho YH Choe¹, Yong-Hoon YH Jun¹, Soon-Ki SK Kim¹, Byong-Kwan BK Son¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Inha University, Inchon, Korea

Abstract

Infectious mononucleosis is an acute infectious disease occurring predominantly in older children and young adults due to primary Epstein-Barr virus infection. The clinical picture is extremely variable in both severity and duration. The disease in children is generally mild. It is characterized clinically by fever, exudative or membranous pharyngitis, generalized lymphadenopathy, and splenomegaly. Rarely, it complicates neurologic involvement such as cranial nerve palsy, meningoencephalitis, and transverse myelitis, hematologic involvement such as hemolytic anemia, immune thrombocytopenic purpura, and aplastic anemia, rupture of spleen, myocarditis, interstitial pneumonia, and orchitis, etc. We experienced a case of infectious mononucleosis with pleural effusion and ascites in a 5-year-old male with the chief complaint of fever, sore throat and vomiting 3 days prior to admission. The diagnosis was made on the clinical findings, immunologic findings and the typical findings of peripheral blood smear. On peripheral blood smear, leukocytosis with atypical lymphocytosis were seen. On immunologic study, anti-VCA IgM and IgG were positive by ELISA method. We reported this case and reviewed related literatures briefly.

Keywords :Infectious mononucleosis, Pleural effusion, Ascites