816
Letters to the Editor
The Journal o f Pediatrics May1975
Editorial correspondence
"Editorial Correspondence" or letters to the Editor relative to articles published in the JOURNALor to topics of current interest are subject to critical review and to current editorial policy in respect to publication in part or in full.
Ampicillin to abort incubating syphilis? To the Editor: Drs. Litt, Edberg, and Finberg are to be congratulated for their timely and thorough discussion of gonorrhea in children and adolescents in the November issue. They have done much to bring together the facts on an ungainly subject. One point, however, requires further clarification. When discussing management, the authors state "Penicillin and ampicillin are safe in the pregnant woman, and in appropriate dose will abort incubating syphilis in all patients. "1 Their reference for this fact does indeed support this view insofar as penicillin is concerned.
dose the former will abort incubating syphillis in all patients." Somehow, the words "the former" were omitted in revision and I am grateful to Dr. Weintzen for bringing it to my attention. Iris F. Litt, M.D. Assistant Director, Division o f A dolescen t Medicine Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center 111 E. 210th St. Bronx, N. Y. 10467
REFERENCE 1. Litt IF, Edberg SC, and Finberg L: Gonorrhea in children and adolescents: A current review, J PEDIATR 85:595, 1974.
See related article, p. 794. No reference, however, is made in their reference, or any other source I have been able to uncover, that supports the clinical efficacy of one-dose oral ampicillin in aborting incubating syphilis, as the authors contend. If published data exist to substantiate the authors' contention, I would be happy to have the reference. If not, it would be unwise at this time to rely on single-dose, oral ampicillin to be effective in treating both diseases. Raoul L. Wientzen, M.D. Department o f Pediatrics Georgetown University Hospital 3800 Reservoir Rd. N.W. Washington, D. C. 20007
REFERENCE 1.
Litt IF, Edberg SC, and Finberg L: Gonorrhea in children and adolescents: A current review, J PEDIATR 85:595, 1974.
Reply To the Editor: The statement in our paper "Gonorrhea in children and adolescents,1 ' originally and correctly read: "Penicillin and ampicillin are safe in the pregnant woman, and in appropriate
Incidence of goiter in an elementary school population To the Editor: A study of goiter in a population in Tecumseh, Michigan, in 1959-1960 revealed an incidence of 6% in 1,609 children between the ages of 10 and 19 years, with a girl to boy ratio of three to one. 1Recently, Rallison and associates2 reported a comparable incidence (3.9%) in 5,179 children between the ages of 11 and 17 years in Arizona, Utah, and Nevada (1965-1971). The ratio of girls to boys was five to three.
See related article, p. 675. We examined 592 children between 5 and 14 years of age in Baden School, a St. Louis public elementary school located in a lower middle-class area. All children present in the school on a sfngle day were examined by one o f us, and all children with questionable thyroid enlargement were examined by two physicians. Findings are recorded in Table I, Definitely abnormal thyroid enlargement was found in 5.4% of the children examined, and these children were considered to have goiter. Those children having a palpable but only minimally enlarged
Letters to the Editor
The Journal o f Pediatrics May1975
Editorial correspondence
"Editorial Correspondence" or letters to the Editor relative to articles published in the JOURNALor to topics of current interest are subject to critical review and to current editorial policy in respect to publication in part or in full.
Ampicillin to abort incubating syphilis? To the Editor: Drs. Litt, Edberg, and Finberg are to be congratulated for their timely and thorough discussion of gonorrhea in children and adolescents in the November issue. They have done much to bring together the facts on an ungainly subject. One point, however, requires further clarification. When discussing management, the authors state "Penicillin and ampicillin are safe in the pregnant woman, and in appropriate dose will abort incubating syphilis in all patients. "1 Their reference for this fact does indeed support this view insofar as penicillin is concerned.
dose the former will abort incubating syphillis in all patients." Somehow, the words "the former" were omitted in revision and I am grateful to Dr. Weintzen for bringing it to my attention. Iris F. Litt, M.D. Assistant Director, Division o f A dolescen t Medicine Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center 111 E. 210th St. Bronx, N. Y. 10467
REFERENCE 1. Litt IF, Edberg SC, and Finberg L: Gonorrhea in children and adolescents: A current review, J PEDIATR 85:595, 1974.
See related article, p. 794. No reference, however, is made in their reference, or any other source I have been able to uncover, that supports the clinical efficacy of one-dose oral ampicillin in aborting incubating syphilis, as the authors contend. If published data exist to substantiate the authors' contention, I would be happy to have the reference. If not, it would be unwise at this time to rely on single-dose, oral ampicillin to be effective in treating both diseases. Raoul L. Wientzen, M.D. Department o f Pediatrics Georgetown University Hospital 3800 Reservoir Rd. N.W. Washington, D. C. 20007
REFERENCE 1.
Litt IF, Edberg SC, and Finberg L: Gonorrhea in children and adolescents: A current review, J PEDIATR 85:595, 1974.
Reply To the Editor: The statement in our paper "Gonorrhea in children and adolescents,1 ' originally and correctly read: "Penicillin and ampicillin are safe in the pregnant woman, and in appropriate
Incidence of goiter in an elementary school population To the Editor: A study of goiter in a population in Tecumseh, Michigan, in 1959-1960 revealed an incidence of 6% in 1,609 children between the ages of 10 and 19 years, with a girl to boy ratio of three to one. 1Recently, Rallison and associates2 reported a comparable incidence (3.9%) in 5,179 children between the ages of 11 and 17 years in Arizona, Utah, and Nevada (1965-1971). The ratio of girls to boys was five to three.
See related article, p. 675. We examined 592 children between 5 and 14 years of age in Baden School, a St. Louis public elementary school located in a lower middle-class area. All children present in the school on a sfngle day were examined by one o f us, and all children with questionable thyroid enlargement were examined by two physicians. Findings are recorded in Table I, Definitely abnormal thyroid enlargement was found in 5.4% of the children examined, and these children were considered to have goiter. Those children having a palpable but only minimally enlarged
