Gary S. Olson

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is still the most lethal tick-vectored illness in the United States. We examine the dilemmas facing the clinician who is evaluating the patient with possible Rocky Mountain spotted fever, with particular attention to the following 8 pitfalls in diagnosis and treatment: (1) waiting for a petechial rash to develop before diagnosis; (2) misdiagnosing as gastroenteritis; (3) discounting a diagnosis when there is no history of a tick bite; (4) using an inappropriate geographic exclusion; (5) using an inappropriate seasonal exclusion; (6) failing to treat on clinical suspicion; (7) failing to elicit an appropriate history; and (8) failing to treat with doxycycline. Early diagnosis and proper treatment save lives.

2 patients with Dandy-Walker malformations (DWM) and cardiac anomalies are presented. The types of cardiac defects with septal involvement are suggestive of an early embryonic abnormality occurring before 6 weeks' gestational age. This correlates with the postulated timing of the development of the DWM and suggests a complex developmental anomaly. Awareness of the associated systemic and central nervous system anomalies in patients with the DWM in regard to management and prognosis is emphasized.