eMedicine Specialties > Emergency Medicine > Pediatric

Pediatrics, Roseola Infantum: Follow-up

Author: Lisa S Lewis, MD, Consulting Staff, Division of Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Jul 14, 2009

Follow-up

Deterrence/Prevention

  • Because of the ubiquity of the virus, isolation of patients with HHV-6 infection is probably unnecessary.

Complications

  • Febrile seizures
  • Encephalitis (rare)
  • Meningitis
    • According to Yoshikawa and Asano, the presence of HHV-6 in cerebrospinal fluid has been demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction in 3 of 8 children with febrile seizures and in 3 of 3 children with encephalitis.4
    • CNS primary invasion and complications by HHV-6 appear to occur during the acute febrile portion of the illness.
  • Hepatitis

Prognosis

  • The clinical course is acute and benign, and complete recovery without sequelae is expected.
  • The skin eruption gradually fades and resolves without scarring.

Patient Education

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Failure to recognize sequelae or other life-threatening febrile illnesses
 


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References
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References

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Further Reading

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Keywords

roseola infantum, childhood exanthem, roseola, prodromal febrile illness, maculopapular rash, pink maculopapular rash, human herpesvirus type 6, HHV-6, hepatitis, encephalitis, hemophagocytic syndrome, mononucleosis-like illness, fulminant hepatitis, adult mononucleosislike illness, cell-associated viremia, febrile seizure, erythematous rash, bulging anterior fontanel, Nagayama spots, HHV-A, HHV6-B, palpebral edema, Herpesviridae, human herpesvirus type 7, HHV7, exanthem subitum, immunoglobulin M serology, IgM serology, HHV-6-specific immunoglobulin G, HHV-6-specific IgG

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Lisa S Lewis, MD, Consulting Staff, Division of Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati
Lisa S Lewis, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Garry Wilkes, MBBS, FACEM, Director of Emergency Medicine, Bunbury Hospital, Western Australia; Medical Director, St John Ambulance, WA Ambulance Service; Adjunct Associate Professor, Edith Cowan University; Clinical Associate Professor, Rural Clinical School, University of Western Australia, Australia.
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Mary L Windle, PharmD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Pfizer Inc Stock Investment from financial planner; Avanir Pharma Stock Investment from financial planner ; WebMD Salary and stock Employment and investment from financial planner

Managing Editor

Grace M Young, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland Medical Center
Grace M Young, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics and American College of Emergency Physicians
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

John D Halamka, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Richard G Bachur, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School; Associate Chief and Fellowship Director, Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital of Boston
Richard G Bachur, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and Society for Pediatric Research
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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