June 2010

20. Stevenson RE, Schroer RJ, Skinner C, Fender D, Simensen RJ. Autism and macrocephaly. Lancet 1997;349:1744-5. 21. Asch AJ, Myers GJ. Benign familial macrocephaly: report of a family and review of the literature. Pediatrics 1976;57:535-9. 22. StataCorp. Stata Statistical Software: Release 10. College Station, TX: StataCorp; 2007. 23. Archie JG, Collins JS, Lebel RR. Quantitative standards for fetal and neonatal autopsy. Am J Clin Pathol 2006;126:256-65. 24. Bushby KM, Cole T, Matthews JN, Goodship JA. Centiles for adult head circumference. Arch Dis Child 1992;67:1286-7.

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25. Weaver DD, Christian JC. Familial variation of head size and adjustment for parental head circumference. J Pediatr 1980;96:990-4. 26. Borghi E, de Onis M, Garza C, Van den Broeck J, Frongillo EA, Grummer-Strawn L, et al. Construction of the World Health Organization child growth standards: selection of methods for attained growth curves. Stat Med 2006;25:247-65. 27. Custer JW, Rau RE, editors. The Harriet Lane Handbook: A Manual for Pediatric House Ofcers. 18th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2009. 28. Jones KL. Smiths Recognizable Patterns of Human Malformations. 6th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2006.

50 Years Ago in THE JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS The Etiology of Cat-Scratch Fever (Comments on Current Literature)
Blattner RJ. J Pediatr 1960;56:839-41

urrently it is certain that the etiologic agent of cat scratch disease is the bacterium Bartonella, henselae. Cats, usually kittens, are the reservoir for B henselae and frequently are bacteremic for a prolonged period (eg, longer than 1 year) and are asymptomatic. The human inoculation event usually is a scratch, but exactly how the bacterium gets from the cats bloodstream to the claw is debated. There were several mis-steps along the etiologic path that ended at B henselae. Blattner, in the June 1960 issue of The Journal, retells of prior mis-steps and adds a few more from experimentation and exuberance at the time. Before 1960, cat scratch disease was summarily ascribed to a .virus probably in the group of psittacosis-venereal lymphogranuloma agents (neither of which, incidentally, is a virus). Blattner reviews new evidence showing that rabbits immunized using material from lymph nodes of patients with cat scratch fever produced a hemagglutinating antibody. Researchers stated in 1960 that good evidence has been obtained that the hemagglutinin is a virus.and will be published. Agglutinating antibodies aside, an inciting virus was not to be found. Years passed without an etiologic agent, without a conrmatory blood test, and with doctors (including this writer) actually injecting intradermally into suspect patients an antigen from a local stash crudely prepared by the Frei method from lymph node aspiration of purulent material from a typical case. Skin reaction conrmed the diagnosis. By 1975, even before discovery of HIV or blood transmission of hepatitis viruses, this did not seem safe. The discovery of a purported etiologic agent from Armed Forces Institute of Pathology material and named after the Institute as a new genus and species, Apia felis, was the next mis-step. Then the causative bacillus was thought to belong to the genus Rochalimaea before the dust nally settled on B henselae. There followed quickly identication of an ever-expanding spectrum of disease and identication of B henselae as a major cause of certain clinical constellations such as fever of unknown origin, acute encephalopathy, and granulomatous infection in at bones and in bone marrow of long bones. There is still room for discovery in diagnostic tests, treatment, and prevention. Sarah S. Long, MD Section of Infectious Diseases St Christophers Hospital for Children Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.12.050

United States Head Circumference Growth Reference Charts: Birth to 21 Years

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