Infectious mononucleosis in a 3-year-old male child: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

We present a case of Infectious mononucleosis in a 3-year-old male who presented to us with a one-day history of sore throat, difficulty breathing, fever and general malaise. Examination showed marked enlarged hyperaemic bilateral tonsils with white exudates, palatal petechiae, dyspnoea, drooling, periorbital oedema and generalised lymphadenopathy. However, on day 7 post admission and treatment he developed a clearly defined, maculopapular rash, pruritic in nature, which was accompanied with slight fever of 37.8*. His past history included an episode of otitis media which was treated with amoxicillin and prior to the above presentation the child was well. The rest of the history was unremarkable. Full blood count revealed monocytosis, lymphocytosis and thrombocytosis. PCR was positive for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The patient was treated and therapy was instituted with good recovery. He was discharged on day 11 post admission.