An 8-year-old boy presented with a 3-day history of a “white coating” in his mouth. He denies having a sore throat, upper respiratory infection symptoms, gastrointestinal distress, change in appetite, or fever. His immunizations are up-to-date; he has been undergoing normal development, as told by his mother. His weight, however, has fallen from the 25th percentile to the 5th percentile. He was hospitalized three times last year with pneumonia or dehydration.
His family history is remarkable only for maternal hepatitis C infection related to past intravenous (IV) drug use. The patient is afebrile today, but his examination is notable for severe gingivitis, bilateral cervical and axillary lymphadenopathy, exudates on his buccal mucosa, and hepatomegaly. What is your most likely diagnosis for this boy? *This Case Challenge is from the Editorial Team of Docplexus and is meant for…
