[Hyperuricemia following rotavirus infection].

Elevated serum levels of uric acid are caused by increased production or decreased renal excretion. Another cause of the disorder which is less familiar is hyperuricemia following rotavirus infection. This is a case study of a girl who was admitted for abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Multiple abdominal lymph nodes up to 2.8 x 3.0 cm size were noted on the ultrasound examination. The patient's laboratory findings were significant for hyperuricemia and elevation of lactic dehydrogenase. The patient had no evidence of dehydration and the combination of her clinical signs and symptoms and laboratory findings were consistent for a malignancy. Proof of the rotaviral antigen in her stool, the fact that uric acid levels returned to normal within five days, and a normal repeat ultrasound examination, ruled out this possibility. This clinical case highlights the association between hyperuricemia and rotavirus infection. An understanding of this association may avoid performing unnecessary diagnostic tests in the patient.