Aim: Acute bronchiolitis is a lower respiratory tract infection caused by viral agents in children aged under two years. Treatment includes hydration, oxygen, nebulized salbutamol, and intravenous steroids. This study aimed to determine the clinically related factors, the effect of viral agents on the clinical picture, and the efficacy of treatment methods in patients admitted with acute bronchiolitis.
Material and methods: Patients aged under two years of age who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of moderate/severe acute bronchiolitis between March 2015 and March 2019 were included in the study. Demographic data, hospitalization time, body temperature, presence of congenital heart disease, history of atopy, acute-phase reactants, mean platelet volume values, and respiratory virus panel results were recorded. The treatment modalities, length of hospitalization, intensive care hospitalization, and high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy (HFNC) were recorded.
Results: Four hundred twenty-two patients were included in the study. The duration of hospitalization was found to be significantly longer in patients aged under one year and in patients with acyanotic congenital heart disease. A single viral agent was detected in 69 (51.9%) patients. Rhinovirus was detected in 70 patients and RSV was detected in 37. The duration of hospitalization was found to be significantly shorter in patients who received only oxygen and/or intravenous fluid treatment compared with those who received nebulized salbutamol and/or intravenous steroids. In addition, and there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of HFNC and hospitalization in the intensive care unit.
Conclusion: Rhinovirus was the most common cause of acute bronchiolitis in our study. It was observed that congenital heart disease prolonged the length of hospitalization. In the treatment approaches, it was observed that hydration and oxygen therapy were sufficient treatment methods for the patients, in accordance with the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and giving nebulized therapy prolonged the hospitalization period due to the treatment discontinuation steps.
Sarcoidosis is a chronic multisystemic granulomatous disease that predominantly involves the thoracic lymph nodes and lungs and primarily occurs in young adults. Isolated extrapulmonary localization is uncommon in adults, and exceptionally rare in the pediatric age group. A 4-year-old male patient with chronic diarrhea and abdominal distention for the last 8 months is presented. Endoscopic biopsies, obtained during gastroscopy and colonoscopy, revealed noncaseating granulomas in all segments of the gastrointestinal tract. A noncaseating granuloma was also demonstrated in the liver biopsy. Granulomatous inflammation of both the gastrointestinal system and liver along with elevated serum angiotensin-converting enzyme were consistent with sarcoidosis. The peculiarity of our pediatric sarcoidosis was the involvement of whole gastrointestinal system, which is exceptionally rare in all age groups. Furthermore, this is the youngest case in the literature with gastrointestinal and hepatic sarcoidosis in the absence of pulmonary involvement at onset.
Aim: Urinary tract infections are the most common genitourinary tract disease in children, and inappropriate antibiotic and/or dose selection increase the likelihood of resistance. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of urinary tract infection pathogens, patterns of resistance to antibiotics, and empirical treatment options.
Material and methods: Between January 2013 and December 2017, urine culture and antibiogram results of pediatric patients aged 0 days to 16 years were analyzed retrospectively. Antibiotic susceptibilities were determined using disc diffusion according to methods of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute.
Results: Of the 1326 children with culture growth, 1070 (80.6%) were female and 256 (19.3%) were male. The most common microorganism found was (1138, 85.8%) E. Coli, followed by Klebsiella spp. (71, 5.3%), Enterobacter spp. (44, 3.3%), and Proteus spp. (28, 2.1%). High frequency of resistance to ampicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam, amoxicillin-clavulanate, cefuroxime axetil, as TMP-SMX was detected in all microorganisms, whereas resistance to amikacin, meropenem, imipenem, ertapenem, fosfomycin, and nitrofurantoin was low.
Conclusion: E. coli was the most common causative agent of urinary tract infections in childhood. High resistance to ampicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam, amoxicillin-clavulanate, cefuroxime axetil, and TMP-SMX was detected in all agents in our center.
Aim: To evaluate the birth prevalence of specifically selected major congenital anomalies and to determine the correlated neonatal and maternal characteristics.
Material and methods: Data were collected retrospectively from hospital-based records of infants who were born at 22 completed weeks of gestation with a birth weight of more than 500 g in Zekai Tahir Burak Gynecology Training and Research Hospital between 2013 and 2018. Abortions, stillbirths, and terminated pregnancies due to fetal anomalies were excluded. Average annual prevalences were calculated for each selected major congenital anomaly.
Results: The total prevalence of congenital anomalies was 9.97 per 1000 in 102 379 live birth cohorts. The prevalence of severe congenital heart anomalies (SI-SII) was found as 21.1 per 10 000 live births. Down syndrome and meningomyelocele were the second and third most common anomalies, after congenital heart defects (13.87 and 9.97 per 10 000 live births, respectively). The prevalence of anomalies requiring specific surgery was found as 4.3 per 1000 live births. Congenital heart disease was present in 31.7% of patients who had Down syndrome. Atrioventricular septal defect accounted for 53.3% of congenital heart anomalies detected in Down syndrome. The prevalence of Down syndrome in babies of mothers aged 35 years and older was found as 46.67 per 10 000, which was significantly higher than in the group aged under 35 years (8.24 per 10 000). On the other hand, the prevalence of gastroschisis in babies of mothers aged 19 years and under was found as 5.81 per 10 000, which was higher than in the group aged 20 years and over (0.84 per 10 000).
Conclusion: The actual magnitude of the number of births affected by congenital anomalies in Turkey is unknown. In our study, congenital heart diseases, Down syndrome, and meningomyelocele were found to be the most common congenital anomalies, respectively.
Aim: To determine the attitudes of child and adolescent psychiatrists working in different institutions throughout Turkey towards smoking addiction and intervention steps.
Material and methods: An information form assessing physicians' 5As approach was established considering the studies included in the literature, and this form was applied to physicians working in the area of child psychiatry by way of e-mail and phone.
Results: Although most physicians (52.5%) asked about smoking status, which is included in the first step in the 5As approach used in smoking cessation, it was observed that they implemented further steps of the 5As with gradually decreasing rates in our study. Only 15% of the physicians performed follow-up in smoking cessation treatment.
Conclusion: Physicians who work with pediatric and adolescent patients in Turkey have low levels of awareness about smoking addiction and they do not feel competent. Considering that tobacco and related addictions are gradually increasing in children and adolescents, physicians must receive training in the area of smoking cessation methods and start practicing these methods. It was thought that organizing smoking cessation training for physicians would contribute positively to the treatment of patients.
Aim: Viral infections commonly affect kidney transplant recipients and may lead to graft failure and death. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibody seroprevalence against viral agents in kidney transplant recipients.
Material and methods: The records of children who underwent kidney transplantation between 2008 and 2018 in Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine were retrospectively reviewed. Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, hepatitis A virus, hepatitis B virus, varicella, measles, rubella and mumps serologies evaluated before transplantation, were recorded. The clinical characteristics of seronegative and seropositive patients were compared, and factors that affected seropositivity were investigated.
Results: The study included 253 children with a mean age of 16.7±6.23 years. The mean age at transplantation was 11.4±5.01 years. The seropositivity rates for vaccine-preventable viral infections varied: hepatitis B 89.7%, hepatitis A 60.5%, measles 78.7%, rubella 88.1%, mumps 61.2%, and varicella 71.9%. Cytomegalovirus seropositivity was 92.1% and Epstein-Barr virus seropositivity was 82.2%. Hepatitis B antibody positivity was 91.8% in patients undergoing hemodialysis, 94.5% in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis, and 84.9% in pre-emptive transplantation patients (p=0.037). The mean age at transplantation was higher in patients with seropositivity for both cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus compared with seronegative patients (p<0.001 for both). The mean age at transplantation and diagnosis of glomerular disease was found to be effective for varicella seropositivity in multivariate regression analysis (OR 0.860, 95% CI: 0.808-0.915, p<0.001 and OR 2.502, 95% CI: 1.321-4.739, p=0.005, respectively).
Conclusion: It is important to screen patients with chronic kidney disease in terms of vaccine-preventable diseases to identify risky groups of patients and to immunize these patients before end-stage kidney disease develops.