Necrotising enterocolitis [Nekrotizan enterokolit]

Many factors have a role in the etiology of necrotising enterocolitis whose pathogenesis is not understood yet. Prematurity, hypoxia, enteral feeding and bacterial colonization in guts have played a role in the etiopathogenesis. Because of the occurence of epidemias of necrotising enterocolitis, infectious causes are also accused. Intestinal ischemia due to the vasoconstrictor metabolites is the common pathogenetic pathway in necrotising enterocolitis. The most prominent lesions are coagulation and ischemic necrosis. Clinical signs resemble to sepsis. In this review article, necroting enterocolitis, detected as an important cause of mortality and morbidity in newborn intensive care units, is reviewed

Bartter syndrome and microcephaly [Bartter sendromu ve mikrosefali]

Bartter Syndrome, is characterized by hypokalemic metabolic alkalozis, increased renin and aldosterone levels in spite of normal blood pressure with unknown aetiology. Here we report a 5 month old boy admitting with growth retardation and vomiting, diagnosed as Bartter Syndrome in associaion with craniosnostasis and microcephaly

Neonatal sepsis: A continuing disease burden

PubMedID: 23427506Sepsis-related morbidity and mortality are increasing concerns in all Neonatal Intensive Care Units, with reported incidences that are dramatically high regardless of the improvements in the quality of neonatal assistance. Preterm neonates display clinical characteristics that make them prone to infections. Neonatal sepsis is one of the major causes of neonatal death in developing countries. Different microorganisms are responsible for disease according to the age at onset. Simple preventive and treatment strategies have the potential to save many newborns from sepsis-related death. This article is a review for understanding issues related to sepsis in the neonatal intensive care unit

Neonatal diabetes mellitus

PubMedID: 16891687Neonatal diabetes mellitus is a rare form of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus that present within the first month of life, lasting at least two weeks and requiring insulin therapy. Intrauterine growth restriction, failure to thrive, fever, dehydration, hyperglycemia and acidosis with or without ketonuria are the clinical features of the disease. We report four cases of neonatal diabetes mellitus; two of them had a transient course

Bacterial menengitis in childhood [Çocukluk çaginda bakteriyel menenjitler]

Bacterial menengitis is described as occurence of bacteria in cerebrospinal fluid. Prognosis of bacterial meningitis in dependent on many factors such as the age of patient, period of illness before start of therapy, dansity of bacterial products or number of colony is cerebrospinal fluid at the time of diagnosis, inflamatory response of the patient and the time for sterilization of cerebrospinal fluid cultures. The infection may appear with symptoms of fever, headache, vomiting, irritability, convulsions, stupor, neck sthiffness and fontanel bulging meninks in infant

Viral menengitis in childhood [Çocukluk çaginda viral menenjitler]

Aseptic menengitis occur due to many aetiologies, mostly viruses. Enteroviruses are responsible more than 80% of the cases. The other frequent aetiologies are arboviruses and mumps viruses. Aseptic menengitis may be the only sign of mumps. Leptospirosis, mycobacterium and cryptococcosus may be enumerated among other aetiologies of aseptic menengitis besides viral factors. Echoviruses, coxackie viruses, herpes simplex viruses and human immundeficiency viruses are the main causes of aseptic menengitis in developed countries while polioviruses, mumps, lympocytic coriomenegitis virus are more frequently seen in developing countries

Menengitis and some cytokines [Menenjit ve bazi sitokinler]

In the last 30 years, some evidence about the release of some factors other than immunoglobulins from the immune system cells which play an important role between cell interactions are found. The factors that release proteinous substances from immun system cells are called "cytokines" and cytokines are effective in each step of inflammation and immunity including differentiation of bone marrow, antigen presenting, cell maturation, expression of adhesion molecules and response of acute phase reactants cytokines are grouped as for cell origin such as; monokines if originated from mononuclear phagocytes, lymphokines if originated from T cells or grouped functionally as humoral, cellular, allergic or immunosupressive cytokines

Procalcitonin [Prokalsitonin]

In recent years, there are many studies on serum procalcitonin (PCT) levels, a characteristic test in systemic inflammatory response. There are many studies not only suggesting the usefulness of procalcitonin measurement in diagnosis of severe bacterial infections, but also reporting increase of procalcitonin in systemic inflammation such as severe injuries. Studies suggesting the procalcitonin as the best marker in differentiating the bacteriel and viral infections in children and adults, are predominating

Are vital signs indicative for bacteremia in newborns?

PubMedID: 25367556Objective: Neonatal systemic infection is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality both in industrialized and developing countries. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate if vital signs had a predictive power in neonatal sepsis as an early marker.Methods: This study was designed as a matched case-control study. Vital signs were monitorized prior to infection in newborns that had healthcare-associated blood stream infection (BSI). Maximum and minimum values of the vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and temperature) of the babies at rest were recorded from the nurse observation charts five days prior to clinical sepsis and compared with vital signs of healthy, age-matched babies.Results: Maximum mean heart rates, respiratory rates and systolic blood pressure levels of the patients in BSI group were significantly higher than the control group in the past three days prior to clinical deterioration.Conclusion: Monitoring vital signs closely might be helpful in a newborn infant to define a BSI. In future, a respiratory and blood pressure predictive monitoring system such as heart rate variability index may be developed for newborn patients with sepsis. © 2014 Informa UK Ltd

Respiratory distress syndrome [Sikintili solunum sendromu]

Respiratory distress caused by surfactant deficiency and global immaturity of lungs is called "respiratory distress syndrome". Hyaline membrane disease is a pathologic diagnosis characterized by hyaline membrane formation due to alveolar injury and exudation which are caused by surfactant deficiency. All the infants, born before 28 weeks of gestation, and most of the infants, born prior to 32 weeks of gestation, develop RDS