Are Mean Platelet Volume and Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Related with Hepatosteatosis in Obese Children?

Objective: Obesity is an important health problem, which affects children and adolescents and is highly prevalent throughout the world. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is fattening that occurs due to non-alcohol causes, and it is associated with obesity in most of the cases. We investigated the relation of mean platelet volume (MPV) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) to hepatosteatosis in obese children in our study.Material and Methods: 104 obese children aged between 4-16 years, who were determined to have a body mass index (BMI) of 95th percentile or higher according to age and gender, were examined retrospectively. The genders, ages, and examination findings of the patients were recorded. In obese children, leukocyte, hemoglobin, platelet, mean platelet volume, neutrophil and lymphocyte levels were assessed in the complete blood count performed during the first application. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio was calculated. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) and fasting insulin, serum aminotransferase values, ultrasonographic results of patients were recorded.Results: Hepatosteatosis was determined in 64 of 104 patients (61.53%) while it was not determined in 40 patients (38.47%). The BMI, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, ALT levels were higher in obese children with hepatosteatosis than patients without hepatosteatosis. The average MPV of the group with hepatosteatosis was 7.78±1.57, and the average MPV of the group without hepatosteatosis was 7.42±1.43, no statistical difference was observed between the groups (p=0.236). The average NLR was 1.62±1.06 in the group with hepatosteatosis and 1.38±0.59 in the group without hepatosteatosis. There was no statistical difference between the NLR averages of both groups (p=0.200).Conclusion: No relation was determined between MPV and NLR and liver fattening in obese children

Evaluation of Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis Cases Presenting with Different Clinical Findings

Introduction: Extrapulmonary tuberculosis cases may display different clinical symptoms and this causes a delay in diagnosis. Nutritional deficiencies, migrations, and wars facilitate the development and the spreading speed of the disease. The aim of this article is to examine extrapulmonary tuberculosis patients with different clinical presentations.Method: In this study, 15 extrapulmoner tuberculosis cases who were hospitalized and treated in our pediatrics clinic in the last two years, has been evaluated retrospectively.Results: The average age of our group was 11.7 ± 4.5 and six of the assessed patients were Syrian origin. The shared complaints of five patients diagnosed with peritoneal tuberculosis were abdominal pain and bloating. Abdominal ultrasonography findings of the patients in concordance with diffuse ascites. Two of these patients, Mycobacterium tuberculosis had peritoneal effusion. All of the five patients diagnosed with lymph node tuberculosis had swelling on the neck, and all had pulmonary involvement. However, only one patient's lymph node biopsy was concordant with tuberculosis. One patient bone tuberculosis patient applied to our clinic with hip and back pain symptom. Pott’s abscess was observed in the patient's thorax MRI and hip MRI was concordant with tuberculous arthritis. Our patient with renal tuberculosis was diagnosed during evaluation of sterile pyuria attacks and in her urine ARB (+) was detected and M. tuberculosis grew in urine culture. One patient with central nervous system involvement applied to our clinic with clouding of consciousness and headache. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings of the patient were concordant with tuberculosis and growth was observed in the CSF culture. One case with miliary tuberculosis had hypercalcemia and pulmonary involvement. The patient's M. tuberculosis DNA PCR test was positive in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Another patient with pericardial tuberculosis applied due to respiratory distress and had cardiomegaly and pericardial effusion. Nine of our patients also had a contact history, 12 had purified protein derivative of tuberculin (PPD) (+), and 11 had pulmonary involvement.Conclusion: Patients were admitted to our outpatient clinic with various clinical symptoms. After careful physical examinations were performed, detailed patient histories were taken and laboratory tests performed for differentials, patients were diagnosed with extrapulmonary tuberculosis. It was desired to emphasize that this disease may appear with different clinical presentations in endemic regions like our country

Consumer willingness to pay for organic sea bass in Turkey

This study analyzes the willingness of Turkish consumers to pay for organically farmed sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). A contingent valuation survey was conducted during 2004 in six super- markets in Adana, Turkey. An ordered probit analysis with a sample selection model was used to determine the probability of consumers’ willingness to pay for organically farmed sea bass by considering related explanatory variables. Results indicate that 91.5% of the respondents would be willing to pay a premium for organically farmed sea bass. Econometric results suggest that willingness to pay is mainly related to household income, education, food safety concerns, whether the respondent is the primary food shopper in household, and whether there are chil- dren under the age of 10 in the household

Respiratory Distress in Infants and Congenital Lobar Emphysema

Congenital lobar emphysema (CLE) is a rare congenital lung abnormality. Intrinsic or extrinsic obstruction of the lobar bronchus causes air trapping and hyperinflation Clinical presentation may vary from asymptomatic to acute neonatal respiratory failure, recurrent infectious episodes and tachypnea episodes. Lobectomy has been recognized as the most effective method of treatment in patients with severe symptoms. With the widespread use of antenatal ultrasound and radiological imaging in recent years, now it is possible to diagnose CLE in asymptomatic infants or infants with mild symptoms. In this paper, we present the case of a early diagnosed CLE in an infant who was followed up conservatively

How much should we observe patients with mad honey poisoning?

WOS: 000396830900014The aim of this study was to understand better the pathophysiology of this intoxication by evaluating the effect of mad honey ingestion on Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) diameters and IVC Collapsibility Index (IVC-CI) and develop an objective algorithm for the duration of fluid replacement and observation. the patients with the medical history of mad honey ingestion and admitted to the emergency service due to the signs of mad honey poisoning were analysed. Their data concerning age, gender, admission symptoms and the time of onset of these symptoms, the vital signs during admission, the administered treatment, the post-treatment recovery time and vital signs were all recorded. the inferior vena cava diameter and the IVC collapsibility index were assessed by ultrasonography. of 29 patients included in the study, 79.31% were male, the average age was 52.76 +/- 17.52 years, and the most common cause of admission was dizziness. While 0.9% saline solution was administered to all patients, in 82.75% intravenous atropine was started. Significant differences were determined between the vital signs, the inferior vena cava diameters, and the collapsibility indexes of the pre and post treatment periods. the ingestion of mad honey should be questioned in the medical history in patients who were admitted to the emergency services due to hypotension, bradycardia, and syncope. the assessment of the vital signs and the measurement of the inferior vena cava diameters of the patients should be the parts of the follow-up. the monitoring of the responses to the administered atropine and/or normal saline solutions should be made by the ultrasonographic assessment of the inferior vena cava diameter and the IVC Collapsibility Index (IVC-CI), in addition to monitoring the vital signs

Efeito da obesidade na função ventilatória Impact of obesity on ventilatory function

OBJETIVO: Embora a obesidade tenha sido associada ao comprometimento grave da ventilação, a maior parte da população estudada constitui-se de adultos com obesidade mórbida. Nosso objetivo foi investigar os efeitos da obesidade leve na função ventilatória de pacientes pediátricos. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal controlado que analisou 80 pacientes (M/F: 35/45) avaliados em nosso ambulatório, com queixa de sobrepeso, sem histórico de asma ou de outras atopias, comparando-os a um grupo controle com 50 crianças de peso normal controladas para a idade e para o sexo. A média de idade dos pacientes foi de 9,7&plusmn;2,5 anos (7 a 15 anos). Todos os indivíduos foram submetidos a medições antropométricas e à espirometria. A capacidade vital forçada (CVF) e o volume expiratório forçado no primeiro segundo (VEF1) foram usados como medidas da função ventilatória. RESULTADOS: Não houve diferenças significativas nas VEF1%, CVF% e VEF1%/CVF% por grupo de estudo (p > 0,05). Apenas três pacientes tiveram alterações obstrutivas relatadas em seus testes de função pulmonar (dois tiveram alterações moderadamente graves e um teve alterações obstrutivas leves). Não houve correlação entre os parâmetros da função pulmonar e as medidas antropométricas. CONCLUSÃO: Esses dados mostram que os parâmetros do teste da função pulmonar em crianças com obesidade leve foram semelhantes àqueles das crianças com peso normal. As medidas antropométricas não mostraram nenhum efeito significativo nas medições espirométricas das crianças, como ocorreu nos adultos.<br>OBJECTIVE: Although obesity was found to be associated with severe impairment of ventilation, most of the study population has been morbidly obese adults. We aimed to explore the effects of mild obesity on ventilatory function in the pediatric age group. METHODS: In a cross-sectional controlled study, 80 patients (M/F: 35/45), who were evaluated in our outpatient clinic with the complaint of excess body weight, with no history of asthma or other atopic diseases were studied and compared to a control group of 50 normal weight children controlled for age and sex. The mean age of patients was 9.7&plusmn;2.5 years (7 to 15 years). Anthropometric measurements and spirometry were performed in all subjects. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) were used as measures of ventilatory function. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in FEV1%, FVC% and FEV1%/FVC% by study group (p > 0.05). Only three patients had obstructive abnormalities documented on their pulmonary function tests (two had moderately severe and one had mild obstructive abnormalities). No correlation was observed between pulmonary function parameters and anthropometric measurements. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate that pulmonary function test parameters of the mildly obese children were similar to those of the normal weight children. Anthropometric measurements had no significant effect on spirometric measurements in children as they did on adults