Over restrictive elimination of foods in children with foodallergy

Background. Previous studies demonstrated critical deficits in diagnosis and management of childhood foodallergy (FA), and recent developments in FA research support adopting a proactive approach in FA management.Our objective was to describe FA knowledge and management patterns of pediatricians.Method. We applied a 24-item survey to 170 general pediatricians, pediatric allergists and pediatricgastroenterologists practicing in Turkey.Results. Some IgE-mediated symptoms of FA such as cough, urticaria, wheezing and anaphylaxis were falselyrecognized as symptoms of non-IgE-mediated FA by 30%, 29%, 25% and 19% of the participants, respectively.By contrast, 50% of the participants falsely recognized bloody stool, a finding of IgE-mediated FA. Mostfrequently and least frequently used diagnostic tools were specific IgE (30.5%) and oral food challenge test(1.7%), respectively. Maternal diet restrictions and infant diet restrictions were advised by 82% and 82%,respectively. Percentages of physicians eliminating only 1 food were 21%, 19%; 2 foods were 15%, 11%; 3 foodswere 7%, 8%; 4-5 foods were 8%, 11%; 5 to 10 foods were 21%, 26%; and >10 foods were 28%, 25% from thematernal and infant diet, respectively. Cow’s milk, cheese, butter, yoghurt, baked milk products and hen’s eggwere the most commonly restricted items.Conclusion. Overall, FA knowledge of pediatricians was fair. Pediatricians utilize an overly restrictive approachwhen advising diet eliminations in FA. Recent developments favor a more proactive approach to induce immunetolerance and need to be encouraged in pediatric clinical practice. Future educational efforts should focus onemphasizing the deleterious effects of injudicious and extensive eliminations

Gastroesophageal reflux in children with asthma and the effect of antireflux treatment on asthma

Çocukluk çağındaki astım ve gastroözefageal reflü arasındaki ilişki uzun süredir bilinmekle birlikte, astımlı çocuklarda gastroözefageal reflünün tanı ve tedavisi halen tartışmalıdır. Çocuklarda astım-reflü ilişkisini ortaya koymak ve antireflü tedavinin sonuçlarını incelemek amacıylyapılan çalışmalar konuyu aydınlatmaya yeterli değildir. Bu derlemede, astım-reflü ilişkisi ve antireflü tedavinin etkinliğini değerlendiren çalışmaların sonuçlarının sunulması amaçlanmaktadır.Although, the relationship between asthma and gastroesophageal reflux has been known for years, diagnosis and treatment of asthma triggered gastroesophageal reflux is still controversial. The studies that aimed to evaluate the relation of asthma and reflux and results of antireflux treatment are insufficient to explain the topic. The aim of this review is to present the results of studies about asthma, reflux and efficacy of antireflux treatment

Right Middle Lobe Atelectasis In Children With Asthma And Prognostic Factors

Background: Although right middle lobe (RML)-atelectasis of the lungs is a common complication of asthma, the relevant data is limited. The aim of this study is to define the characteristics of RML atelectasis in asthma during childhood. Methods: Children with asthma who had recently developed RML atelectasis were included; anti-inflammatory medications, clarithromycin, and inhaled salbutamol were prescribed, chest-physiotherapy (starting on the sixth day) was applied. Patients were reevaluated on the sixth, fourteenth, thirtieth, and ninetieth days, chest X-rays were taken if the atelectasis had not resolved at the time of the previous visit. Results: Twenty-seven patients (6.8 (4.8-8.3) years, 48.1% male) with RML atelectasis were included. Symptoms started 15 (7-30) days before admission. The thickness of the atelectasis was 11.8 +/- 5.8 mm; FEV1% was 75.9 +/- 14.2 and Childhood Asthma Control Test scores were 11.8 +/- 5.6 at the time of admission. The atelectasis had been resolved by the sixth (n = 3), fourteenth (n = 9), thirtieth (n = 10), and ninetieth days (n = 3). The treatment response of the patients whose atelectasis resolved in fourteen days was better on the sixth-day (atelectasis thickness: 4.7 +/- 1.7 vs. 11.9 +/- 7.3 mm, p = 0.021) compared to those whose atelectasis resolved later. Nearly half (54.5%) of the patients whose atelectasis had resolved by fourteen days were using controller medications at the time of admission. However, only two patients (13.3%) were on controller treatment in the latter group (p = 0.032). Regression analysis didn't reveal any prognostic factors for the early resolution of atelectasis. Conclusions: Early diagnosis and treatment of RML atelectasis prevents complications. Patients who had early resolution of atelectasis had already been on anti-inflammatory medications, and responded better to aggressive treatment within the first week. Copyright (C) 2015, Japanese Society of Allergology. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.WoSScopu

A Potentially Fatal Outcome of Oral Contraceptive Therapy: Estrogen-Triggered Hereditary Angioedema in an Adolescent

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is characterized by recurrent angioedema attacks with no urticaria. This disease has a high mortality due to asphyxia. Level of complement component 4 (C4), C1 esterase inhibitor (C1-INH) level and function, and genetic mutations determine different endotypes of HAE. Clinical presentation and the triggers of vasogenic edema may change according to the endotypes. An adolescent girl with oligomenorrhea, obesity, hirsutism, and acanthosis nigricans was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome and prescribed ethinyl estradiol and cyproterone acetate containing oral contraceptive (OC). On the sixteenth day of treatment, she developed angioedema of the face, neck, and chest leading to dyspnea. Adrenaline, antihistamine, and corticosteroid treatments were ineffective. In the family history, the patient’s mother and two cousins had a history of angioedema. C1-INH concentrate was administered with a diagnosis of HAE. C4 and C1-INH level and activity were normal. Genetic analysis identified a mutation in the factor 12 (F12) gene, and the diagnosis of F12-related HAE was made. OC treatment was discontinued. She has had no additional angioedema attacks in the follow-up period of two years. OC containing estrogen may induce the life-threatening first attack of F12-related HAE even in children. Recurring angioedema attacks in the family should be asked before prescribing estrogen-containing OC pills

Comparative Evaluation of Common Comorbidity Scores and Freiburger Comorbidity Index as Prognostic Variables in a Real Life Multiple Myeloma Population

albayrak, murat/0000-0003-4025-741XWOS: 000386685400009PubMed: 27812251Multiple myeloma (MM) is a disease of the geriatric population with a median age at diagnosis of 69 years but most clinicians consider performance status and comorbidities rather than chronological age in determining prognosis and treatment. The purpose of this study was to assess whether and which comorbidity indices predict survival in a real life population of MM. We calculated Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), age combined Charlson index (CCI-age), Hematopoietic cell transplantation-specific comorbidity index (HCT-SCI) and Freiburger comorbidity index (FCI) retrospectively for 66 MM patients and compared their impact on treatment responses and overall survival (OS). Treatment response was significantly worse in groups with high CCI, CCI-age, HCT-SCI scales (p < 0.05), but FCI's effect on treatment response was not significant. However, while no significant relationship was determined between other comorbidity indices with OS, it was related only with FCI-CI (p = 0.006). FCI, developed in this patient group, was the only prognostic index with a significant effect on OS in the evaluation of comorbidities in MM patients with different scores, but its relationship to treatment responses was not significant contrary to other indices. While this small patient group gave us hope regarding the use of FCI in practice, multi-center studies are still required

Over restrictive elimination of foods in children with food allergy

Background. Previous studies demonstrated critical deficits in diagnosis and management of childhood food allergy (FA), and recent developments in FA research support adopting a proactive approach in FA management. Our objective was to describe FA knowledge and management patterns of pediatricians. Method. We applied a 24-item survey to 170 general pediatricians, pediatric allergists and pediatric gastroenterologists practicing in Turkey. Results. Some IgE-mediated symptoms of FA such as cough, urticaria, wheezing and anaphylaxis were falsely recognized as symptoms of non-IgE-mediated FA by 30%, 29%, 25% and 19% of the participants, respectively. By contrast, 50% of the participants falsely recognized bloody stool, a finding of IgE-mediated FA. Most frequently and least frequently used diagnostic tools were specific IgE (30.5%) and oral food challenge test (1.7%), respectively. Maternal diet restrictions and infant diet restrictions were advised by 82% and 82%, respectively. Percentages of physicians eliminating only 1 food were 21%, 19%; 2 foods were 15%, 11%; 3 foods were 7%, 8%; 4-5 foods were 8%, 11%; 5 to 10 foods were 21%, 26%; and >10 foods were 28%, 25% from the maternal and infant diet, respectively. Cow’s milk, cheese, butter, yoghurt, baked milk products and hen’s egg were the most commonly restricted items. Conclusion. Overall, FA knowledge of pediatricians was fair. Pediatricians utilize an overly restrictive approach when advising diet eliminations in FA. Recent developments favor a more proactive approach to induce immune tolerance and need to be encouraged in pediatric clinical practice. Future educational efforts should focus on emphasizing the deleterious effects of injudicious and extensive eliminations