Heparin Infusion to Prevent Umbilical Venous Catheter Related Thrombosis in Neonates

Objective: To investigate umbilical venous catheter (UVC) related thrombosis by Doppler echocardiographic evaluation of neonates infused with heparin or placebo

Breast-feeding-associated hypernatremia: Retrospective analysis of 169 term newborns

WOS: 000253121600006PubMed: 18279201Background: The aim of the present paper was to define the incidence, complications, morbidity and mortality of hypernatremic dehydration due to inadequate breast-feeding in a neonatal intensive care unit. Methods: A retrospective study was carried out between 2002 and 2005, to identify the term breast-fed neonates with serum sodium level >= 150 mEq/L at the Ministry of Health Ankara Diskapi Children's and Research Hospital. Results: The incidence of hypernatremic dehydration secondary to inadequate breast-feeding was 4.1%, occurring in 169 term infants among 4136 hospitalized term neonates with the following characteristics: mean gestational age, 39.1 weeks (37-42 weeks); birthweight, 3352 g (2200-4500 g); mother's age, 26.1 years (17-38 years); weight loss, 15.9% (5.4-32.7%); proportion of spontaneous vaginal deliveries, 75.7%; and proportion of first-time mothers, 74.6%. Major presenting symptoms were neonatal jaundice (47.3%) and poor infant suck (29.6%). The median sodium; blood urea nitrogen (BUN); and creatinine levels on admission were 155 mmol/L (150-194 mmol/L), 35 mg/dL (7-253 mg/dL), and 0.9 mg/dL (0.2-10 mg/dL), respectively. Major complications were as follows: acute renal failure, 82.8%; elevated liver enzymes, 20.7%; disseminated intravascular coagulation, 6.5%; brain edema, 5.2%; intracranial hemorrhage, 3.6%; cavernous sinus thrombosis, 1.2%; and bilateral iliac artery thrombosis, 0.6%. Ten patients (5.9%) developed seizure within the first 24 h of rehydration therapy with a mean sodium decrease of 11.9 mmol/L per day (4-19 mmol/L per day). Two patients (1.2%) died. There were positive correlation between weight loss and serum sodium, BUN, bilirubin levels (P 0.05). Conclusions: Hypernatremic dehydration in neonates due to inadequate breast-feeding is a serious, potentially devastating and life-threatening disorder, and can damage the central nervous system. Follow up of infants for adequate breast-feeding is important. Pediatricians must maintain a high level of suspicion, especially in cases of pathologic infant weight loss after delivery

Diagnostic efficacy and importance of fine-needle aspiration cytology of thyroid nodules

Background: Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules is an easy and cost-effective method. The increase in malignancy rates of the excised nodules due to the high sensitivity and specificity rates of the FNAC is remarkable. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of FNAC in the evaluation of thyroid nodules by comparing the results with histopathologic evaluation and comparing the consistency of the results with the literature. Materials and Methods: In this study, 1607 FNACs of 1333 patients which were classified according to the Bethesda system and 126 histopathological evaluations obtained from this group were evaluated. The mean age of the patients was 51.24 (range: 17-89, 17% male and 83% female). The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy rates were evaluated. Results: The sensitivity was 87.1% and specificity was 64.6%. The positive and negative predictive value and accuracy rates were 76.1%, 79.5%, and 77.3%, respectively. Conclusions: In our study, the evaluation of thyroid FNAC samples with Bethesda system highly correlated with the results of histopathological diagnosis. However, combination of additional and advanced diagnostic methods such as immunocytochemical studies and molecular pathology techniques enhance the prognostic value of FNAC in patients with atypia of undetermined significance or follicular lesion of undetermined significance, lesions suspicious for malignancy, and suspected follicular neoplasm

Wheezing, asthma, and atopy in premature infants at 2 years of age

Background/aim: We aimed to evaluate wheezing, bronchial asthma (BA), and atopy in premature infants at 2 years of age via a cross-sectional study

Melatonin is a potent modulator of antioxidative defense and cellular proliferation against aluminum toxicity in rats

Aluminum is the most abundant metal on earth, known for its toxicity to humans and laboratory animals. Melatonin, produced by the pineal gland, has been shown to be an effective antioxidant. In this study, we investigated the possible protective role of melatonin in modulating toxicity and oxidative stress induced by chronic exposure to aluminum in the small intestine of rats. Wistar albino rats were divided into five groups. Group I served as the control and received only physiological saline, Group II served as the control for the melatonin group and received ethanol and physiological saline, Group III received melatonin, Group IV received aluminum sulfate, and Group V received aluminum sulfate and melatonin, injected three times per week for 1 month. Administration of aluminum caused degenerative changes in small intestine tissues, such as histological damage, increase in metallothionein immunoreactivity, and decrease in cellular proliferation index. Moreover, intestinal glutathione levels, and catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, sodium/potassium-ATPase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities decreased, while lipid peroxidation and myeloperoxidase levels, and alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, and xanthine oxidase activities increased in the aluminum group. Administration of melatonin mostly prevented these effects. Consequently, we can say that melatonin protects the intestine from aluminum toxicity through its antioxidant and proliferative effects