Evaluation of Cross-Reactivity Between Penicillins and Cephalosporins in Children with a History of Cephalosporin Allergy.

Objectives: The cross-reactivity problem between cephalosporins and penicillins has mainly been evaluated in the context of patients allergic to penicillins. However, we have little data regarding the opposite aspect of the problem, i.e.

Effects of wheezing in early childhood in the development of allergic rhinitis in later years.

Background: Studies on the long-term effects of wheezing in infancy have particularly focused on asthma. There isn't adequate information about the effects of wheezing in the development of allergic rhinitis in later years.

Objective: In this study, children with wheezing in the first year of life were investigated in terms of allergic rhinitis after five years of age.

Niemann - Pick disease associated with hemophagocytic syndrome.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a disease characterized by phagocytosis of blood cells by macrophages within the lymphoreticular tissue. It can develop secondary to some diseases or be familial as a result of genetic mutations. Niemann-Pick disease (NPD) is a very rare lipid storage disease.

Etiology of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in young children.

Objective: Evaluation of children younger than two years old admitted to a pediatric emergency department with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Methods: Thirty four (34) children aged < 2 years with upper gastrointestinal bleeding were studied. The demographic features, etiologies, laboratory and endoscopic findings and treatment procedures were evaluated retrospectively.

Pediatricians' knowledge about recent advances in anaphylaxis treatment in Istanbul, Turkey.

Severe anaphylactic reactions are medical emergencies in children and require immediate recognition and treatment. Many advances have been reported recently in the treatment of anaphylaxis. Despite this, little is known about whether or not these advances are known by all pediatricians.

Comparison of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in children between 3 months and 2 years versus 2-5 years.

It has been reported that infantile idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) has different clinical features than ITP seen in older ages and classification of bleeding sites and grading of bleeding severity can be used in determining the risk of bleeding. In this study, patients with ITP were divided into two groups according to age (<2 years and 2-5 years). The clinical features, laboratory findings, treatment modalities, rate of response and chronicity, bleeding sites, grades of bleeding were compared between each group.

Etiologies of seizures in young children admitted to an inner city hospital in a developing country.

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to document the etiologies of seizures in young children in an urban reference hospital in a developing county.

Methods: One hundred fifty-six children (aged 1 to 24 months) hospitalized in an inner city hospital between 2000 and 2004 with seizures were evaluated retrospectively in terms of etiologies and some risk factors.

Results: The seizures were cryptogenic (presumed symptomatic) in 9 (5%) patients, symptomatic in 29 (18.

Effects of nebulized corticosteroids therapy on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in young children with recurrent or persistent wheeze.

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are preferred drugs for the long-term treatment of all severities of asthma in children. However, data about the safety of ICS in infants is lacking. So, it is essential to do further clinical studies to examine the safety and efficacy of ICS in this population.

Reasons for discontinuation of antiasthma drugs in children with asthma coming from lower socioeconomic classes in a developing country.

Although asthma guidelines recommend regular use of controller therapies in both adults and children with moderate to severe asthma, most of the patients with asthma discontinue antiasthma drugs for various reasons. This study was performed to evaluate the reasons for discontinuation of antiasthma drugs in children with asthma in a developing country and to draw attention to these reasons to increase the adherence of the patients. The study was comprised of 118 children with asthma from lower-income groups who stopped using antiasthma drugs for various reasons.

Two children with invasive gastrointestinal aspergillosis.

We report two immunocompromised infants aged six and four months with invasive gastrointestinal aspergillosis. Both patients presented with weight loss and diarrhea. The underlying disorders were combined immunodeficiency and transient hypogammaglobulinemia of infancy.

Penicillin sensitivity among hospital nurses without a history of penicillin allergy.

Aim: This paper reports a study to document the prevalence of penicillin sensitivity among nurses who had no previous history of sensitivity and worked in an inner city hospital in Turkey.

Background: Frequent and prolonged exposure to any drug including penicillin may increase the risk of hypersensitivity to these drugs. Local administration of drugs increases the likelihood of sensitization.

Nutritional vitamin B12 deficiency in hospitalized young children.

The authors sought to determine prevalence, social, economic, and dietary patterns of young children (n = 20) identified as having vitamin B12 deficiency anemia after admission to their hospital in the last 3 years. The diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency was based on symptoms and clinical findings, findings on peripheral blood films and bone marrow aspirates, and serum levels of vitamin B12. The children had been exclusively breast-fed without any animal food supplementation.

Effect of neonatal sepsis on the development of allergies and asthma in later childhood.

Background: Exposure to large amounts of endotoxins and other bacterial products in early childhood may protect against the development of allergic diseases later in childhood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of neonatal sepsis on subsequent development of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis in children.

Methods: We recruited 85 children (mean age 48.

Neutrophil hypersegmentation and thrombocytosis in children with iron deficiency anemia.

Neutrophil hypersegmentation is an expected peripheral blood smear finding in megaloblastic anemias. But some clinical reports suggest that neutrophil hypersegmentation may also occur in patients with iron deficiency anemia. In this study we searched the presence of neutrophil hypersegmentation and thrombocytosis in patients with iron deficiency anemia but who had normal serum vitamin B12 and folic acid levels.

Severe iron-deficiency anemia among hospitalized young children in an urban hospital.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and some characteristics of young children with severe iron-deficiency anemia hospitalized in an urban hospital. All of the young children (aged 7-24 months) hospitalized in a city hospital during the last 3 years were searched for iron-deficiency anemia and those with severe anemia were retrospectively evaluated. During this period, 3117 young children were hospitalized and 61.

Serum ECP and total IgE levels in children with acute laryngotracheobronchitis.

Objective: Eosinophilic cationic protein (ECP) and immunoglobulin E (IgE) are important mediators of allergic inflammation and they are commonly used in the diagnosis and follow-up of allergic diseases. But serum levels of these molecules can also be elevated by some other diseases including viral infections. Acute laryngotracheobronchitis (ALTB) is an important viral infection of upper airway and serum levels of ECP and IgE may increase in patients with ALTB.

Comparison of two antibiotic regimens in the empirical treatment of severe childhood pneumonia.

Objective: The diagnosis and the treatment of community-acquired severe pneumonia is still a serious child health problem in developing countries. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of two different antibiotic regimens in the empirical treatment of severe childhood pneumonia.

Methodology: We enrolled 97 infants (aged 2-24 months) with severe community-acquired pneumonia in a randomized-controlled trial of 10 days of treatment with penicillin G+chloramphenicol (n:46) or ceftriaxone (n:51).

Penicillin sensitivity among children without a positive history for penicillin allergy.

To establish the prevalence of positive penicillin skin tests among outpatients without any drug reaction history. Skin testing was performed in 147 children (aged 6-13 years) who had had received a penicillin preparation at least three times in the last 12 months without any allergic reaction. Before testing, detailed pediatric and allergy history were learned and then all children were tested with benzyl penicilloyl polylysin (PPL) and mixture of minor antigenic determinants.

A comparison of nebulized budesonide, and intramuscular, and oral dexamethasone for treatment of croup.

Objectives: Croup or acute laryngotracheobronchitis is the most common cause of the upper airway obstruction. Cool mist, nebulized racemic epinephrine and steroids are commonly used for therapy. Although steroid treatment can be applied orally, in nebulized form, or parenterally, no study has compared these three regimens yet.

Resistive index in febrile urinary tract infections: predictive value of renal outcome.

In the absence of specific symptomatology in children, the early diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis is a challenge, particularly during infancy. In an attempt to differentiate acute pyelonephritis from lower urinary tract infection (UTI), we measured intrarenal resistive index (RI). We evaluated its ability to predict renal involvement as assessed by dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scintigraphy.

Efficacy of zinc supplementation on the severity and duration of diarrhea in malnourished Turkish children.

Background: Intervention trials have shown that zinc may be efficacious in treating acute diarrhea in children of developing countries. A double-blind placebo-controlled study was designed to evaluate the effects of zinc supplementation on the clinical course and duration of diarrhea in malnourished Turkish children.

Methods: The study group comprised 40 subjects with low zinc levels (Group 1a) and 52 subjects with normal zinc levels (Group 1b).

Comparisons of oral calcium, high dose vitamin D and a combination of these in the treatment of nutritional rickets in children.

Nutritional rickets remains a common child health problem in Turkey and many other developing countries. Although vitamin D deficiency is accepted as the basic problem underlying the disease, others postulate that a deficiency of dietary calcium, rather than vitamin D, is often responsible for the nutritional rickets in sunny countries. We conducted a placebo-controlled study to determine the best treatment regimen for nutritional rickets in children residing in lower socioeconomic regions of a sunny city, Istanbul.