An Overview on Child Health Care in Turkey.

The general health status of the Turkish people has improved significantly in recent years. Improvements in the health status of the child population followed the introduction of health reforms, such as the Health Transformation Program. Presently, Turkey is undergoing further important changes concerning its medical system.

Helicobacter pylori stool antigen test.

Objective: Helicobacter pylori ( H.pylori ) infection is usually acquired in early childhood. Invasive techniques used for diagnosis of H.

Clinical spectrum of acute abdominal pain in Turkish pediatric patients: a prospective study.

Background: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence, associated symptoms, and clinical outcomes of children with acute abdominal pain who had been admitted to an emergency department.

Methods: Children aged between 2 and 16 years who presented to the emergency department of Cerrahpaşa Medical School, Istanbul University between July 2001 and August 2002 with acute abdominal pain were enrolled in this study. A questionnaire was completed each patient admitted to our pediatric emergency unit for acute abdominal pain.

Management of portal hypertension in children: a retrospective study with long-term follow-up.

Objectives: Data regarding the management of the portal hypertensive haemorrhage in the paediatric patients have yielded conflicting results. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of beta-blocker (propranolol) alone, sclerotherapy alone and beta-blocker + sclerotherapy combination in the management of portal hypertension in the paediatric population.

Methods: Medical information was retrieved from the records of 62 children with portal hypertension who were under treatment during at least two years of follow-up period.

The role of nitric oxide in pediatric patients with portal hypertension.

The hyperdynamic circulation of cirrhosis and portal hypertension has been postulated to be due to the vasodilatory effects of nitric oxide. However, there have been conflicting results in adults and no studies in children. We aimed to measure the nitric oxide level in serum of pediatric patients with portal hypertension with and without cirrhosis, in order to assess its role in the development of hemodynamic changes.