The low initial SpO and SF ratio, respiratory acidosis, and SF ratio less than 195 at the first hours of treatment were related to unresponsiveness to HFNC therapy in our pediatric emergency department.

The etiology of bacterial meningitis in Turkey changed after the implementation of conjugated vaccines against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) in the Turkish National Immunization Program (NIP). Administration of Hib vaccine and PCV-7 (7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine) was implemented in NIP in 2006 and 2009, respectively. In 2011, PCV-7 was replaced with PCV-13. Meningococcal vaccines have not yet been included in Turkish NIP. This prospective study comprised 27 hospitals located in seven regions of Turkey and represented 45% of the population. Children aged between 1 month and 18 years who were hospitalized with suspected meningitis were included. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were collected, and bacterial identification was made according to the multiplex PCR assay results. During the study period, 994 children were hospitalized for suspected meningitis, and Hib (n = 3, 2.4%), S. pneumoniae (n = 33, 26.4%), and Neisseria meningitidis (n = 89, 71%) were detected in 125 samples. The most common meningococcal serogroup was MenB. Serogroup W comprised 13.9% (n = 5) and 7.5% (n = 4) of the meningococci in 2015 to 2016 and 2017 to 2018, respectively. Serogroup C was not detected. There were four deaths in the study; one was a pneumococcus case, and the others were serogroup B meningococcus cases. The epidemiology of meningococcal diseases has varied over time in Turkey. Differing from the previous surveillance periods, MenB was the most common serogroup in the 2015-to-2018 period. Meningococcal epidemiology is so dynamic that, for vaccination policies, close monitoring is crucial. IMPORTANCE Acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) is one of the most common life-threatening infections in children. The incidence and prevalence of ABM vary both geographically and temporally; therefore, surveillance systems are necessary to determine the accurate burden of ABM. The Turkish Meningitis Surveillance Group has been performing a hospital-based meningitis surveillance study since 2005 across several regions in Turkey. Meningococcus was the major ABM-causing agent during the 2015-to-2018 period, during which MenB was the dominant serogroup.

Amaç: Zehirlenmeler çocuk yaş grubunda sık görülen, hızlı tanı ve tedavi gerektiren, önlenebilir çevresel acillerdendir. Bu çalışmada zehirlenme nedeniyle başvuran hastaların epidemiyolojik ve klinik özellikleri incelenmiştir. Yöntemler: Haziran 2010-Ocak 2015 yılları arasında çocuk acil servisine zehirlenme nedeniyle başvuran hastaların hastane kayıtları geriye dönük olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular: Çalışmaya alınan 997 zehirlenme olgusunun, %55'inin kız olduğu görülmüştür. Hastaların ortanca yaşının 43 ay [çeyrekler arası aralık: 24-166], %58,1'inin 5 yaş altında, %30,7'sinin 12 yaş üstünde olduğu bulunmuştur. Zehirlenmelerin, beş yaş altında çoğunlukla erkeklerde (%57,5) ve tamamının kaza sonucu, 12 yaş üstünde ise kızlarda (%81) ve özkıyım amaçlı (%76,1) olduğu saptanmıştır. Olguların %84,7'si tek etkenle, %15,3'ü ise birden fazla etkenle zehirlenmiştir. En sık ilaçlarla (%56,7), ikinci sırada ise kostik/korozif maddelerle (%27,8) olan zehirlenmeler saptanmıştır. İlaçlar ile olan zehirlenmelerin en sık analjezikler (%26,9) ve santral sinir sistemi ilaçları (%24) ile olduğu görülmüştür. Hastaların %71,3'ünün asemptomatik olduğu, semptomatik hastalarda ise en sık gastrointestinal sistem bulguları olduğu bulunmuştur. İlaçlarla zehirlenen olguların %21'ine mide lavajı; %28'ine aktif kömür uygulanmış, %2'sine antidot tedavisi verilmiştir. Hastaların %92'si çocuk acil servisinden taburcu edilirken, 14 olgu (%1,4) yoğun bakımda tedavi edilmiştir. Beş yıl süresince zehirlenmeye bağlı mortalite gözlenmemiştir. Sonuç: Zehirlenmeler çocuk yaş grubunda morbiditenin önemli ve önlenebilir bir nedenidir. Beş yaş altı grupta kaza sonucu, adölesan yaş grubunda özkıyım amaçlı zehirlenmelerin sık olduğu, ilaçlar ve kostik/korozif maddelerle olan zehirlenmelerin en önemli neden olduğu bulunmuştur. Yaş gruplarına göre bu epidemiyolojik ve klinik özelliklerin bilinmesi, nedene yönelik hızlı tanı ve tedavi yapılmasını sağlayacak; gerekli önlemler alınarak zehirlenmelerin azaltılmasına katkı sağlayacaktır.

Objective:The objective of this study was to evaluate physical examinations, imaging, and laboratory analyses individually and combined using innovative statistical analysis methods for the accurate diagnosis of pediatric appendicitis.Methods: Patients admitted to hospital with symptoms of abdominal pain whose pediatric appendicitis scores greater than 3 were included in the study. Clinical, radiologic, and laboratory findings and as a new biomarker calprotectin (CPT) concentrations were evaluated individually and combined using artificial neural networks (ANNs), which revealed latent relationships for a definitive diagnosis.Results: Three hundred twenty patients were evaluated (190 appendicitis [43 perforated] vs 130 no appendicitis). The mean ± SD age was 11.3 ± 3.6 years and 63% were male. Pediatric appendicitis scores, white blood cell (WBC) count, absolute neutrophil count (ANC), C-reactive protein (CRP) level, procalcitonin (PCT) and CPT concentrations were higher in the appendicitis group; however, only WBC and ANC were higher in first 24 hours of pain. White blood cells and CRP were diagnostic markers in patients whose appendix could not be visualized using ultrasonography (US). On classic receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, the areas under the curve (AUCs) were not strong enough for differential diagnosis (WBC, 0.73; ANC, 0.72; CRP, 0.65; PCT and CPT, 0.61). However, when the physical examination, US, and laboratory findings were analyzed in a multivariate model and the ROC analysis obtained from the variables with ANN, an ROC curve could be obtained with 0.91 AUC, 89.8% sensitivity, and 81.2% specificity. C-reactive protein and PCT were diagnostic for perforated appendicitis with 0.83 and 0.75 AUC on ROC.Conclusions: Although none of the biomarkers were sufficient for an accurate diagnosis of appendicitis individually, a combination of physical examination and laboratory and US was a good diagnostic tool for pediatric appendicitis.

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BackgroundThe etiology of bacterial meningitis in Turkey has been changed after the implementation of conjugated vaccines against Streptococcus pneumonia and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) in Turkish national immunization schedule. Methods. This prospective study was conducted in 25 hospitals located seven regions of Turkey (representing 30% of Turkey population) and children aged between 1 month and 18 years with suspected meningitis and hospitalized were included. Cerebrospinal fluid samples were collected and bacterial identification was made according to the multiplex PCR assay results. Results. During the study period, 927 children were hospitalized for suspected meningitis and Hib (n:1), S. pneumonia (n:17) and Neisseria meningitidis (n:59) were detected in 77 samples (Figure 1, Table 1). During 2015–2016, N. meningitidis serogroup W, B, A, Y, X frequencies were as 5 (13.9%), 16 (44.4%), 1 (2.8%), 1 (2.8%), 1 (2.8%), respectively. There were 12 nongroupable N. meningitidis samples and serogroup C was not detected. In 2017, of meningococcal meningitis serogroup B, W, A, Y and X were identified in two (8.7%), 15 (65.2%), two (8.7%), 1 (4.3%) and 1 (4.3%) cases, respectively (Figure 2). There were four deaths in this study period, all of them were caused by N. meningitidis serogroup B and three of them were under 1 year old. Conclusion. The epidemiology of meningococcal diseases has been varied in time with or without any apparent reasons. Hajj is a well-known cause for serogroup W epidemics and serogorup W was the most common cause of meningitis in Turkey during 2009–2014 as in other Middle East countries. After the impact of serogroup W epidemics related to Hajj seen in 2010’s was diminished, serogroup B has been leading cause of childhood meningitis since 2015. In countries affected from Hajj like Turkey, vaccination of children with serogroup B meningococcal vaccine as well as quadrivalentconjugated vaccine seems to be very important. It should be kept in mind that meningococcal epidemiology is dynamic and needed to be closely monitored to detect changes in yearsFigure 1.Distribution of causative agents of bacterial meningitis in Turkey during 2005–2017.Figure 2.Distribution of meningococcal serogroups of meningococcal meningitis in Turkey during 2015–2017 and comparison with results belonging to previous years.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

In this study, IL-6, IL-12 and neopterin levels of constipated patients were found to be higher than those of controls. These results indicate the presence of subclinical inflammation in children with functional constipation.

Background: Lower respiratory tract infections (LTRIs) are the most common cause of pediatric emergency department visits and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) levels in pediatric patients with LRTIs and to investigate the correlation of suPAR with disease severity. Methods: This is a prospective case-control study of children with LTRIs. Demographic data, diagnoses, vital signs, disease severity scores, length of hospital stay, laboratory findings, and viral polymerase chain reaction results for nasopharyngeal aspirates were recorded. Blood samples for suPAR were collected and assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: There were 94 patients with LTRIs and 32 children in the control group. Patients were further subdivided into 2 groups based on diagnosis of acute bronchiolitis (n: 31, 33%) or pneumonia (n: 63, 67%). The median levels of suPAR were significantly higher in patients with LTRIs than in healthy controls (4.3 and 3.5 ng/mL, respectively; P = 0.003). There was an association between suPAR levels and disease severity in pneumonia patients. suPAR values were higher in patients with severe pneumonia than mild pneumonia (5.5 and 3.6 ng/mL, respectively; P < 0.001). Conclusion:We have shown that suPAR levels increased in patients with LTRIs and suPAR values were higher in patients with severe pneumonia than mild pneumonia. Further studies with large case series are needed to clarify the role of suPAR levels in children with LTRIs.