Background Primary hypertension (HT) has been increasingly reported in parallel to the increase in the prevalence of obesity in children, both of which are important components of metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of COVID‐19 restrictions, which are believed to induce lifestyle changes and physical inactivity, on the parameters of metabolic syndrome in children with primary hypertension. Methods This was an observational, pre‐post study conducted on pediatric patients with primary HT. The first phase of the study was the period prior to when COVID‐19 restrictions were put in place in Turkey, and the second phase was up to the date when the restrictions were lifted. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, laboratory tests, and hypertensive‐mediated organ damage at both phases of the study were compared. Results Severe restrictions due to the COVID‐19 pandemic were associated with an increase in mean ± standard deviation body mass index (BMI) (26.4 ± 7.3 vs. 27.2 ± 7.1, P = 0.002), antihypertensive drug use (n = 53 (57.6%) vs. n = 59 (64.1%), P < 0.0001), fasting blood glucose level (89.4 ± 12.6 vs. 94.1 ± 14.2, P = 0.013), and a borderline elevation in total cholesterol (21 [22.8%] vs. 28 [30.4%], P < 0.0001). These increases negatively affected end organs, with an increased frequency of interventricular septum hypertrophy (n = 12 [13%] vs. n = 17 [18.5%], P = 0.031). Conclusions COVID‐19 restrictions were associated with an increased risk of parameters associated with metabolic syndrome in patients with primary hypertension. Physicians should carefully monitor the weight, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose level, and total cholesterol levels in patients during periods of movement/activity restrictions such as during the COVID‐19 pandemic.

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Eosinophilic peritonitis (EP) constitutes a significant number of culture‐negative peritonitis cases that can affect 16–60% of the patients who are treated with maintenance peritoneal dialysis (PD). Although it is mainly considered to be the hypersensitivity response of the peritoneum to foreign substances, it can also develop following culture‐positive peritonitis attacks. Besides the presence of more than 100 white blood cells (WBC)/ml, the diagnosis is made with the high number of eosinophils in the dialysate fluid (>10%), usually accompanied by peripheral eosinophilia. In this study, a 12‐year‐old male patient, who was diagnosed as EP as early as in the first week of PD catheter placement and treated with systemic antihistamines was reported. Additionally, clinical aspects and treatment modalities of EP are presented with a detailed literature review. Although EP is usually a self‐limiting clinical manifestation with a benign outcome, it can be overlooked due to the lack of a routine reporting of the count and percentage of peritoneal eosinophils in most centers. For this reason, a detailed examination in culture‐negative peritonitis cases for EP in order to avoid unnecessary antibiotic use for these patients should be the strategy.

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