Objective: Although the mechanism of febrile convulsion is not yet clear, some changes in the level of trace elements such as zinc have been suggested to be responsible for the pathogenesis. Material and Methods: This study was carried out with 88 children, 40 girls, 48 boys between 6-72 months of age who visited the Pediatric Emergency Department of Okmeydanı Research and Training Hospital from Agust 2009 to November 2009. The children were divided into three groups. The first group included 45 patients with complaints of febrile convulsion, the second group included 23 children who had visited for fever but did not have convulsions, and the third group consisted of 20 healthy children. Results: Mean serum zinc concentration of patients who had febrile convulsions was 110.49±35.03 µg/ dL, whereas mean serum zinc concentrations of children with fever and healthy children were 107.12±21.66 µg/dL and 116.12±32.07 µg/dL, respectively.There is no statistically significant difference between the three groups in terms of zinc levels. We did not find any difference between serum zinc levels in patients who had one or more convulsions. Conclusion: Our findings do not support the hypothesis that febrile convulsion is related to reduced serum zinc concentration, thus necessitating further studies involving larger sample sizes in order to understand the role of zinc in the pathogenesis of febrile convulsion.

ÖzetAmaç: Talaseminin dünyadaki en yaygın genetik hastalık olduğu düşünülmek-tedir. Gerek hastalık, gerekse tekrarlayan transfüzyonlar nedeniyle birçok sistemde komplikasyon ortaya çıkmaktadır. Bu çalışma; üzerinde daha az durulan böbrek glomerüler hasarının beta talasemi majorlü hastalarda mevcut olup olmadığının saptanması ve glomerüler hasarı saptarken üre, kreatinin, kreatinin klirensinin erken böbrek hasarı göstergeçlerinden olan sistatin c, B2 mikroglobulin ile kıyaslanması amacıyla yapıldı. Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu çalışma beta talasemi major tanısıyla çocuk hematoloji polikliniğimizce düzenli takip edilen hastalarda prospektif olarak yapılmıştır. Bulgular: Üre ile kreatinin klirensi ve sistain C arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir iliş-ki bulunmamaktadır(p>0.05). Kreatinin ile kreatinin klirensi arasında negatif yönde, %53.7 düzeyinde ve istatistiksel olarak ileri düzeyde anlamlı bir iliş-ki bulunmaktadır (p:0.002; p<0.01). Kreatinin ile sistain C ve Beta 2 mikroglobulin düzeyleri arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir ilişki bulunmamaktadır (p>0.05). Sistain C ile β-2 mikroglobulin arasında pozitif yönde, %86.1 düzeyinde ve istatistiksel olarak ileri düzeyde anlamlı bir ilişki bulunmaktadır (p:0.001; p<0.01). Tartışma: Literatürde GFR>40 ml/dk/1.73 m² olduğun-da kreatinin ile β-2 mikroglobulin ve sistatin c arası ilişkinin azaldığı belirtilmiştir. Bizim çalışmamız da bu literatür sonuçlarıyla benzerlik göstermekte-dir. Ancak renal parametrelerin birbiriyle korelasyonu hakkında kesin sonuç-lara varmak için daha geniş populasyonda yapılacak daha fazla sayıda çalış-malara ihtiyaç vardır. Anahtar KelimelerSistatin C; Böbrek; Talasemi; Beta 2-Mikroglobulin Abstract Aim: Thalassemia is accepted to be the most common genetic disease in the world. This study was performed to establish whether there was a glomerular renal damage, which was usually a less mentioned subject in patients with Beta Thalassemia Major, and to compare urea, creatinine and creatinine clearance with early indicators of kidney damage as Cystatin-C and β-2 microglobulin as on determining the glomerular damage. Material and Method:This study was prospectively performed in patients, who were regularly followed in the children hematology outpatient clinic with a diagnosis of Beta Thalassemia Major. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between urea and levels of creatinine clearance and Cystatin-C. There was a statistically negative relationship between creatinine and creatinine clearance at an advanced level as 53.7% (p: 0.002, p<0.01). There was not any significant relationship between Cystatin-C and levels of creatinine and B-2 microglobulin. There was a significant high positive relationship between Cystatin-C and B-2 microglobulin at level of 86.1% (p: 0.001; p<0.01). Discussion: The results of our study were also similar to the literature. However, new studies are required to carry out in wider populations in order to reach definite conclusions about correlation of renal parameters with each other.

Despite developing consensus guidelines addressing immunization after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), studies showed deviations from recommended immunization practices commonly occur. Difference between the ideal scenario presented in guidelines and real-life scenarios is one of the most recognized barriers to implementing recommended practices. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate pediatric allogeneic HSCT recipients’ adherence to revaccination schedule and evaluate the serological status after immunization. Transplant and vaccination records of children who were followed up at least 2 years after HSCT, postvaccination antibody results of vaccine-preventable diseases were evaluated retrospectively. Total of 173 patients have enrolled in this study. Median revaccination onset time was post-transplant 15 months. Adherence to revaccination program was 30% for inactive and 11.4% for live vaccines. Oral polio vaccine was given to 22 patients, and Bacille-Calmette-Guerin vaccine was applied to 3. Seropositivity after revaccination was >90% for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A, pertussis, and measles, and it was 88.5% for rubella, 80% for mumps and varicella. Measles seropositivity was low in children with hemoglobinopathy. In subgroup assessments of pertussis, patients vaccinated with low antigen-containing pertussis vaccine (Tdap) had higher seropositivity of adenylate cyclase toxin. Our findings revealed the importance of careful monitoring of current practices in pediatric HSCT recipients.

ObjectiveThe study is aimed to assess quality of life, anxiety and depression levels and investigate the rate of psychiatric disorder in adolescent and young adults with beta Thalassemia major.MethodsSample includes 43 patients with β-thalassemia major. Patients were screened by Structured Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I), Short Form-36 (SF-36) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD).ResultsFourty two percent of the patients suffered from a psychiatric disorder. The most common psychiatric disorders were social anxiety disorder (%21) and generalized anxiety disorder (%12). Significantly lower quality of life was found on all 8 SF-36 domains for β-thalassemia major and psychiatric comorbidity patients compared to no-comorbidity patients.The correlation between HAD and SF-36 scores was statistically significant.ConclusionPsychiatric disorders are significantly related to impaired quality of life. The correlations between anxiety, depression levels and SF-36 scores indicate that high depressive and anxiety levels are associated with reduced quality of life.

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