Background/aim: The mechanism of edema formation in nephrotic syndrome is still poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the volume status in children with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) and to emphasize the importance of echocardiography in demonstrating of volume changes.Materials and methods: Thirty-two SSNS patients and 30 healthy children were enrolled in this study. The volume statuses of patients were evaluated by clinical and laboratory features, including fractional sodium excretion (FENa) and distal sodium/potassium exchange (UK/UNa+K ratio). Inferior vena cava collapsibility index (IVCCI), left atrial diameter (LAD), aortic diameter (AD), and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) were measured using conventional echocardiographic methods.Results: FENa was lower in children with NS; however, the distal K/Na ratio of the patient and control groups did not differ. In addition, IVCCI, LAD, AD, and LVMI were not different among groups. When evaluating the volume status of patients, 8 patients (25%) were hypovolemic while 24 patients (75%) were nonhypovolemic (normovolemic or hypervolemic). LAD was significantly lower in hypovolemic patients. Conclusion:The majority of children with SSNS are normovolemic or hypervolemic and echocardiography is an easy and valuable method for the evaluation of volume status in these patients.

Introduction. Down's syndrome (DS) is a common genetic disorder. The families of children with DS generally do not receive sufficient information at the time of the diagnosis. They are dissatisfied with the manner of healthcare professionals. The objective was to evaluate the experiences of mothers of children with DS at the time of the diagnosis and the communicative attitudes of healthcare professionals. Population and methods. Mothers who had children with Down syndrome were included. The experiences of the mothers at the time of diagnosis and the attitudes of the healthcare professionals were evaluated by a semistructured interview. Results. The study sample was 43 mothers. Eight children had been diagnosed with DS prenatally, and 35 had been diagnosed postnatally. Eighteen of the mothers had received the diagnosis in a pediatric clinic, and 16 had been told of the diagnosis in an obstetric clinic. More than half the mothers had received the first information about their child's diagnosis from a pediatrician. Only five of the 43 mothers had received detailed information. Twenty-three of 32 mothers said that they were met with a negative attitude. Generally, the time put aside to inform the families about the diagnosis was less than 5 min. Conclusions. Mothers of DS children want more information about DS from healthcare professionals. Furthermore, they want this information to be delivered in a supportive and sensitive manner. Healthcare professionals, especially pediatricians need to allocate sufficient time to discuss DS and its challenges with the family.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble secosteroid prohormone that is produced on the skin by contact with sunlight. Through various metabolic changes in the body, it transforms into a hormone known as calcitriol, with a key role in the calcium and phosphate metabolism (1). Vitamin D serves plenty of functions in the body. Therefore, its deficiency may cause musculoskeletal symptoms such as bone pain, muscle weakness, gait difficulty, skeletal deformity, in addition to extraskeletal symptoms such as autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and neuropsychiatric diseases (2). Down Syndrome occurs as a result of trisomy, which occurs due to an extra copy of the whole or part of the long arm of chromosome 21 and is the most commonly known cause of delay in development. DS affects 1 in every 787 liveborn babies (3). DS is often accompanied by distinctive craniofacial features, congenital heart disease and immune, musculoskeletal and endocrine system abnormalities (4,5). In patients with this syndrome, various environmental and hormonal factors such as hypotonia, low physical activity, poor calcium and vitamin D intake, intrauterine growth restriction, hypogonadism and thyroid dysfunction may contribute to bone mass and quality (6,7). Among all the others, vitamin D may have a crucial role in the health of these people. Vitamin D levels differ with many factors, including exposure to sunlight, dietary intake, and supplement use (8,9). There is a lack of scientific evidence on the prevalence and severity of vitamin D deficiency in children with DS. Hence, this study aimed to determine vitamin D deficiency in children with DS, from infancy to toddler and particularly during the preschool period, and to raise awareness on the matter.

The aim of this study was to detect effects of ultrasound-guided botulinum toxin type-A (US-guided BoNT-A) injections prepared according to lower extremity innervation zones on spasticity and motor function in 3-16 years children with diplegic and hemiplegic spastic cerebral palsy. This study included 25 patients between 3 and 16 years of age who admitted to our clinic in 2017, were being followed in our clinic with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, had BoNT-A injections due to lower extremity spasticity. The US-guided BoNT-A injections were administered into the spastic muscles using a specific approach according to innervation zones of muscle. Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and Gross Motor Functional Classification System (GMFCS) were assessed at the baseline, and 4 and 12 weeks after the BoNT-A injections. Minimum and maximum ages of the patients were 45 and 192 months, and gender distribution was 8 females and 17 males. Significant decreases in the MAS scores of the knee and ankle tones were measured 4 and 12 weeks after the BoNT-A injection when compared to the baseline scores (p < 0.025). Hip muscle tonus only decreased 12 weeks after the injection (p < 0.025). In parallel with a reduction in spasticity GMFCS improved from 3 to 2 in the 4th and 12th weeks. US-guided BoNT-A injections with Euro-musculus approach is a practical and effective method to perform injections into proper points of proper muscles in children with spastic cerebral palsy.

Objectives Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is still one of the most common causes of preventable cognitive impairment in children, and its early detection and treatment prevent irreversible neurodevelopmental delay. Depending on the underlying cause, cases with CH may be transient or permanent. This study aimed to compare the developmental evaluation results of transient and permanent CH patients and to reveal any differences. Methods A total of 118 patients with CH, who were followed up jointly in pediatric endocrinology and developmental pediatrics clinics, were included. The patients’ progress was evaluated per the International Guide for Monitoring Child Development (GMCD). Results Of the cases, 52 (44.1%) were female, and 66 (55.9%) were male. While 20 (16.9%) cases were diagnosed with permanent CH, 98 (83.1%) were diagnosed with transient CH. According to the results of the developmental evaluation made with GMCD, the development of 101 (85.6%) children was compatible with their age, while 17 (14.4%) children had delays in at least one developmental area. All 17 patients had a delay in expressive language. Developmental delay was detected in 13 (13.3%) of those with transient CH and 4 (20%) with permanent CH. Conclusions There is difficulty in expressive language in all cases of CH with developmental delay. No significant difference was found between the developmental evaluations of permanent and transient CH cases. The results revealed the importance of developmental follow-up, early diagnosis and interventions in those children. GMCD is thought to be an important guide to help monitoring the development of patients with CH.