The adjuvant treatment with melatonin was found to be superior to the placebo and had the same clinical efficacy as sodium valproate, but with higher tolerability. Melatonin may prove to be an efficient substitute for sodium valproate, as a chronic migraine prophylaxis.

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Background:Simple febrile convulsion is the most common disease of the nervous system in children. There are hypotheses that iron deficiency may affect febrile convulsion and the threshold of neuron excitation.Aims:This study was conducted with the objective of finding the effects of iron deficiency anemia on simple febrile convulsion episodes.Settings and Design:The study was conducted at AmirKabir Hospital of Arak Medical Sciences University, Arak, Iran. This is a case-control study.Materials and Methods:In this study, 382 children who were selected according to our inclusion and exclusion factors, were divided into two groups of case (febrile convulsion) and control (other factors causing fever) by their cause of hospitalization. After fever subsided, 5 ml blood sample was taken from each child and complete blood count and iron profile tests were performed.Statistical Analysis:The results were interpreted using descriptive statistics and independent t-test. Results: The prevalence of anemia in the group with febrile convulsion was significantly less than that in the control group: 22.5% of the children in the group with febrile convulsion and 34% in the control group exhibited anemia (P < 0.001). Moreover, the group with febrile convulsion had significantly higher blood indices, such as Hb, Hct, MCV, MCH, and MCHC, compared to the control group (P < 0.001).Conclusions:Iron deficiency can prevent febrile convulsion in children and probably increases the threshold of neuron excitation in fever.

Ventilator-associated-pneumonia (VAP) is characterized by morbidity, mortality, and prolonged length of stay in intensive care unit (ICU). The present study aimed to examine the effect of N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) in preventing VAP in patients hospitalized in ICU. We performed a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 60 mechanically ventilated patients at high risk of developing VAP. NAC (600 mg/twice daily) and placebo (twice daily) were administered to NAC group (n = 30) and control group (n = 30), respectively, through the nasogastric tube in addition to routine care. The clinical response was considered as primary (incidence of VAP) and secondary outcomes. Twenty-two (36.6%) patients developed VAP. Patients treated with NAC were significantly less likely to develop clinically confirmed VAP compared with patients treated with placebo (26.6% vs. 46.6%; P = 0.032). Patients treated with NAC had significantly less ICU length of stay (14.36 ± 4.69 days vs. 17.81 ± 6.37 days, P = 0.028) and less hospital stay (19.23 ± 5.54 days vs. 24.61 ± 6.81 days; P = 0.03) than patients treated with placebo. Time to VAP was significantly longer in the NAC group (9.42 ± 1.9 days vs. 6.46 ± 2.53 days; P = 0.002). The incidence of complete recovery was significantly higher in the NAC group (56.6% vs. 30%; P = 0.006). No adverse events related to NAC were identified. NAC is safe and effective to prevent and delay VAP, and improve its complete recovery rate in a selected, high-risk ICU population.

Introduction: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common childhood psychiatric disorder. This disorder is more prevalent in some chronic diseases. Objectives: To investigate ADHD in children with overactive bladder. Patients and Methods: A number of 92 children with overactive bladder and 92 healthy children without overactive bladder (age range of both groups 5 to 12 years old) were included in this study as case and control groups, respectively. Participants were selected from children who had referred to a pediatric clinic in Arak city, Iran. ADHD types (inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and mixed) were diagnosed by Conner’s Parent Rating Scale and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR (DSM-IV-TR) criteria. Data were analyzed by chi-square and t tests. Results: In both groups, 51 children (27.7%) had ADHD. The prevalence of ADHD in the case group (33 cases, 35.9%) was significantly higher than the control group (18 cases, 19.6%) (P = 0.021). Inattentive ADHD was observed in 22 participants (23.9%) of the case group and nine participants of the control group (9.7%) (P = 0.047). Despite this significant difference, three (3.2%) and four (4.3%) children were affected by hyperactive-impulsive ADHD (P = 0.73), and eight (8.6%) and five (5.4%) children were affected by mixed ADHD (P = 0.42) in the case and control groups, respectively. Conclusion: ADHD bladder is significantly more common in children with overactive bladder than healthy children. The observed correlation between ADHD and overactive bladder makes psychological counseling mandatory in children with overactive bladder.

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Background: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH), as one of the most common congenital endocrine disorders, may be significantly associated with congenital malformations. This study investigates urogenital abnormalities in children with primary CH (PCH). Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 200 children aged three months to 1 year, referred to Amir-Kabir Hospital, Arak, Iran. One hundred children with PCH, as the case group, and 100 healthy children, as the control group, were selected using convenient sampling. For all children, demographic data checklists were filled, and physical examination, abdomen and pelvic ultrasound and other diagnostic measures (if necessary) were performed to evaluate the congenital urogenital abnormalities including anomalies of the penis and urethra, and disorders and anomalies of the scrotal contents. Results: Among 92 (100%) urogenital anomalies diagnosed, highest frequencies with 37 (40.2%), 26(28.2%) and 9 (9.7%) cases including hypospadias, Cryptorchidism, and hydrocele, respectively. The frequency of urogenital abnormalities among 32 children with PCH, with 52 cases (56.5%) was significantly higher than the frequency of abnormalities among the 21 children in the control group, with 40 cases (43.4%). (OR=2.04; 95%CI: 1.1-3.6; p=0.014). Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that PCH is significantly associated with the congenital urogenital abnormalities. However, due to the lack of evidence in this area, further studies are recommended to determine the necessity of conducting screening programs for abnormalities of the urogenital system in children with CH at birth.

Background:Idiopathic hypercalciuria (IHC) can be one of the causes of nocturnal enuresis (NE) and hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) ameliorates hypercalciuria.Objectives:The aim of this study was to assess the therapeutic efficacy of HCT in boys with primary monosymptomatic NE (PMNE).Patients and Methods:This study was a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. A hundred boys with PMNE and IHC were randomly assigned into two groups of experimental (treated with HCT 1 mg/kg/day) and control and all patients were followed for 4 months for the number of wet-night episodes.Results:The mean numbers of wet-night episodes in the first (intervention: 8.34 ± 8.54, control: 9.1 ± 9.3, P = 0.3), second (7.1 ± 7.3, 7.9 ± 8.1, P = 0.4), third (7.8 ± 8, 7.9 ± 8.1, P = 0.1) and fourth (4.9 ± 5.1, 5.9 ± 6, P = 0.3) months were not significantly different between the two groups. However, the decrease in the average wet-night episodes during the 4 months of treatment in the intervention group (P = 0.019) unlike the control group. Not more significant compared to control group (P = 0.191). All patients who were treated by HCT became normocalciuric. However, in 21 patients the dose was increased to 2 mg/kg/day.Conclusions:Single daily dose of HCT is a safe and effective therapeutic option in the treatment of PMNE in children with IHC.