Objective : To evaluate the value of neurologic and cardiologic assessment and also the frequency of iron deficiency anemia in children with Breath Holding Spells (BHS). Methods : The hospital charts of patients diagnosed with BHS between 2011 and 2013 were reviewed retrospectively. Results : A total of 165 children (90 boys, 75 girls) with BHS comprised the study group. A matched group of 200 children with febrile convulsions served as controls. Among the first-degree relatives, 13.3% had BHS, 1.8% had febrile convulsions and 12.1% had epilepsy. The spells were cyanotic in 140 (84.8%) children and pallid or mixed in the remainder. BNS type was simple in 46.7% of patients and complicated in the remainder. Eighteen patients had abnormalities in electroencephalography, however only one patient was diagnosed with epilepsy. Sixty nine (47.9%) patients were found to have iron deficiency anemia. Conclusion : Referral of children with clinically definite BHS to pediatric neurology or pediatric cardiology clinics and performance of echocardiography and EEG investigations for exclusion of heart disease or epilepsy appear unnecessary. However, performance of an electrocardiogram to search for prolonged QT syndrome should be considered although no patient in our series had any cardiologic abnormalities.

Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammatory disease caused by autoimmune response to a preceding group A streptococcal infection. Mean platelet volume (MPV) reflects the platelet size and the rate of platelet production in bone marrow, and it may be used as an indicator of platelet activation and severity of inflammation. Fifty-three consecutive patients diagnosed with acute rheumatic carditis and 53 control subjects were enrolled into this study. Leukocyte and platelet counts were significantly higher in patients with acute carditis before treatment compared with controls, whereas MPV and platelet distribution width (PDW) values were not significantly different between groups. Platelet counts, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) values were decreased significantly in patients with RF after treatment. There was not a significant difference in terms of platelet count between the controls and the patient group after treatment. ESR was found to be correlated with CRP in patients before and after treatment. In conclusion, the results of our study showed that MPV and PDW levels do not change during acute rheumatic carditis before and after treatment.

Our results showed that MPV, platecrit and PDW were increased in children with APAH-CHD. They might give clue about disease severity.

The aim of this prospective study is to investigate the effect of a 6-month-long ketogenic diet on carotid intima-media thickness, carotid artery, and aortic vascular functions. Thirty-eight drug-resistant epileptic patients who were being treated with ketogenic diet were enrolled. Fasting total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and glucose concentrations were measured and echocardiography was performed in all patients before the beginning of ketogenic diet and at the sixth month of treatment. The body weight, height, body mass index, serum levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein increased significantly at month 6 when compared to baseline values (P < .05). Carotid intima-media thickness, elastic properties of the aorta, and carotid artery did not change at the sixth month of therapy compared to baseline values. A 6-month-long ketogenic diet has no effect on carotid intima-media thickness and elastic properties of the carotid artery and the aorta.