The prevalence of dysmenorrhea and menstrual irregularity was high, and most adolescents have inappropriate and insufficient information about menstrual problems. Hence, an education program is needed at the end of primary school about menarche and menstrual problems.

The rate of reported IgE-mediated FA was significantly higher than clinically confirmed FA by means of DBPCFC (odds ratio, 7.46; 95% CI, 4.67-12.01; P<0.0001). The order of allergenic foods was different and somewhat unique to the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey when compared with western countries.

Anaphylaxis was seen significantly more in boys. Most of the reactions occurred at home. Foods were the most frequent cause. Epinephrine, the first-line treatment of anaphylaxis, was administered in only a third of the children.

In the present study, 386 patients with the diagnosis of poisoning admitted to the Pediatric Emergency Unit of Farabi Hospital of Medical Faculty of Karadeniz Technical University between January 2002 and December 2006 were retrospectively evaluated with respect to gender, age, cause of poisoning, type of substance used, route of exposure, reason for the intake, signs and symptoms, time of referral to the hospital, hospitalization period, and prognosis. The age group of most poisoning cases was <5 years of age and constituted 51% (n = 197) of all cases. The main toxic agent was drugs (70.2%), followed by foods (8.8%), rodenticides (7%), insecticides/pesticides (4.9%), and carbon monoxide (4.7%). In childhood poisonings, accidental drug poisoning was frequent in toddlers, whereas suicidal poisoning was frequent in adolescents. The suicidal poisoning rate was 23.8% among all poisoning patients, and 98.9% of these patients were adolescents. The suicidal poisoning rates for males and females were 30% and 70%, respectively. An increase in suicidal and inhalation poisonings was observed when compared with previous studies that have been conducted in the same region. The results of the present study suggest that poisonings still represents an important health problem that could be prevented by safe drug storage at home, as well as parental education on adolescence issues, particularly those regarding females.

Epidemiologic studies about the prevalence of adverse drug reactions in children are scarce compared to reports in adults. To assess the prevalence of parental-reported drug allergy in 6- to 9-yr-old urban school children, we performed a cross-sectional study of 6- to 9-yr-old urban children from the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey during the year 2004, using a self-administered questionnaire by parents. Response rate was 81.6% (2855/3500). The prevalence of parental-reported drug allergy was 2.8% (81/2855). The most common parental-reported drugs were penicillins and other beta-lactams (59.3%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (11.1%), and acetylsalicylic acid and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (9.9%). The most commonly reported clinical manifestations were cutaneous (n = 76, 93.8%) followed by gastrointestinal (n = 17, 21%) symptoms. In 19 (23.5%) children, the reaction involved more than one organ system. Of these 19 children, 14 used beta-lactams. Systemic reactions were not reported with NSAIDs. Medications were taken by mouth in 88.9% of the reactions. Most of the reported allergic reactions occurred in the first day of treatment (61.7%). The reported time to reaction after the last intake of the drug was <2 h in 35 (43.2%) children and 2-24 h in 45 (55.6%). Oral reactions occurred later than reactions to parentally administered drugs. Parents of 58 children (71.6%) reported that they completely avoided the suspected culprit drug following the reaction. Relapse occurred after re-administration of the drug in 21 (25.9%) children. A diagnostic approach for drug allergy was not undertaken in any of the children. This study may provide some information about the prevalence of drug allergy, although it is based on parental perception and results are unlikely to conform well to true prevalence.