Indian Journal of Hematology and Blood Transfusion
A three-month-old boy presented with growth failure, skeletal abnormalities, otitis media and pan... more A three-month-old boy presented with growth failure, skeletal abnormalities, otitis media and pancytopenia. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency was confirmed by low levels of fecal elastase. He was diagnosed as Shwachman-Diamond syndrome by clinical and laboratory findings. The diagnosis was confirmed by sequence analysis for SBDS gene on chromosome seven revealing compound heterozygous mutation, which are c.258+2T-C and c.183-184TA-CT. Matched unrelated donor screening for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was initiated. Unfortunately, he died of respiratory difficulty at 5 months of age. Our case is the youngest patient whose presumptive Shwachman-Diamond syndrome diagnosis was confirmed by molecular analysis.
Bladder cancer is the most prevalent malignancy of the urinary tract. About 90% of bladder cancer... more Bladder cancer is the most prevalent malignancy of the urinary tract. About 90% of bladder cancers are urothelial carcinomas. Seventy percent of cases newly diagnosed are superficial diseases; roughly 30% of newly diagnosed cases are muscle-invasive metastatic diseases. Bladder urothelial carcinoma primarily metastasizes into regional lymph nodes and then into liver, lung, mediastinum, bone, and adrenal gland. In our case, non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer metastasized into the bone, mediastinum, iliac lymph node, and adrenal and thyroid glands. This is the first reported case in the current literature in which urothelial carcinoma metastasized into the thyroid gland.
To evaluate the possible effects of residual fragments on the health-related quality of life in p... more To evaluate the possible effects of residual fragments on the health-related quality of life in patients undergoing extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy for renal stones. Seventy-one patients with residual fragments were divided into 2 further groups; group 1 (n = 42; fragment size, ≤ 4 mm) and group 2 (n = 29; fragment size, >4 mm). During 3-month follow-up, spontaneous passage rates; number of emergency department visits, amount of the analgesic required, additional procedures, and the changes in the quality of life were evaluated. Quality of life was evaluated using the Short Form 36 survey. Statistical analyses included independent sample t tests. Of the 42 cases with fragments ≤ 4 mm, although 92.8% patients passed the fragments spontaneously, fragments resided until 3 months in 4.8% patients. Again, after 2 sessions of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy, of the 29 cases with fragments >4 mm, 55% were stone free, whereas 14% still had residual fragments. Mean number of emergency department visit was found to be 0.07 and 0.5 in both groups, respectively. Mean analgesic need was 138.75 mg in group 1 and 375 mg in group 2. Although significantly lower scores were noted only for one parameter during 1-month evaluation in cases with larger fragments, they were present in all 8 parameters during 3-month evaluation. Larger residual fragments could significantly affect the quality of life. Emergency department visits and colic attacks are the causes of discomfort. Effective stone disintegration by an experienced urologist should be aimed to limit the negative effects of residual fragments on the quality of life.
To evaluate the possible effects of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) on the hearing s... more To evaluate the possible effects of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) on the hearing status of the patients in this prospective controlled study.
To evaluate the possible effects of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) on the hearing s... more To evaluate the possible effects of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) on the hearing status of the patients in this prospective controlled study.
Herein we report a sixteen-year-old female that developed deep vein thrombosis (DVT) while underg... more Herein we report a sixteen-year-old female that developed deep vein thrombosis (DVT) while undergoing treatment for H1N1 pneumonia. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of H1N1/09 infection complicated by DVT in an adolescent patient with no detected risk factors other than immobilization. Healthcare providers should be aware of the possibility of thrombosis in patients with swine-origin influenza, especially in those with additional risk factors.
Transfusions with packed erythrocytes is a common practice in pediatric patients with acute lymph... more Transfusions with packed erythrocytes is a common practice in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who are on chemotherapy. Since there is no physiological excretion mechanism for iron, the iron related to erythrocyte transfusions accumulates and may contribute to late cardiac, hepatic and endocrine complications in these patients. In order to evaluate the iron burden among pediatric patients with ALL and define the risk factors associated with higher iron loading, we evaluated 79 pediatric patients with ALL (36 were off-therapy). Cardiac and hepatic T2* were ordered to a total of 22 (28%) patients who were either transfused with erythrocytes ≥ 10 times (n=11; 50%), had serum ferritin (SF) ≥ 1000 ng/ml (n=2; 9.1%) or both (n=9; 40.9%). Half of the patients who were screened by T2* MRI had hepatic T2*<7 ms and six (27%) of the patients had cardiac T2*<20 ms, indicating iron loading. Patients who had serum ferritin <1000 vs ≥ 1000 ng/ml had median cardiac T2* values of 28.3 ms (15-40) vs 21 (7.9-36), (p=0.324); whereas hepatic T2* of 10.8 (5.32-27) vs 4.7 (2.2-36), (p=0.017). Patients who had erythrocyte transfusion <10 vs ≥ 10 times had median cardiac T2* values of 34 ms (28-38) vs 23 (7.93-40), (p=0.021); whereas hepatic T2* of 13.6 (6.6-36) vs 5.32 (2.2-27), (p=0.046). Our results indicate that pediatric patients with ALL should be screened for transfusional iron load and the amount of erythrocyte transfusions seems to be a more reliable indication than serum ferritin levels to detect cardiac iron loading in these patients.
Management of renal transplant patients requires periodic measurement of renal function, which is... more Management of renal transplant patients requires periodic measurement of renal function, which is usually assessed by measuring the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The most commonly used marker for GFR is serum creatinine, although muscle wasting and tubular secretion may lead to overestimation of the actual GFR. Serum concentrations of the low-molecular-weight proteins, cystatin C and β2-microglobulin (B2M), may afford useful markers to determine a reduced GFR. We investigated whether these molecules provide reliable indicators of renal function in 75 renal transplant patients. Cystatin C and B2M correlated significantly with creatinine (r = .648, P < .05 and r = .578, P < .05, respectively). Inverse serum creatinine was superior to inverse cystatin C and inverse B2M when renal function equations were used (r = .95, P < .05, according to MDRD; r = .87, P < .05, according to Cockroft–Gault). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to quantitate the accuracy of the different markers to detect reduced GFR using a cutoff value of 70 mL/min. No significant difference between the areas under the ROC curves comparing cystatin C and B2M was observed; however, serum creatinine demonstrated a significantly greater value than cystatin C (.981 vs .724, P = .001). We conclude that serum creatinine is a more efficacious marker than serum cystatin C to assess renal function.
Iron deficiency is an important factor in the management of anemia in both dialysis and transplan... more Iron deficiency is an important factor in the management of anemia in both dialysis and transplant patients. Serum ferritin and transferrin saturation (TS) may be influenced by the presence of inflammation. Recently, the soluble transferrin receptor (s-TfR) has been considered to be a marker of functional iron stores. In this study, parameters of the iron state were investigated in terms of agreement (assessed by kappa) with the diagnosis of iron deficiency and with inflammation. The study was performed in 38 hemodialysis, 31 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, and 21 anemic renal transplant patients. CRP and amyloid A protein (AAP) were studied as markers of inflammation. Iron deficiency was defined as ferritin <100 mg/L, TS <20%, or s-TfR >1.76 mg/mL. We observed that s-TfR levels were significantly related to both dialysis duration (r = 0.28 in dialysis and r = 0.60 in transplant patients, both P < .05) and PTH levels (r = 0.23 in dialysis and r = 0.55 in transplant patients, both P < .05). Among the transplant group, ferritin and TS, as well as TS and s-TfR were significantly related (r = 0.84 and r = −0.64, respectively), but not s-TfR and ferritin. Among the dialysis group, ferritin and TS, and also TS and s-TfR, were significantly related (r = 0.35 and r = −0.30, respectively), whereas s-TfR and ferritin were not. In the transplant group, the kappa value for agreement between ferritin and TS in the diagnosis of iron deficiency was 0.76 (P = .006), and 0.33 (P = .04), respectively. Among patients with CRP levels <0.3 mg/L or AAP levels <6.4 mg/L, the relation between parameters of iron state was more robust. The kappa value for agreement between ferritin and s-TfR was 0.49 (P = .006) in the dialysis group and 1 (P = .002) for that between ferritin and TS in the transplant group. Our results suggest that PTH levels may influence s-TfR levels. Discordance between ferritin, TS, and s-TfR as markers of iron deficiency might be explained by the effects of inflammation.
Noncompliance with regard to diet, medications and routine physician visits is frequently observe... more Noncompliance with regard to diet, medications and routine physician visits is frequently observed among some patient groups. This results in late graft dysfunction and behavior loss. In the present study, we defined compliance as attendance at 80% or more outpatient visits. The study included 63 cadaveric and 158 living-related renal transplant recipients namely, 150 men and 76 women of 8 to 70 years of age (median 38 ± 12) who were operated between 1986 and 2001.Demographic data, number of visits attended per month, cigarette smoking, and alcohol intake were probed with a questionnaire that was delivered to the patients, 8 of whom died; hemophagocytic syndrome (n = 4), cardiovascular disease (n = 2), Kaposi' sarcoma (n = 1), and cerebrovascular bleeding (n = 1). Twenty-three patients had lost their graft.Compliance among men was lower than among women, a result that trended toward statistical significance (P = .087). Compliance was not related to marital status (P = .297), but tended to increase with educational background (P = .059). Graft loss (P = .546) and aging (P = .509) were not related to compliance. There was no relationship between compliance and mortality rate (P = .526). Interestingly, living-related kidney transplant recipients showed lower compliance than cadaveric kidney recipients, a result that was statistically significant (P = .04). Noncompliance was also related to cigarette smoking during the pre- and posttransplant periods (P = .008 and P = .03, respectively), as well as alcohol intake (P = .000).In conclusion, male gender and living-related donation are related to noncompliance, but (in contrast with literature) not young age, graft loss, or mortality. Compliance increases with educational status of the patients. Smoking and alcohol intake are closely related to noncompliance.
In this study we investigated the influence of a tacrolimus (TAC) plus mycophenolate mofetil (MMF... more In this study we investigated the influence of a tacrolimus (TAC) plus mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) immunosuppressive regimen on the acute rejection rate and side effect profile in renal transplant recipients. The study included 80 living-related and 40 cadaveric donor renal transplant recipients (82 men, 38 women) of mean age 35 Ϯ 10 years (range, 16 to 58) who were operated between August 1999 and September 2002. The mean HLA mismatches was 3 Ϯ 1 (range, 0 to 5). All patients received prednisolone, MMF (2 g/d for the first 14 days posttransplant and then 1 g/d) plus TAC (0.2 mg/kg/d). They were followed for the development of rejection attacks and side effects. Diabetes mellitus developed in 13 patients (9 men, 4 women; 10.8%). Initially, patients required insulin therapy but after 6 months, 5 recipients no longer needed insulin therapy and were switched to oral hypoglycermic agents and diet control. Hypertension was diagnosed in 58 patients (48.3%). Neither gender nor donor origin (P ϭ .14; P ϭ .79, respectively) produced a significant difference in diabetes mellitus development.
The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and outcome in a group of pediatric pat... more The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and outcome in a group of pediatric patients with hematological malignancies who developed hemophagocytosis at diagnosis or during the disease course. Eight patients with hematological malignancy and associated hemophagocytosis were included. The initial diagnosis was juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) in five, nonlymphoblastic leukemia (ANLL) in two, and T-cell lymphoma associated with myeloproliferative syndrome in one patient. Hemophagocytosis was concomitantly present at the time of diagnosis of the primary disease in four of the five patients with JMML and in the two patients with ANLL. Three had abnormalities related to chromosome 8 [(trisomy 8, monosomy 8, and t (8;13) (p11; p12)], and one had inversion 16. Multiple chromosomal losses were present in one patient, including both chromosomes 8 and 16. Bone marrow karyotyping revealed 46, XX; 47, XXX mosaicism in one patient. Two patients had PTPN11 mutation and one patient k-RAS mutation. The patients with JMML and neurofibromatosis (n = 2), the patient with lymphoma and t (8;13) positive AML, and a fourth patient with PTPN11 mutation did not remit and had unfavorable outcomes.
Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is the treatment of choice for some malignant diseases, and acq... more Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is the treatment of choice for some malignant diseases, and acquired or congenital non-malignant disorders such as aplastic anemia and immunodeficiency disorders (1). The preparative regimen, development of graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) and immunosuppression in allogeneic stem cell transplantation, suppress the host's immune system (2). Suppression of the recipient's immune system and reconstitution with the donor's
Central nervous system (CNS) relapse in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has been ove... more Central nervous system (CNS) relapse in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has been overcome by sensitive therapeutic approachs. This study was planned to present the development of CNS relapse and survival in newly diagnosed 190 ALL patients whose cases were followed in the authors&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; unit between March 1991 and May 2002. St. Jude Study XI protocol was given to the patients who applied between March 1991 and March 1997 (group A) (n = 122), and St. Jude Study XIII protocol was given to the patients who applied between March 1997 and May 2002 (group B) (n = 68). The patients having isolated CNS relapse in group A received craniospinal irradiation (CSI) median 3.5 months after CNS relapse (range 2-6 months), a short time after reinduction, and 2 cures of consolidation. In group B, patients having isolated CNS relapse received IT once a month and a high-dose methotrexate treatment once every 8 weeks and 3 or 4, cures later therapy CSI median 7 months after CNS relapse (range 6-8 months) was given. When the overall survival rates of the 2 groups are compared, a statistically significant higher survival rate at 5 years was determined in group B than in group A (respectively, 82.3%, 58.4%) (p &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .05). When subgroups of the patients (that is, those with no relapse, isolated CNS or BM relapse, or CNS + BM relapse) were compared in both groups, it was found that survival was much higher for the ones with no relapse and with isolated CNS relapse (respectively, 87.9%, 72.7%) compared to isolated BM or CNS + BM relapse groups (respectively, 10%, 13.3%) (p &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .05). In a conclusion, for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and an isolated CNS relapse, with delayed definitive craniospinal irradiation allowing more intensive systemic and intrathecal chemotherapy results in better overall survival than has been previously reported.
Objective This study was planned to determine the efficacies of single plasma sample methods (SPS... more Objective This study was planned to determine the efficacies of single plasma sample methods (SPSMs) in indicating glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by taking two plasma sample method (TPSM) as reference in the determination of the GFR in cases with clinically stable renal transplantation. Methods Ninety-six renal transplantation cases (33 female, 63 male; age interval 18-67, mean age 37.46 ± 11.81 years) progressing stably clinically and as laboratory, with minimum 6 months after transplantation were included in the study. The GFR values of the cases were measured with SPSM and TPSM. Results It is observed that all SPSMs have a strong correlation with TPSM. Highest correlation was observed between Groth&Aasted SPSM and TPSM GFR (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.965). In the analyses performed by using the Bland-Altman analysis, GFR values calculated by all SPSMs were concordant to the TPSM which is the gold standard method in 95 % confidence interval (average ± 1.96 standard deviation) and were within the clinically acceptable limits. The narrowest concordance interval was obtained between Groth&Aasted Tc-99 m DTPA SPSM and Tc-99 m DTPA TPSM..Besides, we have obtained the minimum bias and precision value by the Groth&Aasted method. Conclusions As a result; we can see that all the SPSMs give reliable results in measuring GFR in cases with renal transplantation; besides, we suggest Groth&Aasted method as the first option.
The authors report on a 4-year-old child with the diagnosis of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and infe... more The authors report on a 4-year-old child with the diagnosis of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and infective endocarditis. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was isolated from the blood culture of the patient. While receiving imipenem, amikacin, and linezolid therapies, the boy&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s general condition improved, acute phase reactants decreased, and his blood culture became negative for MRSA. On his follow-up echocardiography, the vegetation had also disappeared. However, he developed progressive bicytopenia following linezolid therapy for 5 weeks. During linezolid therapy, his hemoglobin level decreased from 12.1 to 5.3 g/dL and his platelet count from 242 x 10(9) to 14 x 10(9)/L. His white blood cell count (WBC) did not decrease during linezolid therapy. Six days following termination of linezolid therapy, his hemoglobin had increased to 8.2 g/dL and platelet count to 192 x 10(9)/L. Thus, it should be kept in mind that linezolid may induce cytopenias in children. If these side effects of linezolid are known, unnecessary laboratory investigations may be prevented and cessation of the drug may be sufficient for reversal of the cytopenias.
Wegener&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;a... more Wegener&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s granulomatosis is a systemic inflammatory disorder of unknown cause that usually affects the upper and lower respiratory tracts as well as the kidney. Cardiac involvement is rare, although electrocardiographic abnormalities, coronary artery vasculitis, cardiac arrhythmias, and myocardial infarction have been reported in the literature. A 27-year-old female patient with Wegener&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s granulomatosis in remission is described in whom complete heart block developed in the 13th month of treatment with cyclophosphamide. A temporary pacing was applied and pulse methylprednisolone and cyclophosphamide were commenced. On the ninth day of treatment, normal sinus rhythm was achieved. In conclusion, cardiac rhythm abnormalities should always be kept in mind both in the diagnosis and follow-up of Wegener&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s granulomatosis.
Background : Excessive viewing of television (TV) has been linked to aggressive behavior, violenc... more Background : Excessive viewing of television (TV) has been linked to aggressive behavior, violence and childhood obesity. Methods : A cross-sectional study was conducted among preschool children and primary schoolchildren in Ankara during March and April 1999 to detect the factors that affect TV viewing time and to evaluate their parents' knowledge, attitudes and practices with regard to TV. The parents were asked to fill out a questionnaire about TV habits of their family, the number and location of TVs in the household and the effect of TV on children. Of 400 questionnaires, 350 answered the questions appropriately for this study. Children were divided into two groups, preschool children and primary schoolchildren. Television viewing time was given daily, as a mean of weekday. Results : The mean age for becoming a TV viewer was 2.7 ± 1.6 years. Of all, 62% of children spent ≥ 2h/day watching TV and 8.3% of children spent > 4 h. The TV viewing time of child was significantly and positively correlated with that of siblings, mother and father for both groups. Age and sleeping time of the child, age and the education level of mother, presence of TV in the child's room and the starting age watching TV did not affect the viewing time. One-half of parents reported that the TV programs watched included violence, and one-third thought TV depicts child abuse, especially emotional abuse. Conclusion : It was found that the TV watching habits of parents had an influence on those of their children. Therefore, pediatricians should take 'TV histories' of children and their parents and educate parents how to become good TV viewers.
Objectives: Tacrolimus (FK506) is a potent immunosuppressive drug used for prevention of rejectio... more Objectives: Tacrolimus (FK506) is a potent immunosuppressive drug used for prevention of rejection following transplantation. Several methods including immunoassays have been used for monitoring tacrolimus levels. The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of various hematological parameters on whole blood tacrolimus concentrations which were measured with two different analytical methods, namely the microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA II) and enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT).
Indian Journal of Hematology and Blood Transfusion
A three-month-old boy presented with growth failure, skeletal abnormalities, otitis media and pan... more A three-month-old boy presented with growth failure, skeletal abnormalities, otitis media and pancytopenia. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency was confirmed by low levels of fecal elastase. He was diagnosed as Shwachman-Diamond syndrome by clinical and laboratory findings. The diagnosis was confirmed by sequence analysis for SBDS gene on chromosome seven revealing compound heterozygous mutation, which are c.258+2T-C and c.183-184TA-CT. Matched unrelated donor screening for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was initiated. Unfortunately, he died of respiratory difficulty at 5 months of age. Our case is the youngest patient whose presumptive Shwachman-Diamond syndrome diagnosis was confirmed by molecular analysis.
Bladder cancer is the most prevalent malignancy of the urinary tract. About 90% of bladder cancer... more Bladder cancer is the most prevalent malignancy of the urinary tract. About 90% of bladder cancers are urothelial carcinomas. Seventy percent of cases newly diagnosed are superficial diseases; roughly 30% of newly diagnosed cases are muscle-invasive metastatic diseases. Bladder urothelial carcinoma primarily metastasizes into regional lymph nodes and then into liver, lung, mediastinum, bone, and adrenal gland. In our case, non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer metastasized into the bone, mediastinum, iliac lymph node, and adrenal and thyroid glands. This is the first reported case in the current literature in which urothelial carcinoma metastasized into the thyroid gland.
To evaluate the possible effects of residual fragments on the health-related quality of life in p... more To evaluate the possible effects of residual fragments on the health-related quality of life in patients undergoing extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy for renal stones. Seventy-one patients with residual fragments were divided into 2 further groups; group 1 (n = 42; fragment size, ≤ 4 mm) and group 2 (n = 29; fragment size, &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;4 mm). During 3-month follow-up, spontaneous passage rates; number of emergency department visits, amount of the analgesic required, additional procedures, and the changes in the quality of life were evaluated. Quality of life was evaluated using the Short Form 36 survey. Statistical analyses included independent sample t tests. Of the 42 cases with fragments ≤ 4 mm, although 92.8% patients passed the fragments spontaneously, fragments resided until 3 months in 4.8% patients. Again, after 2 sessions of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy, of the 29 cases with fragments &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;4 mm, 55% were stone free, whereas 14% still had residual fragments. Mean number of emergency department visit was found to be 0.07 and 0.5 in both groups, respectively. Mean analgesic need was 138.75 mg in group 1 and 375 mg in group 2. Although significantly lower scores were noted only for one parameter during 1-month evaluation in cases with larger fragments, they were present in all 8 parameters during 3-month evaluation. Larger residual fragments could significantly affect the quality of life. Emergency department visits and colic attacks are the causes of discomfort. Effective stone disintegration by an experienced urologist should be aimed to limit the negative effects of residual fragments on the quality of life.
To evaluate the possible effects of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) on the hearing s... more To evaluate the possible effects of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) on the hearing status of the patients in this prospective controlled study.
To evaluate the possible effects of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) on the hearing s... more To evaluate the possible effects of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) on the hearing status of the patients in this prospective controlled study.
Herein we report a sixteen-year-old female that developed deep vein thrombosis (DVT) while underg... more Herein we report a sixteen-year-old female that developed deep vein thrombosis (DVT) while undergoing treatment for H1N1 pneumonia. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of H1N1/09 infection complicated by DVT in an adolescent patient with no detected risk factors other than immobilization. Healthcare providers should be aware of the possibility of thrombosis in patients with swine-origin influenza, especially in those with additional risk factors.
Transfusions with packed erythrocytes is a common practice in pediatric patients with acute lymph... more Transfusions with packed erythrocytes is a common practice in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who are on chemotherapy. Since there is no physiological excretion mechanism for iron, the iron related to erythrocyte transfusions accumulates and may contribute to late cardiac, hepatic and endocrine complications in these patients. In order to evaluate the iron burden among pediatric patients with ALL and define the risk factors associated with higher iron loading, we evaluated 79 pediatric patients with ALL (36 were off-therapy). Cardiac and hepatic T2* were ordered to a total of 22 (28%) patients who were either transfused with erythrocytes ≥ 10 times (n=11; 50%), had serum ferritin (SF) ≥ 1000 ng/ml (n=2; 9.1%) or both (n=9; 40.9%). Half of the patients who were screened by T2* MRI had hepatic T2*&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;7 ms and six (27%) of the patients had cardiac T2*&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;20 ms, indicating iron loading. Patients who had serum ferritin &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;1000 vs ≥ 1000 ng/ml had median cardiac T2* values of 28.3 ms (15-40) vs 21 (7.9-36), (p=0.324); whereas hepatic T2* of 10.8 (5.32-27) vs 4.7 (2.2-36), (p=0.017). Patients who had erythrocyte transfusion &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;10 vs ≥ 10 times had median cardiac T2* values of 34 ms (28-38) vs 23 (7.93-40), (p=0.021); whereas hepatic T2* of 13.6 (6.6-36) vs 5.32 (2.2-27), (p=0.046). Our results indicate that pediatric patients with ALL should be screened for transfusional iron load and the amount of erythrocyte transfusions seems to be a more reliable indication than serum ferritin levels to detect cardiac iron loading in these patients.
Management of renal transplant patients requires periodic measurement of renal function, which is... more Management of renal transplant patients requires periodic measurement of renal function, which is usually assessed by measuring the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The most commonly used marker for GFR is serum creatinine, although muscle wasting and tubular secretion may lead to overestimation of the actual GFR. Serum concentrations of the low-molecular-weight proteins, cystatin C and β2-microglobulin (B2M), may afford useful markers to determine a reduced GFR. We investigated whether these molecules provide reliable indicators of renal function in 75 renal transplant patients. Cystatin C and B2M correlated significantly with creatinine (r = .648, P < .05 and r = .578, P < .05, respectively). Inverse serum creatinine was superior to inverse cystatin C and inverse B2M when renal function equations were used (r = .95, P < .05, according to MDRD; r = .87, P < .05, according to Cockroft–Gault). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to quantitate the accuracy of the different markers to detect reduced GFR using a cutoff value of 70 mL/min. No significant difference between the areas under the ROC curves comparing cystatin C and B2M was observed; however, serum creatinine demonstrated a significantly greater value than cystatin C (.981 vs .724, P = .001). We conclude that serum creatinine is a more efficacious marker than serum cystatin C to assess renal function.
Iron deficiency is an important factor in the management of anemia in both dialysis and transplan... more Iron deficiency is an important factor in the management of anemia in both dialysis and transplant patients. Serum ferritin and transferrin saturation (TS) may be influenced by the presence of inflammation. Recently, the soluble transferrin receptor (s-TfR) has been considered to be a marker of functional iron stores. In this study, parameters of the iron state were investigated in terms of agreement (assessed by kappa) with the diagnosis of iron deficiency and with inflammation. The study was performed in 38 hemodialysis, 31 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, and 21 anemic renal transplant patients. CRP and amyloid A protein (AAP) were studied as markers of inflammation. Iron deficiency was defined as ferritin <100 mg/L, TS <20%, or s-TfR >1.76 mg/mL. We observed that s-TfR levels were significantly related to both dialysis duration (r = 0.28 in dialysis and r = 0.60 in transplant patients, both P < .05) and PTH levels (r = 0.23 in dialysis and r = 0.55 in transplant patients, both P < .05). Among the transplant group, ferritin and TS, as well as TS and s-TfR were significantly related (r = 0.84 and r = −0.64, respectively), but not s-TfR and ferritin. Among the dialysis group, ferritin and TS, and also TS and s-TfR, were significantly related (r = 0.35 and r = −0.30, respectively), whereas s-TfR and ferritin were not. In the transplant group, the kappa value for agreement between ferritin and TS in the diagnosis of iron deficiency was 0.76 (P = .006), and 0.33 (P = .04), respectively. Among patients with CRP levels <0.3 mg/L or AAP levels <6.4 mg/L, the relation between parameters of iron state was more robust. The kappa value for agreement between ferritin and s-TfR was 0.49 (P = .006) in the dialysis group and 1 (P = .002) for that between ferritin and TS in the transplant group. Our results suggest that PTH levels may influence s-TfR levels. Discordance between ferritin, TS, and s-TfR as markers of iron deficiency might be explained by the effects of inflammation.
Noncompliance with regard to diet, medications and routine physician visits is frequently observe... more Noncompliance with regard to diet, medications and routine physician visits is frequently observed among some patient groups. This results in late graft dysfunction and behavior loss. In the present study, we defined compliance as attendance at 80% or more outpatient visits. The study included 63 cadaveric and 158 living-related renal transplant recipients namely, 150 men and 76 women of 8 to 70 years of age (median 38 ± 12) who were operated between 1986 and 2001.Demographic data, number of visits attended per month, cigarette smoking, and alcohol intake were probed with a questionnaire that was delivered to the patients, 8 of whom died; hemophagocytic syndrome (n = 4), cardiovascular disease (n = 2), Kaposi' sarcoma (n = 1), and cerebrovascular bleeding (n = 1). Twenty-three patients had lost their graft.Compliance among men was lower than among women, a result that trended toward statistical significance (P = .087). Compliance was not related to marital status (P = .297), but tended to increase with educational background (P = .059). Graft loss (P = .546) and aging (P = .509) were not related to compliance. There was no relationship between compliance and mortality rate (P = .526). Interestingly, living-related kidney transplant recipients showed lower compliance than cadaveric kidney recipients, a result that was statistically significant (P = .04). Noncompliance was also related to cigarette smoking during the pre- and posttransplant periods (P = .008 and P = .03, respectively), as well as alcohol intake (P = .000).In conclusion, male gender and living-related donation are related to noncompliance, but (in contrast with literature) not young age, graft loss, or mortality. Compliance increases with educational status of the patients. Smoking and alcohol intake are closely related to noncompliance.
In this study we investigated the influence of a tacrolimus (TAC) plus mycophenolate mofetil (MMF... more In this study we investigated the influence of a tacrolimus (TAC) plus mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) immunosuppressive regimen on the acute rejection rate and side effect profile in renal transplant recipients. The study included 80 living-related and 40 cadaveric donor renal transplant recipients (82 men, 38 women) of mean age 35 Ϯ 10 years (range, 16 to 58) who were operated between August 1999 and September 2002. The mean HLA mismatches was 3 Ϯ 1 (range, 0 to 5). All patients received prednisolone, MMF (2 g/d for the first 14 days posttransplant and then 1 g/d) plus TAC (0.2 mg/kg/d). They were followed for the development of rejection attacks and side effects. Diabetes mellitus developed in 13 patients (9 men, 4 women; 10.8%). Initially, patients required insulin therapy but after 6 months, 5 recipients no longer needed insulin therapy and were switched to oral hypoglycermic agents and diet control. Hypertension was diagnosed in 58 patients (48.3%). Neither gender nor donor origin (P ϭ .14; P ϭ .79, respectively) produced a significant difference in diabetes mellitus development.
The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and outcome in a group of pediatric pat... more The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and outcome in a group of pediatric patients with hematological malignancies who developed hemophagocytosis at diagnosis or during the disease course. Eight patients with hematological malignancy and associated hemophagocytosis were included. The initial diagnosis was juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) in five, nonlymphoblastic leukemia (ANLL) in two, and T-cell lymphoma associated with myeloproliferative syndrome in one patient. Hemophagocytosis was concomitantly present at the time of diagnosis of the primary disease in four of the five patients with JMML and in the two patients with ANLL. Three had abnormalities related to chromosome 8 [(trisomy 8, monosomy 8, and t (8;13) (p11; p12)], and one had inversion 16. Multiple chromosomal losses were present in one patient, including both chromosomes 8 and 16. Bone marrow karyotyping revealed 46, XX; 47, XXX mosaicism in one patient. Two patients had PTPN11 mutation and one patient k-RAS mutation. The patients with JMML and neurofibromatosis (n = 2), the patient with lymphoma and t (8;13) positive AML, and a fourth patient with PTPN11 mutation did not remit and had unfavorable outcomes.
Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is the treatment of choice for some malignant diseases, and acq... more Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is the treatment of choice for some malignant diseases, and acquired or congenital non-malignant disorders such as aplastic anemia and immunodeficiency disorders (1). The preparative regimen, development of graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) and immunosuppression in allogeneic stem cell transplantation, suppress the host's immune system (2). Suppression of the recipient's immune system and reconstitution with the donor's
Central nervous system (CNS) relapse in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has been ove... more Central nervous system (CNS) relapse in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has been overcome by sensitive therapeutic approachs. This study was planned to present the development of CNS relapse and survival in newly diagnosed 190 ALL patients whose cases were followed in the authors&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; unit between March 1991 and May 2002. St. Jude Study XI protocol was given to the patients who applied between March 1991 and March 1997 (group A) (n = 122), and St. Jude Study XIII protocol was given to the patients who applied between March 1997 and May 2002 (group B) (n = 68). The patients having isolated CNS relapse in group A received craniospinal irradiation (CSI) median 3.5 months after CNS relapse (range 2-6 months), a short time after reinduction, and 2 cures of consolidation. In group B, patients having isolated CNS relapse received IT once a month and a high-dose methotrexate treatment once every 8 weeks and 3 or 4, cures later therapy CSI median 7 months after CNS relapse (range 6-8 months) was given. When the overall survival rates of the 2 groups are compared, a statistically significant higher survival rate at 5 years was determined in group B than in group A (respectively, 82.3%, 58.4%) (p &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .05). When subgroups of the patients (that is, those with no relapse, isolated CNS or BM relapse, or CNS + BM relapse) were compared in both groups, it was found that survival was much higher for the ones with no relapse and with isolated CNS relapse (respectively, 87.9%, 72.7%) compared to isolated BM or CNS + BM relapse groups (respectively, 10%, 13.3%) (p &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .05). In a conclusion, for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and an isolated CNS relapse, with delayed definitive craniospinal irradiation allowing more intensive systemic and intrathecal chemotherapy results in better overall survival than has been previously reported.
Objective This study was planned to determine the efficacies of single plasma sample methods (SPS... more Objective This study was planned to determine the efficacies of single plasma sample methods (SPSMs) in indicating glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by taking two plasma sample method (TPSM) as reference in the determination of the GFR in cases with clinically stable renal transplantation. Methods Ninety-six renal transplantation cases (33 female, 63 male; age interval 18-67, mean age 37.46 ± 11.81 years) progressing stably clinically and as laboratory, with minimum 6 months after transplantation were included in the study. The GFR values of the cases were measured with SPSM and TPSM. Results It is observed that all SPSMs have a strong correlation with TPSM. Highest correlation was observed between Groth&Aasted SPSM and TPSM GFR (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.965). In the analyses performed by using the Bland-Altman analysis, GFR values calculated by all SPSMs were concordant to the TPSM which is the gold standard method in 95 % confidence interval (average ± 1.96 standard deviation) and were within the clinically acceptable limits. The narrowest concordance interval was obtained between Groth&Aasted Tc-99 m DTPA SPSM and Tc-99 m DTPA TPSM..Besides, we have obtained the minimum bias and precision value by the Groth&Aasted method. Conclusions As a result; we can see that all the SPSMs give reliable results in measuring GFR in cases with renal transplantation; besides, we suggest Groth&Aasted method as the first option.
The authors report on a 4-year-old child with the diagnosis of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and infe... more The authors report on a 4-year-old child with the diagnosis of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and infective endocarditis. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was isolated from the blood culture of the patient. While receiving imipenem, amikacin, and linezolid therapies, the boy&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s general condition improved, acute phase reactants decreased, and his blood culture became negative for MRSA. On his follow-up echocardiography, the vegetation had also disappeared. However, he developed progressive bicytopenia following linezolid therapy for 5 weeks. During linezolid therapy, his hemoglobin level decreased from 12.1 to 5.3 g/dL and his platelet count from 242 x 10(9) to 14 x 10(9)/L. His white blood cell count (WBC) did not decrease during linezolid therapy. Six days following termination of linezolid therapy, his hemoglobin had increased to 8.2 g/dL and platelet count to 192 x 10(9)/L. Thus, it should be kept in mind that linezolid may induce cytopenias in children. If these side effects of linezolid are known, unnecessary laboratory investigations may be prevented and cessation of the drug may be sufficient for reversal of the cytopenias.
Wegener&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;a... more Wegener&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s granulomatosis is a systemic inflammatory disorder of unknown cause that usually affects the upper and lower respiratory tracts as well as the kidney. Cardiac involvement is rare, although electrocardiographic abnormalities, coronary artery vasculitis, cardiac arrhythmias, and myocardial infarction have been reported in the literature. A 27-year-old female patient with Wegener&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s granulomatosis in remission is described in whom complete heart block developed in the 13th month of treatment with cyclophosphamide. A temporary pacing was applied and pulse methylprednisolone and cyclophosphamide were commenced. On the ninth day of treatment, normal sinus rhythm was achieved. In conclusion, cardiac rhythm abnormalities should always be kept in mind both in the diagnosis and follow-up of Wegener&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s granulomatosis.
Background : Excessive viewing of television (TV) has been linked to aggressive behavior, violenc... more Background : Excessive viewing of television (TV) has been linked to aggressive behavior, violence and childhood obesity. Methods : A cross-sectional study was conducted among preschool children and primary schoolchildren in Ankara during March and April 1999 to detect the factors that affect TV viewing time and to evaluate their parents' knowledge, attitudes and practices with regard to TV. The parents were asked to fill out a questionnaire about TV habits of their family, the number and location of TVs in the household and the effect of TV on children. Of 400 questionnaires, 350 answered the questions appropriately for this study. Children were divided into two groups, preschool children and primary schoolchildren. Television viewing time was given daily, as a mean of weekday. Results : The mean age for becoming a TV viewer was 2.7 ± 1.6 years. Of all, 62% of children spent ≥ 2h/day watching TV and 8.3% of children spent > 4 h. The TV viewing time of child was significantly and positively correlated with that of siblings, mother and father for both groups. Age and sleeping time of the child, age and the education level of mother, presence of TV in the child's room and the starting age watching TV did not affect the viewing time. One-half of parents reported that the TV programs watched included violence, and one-third thought TV depicts child abuse, especially emotional abuse. Conclusion : It was found that the TV watching habits of parents had an influence on those of their children. Therefore, pediatricians should take 'TV histories' of children and their parents and educate parents how to become good TV viewers.
Objectives: Tacrolimus (FK506) is a potent immunosuppressive drug used for prevention of rejectio... more Objectives: Tacrolimus (FK506) is a potent immunosuppressive drug used for prevention of rejection following transplantation. Several methods including immunoassays have been used for monitoring tacrolimus levels. The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of various hematological parameters on whole blood tacrolimus concentrations which were measured with two different analytical methods, namely the microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA II) and enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT).
Uploads
Papers by Murat Tuncer