Evaluation of functional gastrointestinal disorders in children aged 4-10 years with autism spectrum disorder

BACKGROUND

Gastrointestinal system disorders are known to be prevalent among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Some ASD-associated comorbidities are abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, gastroesophageal reflux, sleep disturbances, epilepsy, and psychiatric problems. Nonetheless, there is still limited information about the presence of functional GI disorders (FGIDs) among children with ASD, especially in Türkiye. Using the Rome criteria, we aimed to investigate FGIDs in children with ASD.

METHODS

The sample of the study consisted of 68 children aged 4-10 years, diagnosed with ASD according to the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria and had scores greater than 30 on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS-2) and an age-sex matched control group (n=78). The Rome III criteria were used to evaluate FGIDs.

RESULTS

The frequency of FGIDs in the ASD group was higher (76.5%) compared to the control group (p < 0.001). Compared to the control group, abdominal migraine frequency increased 10 times (p=0.012), functional constipation 7 times (p < 0.001), and fecal incontinence 6 times (p < 0.001) in the ASD group. Stool retention was not present in most children in the ASD group who were found to have fecal incontinence.

CONCLUSION

In this study, the most common FGIDs in the ASD group were abdominal migraine, functional constipation, and non-retentive fecal incontinence. The finding that most children with ASD who had fecal incontinence did not show stool retention implicated social, psychological, and behavioral factors as the causes of incontinence. Raising awareness of healthcare professionals about the frequency of FGIDs in children with ASD will improve many areas in the daily lives of these children.

Popliteal Fossa Sarcomas

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Soft tissue sarcomas of the popliteal fossa are extremely rare tumors of mesenchymal origin accounting for 3%-5% of all extremity sarcomas. However, data regarding the tumor type, neurovascular involvement, and administration of radiation therapy before or after resection are limited. This study aimed to report on popliteal fossa sarcomas analyzing data from two institutions based on a relatively large patient sample. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty-four patients (80%; 9 men and 15 women) with a popliteal fossa soft tissue sarcoma were included in this study. The reviewed patient data included sex, age, duration of complaints, interval to diagnosis, radiology, pre- and postoperative biopsy, tumor histology, surgery type, complications, and pre- and postoperative oncologic and functional outcomes. The minimum follow-up was 24 months. RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 48 ± 21.23 (range 3-72) years at the time of diagnosis. The mean follow-up was 41.79 ± 16.97 (range 24-120) months. The most common histological diagnoses were synovial sarcoma (6 patients), hemangiopericytoma (2 patients), soft tissue osteosarcoma (2 patients), unidentified fusiform cell sarcoma (2 patients), and myxofibrosarcoma (2 patients). Local recurrence after limb salvage was observed in six patients (26%). At the latest followup, 2 patients died of the disease, 2 patients were still alive with progressive lung disease and soft tissue metastasis, and the remaining 20 patients were free from the disease. CONCLUSIONS Microscopically positive margins may not be an absolute indication for amputation. Also, negative margins do not provide a guarantee that local recurrence will not occur. Lymph node or distant metastasis may be predictive factors for local recurrence rather than positive margins. Key words: fossa poplitea, sarcoma.

Buccal mucosal graft urethroplasty outcomes for bulbar urethra stricture and predictive factors affecting success

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE

The bulbar urethra is the location where urethral stricture is most commonly observed. The most successful method for long and recurrent urethral stenosis is graft urethroplasty. The most successful graft source is buccal mucosa, with advantages like easy adaptation to the corporeal bed, thick epithelium, thin lamina propria with rich vascular structure and easy ability to obtain the graft. In this study we aimed to retrospectively assess the outcomes and predictive factors affecting surgical success of our buccal mucosal graft urethroplasty surgery performed for bulbar urethra stenosis with moderate length.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

In this study, we monitored 51 patients with mean 4.4 cm bulbar urethral stricture length for mean 17 months follow-up. From operative and postoperative data, stenosis length, operation duration, Qmax, International Prostate Symptom Score, International Index of Erectile Function-Erectile Function and OF, success rates in total and in subgroups (age, according to DVIU, etiology, BMI and DM), follow-up duration, complications, re-stricture time and number were assessed.

RESULTS

The total success of the operations was 86.3%. In 17 months, the re-stricture rate was 13.7%. Oral and urethral complications were all minor. The complications with longest duration (6 months) were ejaculation, erection problems and urethral fistula. Mean time to re-stricture was 11 months. All re-stricture patients were relieved by one DVIU session each.

CONCLUSION

For bulbar urethral stricture longer than 2 cm and with recurrence, the dorsal buccal mucosa graft replacement is a very successful method with low complication rates.

Can Intra-articular 1α, 25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 Administration Be Therapeutical in Joint Cartilage Damage?

INTRODUCTION Vitamin D-deficiency is known to cause nerve conduction impairments, cancer and chronic diseases, as well as the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. Our goal with this study is to evaluate the cartilage healing by applying intraarticular 1α, 25 (OH) 2D3 at different doses in rats with normal vitamin D levels and metabolism, which we made focal chondral damage model in the knee joint. MATERIAL AND METHODS 35 male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 20-24 weeks were used in our study. Both knees of rats were cartilage defected surgically on day 0. Joint injections performed at 06:00 am on 0th and 2nd days and after second injection others performed on days 9-16 and 23 following a weekly period. RESULTS In the fourth week, hematoxylin eosin staining measurements showed statistically significant difference according to the groups (p < 0.01) Metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) in histological staining for evaluating cartilage healing and healing levels showed statistically significant differences between the groups at first week and fourth week (p < 0.05). DISCUSSION Vitamin D, which affects many tissues through its receptors, is believed to be chondroprotective and neuroprotective by decreasing the expression of MMP in cartilage fibroblast, macrophage, lymphocyte through its intracellular receptors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study known to be intraarticular use of 1α, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. Our study has been found to be safe and successful in terms of weight, systemic PTH and 1α, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 levels in rats during treatment as well as better healing of cartilage damage. Key words: vitamin D3 receptor, articular cartilage, orthopedics, nerve conduction.

Missed Sleeve Fracture of the Superior Pole of Patella

Patellar sleeve fracture is a form of injury in which small osseous fragments avulsed with periosteum and cartilage. 15-year-old male patient, playing in school football team, apllied to our clinic with a history of previously missed patellar superior pole sleeve avulsion fracture. Care must be taken in order not to miss the patellar superior pole sleeve fractures, which are very rare in children. Extra care must be taken in patients, whose X-ray imaging is clean but there is a problem in the extensor mechanism of the knee. INTRODUCTION Since the patella has high mobility and large cartilage surfaces, it's fracture is very rare in children (9). Growing patella is more prone to osteochondral or avulsion fractures (8). Patellar sleeve fracture is a form of injury in which small osseous fragments fractured with periosteum and cartilage (5). Avulsion or sleeve fractures of patella can be seen in inferior and superior patellar poles. Fractures in superior pole is very rare and only a few cases have been described in the literature (2).

An Effective Technique in Treatment of Femoral Neck Fractures - Ostheosynthesis under Double Fluoroscopic Guidance

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The most commonly used technique for fixation of the femoral neck fractures is percutaneous osteosynthesis with cannulated screw under fluoroscopy guidance. Osteosynthesis performed under single-fluoroscopic guidance requires continuous repositioning the fluoroscope to obtain biplane imaging. This study aimed to evaluate whether there is a statistically significant difference between the osteosynthesis procedures performed under guidance of single-fluoroscopy and double fluoroscopy with respect to radiation emission safety and treatment parameters for fixation of femoral neck fractures. MATERIAL AND METHODS This retrospective study included 35 patients operated for femoral neck fracture between December 2013 and October 2017. Osteosynthesis was performed in 21 of these patients using cannulated screw under guidance of single-fluoroscopy whereas other 14 patients underwent same type of osteosynthesis assisted by double-fluoroscopy. The parameters of these two groups such as duration of surgery preparation, duration of the surgery, duration of radiation exposure, collo-diaphyseal angle and Harris hip score values were recorded. RESULTS No significant difference was found between the groups regarding time for surgery preparation (p > 0.05). On the other hand, duration of surgery and overall duration of radiation exposure were found 14 (p < 0.05) and 15 (p < 0.05) minutes shorter in the double-fluoroscopy group, respectively. No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of collo-diaphyseal angle and Harris hip score values (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Use of double-fluoroscopy significantly reduces time of surgical duration and also level of radiation exposure in surgery of femoral neck fractures. Key words:double fluoroscopy, femoral neck fractures, radiation, osteosynthesis, cannulated screw.

Is Intraarticular Antibiotic Administration Effective in the Treatment of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus?

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Septic arthritis is an infection of joints caused by a pathogenic microorganism. Septic arthritis has a mortality rate of 11-40% when it's not treated properly. The mortality rate with methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA)is 5-7%, while the rate with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)is 13-20%. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of intraarticular vancomycin and teicoplanin on joint cartilage in in vivo settings and its utility in routine MRSA treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS In our study, 35 male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 28 days were used. Rats were obtained from the Regenerative and Restorative Medicine Research Center (REMER) of Istanbul Medipol University. Rats were randomly divided into 5 groups each containing 7 rats. Joint injections were administered with isoflurane analgesia every day at 6 am. Three rats (15 rats) from each group were sacrified in seventh day and evaluated immunohistologically to evaluate acute healing in articular cartilage. All remaining rats were sacrificed on day 28 and their knees were evaluated by immunohistochemical examination. RESULTS In our study, there were no complications in any rat during injection and the study period. Hematoxylin eosin (H & E) histological staining for evaluating cartilage healing and healing levels did not show statistically significant differences between the groups at first week (p > 0.05). Matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) staining did not show any statistically significant difference between the groups. (p > 0.05). DISCUSSION MRSAseptic arthritis, diagnosed for the first time in 1960, has recently been responsible for 6-22% of all septic arthritis and is increasing day by day. The use of systemic vancomycin or teicoplanin is the first-line treatment method in MRSA septic arthritis. Serum levels reach the desired level, especially with intravenous infusion dose. On the other hand, it has been shown that intraarticular concentration does not reach a sufficient level in studies conducted. The use of intraarticular antibiotics during treatment can lead to more effective and early disease control by turning this negative situation into favor of the patient. As a result, intraarticular vancomycin and teicoplanin maximale tolerable and maintenance doses can be safely used beside surgery and intravenous antibiotics to increase efficacy of treatment, reduction of recurrence rates and reduction of mortality in MRSAseptic arthritis. CONCLUSIONS Intraarticular vancomycin and teicoplanin maximale tolerable and maintenance doses can be safely used beside surgery and intravenous antibiotics to increase efficacy of treatment, reduction of recurrence rates and reduction of mortality in MRSA septic arthritis. Key words:arthritis, infectious; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; mortality.

Genetic Polymorphism of VKORC1-1639 in Children With Intracranial Hemorrhage Due to Vitamin K Deficiency

Intracranial hemorrhage due to vitamin K deficiency is a serious disease that can lead to morbidity, mortality, and mental retardation. Our goal in this study is to determine the frequency of VKORC1-1639 G>A polymorphism in patients who have undergone intracranial hemorrhage due to vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB). To study VKORC1-1639 G>A polymorphism, blood was drawn from patients (n = 51, age 8:0 ± 6:5 years) followed at the Pediatric Neurology and Hematology section, Faculty of Medicine, Erciyes University, between 1990 and 2016, diagnosed with VKDB as idiopathic or from patients diagnosed with intracranial hemorrhage due to secondary vitamin K deficiency and also from volunteers (n = 51, age 11 ± 4.5 years). Intensive care and nutrition needs of patients and the laboratory radiological imaging results and treatments that were applied were analyzed through scanning the files of the patients and information received from families. Through detailed physical examination, patients with neurologic sequelae and ongoing epilepsy were determined. The results were compared to clinical and laboratory results with control group. Eight (15.7%) of the patients were normal, 29 (56.9%) heterozygous carrier, and 14 (27.5%) homozygous mutants. In the control group, 19 (37.3%) were normal, 19 (37.3%) heterozygous carriers, and 13 (25.5%) homozygous mutants. The VKOR1-1639>A (SNP:rs9923231) mutant positivity (homozygous plus heterozygous mutant) was significantly higher in the patient group when compared to controls. There were no significant differences between patient and control groups in terms of the prognosis.

The relationship between the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and the coronary collateral circulation in patients with chronic total occlusion

OBJECTIVES

Previous studies showed the association between the major adverse cardiovascular outcomes and both higher neutrophil and lower lymphocyte counts. We aimed to investigate whether there is an association between the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) value and the development of coronary collateral circulation (CCC) in patients with coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO).

METHODS

A total of 274 patients with CTO were included in this study. Patients were then classified according to their Rentrop collateral grades as either poor (Rentrop grades 0-1) or good (Rentrop grades 2-3). Clinical information and analyses of blood samples were obtained from a review of the patients' charts.

RESULTS

Although there was no difference between the two groups with regard to cardiovascular risk profiles, the NLR values were significantly higher in the patients who had poorly developed CCC (2.6 ± 0.5 vs 2.2 ± 0.4, p<0.001). NLR, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), white blood cell count (WBC), age, diabetes, fasting glucose levels and body mass index were found to have univariate association with poorly developed CCC (p<0.1). In a multivariate logistic regression model, NLR (odds ratio 1.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37-2.74; p<0.001), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and WBC were found to be the independent predictors of poor CCC. In receiver operator characteristic curve analysis, the optimal cut-off value of NLR to predict poor CCC was found as 2.17, with 77% sensitivity and 65% specificity.

CONCLUSION

NLR, as a novel cardiovascular risk marker, is an important, simple and inexpensive method which can be used by the cardiologist as a screening inflammation tool to estimate the development of CCC in patients with CTO.

Search for quark compositeness with the dijet centrality ratio in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

A search for quark compositeness in the form of quark contact interactions, based on hadronic jet pairs (dijets) produced in proton-proton collisions at √s=7 TeV, is described. The data sample of the study corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 2.9 pb(-1) collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. The dijet centrality ratio, which quantifies the angular distribution of the dijets, is measured as a function of the invariant mass of the dijet system and is found to agree with the predictions of the standard model. A statistical analysis of the data provides a lower limit on the energy scale of quark contact interactions. The sensitivity of the analysis is such that the expected limit is 2.9 TeV; because the observed value of the centrality ratio at high invariant mass is below the expectation, the observed limit is 4.0 TeV at the 95% confidence level.

Search for dijet resonances in 7 TeV pp collisions at CMS

A search for narrow resonances in the dijet mass spectrum is performed using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.9 pb⁻¹ collected by the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Upper limits at the 95% confidence level are presented on the product of the resonance cross section, branching fraction into dijets, and acceptance, separately for decays into quark-quark, quark-gluon, or gluon-gluon pairs. The data exclude new particles predicted in the following models at the 95% confidence level: string resonances, with mass less than 2.50 TeV, excited quarks, with mass less than 1.58 TeV, and axigluons, colorons, and E6 diquarks, in specific mass intervals. This extends previously published limits on these models.

First measurement of Bose-Einstein correlations in proton-proton collisions at √s=0.9 and 2.36 TeV at the LHC

Bose-Einstein correlations have been measured using samples of proton-proton collisions at 0.9 and 2.36 TeV center-of-mass energies, recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The signal is observed in the form of an enhancement of pairs of same-sign charged particles with small relative four-momentum. The size of the correlated particle emission region is seen to increase significantly with the particle multiplicity of the event.

Transverse-momentum and pseudorapidity distributions of charged hadrons in pp collisions at square root of s = 7 TeV

Charged-hadron transverse-momentum and pseudorapidity distributions in proton-proton collisions at square root of s = 7  TeV are measured with the inner tracking system of the CMS detector at the LHC. The charged-hadron yield is obtained by counting the number of reconstructed hits, hit pairs, and fully reconstructed charged-particle tracks. The combination of the three methods gives a charged-particle multiplicity per unit of pseudorapidity dN(ch)/dη|(|η|<0.5) = 5.78 ± 0.01(stat) ± 0.23(syst) for non-single-diffractive events, higher than predicted by commonly used models. The relative increase in charged-particle multiplicity from square root of s = 0.9 to 7 TeV is [66.1 ± 1.0(stat) ± 4.2(syst)]%. The mean transverse momentum is measured to be 0.545 ± 0.005(stat) ± 0.015(syst)  GeV/c. The results are compared with similar measurements at lower energies.