Fatih Uckardes

The Association between Vitamin D Levels and Urinary Tract Infection in Children

Aim: We aimed to examine whether there is any association between serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D3] and urinary tract infection (UTI) among children. Methods: White blood cell count, serum C-reactive protein, calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, parathormone, and serum 25(OH)D3 levels were measured in 82 children experiencing a first episode of UTI, with no risk factors for UTI, and 64 healthy control children. Results: The mean serum levels of 25(OH)D3 among children with UTI were significantly lower than those of controls (11.7 ± 3.3 vs. 27.6 ± 4.7 ng/ml; p < 0.001). The serum levels of 25(OH)D3 were significantly lower in patients with acute pyelonephritis compared to patients with lower UTI (8.6 ± 2.8 vs. 14.2 ± 3.0 ng/ml; p < 0.001). Within the study group, mean serum levels of 25(OH)D3 among girls were lower than those of boys (10.9 ± 3.4 ng/ml vs. 13.2 ± 4.4 ng/ml; p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that a serum 25(OH)D3 level of <20 ng/ml (odds ratio 3.503, 95% confidence interval 1.621-7.571; p = 0.001) was associated with UTI in children. Conclusions: Our results suggest that vitamin D deficiency may be a risk factor for UTI in children.

The mean platelet volume levels in children with PFAPA syndrome.

OBJECTIVES To assess whether mean platelet volume (MPV) can be used as a marker in the differential diagnosis of periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome. METHODS The leucocyte counts, thrombocyte counts, and MPV values of 57 children with PFAPA syndrome were recorded during an attack and an attack free period. These values were compared with a healthy control group of 55 individuals. Demographic features of the PFAPA patients group including age, gender and age of first attack, age at diagnosis, frequency of attacks, serum reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were also recorded. RESULTS The MPV values of the children with PFAPA both during an attack and attack free period were found significantly lower than the MPV values of healthy control group (p<0.001). Also, the MPV values of the children with PFAPA during an attack were significantly lower than in attack free periods (p<0.001). The MPV values showed no correlation with leucocytes counts, CRP, and ESR during attacks. A 8.30fl [area under the curve (AUC: 0.965)] optimal cutoff value of MPV with a sensitivity of 89.5% and specificity of 92.8% was determined during an attack in children with PFAPA. CONCLUSIONS The MPV values during an attack and attack free period of patients with PFAPA is lower than in controls. The MPV values may be used as a marker in the differential diagnosis of PFAPA syndrome but more studies are needed and they should be prospective in order to validate this data.

An Overview of Antibacterial Resistance Patterns of Pediatric Community-Acquired Urinary Infections.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is common in children. The aim of this study was therefor to construct a guide for the empirical antibiotic treatment of community‐acquired UTI by investigating the etiology and antimicrobial resistance patterns of uropathogens and analyzing the epidemiological and clinical patient characteristics.

Establishment of optimum regression model and determination of relationships between body measurements and slaughter traits in Japanese quails by path analysis

Path analysis was used to investigate direct, indirect and total effects of some morphological measurements on slaughter and carcass traits in Japanese quails. Bodyweight, shank length, shank diameter, breast circumference and body length measurements were taken from 219 Japanese quails. Bivariate correlations between carcass weight and morphological traits in quails ranged from 0.405 to 0.864. The direct effect of bodyweight on carcass weight was the strongest in the study and (path coefficient of 0.85) positively influenced carcass weight (P 0.05). These traits were indirectly realised mostly by shank diameter. Thus, they were dropped from the final regression equations to obtain much more simplified prediction models. The optimum multiple regression equation for Japanese quails included bodyweight, with coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.7463. The correlation between characters was determined in more detail by using path analysis in this study. Thus, it was shown that path analysis could be used for selecting a variable. The forecast indices obtained in this study could aid in weight estimation, selection and breeding programs.

An overview of platelet indices for evaluating platelet function in children with scorpion envenomation

The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between platelet indices and scorpion envenomations (SE). Medical records of 76 children who were hospitalised for scorpion stings in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) between February 2013 and November 2013, and 55 healthy children who were similar to the patient group in terms of age and sex, were analysed retrospectively. The leucocyte (WBC), thrombocyte (PLT), plateletcrit (PCT), platelet distribution width (PDW) and mean platelet volume (MPV) values of the 76 children with SE were recorded. These values were compared with the healthy control group. Significantly higher WBC and PDW values were noted in patients with SE in comparison to the controls. Patients with SE had significantly lower mean MPV values compared to the healthy controls (9.03 ± 1.26 compared to 10.43 ± 1.44 fL, respectively; p < 0.001). Although the mean platelet count was slightly elevated in the SE group, no statistically significant difference existed between the two groups (p = 0.097). Furthermore, the mean PCT values in the SE group compared to the control group were slightly decreased, but this decrease was not statistically significant (p = 0.141). A significant inverse correlation existed between the MPV values and the WBC (r = -0.450, p < 0.01) and PLT counts (r = -0.420, p < 0.01). The PLT values were significantly correlated with the PCT values (r = 0.687, p < 0.01). This study demonstrated that SE may lead to several alterations in platelet indices. Significantly lower values of MPV and higher values of PDW were detected in SE patients. However, the increase in the platelet counts and the decrease in the PCT values were not significant.

The exogenous administration of CB2 specific agonist, GW405833, inhibits inflammation by reducing cytokine production and oxidative stress

The present study aimed to investigate the role of cannabinoid 2 (CB2) receptors in a rat model of acute inflammation. Therefore, the potential of anti-inflammatory effects of CB2 receptor agonist (GW405833), CB2 receptor antagonist (AM630), and diclofenac, were investigated in carrageenan induced paw oedema in rats: as were assessed by measuring paw oedema; myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in paw tissue; malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration; glutathione (GSH) level in paw tissue for oxidant/antioxidant balance; cytokine (interleukin-1β, IL-1β; tumour necrosis factor-α, TNF-α) levels in serum; histopathology of paw tissue for inflammatory cell accumulations. The results showed that GW405833 or diclofenac significantly reduced carrageenan-induced paw oedema. GW405833 also inhibited the increase of MPO activity, the recruitment of total leukocytes and neutrophils, and MDA concentration during carrageenan-induced acute inflammation, along with reversed nearly to the normal levels the increased of TNF-α, and IL-1β in serum. AM630 did not affect inflammation alone however clearly reversed the effects of agonist when co-administered. The mechanism of GW405833s suppression of inflammation is supported by these results, which are achieved by the inhibition of neutrophil migration, which regulates the reduction of oxidative stress, TNF-α and IL-1β levels. Finally, the activation of CB2 receptor, by selective agonist, has a major role in peripheral inflammation, and in the near future, targeting the peripheral cannabinoid system as a promising alternative to treat inflammation diseases may be considered a novel pharmacologic approach.

Serum biochemistry of free-ranging black francolins (Francolinus francolinus) including sex-related differences

Black francolin (Francolinus francolinus) is a game bird belonging to Phasianidae family. This species is native to Southern Asia, Middle-East and Caspian region including Turkey. Black francolins are popular game animals and they play an important role in biological control of pests. Nevertheless, studies conducted on this species are extremely rare. The objective of this study is to introduce a profile of serum biochemistry for wild black francolins and to determine variations between sexes. We have analysed 13 serum parameters for each gender separately. We sampled 20 clinically healthy, adult black francolins. Analysed biochemical parameters are as follows: aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, creatinine, uric acid, total bilirubin, total protein, albumin, globulin, sodium and potassium. Females had significantly higher levels of aspartate aminotransferase and ALT while males had higher cholesterol levels.

PS-244a Is Vitamin D Deficiency A Risk Factor For Urinary Tract Infection In Children?

Background and aims There is increasing evidence that vitamin D deficiency plays an important role in susceptibility to infections. We aimed to examine whether there is any association between serum levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D3) and urinary tract infections (UTI) among children. Methods Serum calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), parathormone (PTH) and serum 25(OH)D3 levels were measured in 82 children aged 2 months to 12 years with first episode of UTI, not having any risk factor for UTI, and 64 healthy control children. The age, gender, weight, height, fever, vitamin D or calcium supplementation, urinalysis and urine culture were recorded. Results The serum levels of 25(OH)D3 were significantly lower in the study group compared to healthy control group (11.69 ± 3.25 ng/mL vs. 27.57 ± 4.72 ng/mL; p < 0.001). There was statistically significant difference in serum 25(OH)D3 levels between the patients with upper UTI compared to the patients with lower UTI (8.63 ± 2.76 ng/mL vs. 14.22 ± 2.97 ng/mL; p < 0.001). The serum levels of 25(OH)D3 were significantly lower in girls compared to the boys in the study group (10.91 ± 3.42 ng/mL vs. 13.20 ± 4.38 ng/mL; p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that a serum 25(OH)D3 level of < 15 ng/mL (odds ratio 3.50, 95% confidence interval 1.62–7.57; p = 0.001) was associated with UTI in children. Conclusions Our results suggest that vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for UTI in children and low serum level of vitamin D in girls is one of the reason for prone to UTI. Abstract PS-244a Table 1