Masallah Baran

Helicobacter pylori infection in children with celiac disease

Objective. To analyze the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in children with celiac disease (CD) and to examine the role of H. pylori infection in clinical, laboratory and histopathological presentations of CD. Material and methods. Data on 96 children with CD and 235 children who underwent endoscopy were compared for the prevalence and gastric histology pattern of H. pylori. Clinical presentation, laboratory and histological findings of CD children with and without H. pylori infection were compared. Results. Twenty-one subjects (21.8%) in the CD group and 56 subjects (23.8%) in the control group had H. pylori gastritis. Gastric metaplasia is higher in CD patients with H. pylori gastritis (19%) than in patients without H. pylori gastritis (1.3%) and in the control group (3.5%) (p<0.05 for all groups). Abdominal distension is more common at initial admission in CD patients with H. pylori gastritis (57.1% versus 14.6%, p<0.05). No significant difference was found between H. pylori (+) and (−) CD patients in terms of prevalence of anemia, iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia. Only mild duodenal histological findings were more common in H. pylori patients (57.1% versus 26.7%, p<0.05). Conclusions. CD may be associated with H. pylori gastritis, but it does not affect the clinical presentation of the disease, except for abdominal distension; CD is associated with mild duodenal lesions. A gluten-free diet improves the symptoms in all patients independently of the presence of H. pylori gastritis. Gastric metaplasia increases in the presence of H. pylori gastritis. Further prospective studies are needed to examine the clinical and histopathological outcomes of gastric metaplasia associated with H. pylori gastritis in CD patients.

Chylous ascites after living related liver transplantation treated with somatostatin analog and parenteral nutrition.

Chylous ascites are the accumulation of chylomicron-rich lymphatic fluid within the peritoneal cavity, resulting from obstruction or disruption of abdominal lymphatic channels. This rare condition may be associated with neoplastic or infectious infiltration of lymphatics, with pancreatitis, and with abdominal surgery. It may occur spontaneously in 0.5% of patients with cirrhosis; but only among a few liver transplantation cases. The management of chylous ascites is controversial; the variety of described treatments include repeated paracentesis, dietary control, peritoneovenous shunting, and surgical ligation of the disrupted lymphatic channels. In this article, we report 2 cases of rapid resolution of chylous ascites after liver transplantation following 5 days of treatment using a somatostatin analog and total parenteral nutrition (TPN). A 3.5-year-old girl and a 5-year-old girl underwent living related liver transplantation for biliary atresia and hepatoblastoma, respectively. Chylous ascites, diagnosed by ascitic fluid examination, developed within the 2 weeks after transplantation in the 2 cases. Treatment by fasting, TPN, and somatostatin analog resulted in rapid resolution of the ascites within 1 week. The prevalence of chylous ascites was noted in 1.6% of children (2/119) after liver transplantation. These cases highlight the use of somatostatin analog and parenteral nutrition in chylous ascites after liver transplantation.

Successful treatment of a child having generalized Kaposi's sarcoma after living donor liver transplantation with conversion to sirolimus.

Abstract:  SRL is a new and potent immunosuppressive agent that has been successfully introduced in organ transplantation. In contrast to other immunosuppressive agents, SRL has a potent antitumor activity both in vitro and in vivo. Herein, we report a child with Kaposi’s sarcoma that was diagnosed 30 months after LDLT and treated successfully with only conversion to SRL monotherapy. KS regressed completely at the end of the first month and remained in remission during 28 months follow‐up.

Infectious complications in pediatric liver transplantation candidates.

Cakir M, Arikan C, Akman SA, Baran M, Saz UE, Yagci RV, Zeytunlu M, Kilic M, Aydogdu S. Infectious complications in pediatric liver transplantation candidates.
Pediatr Transplantation 2010: 14: 82–86.

Right‐sided diaphragmatic hernia after orthotopic liver transplantation: Report of two cases

Kazimi M, İbis C, Alper I, Ulas M, Baran M, Arikan C, Aydogdu S, Ulukaya S, Zeytunlu M, Kilic M. Right‐sided diaphragmatic hernia after orthotopic liver transplantation: Report of two cases.
Pediatr Transplantation 2010: 14:e62–e64.

Liver involvement in children with Familial Mediterranean fever

AIM Familial Mediterranean fever is characterised by recurrent, febrile, inflammatory attacks of the serosal membranes. Prolonged inflammatory response is triggered secondary to cytokine stimulation due to reduced activity of pyrin. Inflammatory cytokines play major role in the pathogenesis of acute liver injury; and chronic, recurrent cytokine production may cause chronic hepatitis/cirrhosis. We aimed to analyse liver involvement in children with Familial Mediterranean fever. PATIENTS The study included 58 patients with Familial Mediterranean fever. Patients with liver involvement were examined in detail. RESULTS Liver involvement was seen in 11 of 58 patients (18.9%). Two patients (3.4%) had abnormal liver enzymes during the diagnostic evaluation, whilst 9 patients (15.5%) were admitted with the features of liver diseases, and had final diagnosis of Familial Mediterranean fever (2 had Budd-Chiari syndrome, 5 had chronic hepatitis/cirrhosis, 2 had acute hepatitis). None of the demographic factors or laboratory findings was different between the patients with or without liver involvement M694V allele was more common in patients with liver involvement but did not reach significant difference (50% vs. 33.6%, p=0.21). All the patients showed clinical and laboratory improvement after colchicine. CONCLUSION Paediatric hepatologists must keep Familial Mediterranean fever in mind in the patients with cryptogenic hepatitis/cirrhosis especially in regions where hereditary inflammatory diseases are common.

Liver transplantation for acute liver failure due to toxic agent ingestion in children

Abstract:  ALF is characterized by sudden onset, impaired liver function, jaundice and encephalopathy, without previous liver disease. We analyzed the patients who underwent LT due to toxic agent induced ALF to raise community awareness about preventing the toxic agent induced ALF. Five children (three boys, two girls) underwent LT due to toxic agent ingestion. Toxic agents were mushroom poisoning (n = 2), Datura stramonium (n = 1), yellow phosphorous (n = 1) and INH (n = 1). On admission, one patient had stage IV, two had stage III and two had stage II hepatic encephalopathy but worsened during the follow‐up. One patient had renal failure, and three patients required mechanical ventilation. Three patients underwent LRLT and others from a DD. Post‐operative complications were managed by supportive managements successfully, and overall all the patients are alive (100% survival) without any organ sequelae. Although outcome of these patients are excellent, ALF may be prevented in these cases by educating the public about consuming mushrooms and toxic effects of wild plants, prohibiting fireworks and serial liver enzyme measurements after initiating INH.

Parenthood in pediatric liver transplant patients

Ecevit Ç, Ünal F, Baran M, Aydoğdu S. Parenthood in pediatric liver transplant patients.

Faecal calprotectin levels in children with Henoch-Schönlein purpura: is this a new marker for gastrointestinal involvement?

Aim We aimed to investigate the significance of faecal calprotectin (FC) levels in children diagnosed with Henoch–Schönlein purpura (HSP) and examine its relationships with gastrointestinal system (GIS), renal involvement and with clinical findings. Patients and methods In total, 66 children diagnosed with HSP for the first time and a control group of 25 healthy children were included. The cases were divided into mild and severe groups on the basis of GIS findings. FC was measured twice in all patients with HSP: within 3 days of onset of disease (FC1) and on day 15 (FC2). These results were compared with those of the control group. Faecal occult blood, gastric wall thickness and duodenal wall thickness were measured at the same time as FC1 in all patients, and the presence of renal involvement was recorded. Results Of the 66 patients, 37 (56%) were females (mean age, 7.5±2.9 years; range, 2.5–14.5 years) and were diagnosed with HSP. Renal involvement was detected in 19 (28%) cases and GIS involvement was found in 28 (43%) cases. GIS involvement was mild in 16 (53%) cases and severe in 12 (43%). A significant difference was detected in FC1 levels between the groups with and without GIS involvement (P=0.01). A marked difference was observed in FC1 levels between the groups with and without renal involvement (P=0.017). Conclusion FC may be a reliable marker for HSP, particularly for identifying GIS and renal involvement as well as disease severity.

Inflammatory bowel disease in Turkish children

BackgroundThis study was undertaken to evaluate demographics, clinical manifestations, laboratory findings and outcomes of children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Turkey.MethodsWe analyzed the medical records of 127 children diagnosed with IBD (under 18 years old) between January 2004 and January 2012 in 8 pediatric gastroenterology centers.ResultsOf the 127 patients, 90 (70.9%) suffered from ulcerative colitis (UC), 29 (22.8%) from Crohn’s disease (CD), and 8 (6.3%) from IBD unclassified. The mean age of the 127 patients was 11.6±4.1 years, and 11.8% of the patients were below 5 years old. Of the patients, 49.6% were male, and males were more predominant in patients with CD than in those with UC (72.4% vs. 42.2%, P=0.008; a male/female ratio of 2.62 in CD, P=0.0016). Approximately one fifth of the patients had extra-intestinal manifestations and 13.3% of the patients had associated diseases. Extraintestinal manifestations and associated diseases were more common in early onset disease [P=0.017, odds ratio (OR)=4.02; P=0.03, OR=4.1]. Of the patients, 15% had normal laboratory parameters including anemia, high platelet count, hypoalbuminemia, hypoferritinemia, and high sedimentation rate. Area under receiver operation characteristics was used to predict pancolitis in patients with UC. The values of C-reactive protein, sedimentation rate and pediatric ulcerative colitis activity were 0.61 (P=0.06), 0.66 (P=0.01) and 0.76 (P=0.0001), respectively. Four (4.4%) patients with UC underwent colectomy, and finally two (1.5%, 95% confidence interval: 0-3.7%) patients died from primary disease or complications.ConclusionsIBD is an increasing clinical entity in Turkey. Features of IBD are similar to those in other populations, but prospective multicenter studies are needed to analyze the true incidence of IBD in Turkish children.