Yarkın Kamil Yakupoğlu

Nutcracker Syndrome in Children: Role of Doppler Ultrasonographic Indices in Detecting the Pattern of Symptoms

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics of 44 pediatric patients who were diagnosed as having nutcracker syndrome (NCS). We also investigated the left renal vein Doppler ultrasonography (DUS) results, to determine whether or not there was an association between clinical symptoms and DUS findings among these patients. The clinical data from 44 pediatric patients who were diagnosed as having NCS from January 2008 to December 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. We grouped the patients according to the presenting symptoms as symptomatic (loin pain; macroscopic hematuria or both) and non-symptomatic (microscopic hematuria and proteinuria were detected incidentally) and evaluated the left renal vein DUS indices in these two groups separately. Asymptomatic NCS was found in 27 (61.4%) patients; 21 (47.7%) of whom were admitted for the evaluation of proteinuria. The most frequent presenting symptoms were left flank pain (20.5%) and macroscopic hematuria (13.6%); and 2 (4.5%) patients presented with a combination of left flank pain and macroscopic hematuria. The mean ratio of the diameter of the hilar portion of the left renal vein (LRV) to that of the aortomesenteric portion was 4.36 ± 1.55. The mean ratio of the peak velocity (PV) between the two sites of the LRV was 7.32 ± 2.68 (3.1–15.6). The differences in the ratio of the diameters were statistically significant between the two groups and significantly higher in children with asymptomatic NCS (p = 0.025). The PV ratios of the LRV (p = 0.035) were significantly higher in asymptomatic children with NCS than in the symptomatic group. Our study identifies that increased compression ratio of the LRV entrapment is most observed in orthostatic proteinuria and microscopic hematuria.

Re: Body Mass Index as a Predictor of Outcomes Among Pediatric Kidney Transplant Recipient

In the adult population obesity is a serious problem for patients requiring kidney transplantation by causing delayed graft function (DGF) and deep wound infections which in the long run having a negative impact on graft and patient survival. However, there are controversial reports regarding the pediatric population. In this retrospective largest cohort study authors have examined the association between body mass index (BMI) and patient outcomes among 13014 primary pediatric kidney transplant recipients (<18 years old) between 1987 and 2013 from United Network for Organ Sharing database. After stratifying the patients into five categories according to their BMI based on their Z scores, which was established by World Health Organization. The majority of the patients (12588) was in the Z score category of -2 to +2 and was used as the reference group. -3 (thin) and +3 (obese) categories were evaluated for differences in graft and patient survival. There was no difference in graft or patient survival and no differences in rates of DGF among obese children compared to normal and underweight children undergoing kidney transplantation. However, these results should be interpreted very carefully because of its retrospective nature and also reflection of just one nation. Childhood obesity is a serious problem with increasing prevalence and obese children with end stage kidney disease should not be eliminated from having a kidney.

Renal Autotransplantation at Three Academic Institutions in Turkey

Objective: The objective of this study is to present the experience of 3 institutions performing renal autotransplantation (RAT) and to discuss surgical techniques employed and the results in the light of the medical literature. Materials and Methods: A total of 14 patients (11 male and 3 female) with a mean age of 47 ± 8 years (35-61 years), who underwent RAT procedure at 3 different institutions between October 2006 and November 2014, in Turkey, were evaluated retrospectively. Indications for RAT procedure are ureteral avulsion, renal artery aneurysm and intimal dissection caused by percutaneous transluminal renal artery angioplasty (PTRA). Twelve patients with ureteral avulsion, 1 patient with renal artery aneurysm and 1 patient with intimal dissection caused by PTRA were followed-up for 103 months. Seven (50%) open and 7 (50%) laparoscopic nephrectomies were performed. Nine patients (64.3%) were right-sided and 5 patients (35.7%) were left-sided. Complications of grade III and above as per Clavien-Dindo classification were assessed. Results: Mean time from injury to RAT was 21.2 ± 40.1 days. However, 5 (35.7%) patients were treated on the same day of the injury. As per Clavien-Dindo classification, 2 (14.2%) grade IVa and 1 (7.1%) grade IIIa complications were reported. However, no significant correlation was observed between the complications and graft loss regarding type and side of the nephrectomy performed (p = 0.462 and p = 0.505, respectively) and timing of the intervention (p = 0.692). Conclusion: RAT is a safe procedure in combination with minimally invasive laparoscopic technique in carefully selected patients; however, it requires expertise and proficiency in laparoscopy, reconstructive urology and transplantation. Nevertheless RAT should be considered as the last resort, when other modalities fail.