The treatment of functional constipation significantly increased quality of life in children aged 4–17 years

Background/AimsIn this study, it was aimed to investigate the effect of 6-week treatment on quality of life in 4–17-year-old children with functional constipation.Materials and MethodsThe children 4–17 years old diagnosed as functional constipation according to Rome IV criteria, between June and December 2018 were included in the study. KINDL scales were applied to patients and their parents before starting treatment for 6 weeks and after the end of the treatment.ResultsThe study was completed with 42 patients. The majority of the patients (54,8%) were female cases and the general part of them (45,2%) were between 4–6 years old. The age at onset of constipation was found to be 5,19±3,658 years. Total KINDL scores of both children and parents were lower before the treatment. Significant improvement was observed in the symptoms of constipation after 6 weeks of treatment. There was a statistically significant (p<0,05) increase in children’s subgroup and total KINDL scores after treatment. Parental subgroup and total KINDL scores also showed a statistically significant (p<0,05) increase after treatment. The treatment of functional constipation was found to be highly effective with the eyes of both children and parents in improving the quality of life. (Eta value, η2.>0,25)ConclusionA significant increase was observed in all areas of life quality and total score in children with functional constipation after a regular treatment. We think that the treatment of children with functional constipation will significantly improve their quality of life     

Risk factors for avascular bone necrosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

The objective was to investigate the predictive factors for avascular necrosis (AVN) of bone in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The records of 868 patients with SLE from four centers were reviewed retrospectively. Forty-nine patients with AVN were identified. A total of 154 patients with SLE who did not have clinically apparent AVN during the follow-up were evaluated as a control group. The demographic, clinical, laboratory and management characteristics of these two groups of patients were recorded according to predefined protocol and compared. The prevalence of AVN was detected 6% in our SLE population. The highest dose corticosteroid administered within 4?months and total cumulative prednisolone dose were significantly higher in the SLE patients with AVN. The use of cytotoxic agent significantly higher proportion of patients with AVN. AVN tends to develop more frequently in male gender and younger patients. Oral ulcer, pleuritis, Raynaud??s phenomenon, cutaneous vasculitis, lymphadenopathy, autoimmune thyroiditis, peripheral neuropathy and Sj?gren??s syndrome were higher incidence in SLE patients with AVN. The bilateral femoral heads were the commonest site of involvement of AVN in our patients with SLE.     

Segmental vitiligo in a patient with thoracic outlet syndrome

Reported here is a 35-year-old man with findings of thoracic outlet syndrome and bilateral segmental vitiligo on C8–T1 dermatomes. The possible causal relationship between the two disorders under the common denominator of cervical sympathetic involvement is discussed for the first time in the literature.     

Infliximab attenuates activated charcoal and polyethylene glycol aspiration-induced lung injury in rats

Aspiration is a serious complication of gastrointestinal (GI) decontamination procedure. Studies have shown that tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) blockers have beneficial effects on lung injury. Therefore, the authors investigated the attenuation by infliximab (INF) on activated charcoal (AC)- and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced lung injury in rat model. Forty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were allotted into 1 of 6 groups: saline (NS), activated charcoal (AC), polyethylene glycol (PEG), NS+INF treated, AC+INF treated, and PEG+INF treated. All materials were aspirated into the lungs at a volume of 1 mL/kg. Before aspiration, the rats were injected subcutaneously with INF. Seven days later, both lungs and serum specimens in all groups were evaluated histopathologically, immunohistochemically, and biochemically. Following aspiration of AC and PEG, evident histopathological changes were assigned in the lung tissue that were associated with increased expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), increased serum levels of oxidative stress markers (malondialdehyde [MDA], surfactant protein-D [SP-D], TNF-α), and decreased antioxidant enzyme (glutathione peroxidase [GSH-Px]) activities. INF treatment significantly decreased the elevated serum MDA and TNF-α levels and increased serum GSH-Px levels. Furthermore, the current results show that there is a significant reduction in the activity of iNOS in lung tissue and increased serum SP-D levels of AC and PEG aspiration-induced lung injury with INF treatment. These findings suggest that INF attenuates lung inflammation and prevents GI decontamination agent-induced lung injury in rats.