Breast-feeding duration and childhood acute leukemia and lymphomas in a sample of Turkish children.

OBJECTIVES: Whether breast-feeding is associated with decreased incidence of the lymphoid malignancies in children is uncertain. We evaluated childhood acute leukemia and lymphoma in relation to duration of breast-feeding. METHODS: We investigated this issue in a case-control study comprising 137 patients, aged 1 to 16 years, with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma, in addition to 146 controls matched for age and sex. RESULTS: The median duration of breast-feeding among patients was shorter than that of controls (10 vs 12 months). Patients with ALL and AML had shorter mean breast-feeding duration compared with healthy children (P = 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). The shortest mean breast-feeding duration was noted in the children with AML. Breast-feeding for a duration of 0 to 6 months, when compared with feeding of longer than 6 months, was associated with increased odds ratios (ORs) for ALL [OR = 2.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.17-5.10], AML (OR = 6.67, 95% CI = 1.32-33.69), Hodgkin lymphoma (OR = 3.33, 95% CI = 0.60-18.54), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (OR = 1.90, 95% CI = 0.68-5.34) and overall (OR = 2.54, 95% CI = 1.51-4.26). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that breast-feeding of more than 6 months is protective against childhood lymphoid malignancies, especially for AML and ALL.

Seroepidemiology of varicella-zoster virus infection in a cosmopolitan city (Erzurum) in the eastern Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine VZV seroprevalence under age 30 and to identify the relationship of VZV seroprevalence and several sociodemographic characteristics of the study subjects. The results were presented in order to design a strategy for vaccination against varicella-zoster virus (VZV). MATERIAL AND METHOD: It was planned to include a total of 568 subjects. The sampling method of 30 clusters recommended for field studies was used for selecting subjects of a predetermined number in the rural and urban areas in eastern Turkey. ELISA method was used to examine the blood samples for VZV seropositivity. Age, gender, place of living, educational level, family size and socioeconomic status was investigated in the study subjects. RESULTS: Positive VZV seroprevalence was detected in 78% of 559 subjects. Seroprevalence increased with age. Seroprevalence was 16.67% at the age of 1 year, subsequently increased to 57.58% at the age of 4 years, 70% at the age of 7 years, 92.31% at the age of 10 years and then remained 86.78-96.36% in subjects over the age of 10 years. No association was found between sociodemographic variables studied and prevalence levels of antibodies except for educational level in the 0-14 year group. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the majority of VZV infections occur during the early childhood; the best option to reduce the circulation of wild type VZV in the population would be the immunization of young children. VZV vaccine should be introduced into the routine childhood vaccination programme in Turkey.

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis following hepatitis A virus infection.

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis is an immune-mediated demyelinating disorder usually encountered in children or adolescents and characterized by multifocal neurologic deficits of rapid onset. It is often preceded by various infectious diseases or vaccination, but acute disseminated encephalomyelitis developing after hepatitis A virus infection is rare. We present such a case in a 9-year-old patient who illustrates the importance of considering acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in patients who develop multifocal neurologic signs after hepatitis A virus infection. We suggest that patients with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis be screened for hepatitis A virus because of the occurrence of asymptomatic hepatitis A virus infection.

Rhabdomyolysis in celiac disease.

A 12-year-old female presented with chronic diarrhea, fatigue, failure to thrive, sudden weakness of her upper and lower extremities and inability to walk. On neurological examination, atrophy was found of the lower extremity muscles, coupled with muscle weakness. Hypokalemia and a high creatine kinase (CK) level were detected. Antigliadin IgA, IgG and antiendomysial antibodies were positive. A duodenal biopsy revealed the classical findings of celiac disease. To our knowledge this is the first childhood case of celiac disease presenting with rhabdomyolysis.

Association between hypocapnia and febrile seizures.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether hyperthermia-induced hyperventilation with subsequent hypocapnia is relevant to febrile seizures in children. This is only the second study to measure pCO2 and pH values in children with febrile seizures. This prospective case-control study enrolled 18 children who presented with febrile seizures and 18 children who presented with a febrile illness without seizures. Venous blood gas analyses were measured both from the febrile seizure and control group. There was no significant difference in mean blood pH between the febrile seizure and control groups but blood pCO2 was significantly lower in the febrile seizure group. Patients with complex febrile seizures exhibited significantly lower pCO2 levels within 1 hour of seizure onset than patients with simplex febrile seizures. These data indicate that febrile seizures may be associated with hyperventilation and that the ensuing hypocapnia may contribute to the development of febrile seizures.

Hepatic abscess: a rare manifestation of brucellosis in children.

Hepatic abscess caused by brucellosis is extremely rare in children. We report the case of a 5-year-old girl in whom an abscess of the liver developed during an episode of acute brucellosis. To our knowledge, this is the second reported case of hepatic abscess caused by brucellosis in a child.

Epidemiological factors affecting hepatitis a seroprevalence in childhood in a developing country.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence rate of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and the socio-epidemiological factors affecting HAV among children aged 0-18 years in Eastern Turkey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study sample consisted of 226 children aged 0-18 years who were registered at the Pediatrics Department of Atatürk University Medical Faculty for any reason except jaundice between January and May 2002. The presence of anti-HAV immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the children was determined by ELISA. RESULTS: The percentage of HAV IgG seropositivity among the 226 children was 59.7%. We detected an increase of HAV prevalence with age. The prevalence of HAV did not differ significantly in relation to gender. HAV prevalence was higher in children of rural areas than in children of urban and suburban areas (P<0.001). Only two of the 226 children had received the HAV vaccine. The percentage of HAV IgG seropositivity of unvaccinated children was 59.3%. HAV seroprevalence was higher in subjects who had a history of jaundice (84.6%) than in those who did not (58.2%). An increase in HAV prevalence was observed with a decrease in socio-economic status (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: HAV prevalence was markedly high, but HAV vaccination of children was very low in Erzurum. The socio-demographic factors of age, settlement area, and socio-economic status of family were significantly associated with HAV prevalence.