Evaluation of the Attitude of Parents in Pediatric Oncology Towards COVID-19 Vaccine.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus (SARS, COVID-19) has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization since March 2020. Patients with active cancer should be considered especially for priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Therefore, our study aimed to learn parents' opinions of cancer-diagnosed patients about the COVID-19 vaccine. Between December 2021 and January 2022, 76 people were willing to answer the questionnaire from the parents of outpatient/inpatient patients at the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinic of Dr. Sami Ulus Obstetrics, Child Health and Diseases Education Research Hospital were included. In our study, 18 parents (23.7%) did not get vaccinated. Among the reasons for not getting vaccinated, the most common answer for "I fear from the vaccine's side effects.", "Do you think oncology patients are at risk for COVID-19?", "Do you think the COVID-19 pandemic affects cancer treatment?" were 90.7%, 89.5% and 21% yes, respectively. Would your opinion of the vaccine be positive if the domestic vaccine was produced?"-67.4% answered yes. Vaccine hesitation and public misinformation put cancer patients at risk. Increasing awareness of the rejection of COVID-19 vaccines is important for public health and the fight against the pandemic. In addition, the doctors' recommendations for conducting oncology treatment will significantly impact parents' compliance with the COVID-19 vaccine.

Dynamic Thiol-Disulfide Homeostasis in Children With ß-Thalassemia Trait.

In children with ß-thalassemia (ß-thal) trait, tissue damage occurs with oxidative stress due to oxygen free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Dynamic thiol-disulfide homeostasis (DTDH) is one of the most important indicators showing the pro-oxidant/antioxidant status in the body. In this study, we aimed to examine the status of DTDH by measuring native thiol, disulfide, and total thiol levels in children with ß-thal trait. The study included 40 children with ß-thal trait and 30 healthy controls (matched by age and gender). The DTDH parameters were measured by an automated method and results were compared between the groups. The levels of native thiol, total thiol, and disulfide in children with ß-thal trait group were statistically significantly higher than the control group (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in disulfide/native thiol, disulfide/total thiol, and native thiol/total thiol levels between the groups. In addition, there was no correlation between hemoglobin (Hb) and serum ferritin levels with the markers of DTDH in children with ß-thal trait. In our study, a significant increase was found in native thiol, total thiol, and disulfide levels in response to oxidative stress in children with ß-thal trait compared to the healthy control group. Disulfide levels of the children with ß-thal trait were higher than the control group, showing oxidative stress is high in ß-thal trait. Accordingly, it increases the native thiol and total thiol capacity as compensation.

Evaluation of adolescents with heavy menstrual bleeding using the International Society of Thrombosis Haemostasis- Bleeding Assessment Tool and The Pediatric Bleeding Questionnaire scores.

BACKGROUND: Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is a common condition in adolescents. However, bleeding disorders are known to be one of the causes of HMB in adolescent girls, so they should be considered. Simple methods that can be used in primary health care are needed to determine whether patients have bleeding disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bleeding score of patients admitted with HMB and to determine the diagnostic value of patients who were symptomatic but whose initial hemostatic tests were normal. METHODS: A total of 113 adolescents with HMB and 20 healthy adolescent girls were included in the study. The Pediatric Bleeding Questionnaire (PBQ) and the International Society of Thrombosis Haemostasis-Bleeding Assessment Tool (ISTH-BAT) were used for evaluation. RESULTS: Overall, approximately 18% (n= 20) of the adolescents in the study were diagnosed with a bleeding disorder. The cut off value for the `clinically significant bleeding score` was found to be 3.5. CONCLUSIONS: The PBQ and ISTH-BAT can help distinguish a significant bleeding history from an otherwise trivial bleeding and can be included in the algorithm for the primary care of adolescents with HMB with suspected bleeding disorders.

Isocitrate Dehydrogenase 1 and 2 Mutations in Pediatric Neuroblastoma Patients.

Objective: Neuroblastoma is one of the common tumors of childhood. The demonstration of new factors such as isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) and isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2) mutations will be important in the diagnosis and treatment. IDH1 and IDH2 mutations have been found in many types of cancer, such as malignant gliomas, acute myeloid leukemias, chondrosarcoma, and thyroid carcinoma. This study aimed to investigate the presence of IDH1 or IDH2 mutations in patients with neuroblastoma and to determine whether these mutations were different in terms of age, clinical findings, and response to treatment. Methods: Biopsy specimens of 25 patients with pediatric neuroblastoma patients were evaluated for IDH mutations. The clinical and laboratory features of the patients with/without mutation were retrospectively analyzed from a hospital database. Results: A total of 25 patients for whom genetic analysis could be performed were included in the study (60% male, n=15). The mean age was 32.2±25.9 months (3 days-96 months). IDH1 mutation was detected in 8 (32%) and IDH2 mutations in 5 (20%) patients. These mutations showed no statistically significant relationship with age, tumor localization, laboratory results, stage, and prognosis. However, in the case of IDH mutation, patients were diagnosed at the advanced stage. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the relationship between neuroblastoma and IDH mutation for the first time. Because to the fact that the mutation is very heterogeneous, it would be appropriate to conduct a larger series of patients in terms of the impact of the clinical significance of each mutation on the diagnosis and prognosis.