Determining The Risk Factors For Anastomotic Stricture Development After Esophageal Atresia Repair: Results From The Turkish Esophageal Atresia Registry.

INTRODUCTION: Anastomotic stricture (AS) is the second most common complication after esophageal atresia (EA) repair. We aimed to evaluate the data in the Turkish Esophageal Atresia Registry to determine the risk factors for AS development after EA repair in a large national cohort of patients. METHODS: The data between 2015 and 2021 were evaluated. Patients were enrolled into two groups according to the occurrence of AS. Patients with AS (AS group) and without AS (No-AS group) were compared according to demographic and operative features, postoperative intubation status, and postoperative complications, such as anastomotic leaks, fistula recanalization, and the presence of gastroesophageal reflux (GER). A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to define the risk factors for the development of AS after EA repair. RESULTS: Among the 713 cases, 144 patients (20.19%) were enrolled into the AS group, and 569 (79.81%) in the non-AS group. The multivariable logistic regression showed that ,being a term baby (OR 1.706; p = 0.006), having a birth weight over 2500 g (OR 1.72; p = 0.006), presence of GER (OR 5.267; p<0.001), or having a recurrent tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF, OR 4.363; p = 0.006) were the risk factors for the development of AS. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our national registry demonstrate that 20% of EA patients developed AS within their first year of life. In patients with early primary anastomosis, birth weight greater than 2500 g, and presence of GER were risk factors for developing AS. When patients with delayed anastomosis were included, in addition to the previous risk factors, being a term baby, and having recurrent TEF also became risk factors.

A simple machine learning approach for preoperative diagnosis of esophageal burns after caustic substance ingestion in children.

PURPOSE: The unresolved debate about the management of corrosive ingestion is a major problem both for the patients and healthcare systems. This study aims to demonstrate the presence and the severity of the esophageal burn after caustic substance ingestion can be predicted with complete blood count parameters. METHODS: A multicenter, national, retrospective cohort study was performed on all caustic substance cases between 2000 and 2018. The classification learner toolbox of MATLAB version R2021a was used for the classification problem. Machine learning algorithms were used to forecast caustic burn. RESULTS: Among 1839 patients, 142 patients (7.7%) had burns. The type of the caustic and the PDW (platelet distribution width) values were the most important predictors. In the acid group, the AUC (area under curve) value was 84% while it was 70% in the alkaline group. The external validation had 85.17% accuracy in the acidic group and 91.66% in the alkaline group. CONCLUSIONS: Artificial intelligence systems have a high potential to be used in the prediction of caustic burns in pediatric age groups.

Management of Foreign Bodies Crossing the Gastroesophageal Junction in Children.

OBJECTIVE: Foreign body (FB) ingestion is a common problem in children and is an important public health problem in terms of causing serious complications. This study aims to evaluate the complication management and intervention rates of FBs crossing the gastroesophageal junction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The hospital records of all children who presented to our clinic because of ingestion of FB between August 2019 and August 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients who had an FB crossing the esophagogastric junction on plain radiographs showing the entire gastrointestinal tract taken at the time of admission were included in this study. Patients who had an FB removed from the esophagus by endoscopy were excluded from this study. RESULTS: Of the 127 patients included in this study, 66 (52%) were male and 61 (48%) were female, with a mean age of 4.94 ± 3.15 years (3 months-17 years), and 59% (n = 75) of the patients were under 5 years of age. The most common type of FB was a coin (47%). The first pediatric cases in the literature were a clothespin discovered in the stomach and a Meckel's diverticulum perforated by a sunflower seed shell. Management included spontaneous passing (89%), endoscopy (7%), and open surgery (4%). CONCLUSION: Although FBs passing through the esophagogastric junction may be asymptomatic in most cases, the need for close monitoring and surgical intervention should be kept in mind in these patients.

Has the frequency of complicated appendicitis changed in children in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic period suggests that the rate of complications may have increased in patients requiring surgical treatment due to the fact that they could not come to the hospital at the onset of the symptom. This study aims to evaluate the difference in the frequency of complicated appendicitis and postoperative complications in the COVID-19 pandemic.Patients included those who underwent appendectomy in 1 year before the COVID-19 pandemic and in the first year of the pandemic. The patients were categorized into two groups: pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Clinical and histopathology results were compared between the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Results: A total of 407 patients were included in the study, 207 of whom were included during the pre-pandemic and 200 of whom during the pandemic period. The mean time to hospital admission after the onset of symptoms was 1.3 ± 0.9 days, pre-pandemic, and 1.4 ± 0.8 days during the pandemic group. In the pre-pandemic group, 0.4% intrabdominal abscess developed and 37.5% complicated appendicitis was detected. In the pandemic group, it was found that there were 1% abscess, 0.5% wound infection, 0.5% brid ileus, and 31.9% complicated appendicitis. The pre-pandemic group length of hospitalization was 2.4 ± 0.8 days, and the pandemic was 2.1 ± 0.9 days There was no difference between pre-pandemic and pandemic groups in terms of age, gender, white blood cell count, duration of symptoms, postoperative complications and frequency of complicated appendicitis, and duration of hospitalization. Conclusions: In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we found that the rate of complicated appendicitis and postoperative complications were not different from pre-pandemic.

Comparison of CDHSG model and PCO2 in predicting mortality risk in patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is one of the illnesses with high mortality and morbidity rates. The study aims to compare the Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Study Group (CDHSG) model and PCO2 in determining the mortality risk of CDH in the early postnatal period in neonates. The data of 35 patients who were treated CDH were analyzed retrospectively. The sex, gestational age, birth weight, delivery method, presence of chromosomal anomaly, congenital cardiac and other anomalies, pulmonary hypertension, the 5-min Apgar score, PCO2 values of blood gas in the first 24 h, mode of ventilation were recorded. According to the CDHSG model, the mortality risk of CDH was divided into three categories: as low, moderate, high risk. Based on the blood gases in the first 24 h after delivery, the CDH mortality risk was considered in two categories as low and high. Based on the CDHSG model, the risk of CDH mortality was low in 11.4%, moderate in 20%, and high in 68.6%. Mortality rates were 0%, 42.8%, and 83.3%, respectively. Based on the PaCO2 , the risk of CDH mortality was low in 37.1% of patients and high in 62.8%. The mortality rate was 86.3% in high-severity patients and 30.7% in low-risk patients. No significant difference was found between the area under the curve values of the CDHSG model and PCO2 . Especially in developing countries, in cases where opportunities are limited, the severity of the disease, the need for more aggressive treatment, and the need for higher-level intensive care can be determined with the easily accessible and low-cost blood gas PCO2 at the bedside.

Assessment of demographic, clinical and histopathological features of patients who underwent appendectomy due to a presumed diagnosis of acute appendicitis.

BACKGROUND: To compare the clinical, biochemical, and histopathological features of patients who underwent appendectomy due to a presumed diagnosis of acute appendicitis (AAp). METHODS: The demographic, biochemical and histopathological data of 8206 patients who underwent appendectomy for AAp between January 2006 and March 2014 were retrospectively analyzed in this study. Patients were compared regarding the following characteristics: disruption by season (autumn vs. winter vs. spring vs. summer), working days (weekdays vs. weekends), histopathological findings (AAp vs. normal appendix [NAp]) and histopathological subgroup (non-perforated AAp vs. perforated AAp vs. NAp). RESULTS: Of the 8206 patients aged between 16 and 89 years, 4763 (58.0%) were male. Appendectomy distribution by season was as follows: autumn (n=1959; 23.9%), winter (n=2062; 25.1%), spring (n=2061; 25.1%) and summer (n=2124, 25.9%). NAp rates were higher in summer than those in other seasons. White blood cell (WBC) and neutrophil levels were significantly higher in autumn and winter compared with those in other seasons. In total, 6120 (74.6%) appendectomies occurred on weekdays and 2086 (25.4%) on weekends. WBC and neutrophil levels were significantly higher on weekends than those on weekdays. Appendectomy distribution by histopathological groups as follows: AAp (n=7414; 90.3%) and NAp (n=792; 9.7%). Appendectomy distribution by histopathological subgroups was as follows: non-perforated AAp (n=6966; 84.9%), perforated AAp (n=448; 5.5%), and NAp (n=792; 9.7%). WBC, neutrophil, and TBil levels in the non-perforated and perforated AAp groups were significantly higher than in the NAp group. While most of the patients with perforated AAp (62.1%) and non-perforated AAp (59.6%) were males, most of the patients with NAp (58.1%) were females. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that a relationship exists between demographic features, histopathological findings of appendectomy specimens, seasons, days of the week, and working days in patients undergoing appendectomy.

Epidemiological analysis of patients with burns in third-line hospitals in Turkey.

Burns are a major health problem worldwide. Burn injury resulting from making contact with hot objects, direct or indirect contact with flame, and exposure to chemical agents or electric current is usually preventable. In this study, epidemiological data of the patients who had been hospitalised in the burn unit was assessed. The records of 1453 patients who were admitted to the burn unit of Diyarbakir Gazi Yasargil Training and Research Hospital between July 2008 and April 2018 were retrospectively examined. Out of 1453 cases, 81.7% (1187) were children and 18.3% (266) were adults, 58.3% of the cases were male (847) and 41.7% (606) were females. Patients had a mean age of 11 ± 5 years (1-81 years). The most common cause of burns was contact with hot liquids (82.86%) while other causes were flame burns (12.04%), electrical contact burn (3.02%) contact with chemical substances (2.06%). Most of the cases were found to have burned 10% to 20% of the body surface. Localization was most frequently seen in the lower extremity and less frequently in the upper limb, trunk, head and neck, and perineal regions. The majority of burn injuries are preventable. Therefore, epidemiological studies in the field of burns will provide vital preventive information to develop strategies to reduce injury frequency and spend on health. Because burns are a social problem, prevention efforts require social co-operation. Promotional meetings in schools are important to increase family-school cooperation to inform children of school age, to give lectures and first aid measures to rural areas.

Giant Acrochordon Arising from the Thigh.

Acrochordons commonly develop from skin on the neck and axillar region, but may be found on any region of body. Although some predisposing factors have been implicated, the definite etiology has yet to be determined. We report the case of a 46-year female patient who presented with a large mass lesion on the inner aspect of the thigh. She stated that the swelling had emerged some 20 years ago and had progressively grown since then. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a solid lesion with no anatomic relationship with musculoskeletal structures. Taking into account the basal width of the lesion, spinal anesthesia was administered and the lesion was excised with an intact surgical border of approximately 1 cm. The resulting defect was primarily closed. Ahistopathologic examination led to the diagnosis of an acrochordon with a size of 20 x 14 cm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest acrochordon lesion with the widest base reported in the literature.