Malnutrition prevalence in hospitalized pediatric patients: A comparison of national and World Health Organization growth standards.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to investigate the frequency of malnutrition in hospitalized children and compare national growth standards with World Health Organization (WHO) standards. METHODS: After obtaining height, weight, and mid-upper arm circumference values for 250 children aged 1 month to 5 years, nutrition status was assessed separately according to Neyzi and WHO standards. Weight-for-age z score (WAZ), weight-for-height z score (WHZ), height-for-age z score (HAZ), and mid-upper arm circumference z score (MUACz) were calculated based on age. Patients with WHZ < -2 were considered to have acute malnutrition, while those with HAZ < -2 were considered to have chronic malnutrition per WHO's definition. RESULTS: According to the WHO and Neyzi standards, the z scores were as follows: WAZ (-0.53 ± 1.54/-0.61 ± 1.52), HAZ (-0.42 ± 1.61/-0.45 ± 1.38), WHZ (-0.33 ± 1.26/none), MUACz (-0.58 ± 1.31/none). The difference between WAZ scores for the two standards was highly significant (P = 0.0001), whereas the difference between HAZ scores didn't reach statistical significance (P = 0.052). In our study when evaluated according to WHO standards, the prevalence of acute and chronic malnutrition was 9.6% and 13.6%, respectively. The prevalence of chronic malnutrition in those aged <2 years was higher than in the 2-5 years age group (16.8% and 4.5%, respectively; P = 0.012). CONCLUSION: There were highly significant differences in the assessment of malnutrition between the WHO and national Neyzi according to WAZ standards, contradicting the claim that WHO curves can be universally applicable. The high rates of acute and chronic malnutrition in our study indicate that malnutrition remains a significant nutrition problem in our country.

Investigating the Impact on Long-Term Outcomes and the Necessity of Hereditary Thrombophilia Screening in Presumed or Perinatal Arterial Ischemic Stroke.

This study aimed to investigate the influence of prothrombotic risk factors on long-term outcomes of patients with perinatal arterial ischemic stroke. The study was conducted through an analysis of monitoring results that were regularly maintained for approximately 20 years at a tertiary stroke-monitoring center. The study assessed prothrombotic risk factors, radiological area of involvement, clinical presentation, treatments, clinical outcomes, and long-term outcomes of the 48 patients included in the study, with a mean monitoring time of 77.6 ± 45.7 months (range: 6-204). Our results showed that the presence of prothrombotic risk factors did not affect long-term outcomes. However, patients with middle cerebral artery infarction had the highest risk of developing cerebral palsy, whereas those with presumed stroke had the highest risk of developing epilepsy. This study suggests that prothrombotic risk factors should not be evaluated during the acute stage unless there is a strong suspicion of the patient's history, and prevention or early diagnosis of presumed stroke patients will positively impact their long-term prognosis.

Clinical and Imaging Clues of Arteriopathy-Related Pediatric Arterial Ischemic Stroke: A Single Center Experience.

Background and Purpose: Arteriopathy is a common etiology for childhood arterial ischemic stroke (AIS). In this study, we aimed to address clinical, demographic, and neuroimaging characteristics and the reversibility of vasculopathy in patients with childhood stroke due to arteriopathy by classifying them according to Childhood AIS Standardized Classification and Diagnostic Evaluation (CASCADE) criteria. Methods: We included 15 patients with AIS due to arteriopathy presented between 2013 and 2018. All patients were diagnosed and followed up using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. All acute AIS patients were classified by acute CASCADE criteria (1-4). Moreover, each group was categorized according to the chronic CASCADE criteria, including progressive, stable, reversible, and indeterminate courses. Results: In the study population, CASCADE 2 patients were the most common group, and basal ganglia involvement was the most common involvement in CASCADE 2 patients. Of CASCADE 2 patients, 71.4% received steroids, which was compatible with a favorable outcome. In the study, trauma was present in 33.3% of patients, 60% of which was related to CASCADE 4. In the control visit on month 24, there were neuromotor sequelae of 60%, including hemiparesis, facial paralysis, and decreased fine motor skills; furthermore, the recurrence rate was 20%. Conclusion: We strongly emphasize that arteriopathy should be kept in mind in school-age children presenting with hemiparesis and headache. Moyamoya disease must be considered in the differential diagnosis with anterior circulation involvement, while focal cerebral arteriopathy (FCA) in patients with basal ganglia involvement was detected on MRI and dissection in the patients with a history of head-neck injury. We think that steroids have positive influences on neurologic prognosis in patients with FCA.

The PURPLE N study: objective and perceived nutritional status in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy.

PURPOSE: To obtain information on characteristics, management, current objective nutritional status and perception of nutritional status of children with cerebral palsy (CP) from healthcare professionals (HCPs) and caregivers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A detailed survey of several items on eight main topics (general characteristics, motor function, comorbidities, therapies, anthropometry, feeding mode and problems and perceived nutritional status) was developed and tested for the study. Correlation between nutritional status and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels was assessed using continuous variables (Z-scores for weight-for-age, height-for-age, weight-for-height, and body mass index-for-age), and categorical variables (being malnourished, stunted, or wasted). HCP and caregiver perceptions of the child's nutritional status as well as agreement between perceived and objective nutritional status and agreement between perceived nutritional status and concerns about the nutritional status were analyzed. RESULTS: Data were available for 497 participants from eight European countries. Poorer nutritional status was associated with higher (more severe) GMFCS levels. There was minimal agreement between perceived and objective nutritional status, both for HCPs and caregivers. Agreement between HCP and caregiver perceptions of the child's nutritional status was weak (weighted kappa 0.56). However, the concerns about the nutritional status of the child were in line with the perceived nutritional status. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of poor nutritional status is associated with more severe disability in children and adolescents with CP. There is a mismatch between HCP and caregiver perceptions of participants' nutritional status as well as between subjective and objective nutritional status. Our data warrant the use of a simple and objective screening tool in daily practice to determine nutritional status in children and adolescents with CP. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03499288 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03499288). IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONUse of the ESPGHAN recommendations and simple screening tools in daily practice is needed to improve nutritional care for individuals with CP.Attention should be paid to the differences in the perception of nutritional status of individuals with CP between professionals and caregivers to improve appropriate referral for nutritional support.Objective measures rather than the professional's perception need to be used to define the nutritional status of individuals with CP.

Interpeduncular Heterotopia and Brain Stem Cleft: An Isolated Finding Not Associated with Joubert Syndrome.

Interpeduncular heterotopia is a new neuroimaging finding reported in association with Joubert syndrome (JS) in a few cases in the literature. Nodular interpeduncular tissue was termed as interpeduncular heterotopia and anterior mesencephalic cap dysplasia in the literature in relation to gray and white matter content. We described the imaging findings and diffusion tensor imaging data of a case with interpeduncular heterotopia and brain stem cleft. This is the first case, in which interpeduncular heterotopia was an isolated finding not associated with JS.