Development and Evaluation of Combined Effect Buccal Films for Treatment of Oral Candidiasis.

Buccal film formulations, including antifungal nystatin, anti-inflammatory agent hydrocortisone acetate, and local anesthetic lidocaine hydrochloride for pain relief, were developed. Bioadhesive films were fabricated with hydrophilic polymers, hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), and xanthan gum (XG) and dried in the incubator. Textural, swelling, and bioadhesive properties, physicochemical and in vitro release characteristics, and antifungal activities of bioadhesive films were evaluated.Bioadhesive films significantly extended nystatin release by prolonging retention time of the target area formulation while rapidly releasing hydrocortisone acetate and lidocaine HCl, reducing drug administration. The polymer type affected bioadhesion strength and erosion ratio, and XG formulations had more polymer suitability. Consequently, XT-O2 formulation that was prepared with xanthan gum and tween 80, was best for its highest antifungal film activity (20.00 ± 0.07 mm), released nystatin (44.296% ± 1.695), and lowest erosion matrix (36.719% ± 0.249). The selected formulation can be used for compatibility, stability and in vivo studies targeted oral candidiasis infections.

Can "YouTube" help healthcare workers for learning accurate donning and doffing of personal protective equipments?

INTRODUCTION: Healthcare workers have a high risk of cross-infection during the care of Covid-19 cases. Personal protective equipment can reduce the risk. However, healthcare workers must be trained for the proper use of personal protective equipment to decrease exposure risk. This study aimed to investigate whether videos available on YouTube, presenting procedures of donning and doffing personal protective equipment, can be a useful learning resource for healthcare workers. METHODS: A search of YouTube was conducted using the keywords "Covid-19, personal protective equipment, donning, doffing". Two investigators reviewed each video and collected the basic video information. Total videos were assessed independently as educationally useful and non-useful categories using a valid tool. The relationship of each video's usefulness with viewers' preferences and the upload source were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 300 videos were assessed; 66 (22%) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Total video scores of educationally useful videos were higher than non-useful ones; the differences were significant. Healthcare/government agencies and hospitals mostly created educationally useful videos, e-learning platforms, and individuals mainly created non-useful videos. Significant correlations were observed between the video's usefulness and the total view and views per day. CONCLUSIONS: During a pandemic, YouTube might be a resource for learning donning and doffing of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers if an appropriate selection process applied for determining educationally useful videos.

Can “YouTube” help healthcare workers for learning accurate donning and doffing of personal protective equipments? / ¿Puede «YouTube» ayudar a los trabajadores de la salud a aprender a ponerse y quitarse con precisión los equipos de protección personal?

IntroductionHealthcare workers have a high risk of cross-infection during the care of Covid-19 cases. Personal protective equipment can reduce the risk. However, healthcare workers must be trained for the proper use of personal protective equipment to decrease exposure risk. This study aimed to investigate whether videos available on YouTube, presenting procedures of donning and doffing personal protective equipment, can be a useful learning resource for healthcare workers.MethodsA search of YouTube was conducted using the keywords “Covid-19, personal protective equipment, donning, doffing”. Two investigators reviewed each video and collected the basic video information. Total videos were assessed independently as educationally useful and non-useful categories using a valid tool. The relationship of each video's usefulness with viewers’ preferences and the upload source were analyzed.ResultsA total of 300 videos were assessed; 66 (22%) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Total video scores of educationally useful videos were higher than non-useful ones; the differences were significant. Healthcare/government agencies and hospitals mostly created educationally useful videos, e-learning platforms, and individuals mainly created non-useful videos. Significant correlations were observed between the video's usefulness and the total view and views per day.ConclusionsDuring a pandemic, YouTube might be a resource for learning donning and doffing of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers if an appropriate selection process applied for determining educationally useful videos.

IntroducciónLos trabajadores de la salud tienen un alto riesgo de infección cruzada durante la atención de los casos de COVID-19. El equipo de protección personal puede reducir el riesgo. Sin embargo, los trabajadores de la salud deben estar capacitados para el uso adecuado del equipo de protección personal para disminuir el riesgo de exposición. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar si los videos disponibles en YouTube, que presentan procedimientos para ponerse y quitarse el equipo de protección personal, pueden ser un recurso de aprendizaje útil para los trabajadores de la salud.MétodosSe realizó una búsqueda en YouTube utilizando las palabras clave «COVID-19, equipo de protección personal, ponerse, quitarse». Dos investigadores revisaron cada video y recopilaron la información básica del mismo. Los videos totales se evaluaron de forma independiente como categorías educativas útiles y no útiles utilizando una herramienta válida. Se analizó la relación de la utilidad de cada video con las preferencias de los espectadores y la fuente de carga.ResultadosSe evaluaron un total de 300 videos; 66 (22%) cumplieron los criterios de inclusión. Los puntajes totales de videos útiles para la educación fueron más altos que los no útiles; las diferencias fueron significativas. Las agencias de salud/gubernamentales y los hospitales en su mayoría crearon videos útiles para la educación, plataformas de aprendizaje electrónico y las personas crearon principalmente videos no útiles. Se observaron correlaciones significativas entre la utilidad del video, la vista total y las vistas por día.ConclusionesDurante una pandemia, YouTube podría ser un recurso para aprender a ponerse y quitarse el equipo de protección personal para los trabajadores de la salud si se aplica un proceso de selección apropiado para determinar videos útiles desde el punto de vista educativo.

Pain pressure thresholds in children and adolescents with idiopathic chest pain.

OBJECTIVES: The pathophysiology of idiopathic chest pain remains unclear. Studies evaluating pain pressure thresholds in other idiopathic pain syndromes have revealed pain sensitivity in both affected and unaffected areas. The present study aimed to evaluate thoracic and extrathoracic pain pressure thresholds and their correlation with patients' pain characteristics and quality of life. METHODS: This cross-sectional, single-blind, controlled study included children and adolescents with idiopathic chest pain. The patients' pain characteristics, including their symptom duration, type of pain, mean pain intensity, mean duration of painful periods, pain frequency, and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Child Version scores, were assessed by a paediatric cardiologist via a face-to-face interview. Pain pressure thresholds were measured using an algometer by an algologist who was blinded to the study groups. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in pain pressure thresholds in the trapezius; supraspinatus; thoracic 2, 4, and 10 areas; deltoid; and tibia between the patient and healthy control groups. In the patient group, while there was a positive correlation between the mean all-region pain pressure thresholds and age (p = 0.047, r = 0.235), there was no correlation between pain pressure thresholds and symptom duration, pain intensity, and quality of life. CONCLUSION: The present study is the first step towards investigating probable pain sensitivity mechanisms in children and adolescents with idiopathic chest pain. We noted lower thoracic and extrathoracic pain pressure thresholds in children and adolescents with idiopathic chest pain than in healthy controls.

The Value of Neutrophil:Lymphocyte Ratio and Platelet:Lymphocyte Ratio in Predicting Clinical Severity in Children with Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the values of neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet:lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and mean platelet volume (MPV) with carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) and lactate levels in children with acute CO intoxication. METHODS: In this retrospective study, the patients were divided into two groups: mild-to-moderate carbon monoxide poisoning (COP) (COHb 10%-20%) and severe COP (COHb > 20%) according to the COHb levels in the application. All patients were compared in terms of NLR, PLR, and MPV parameters according to the severity of poisoning and the high lactate levels (≥ 2.2 mmol/L). RESULTS: A total of 261 children with COP were included in the study. The number of patients with mild-to-moderate COP was 183 (70.1%), and the number of patients with severe COP was 78 (29.9%). NLR [2.57 (3.27), 1.65 (1.93), (p = 0.001)] and PLR [123.0 (88.24), 92.8 (54.1), (p = 0.001)] values of mild-to-moderate COP were statistically significantly lower than the severe COP group. In the group with high lactate level, PLR values were significantly lower [120.1 (71.9), 100.2 (85.4), (p = 0.017)]. NLR and PLR values were found to be predictive of severe COP. CONCLUSION: NLR and PLR can be used for detection of clinical severity in patients with COP. PLR can be used in conjunction with lactate levels to detect tissue-level exposure in patients with COP.

Readability, understandability, and quality of retinopathy of prematurity information on the web.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to assess the readability, understandability, and quality of information on retinopathy of prematurity presented at websites frequently visited by parents. METHODS: A total of 220 websites were assessed, which were recruited by searching for "retinopathy of prematurity" at the Google search engine. The readability of each web page was assessed by Flesch Reading Ease Score, Gobbledygook's Gunning Frequency, Flesch Kincaid Grade Level, Coleman Liau score, The Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, Fry Graph Readability Formula, and Automated readability score. The understandability of the web pages included in the study was measured by using the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool. Quality was evaluated using Health in Net code and JAMA. The ALEXA traffic tool was used to reference the domains' popularity and visibility. RESULTS: Sixty-four websites were included to the study. The average Flesch Reading Ease Score was 50.1 ± 11.4, Gunning Frequency of Gobbledygook level was 13.4 ± 2.5, The Flesch-Kincaid Grade level was 10.7 ± 2.2, Coleman Liau level was 10.8 ± 1.7, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook level was 10.0 ± 1.9, and Fry Graph Readability Formula 11.9 ± 2.7, Automated readability score 10.4 ± 2.5. The average understandability score for all website-based patient education materials was 76.9 ± 15.2. Total JAMA Benchmark score is 2.27 ± 1.14 (range from 1 to 4). The quality of information at most websites were determined by our chosen assessments to not to be good. CONCLUSION: Websites addressed to parents for retinopathy of prematurity had found to have high understandability. It was concluded based on this study that readability and quality of presented written materials at online sources need to be improved.

Growth Differentiation Factor-15 Level and Tissue Doppler Echocardiography as a Tool in Identification of Cardiac Effects in the Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of growth-differentiation factor-15 level and tissue Doppler imaging in the detection of cardiomyopathy in children who have type 1 diabetes mellitus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-eight patients (11 males and 27 females) with type 1 diabetes mellitus were included in this study. The control group consisted of 40 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers. All children underwent a detailed echocardiography, which contained an m-mode, pulse Doppler and tissue Doppler imaging; and growth-differentiation factor-15 level was measured. RESULTS: In this study, there were significant differences between diastolic function parameters of the heart. The mitral isovolumic contraction time, contraction time, and isovolumic relaxation time values were different in the patients than in the controls (p<0.01, p<0.01, p<0.01, respectively). Also, the tricuspid isovolumic contraction time, contraction time, and isovolumic relaxation time values were different in the patients than in the controls (p<0.01, p=0.01, p<0.01, respectively). No statistically significant difference was found between the other M-mode parameters. Mean plasma growth-differentiation factor-15 level was significantly higher in patients than in healthy controls (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The follow-up of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus in terms of cardiomyopathy and the use of tissue Doppler imaging and growth differentiation factor-15 levels may be useful.

Evaluation of Plasma Asymmetric Dimethylarginine Levels and Abdominal Aortic Intima-Media Thickness in Infants of Smoker Mothers.

OBJECTIVE: Smoking during pregnancy has harmful effects on the fetus and infant. Although some studies suggest that exposure to fetal-maternal smoking adversely affects both fetal growth and cardiovascular development, the mechanisms and biochemical consequences of smoking in pregnancy and newborns are not yet fully understood. We aimed to investigate whether maternal smoking during pregnancy causes fetal cardiovascular effect by measuring serum asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) level and abdominal aortic intima-media thickness (aIMT). STUDY DESIGN: This prospective study was conducted in newborns of smoking mothers and never-smoker control mothers during their pregnancies. The babies were evaluated echocardiographically on the first day following birth. In two-dimensional mode, abdominal aIMT measurements were performed. ADMA was measured in umbilical cord blood at birth. RESULTS: There were 25 mothers in the study group and 25 mothers in the control group. Serum ADMA levels were 0.459 ± 0.119 µmol/L in the study group and 0.374 ± 0.1127 µmol/L in the control group (p = 0.034). The aIMT value in the study group was 0.84 ± 0.026 mm and the aIMT value in the control group was 0.63 ± 0.011 mm (p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: We found that both the serum ADMA and the aIMT significantly increased in the group with newborns of smoker mothers compared with the group of the newborns of never-smoker mothers. It may also be suggested that exposure to fetal-maternal smoking adversely affects cardiovascular development. KEY POINTS: · It is a known fact that smoking during pregnancy has harmful effects on the development of the fetus and infant.. · We found that both the serum ADMA and aIMT were significantly higher in the group of infants of smoker mothers..

Investigation of Wheat Germ and Oil Characteristics with Regard to Different Stabilization Techniques.

RESEARCH BACKGROUND: Utilization of wheat germ and wheat germ oil is limited due to high enzymatic activity and the presence of unsaturated fatty acids, which require stabilization techniques to overcome this problem. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: In this study, the effects of stabilization methods (dry convective oven heating at 90 and 160 °C, microwave radiation at 180 and 360 W, and autoclave steaming) on both wheat germ and its oil were evaluated. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Steaming caused the most dramatic changes in lipoxygenase activity, free fatty acid content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, and mass fractions of tocopherols and tocotrienols. Lower peroxide values were measured in the oil samples treated with convectional heating (160 °C) and steaming at temperatures above 100 °C. However, p-anisidine values of samples treated at higher temperatures were considerably greater than those of samples stabilized at lower temperatures. Oven heating at 160 °C was also one of the most effective treatments, after steaming, for the inactivation of lipoxygenase. Steaming significantly reduced mass fraction of total tocopherols, which was directly associated with the greater loss of ß-tocopherol content. On the contrary, γ- and δ-tocopherol and tocotrienol homologues were abundant with higher amounts in steamed samples. α-Tocopherol and γ-tocotrienol were the most resistant isomers to stabilization processes. NOVELTY AND SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTION: This study shows that the high temperature oven heating method, which is widely used in the industry for thermal stabilization of wheat germ, does not provide an advantage in oxidative stability compared to steaming and microwave applications. Steaming delayed oxidation in the germ, while further inhibiting lipoxygenase activity. Moreover, tocotrienols were more conservable. In industrial application, low-power microwave (180 instead of 360 W) and oven heating at lower temperature (90 instead of 160 °C) would be preferable.

Evaluating the readability, understandability, and quality of online materials about chest pain in children.

An increasing number of individuals use the Internet to obtain health information. However, online health information is unregulated and highly variable. We aimed to assess the readability, understandability, and quality of online information available for "chest pain in children." This analysis was performed in January 2020, by inputting the search term "chest pain in children" into Google. The 180 search results were evaluated/categorized. The readability was assessed using the Flesch reading ease score, the Gunning FOG readability score, the Flesch-Kincaid grade level, the Coleman-Liau score, the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook readability score, the Fry readability score, and the automated readability index (ARI). The quality was assessed through the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria. The understandability was evaluated by the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) for this study. Sixty-five websites were analyzed (academic and hospital websites (n = 30), physicians and health information websites (n = 35)). Among all websites, the average reading grade level was 9.99. There was no statistical difference between the two groups for the average readability level (p: 0.645). The mean PEMAT score for all websites was 65.09%. There was no statistical difference between the two groups for the average PEMAT score (p: 0.945). For both groups, the understandability score was below 70%. The average JAMA benchmark score was 2.43 ± 1.06, with a statistically significant difference between the academic and hospital websites (2.07 ± 0.91) and physician and health information websites (2.74 ± 1.09, p: 0.009).Conclusion: The readability of online materials available for patients regarding "chest pain in children" was significantly higher than the grade 6 recommended by the National Institutes of Health. The current online health information related to pediatric chest pain may be too difficult for the average reader to read. The quality and understandability were not good for both groups. Improving the readability, understandability, and quality of pediatric health-related online materials has the potential to reduce parental anxiety, improve baseline medical knowledge, and even enhance the physician-parent alliance.

Change in some quality parameters and oxidative stability of olive oils with regard to ultrasound pretreatment, depitting and water addition.

Ultrasound pretreatment with different times (0, 4, 8, 10 min) on olive paste previous malaxation of olive oil extraction along with depitting and water application procedures were studied. The effects of these procedures on oil yield, quality parameters and oxidative stability have been studied. Therefore, the olive oil yield increase with increasing time of ultrasound treatment. On the other hand, the application of ultrasound did not adversely affect the quality characteristics, as well as the antioxidant activity, when comparing with untreated paste. Furthermore, the oxidative stability data, we can conclude that ultrasound treatment can affect the olive oil oxidative stability. This study could provide useful information for industry to produce olive oil with high yield and quality.

Can "YouTube" help healthcare workers for learning accurate donning and doffing of personal protective equipments?

INTRODUCTION: Healthcare workers have a high risk of cross-infection during the care of Covid-19 cases. Personal protective equipment can reduce the risk. However, healthcare workers must be trained for the proper use of personal protective equipment to decrease exposure risk. This study aimed to investigate whether videos available on YouTube, presenting procedures of donning and doffing personal protective equipment, can be a useful learning resource for healthcare workers. METHODS: A search of YouTube was conducted using the keywords "Covid-19, personal protective equipment, donning, doffing". Two investigators reviewed each video and collected the basic video information. Total videos were assessed independently as educationally useful and non-useful categories using a valid tool. The relationship of each video's usefulness with viewers' preferences and the upload source were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 300 videos were assessed; 66 (22%) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Total video scores of educationally useful videos were higher than non-useful ones; the differences were significant. Healthcare/government agencies and hospitals mostly created educationally useful videos, e-learning platforms, and individuals mainly created non-useful videos. Significant correlations were observed between the video's usefulness and the total view and views per day. CONCLUSIONS: During a pandemic, YouTube might be a resource for learning donning and doffing of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers if an appropriate selection process applied for determining educationally useful videos.

The quality, understandability, readability, and popularity of online educational materials for heart murmur.

OBJECTIVE: Murmurs are abnormal audible heart sounds produced by turbulent blood flow. Therefore, murmurs in a child may be a source of anxiety for family members. Families often use online materials to explore possible reasons for these murmurs, given the accessibility of information on the Internet. In this study, we evaluated the quality, understandability, readability, and popularity of online materials about heart murmur. METHODS: An Internet search was performed for "heart murmur" using the Google search engine. The global quality score (on a scale of 1 to 5, corresponding to poor to excellent quality) and Health on the Net code were used to measure the quality of information presented. The understandability of the web pages identified was measured using the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (score range from 0 to 100%, scores below 70% reflect poor performance). The readability of each web pages was assessed using four validated indices: the Flesch Reading Ease Score, the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, the Gunning Frequency of Gobbledygook, and the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook. The ALEXA traffic tool was used to reference domains' popularity and visibility. RESULTS: We identified 230 English-language patient educational materials that discussed heart murmur. After exclusion, a total of 86 web pages were evaluated for this study. The average global quality score was 4.34 (SD = 0.71; range from 3 to 5) indicating that the quality of information of most websites was good. Only 14 (16.3%) websites had Health on the Net certification. The mean understandability score for all Internet-based patient educational materials was 74.6% (SD = 12.8%; range from 31.2 to 93.7%). A score suggesting these Internet-based patient educational materials were "easy to understand". The mean readability levels of all patient educational materials were higher than the recommended sixth-grade reading level, according to all indices applied. This means that the level of readability is difficult. The average grade level for all web pages was 10.4 ± 1.65 (range from 7.53 to 14.13). The Flesch-Kincaid Grade level was 10 ± 1.81, the Gunning Frequency of Gobbledygook level was 12.1 ± 1.85, and the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook level was 9.1 ± 1.38. The average Flesch Reading Ease Score was 55 ± 9.1 (range from 32.4 to 72.9). CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that web pages describing heart murmurs were understandable and high quality. However, the readability level of the websites was above the recommended sixth-grade reading level. Readability of written materials from online sources need to be improved. However, care must be taken to ensure that the information of web pages is of a high quality and understandable.

Evaluation of cardiovascular risk by growth-differentiation factor-15 and tissue Doppler imaging in children with subclinical hypothyroidism.

OBJECTIVE: Subclinical hypothyroidism, defined as increased TSH serum levels and normal serum free T4 concentrations, has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease in adults. But, data in children and adolescents are scanty and treatment of subclinical hypothyroidism is controversial. Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) is a promising biomarker of cardiac remodeling. This study aimed to evaluate the cardiovascular risk factors in children with subclinical hypothyroidism, measured with tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE), and conventional echocardiography and GDF-15 level. METHODS: The study comprised a total of 41 pediatric patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) (mean age 9.6 ± 4.7 years) and 31 healthy children (mean age 11.2 ± 3.4 years) as the control group. Subclinical hypothyroidism was defined as a thyroid-stimulating hormone level higher than 4 mIU/l and a normal free-thyroxine level (0.6-1.8 ng/dl). Tissue Doppler echocardiography was performed to all individuals in the control group and patient group at the beginning of the study. Global systolic function as assessed by left ventricular ejection fraction was compared between groups. The serum GDF-15 level was measured. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in demographic parameters between the SH and control groups. The left ventricular internal diameter end systole, interventricular septal end diastole, left ventricular posterior wall end diastole, and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion values were significantly different between the SH and control groups (p = 0.038, 0.028, 0.005, and 0.000, respectively). The mean mitral isovolumic relaxation time value of the SH group was 57.2 ± 9.3 ms, compared to 44.5 ± 5.6 ms for the control group (p = 0.000). The mean tricuspid isovolumic contraction time value of the SH group was 58.7 ± 9.4 ms, and that of the control group was 45.1 ± 5.3 ms (p = 0.000). The mean tricuspid isovolumic relaxation time value of the SH group was 58.03 ± 9.5 ms, and that of the control group was 45.1 ± 5.3 ms (p = 0.000). There were no significant differences in the other m-mode or pulse Doppler echocardiography values between two groups. The GDF-15 value of the SH group was 382.6 ± 268.2 pg/mL, and that of the control group was 473.6 ± 337.9 pg/mL; this difference was not significant. CONCLUSION: Patients with subclinical hypothyroidism versus healthy individuals had some changes in echocardiographic parameters that indicate involvement of diastolic function of the left ventricle. They were significantly different when compared SH group and the control group. This study demonstrated ventricle diastolic dysfunction in pediatric patients with hypothyroidism. The results of our study suggest that cardiac follow-up may be useful in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism and clinical trials are needed to explore therapeutic effects of T4 and T3 administration in this patients.

[Co-occurrence of Carpenter syndrome and double outlet right ventricle]. / Carpenter sendromu ve çift çikisli sag ventrikül birlikteligi.

Carpenter syndrome (Acrocephalopolysyndactyly type 2, OMIM 201000) is a rarely seen autosomal recessive disorder. In addition to abnormalities such as acrocephaly, craniosynostosis, facial asymmetry, polydactyly and syndactyly, obesity, hypogonadism, mental retardation, and corneal opacity, it may frequently be accompanied by congenital heart diseases such as ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus and pulmonary stenosis. Double outlet right ventricle is a defect in which both major arteries originate in the morphological right ventricle. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in the literature of double outlet right ventricle disease in combination with Carpenter syndrome.

Heart-Type Fatty Acid Binding Protein Level as a Tool in Identification of Early Cardiac Effects of Diabetic Ketoacidosis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to measure the serum levels of heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) in patients presenting with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and diabetic ketosis (DK) and to determine its role in identifying early-period cardiac ischemia. METHODS: This prospective study included 35 patients diagnosed with DKA, 20 patients diagnosed with DK, and 20 control subjects. H-FABP, creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), and troponin I levels were investigated at presentation in patients with DKA and DK and in the control group. H-FABP values were measured again after acidosis correction in the DKA patients. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were found with respect to troponin I and CK-MB within the groups. The H-FABP values of DKA patients at presentation were found to be significantly higher than those of DK patients and the control group (p=0.015). The H-FABP value of the DKA group was also found to be significantly higher than the value at hour 36 after acidosis correction (p=0.0001). CONCLUSION: We would like to propose H-FABP as a potential marker for indicating myocardial ischemia.

N-terminal-pro brain natriuretic peptide levels in children with allergic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Persistent upper airway obstruction may lead to increased pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP). The aim of this study was to evaluate N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentrations and PAP values in children with allergic rhinitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-six patients with allergic rhinitis and 22 healthy children were prospectively enrolled in this study. Plasma NT-proBNP levels were measured at first admission and after treatment. Simultaneously, echocardiography was done to assess pulmonary arterial hypertension, and rhinitis symptom scores were recorded. RESULTS: The median age of the study group was 9.0 (5.0‒17.0) years; 26 were female. PAP was found to be normal in all the patients. There was a negative correlation between age and NT-proBNP levels (r = -0.452, P < 0.01). Nasal blockage levels affected NT-proBNP levels mildly (P = 0.067). No significant difference between before and after nasal steroid treatment was observed in NT-proBNP levels. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that NT-proBNP level and PAP may not be affected in children with allergic rhinitis, and primarily this influence may be associated with the severity of nasal obstruction.