The Prevalence of Hemoglobinopathies in Young Adolescents in the Province of Mugla in Turkey: Results of a Screening Program.

Thalassemia is an autosomal recessive inherited blood disorder. It is prevalent in Mediterranean countries such as Sardinia, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Lebanon and also Southeast Asia. Our aim was to investigate the carrier prevalence of thalassemia and other hemoglobinopathies in adolescents who live in Mugla Province, Turkey. We analyzed retrospectively the surveys conducted at primary schools between 1997 and 2013. Complete blood count (CBC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used to screen for thalassemia and hemoglobinopathies. Patients were diagnosed as having thalassemia trait if the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) was ≤ 80.0 fL, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (Hb) was ≤ 27.0 pg and Hb A2 levels were ≥ 3.5%. A total of 164,814 students were analyzed. The median age of the students was 13.5 years (minimum 13.0, maximum 14.0). The total number of students with abnormal HPLC results was 5861 (3.8%). There was a significant decrease in the newborn of new thalassemia patients found with screening programs for hemoglobinopathies in Mugla Province from 1997 to 2013. The number of students with abnormal HPLC results for thalassemia, sickle cell disease and other Hb traits were 3.2, 0.15 and 0.4%, respectively. It is important to recognize that including Hb, MCV, red blood cell (RBC) count and HPLC tests for carrier screening are necessary to find hemoglobinopathies. Our study supported that the number of new patients significantly decreased using these screening programs from 1997 to 2013.

The correlation between EBV viral load in the palatine tonsils of patients with recurrent tonsillitis and concurrent serum titers of VCA­IgG.

Epstein­Barr virus (EBV) infection usually occurs in early childhood and can persist in palatine tonsil lymphocytes to induce tonsillitis at a later date. We have examined the presence of EBV in palatine tonsils and relationship between EBV-DNA quantity in tonsil tissues and VCA-IgG quantity in autologous sera. Tonsils were obtained from 36 patients, male 20 (55.6%), female 16 (44.4%) (mean age 7.96 ± 6.97 years), who underwent tonsils removal because of recurrent tonsillitis. Tissues were processed for real-time PCR and patient's sera were assayed to determine VCA-IgG by VCA-IgG ELISA. In 27 out of 36 cases (75%), positive EBV-DNA reaction was found. However, statistical analysis showed no correlation between EBV-DNA quantity and VCA-IgG quantity. We conclude that tonsils of children can be colonized by EBV and that virus may have a direct and indirect role in recurrent tonsillitis and nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Cholesterol screening in school children: is family history reliable to choose the ones to screen?

AIM: Hyperlipidemia is a major factor accompanying atherosclerosis. As the basis of atherosclerotic heart disease begins at early childhood, we aim to find out which children should be tested for hypercholesterolemia, what the high cholesterol level in children is and what cautions should be taken to avoid atherosclerosis. METHODS: The study was carried on 2096 school children (1043 male, 1053 female) in Ankara. Their mean age was 9.03 years. Demographic properties of the study group and their families were determined and the serum lipid levels of the subjects were obtained. The relation between these demographic properties and lipid levels were investigated. RESULTS: In 135 of the subjects' serum cholesterol level was >or=200 mg/dL and in 83 subjects serum LDL-cholesterol level was >or=130 mg/dL. Despite 64.4% of the subjects reported a family history of hyperlipidemia, no relations between family history and serum lipid levels were found. CONCLUSION: We suggest that regardless of family history, all children over 5 years should be screened for hyperlipidemia. Education about hyperlipidemia and precautions for its complications should be given to both children and families. The best and easiest way to reach children is to screen them at schools. School is also a good place for education of children about hyperlipidemia and risk factors.

Doctors' and intern doctors' knowledge about patients' ionizing radiation exposure doses during common radiological examinations.

PURPOSE: To investigate the level of doctors' and intern doctors' knowledge about patients' radiation exposure doses during common radiological examinations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire listing the radiation doses of routine radiological diagnostic procedures was administered to 177 doctors and intern doctors. We asked them to find the equivalent doses of radiation for common radiological examinations when a normal chest X-ray is accepted as one unit. Data were analyzed with k-square and Fisher's exact k-square tests. RESULTS: In all, 93.1% (n = 156) of the doctors and intern doctors underestimated the actual radiation dose, 4% (n = 7) did not know that ultrasound does not utilize ionizing radiation, and 27.4% (n = 47) did not know that magnetic resonance imaging does not entail ionizing radiation. CONCLUSION: Most of the doctors and intern doctors underestimated real radiation doses. This lack of awareness may cause doctors to order more radiological investigations than they would if properly educated. Therefore, we propose mandatory education about radiation protection in the medical school.