The skills of defibrillation practice and certified life-support training in the healthcare providers in Turkey.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation and early defibrillation are critical in survival after in- or out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest. The scope of this multi-centre study is to (a) assess skills of paediatric healthcare providers (HCPs) concerning two domains: (1) recognising rhythm abnormalities and (2) the use of defibrillator devices, and (b) to evaluate the impact of certified basic-life-support (BLS) and advanced-life-support (ALS) training to offer solutions for quality of improvement in several paediatric emergency cares and intensive care settings of Turkey. METHODS: This cross-sectional and multi-centre survey study included several paediatric emergency care and intensive care settings from different regions of Turkey. RESULTS: A total of 716 HCPs participated in the study (physicians: 69.4%, healthcare staff: 30.6%). The median age was 29 (27-33) years. Certified BLS-ALS training was received in 61% (n = 303/497) of the physicians and 45.2% (n = 99/219) of the non-physician healthcare staff (P < .001). The length of professional experience had favourable outcome towards an increased self-confidence in the physicians (P < .01, P < .001). Both physicians and non-physician healthcare staff improved their theoretical knowledge in the practice of synchronised cardioversion defibrillation (P < .001, P < .001). Non-certified healthcare providers were less likely to manage the initial doses of synchronised cardioversion and defibrillation: the correct responses remained at 32.5% and 9.2% for synchronised cardioversion and 44.8% and 16.7% for defibrillation in the physicians and healthcare staff, respectively. The indications for defibrillation were correctly answered in the physicians who had acquired a certificate of BLS-ALS training (P = .047, P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: The professional experience is significant in the correct use of a defibrillator and related procedures. Given the importance of early defibrillation in survival, the importance and proper use of defibrillators should be emphasised in Certified BLS-ALS programmes. Certified BLS-ALS programmes increase the level of knowledge and self-confidence towards synchronised cardioversion-defibrillation procedures.

Ewing's sarcoma: dural metastases after intracranial hemorrhage.

Ewing's sarcoma (ES) is a primary malignant tumor of the mesenchymal tissue of bone in children and young adults. Central nervous system metastases of ES are rarely seen. In this paper, we report a case of ES that progressed with dural metastases after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.

Leptin receptor gene Gln223Arg polymorphism is not associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome in Turkish children.

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between leptin receptor gene (LEPR) Gln223Arg polymorphism and obesity in Turkish children. Ninety-two obese and 99 lean children (between 5-15 years) were included in the study. Twenty-three of the obese children were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. Blood samples were collected for morning fasting blood glucose, insulin, leptin, and lipid level measurements. LEPR Gln223Arg polymorphism was analyzed by restriction fragment length polymorphism. Significant differences were observed in anthropometric measurements, fasting blood glucose, insulin, leptin, and lipid levels between obese and lean children. Serum leptin levels were markedly higher in obese children. No significant association was noted between Gln223Arg polymorphism and serum leptin, insulin and lipid levels. There were no differences in the genotype frequencies or allele distribution for Gln223Arg polymorphism among obese, obese with metabolic syndrome and lean children. Our findings suggest that there is no association between Gln223Arg polymorphism and obesity in Turkish children.

Treatment of severe amitriptyline intoxication with plasmapheresis.

Tricyclic antidepressant poisoning is one of the most common causes of serious intoxication. Here, we report a 2-year-old girl with severe amitriptyline (70 mg/kg) intoxication. She was in comatose, had generalized tonic clonic seizure, ventricular tachycardia, and wide QRS complexes. Although she did not respond to classical therapies, very good clinical response to plasmapheresis was obtained and she developed no complications. Thus, plasmapheresis may be an effective treatment modality in poisoning with drugs, which bind to plasma proteins with high affinity.