Brain Deaths and Donors in an Education and Research Hospital.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to define the causes of brain death (BD), criteria, and tests used for diagnosis, rates of family consent, and rates of organ donation in intensive care units (ICUs) of an education and research hospital. METHODS: The data of patients with BD diagnosis in 7 years in our hospital was collected from an electronic database and archives retrospectively consisting of the demographic data, the causes of BD, criteria, and the tests used for diagnosis, family consent, and organ donation rates. RESULTS: A total of 210 patients with BD diagnosis were enrolled in the study. There was a decline in number of patients with BD diagnosis between 2012 (54.76%) and 2018 (17.64%) in the neurology and neurosurgery ICU, while it increased from 35.71% in 2012 to 70.6% in 2018 in the general ICU. The most common cause of hospitalization for BD was spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage (43.8%). A total of 47.6% of brain-dead patients who did not qualify for organ donation were resuscitated unnecessarily after cardiac death. In 2012, diagnosis was always supported by ancillary tests, while in 2018, a total of 35.29% of the patients were diagnosed solely by clinical examination; 23.8% of patients' families had given consent for organ donation, and 19.53% of 210 patients became donors. CONCLUSION: Physicians should be aware that patients with poor neurologic outcome can be candidates of BD donation, and careful examination and rapid diagnosis is crucial. All segments of society and the health care professionals should be informed and updated about organ donation and BD regularly to raise the numbers of organ donation.

Total cholesterol-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio predicts high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels in Turkish children.

BACKGROUND: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is a biomarker of continued long-term systemic inflammation and cardiovascular (CV) risk. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association of hs-CRP levels with CV risk factors in healthy school children. METHODS: The study sample was derived from a survey on the prevalence of CV risk factors (dyslipidemia, obesity, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance in school children. Along with anthropometry, hs-CRP levels, lipids, glucose levels, and insulin levels were measured. RESULTS: Ninety-one male (12.5 ± 3.4 years) and 77 female students (12.7 ± 3.4; P = .624) were included. Median (interquartile range) hs-CRP levels were similar among boys and girls (0.4 [1.2] vs 0.5 [0.7]; P = .928). Risk factors such as obesity (16%), high triglycerides (20%), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, 16%), and elevated blood pressure (25%) were commonly observed in study participants. Gender-stratified analysis displayed that insulin resistance (18 [19.8%] vs 3 [3.9%]; P = .002) and high triglycerides (26 [28.6%] vs 8 [10.4%]; P = .003) were more commonly observed among boys compared with girls. hs-CRP levels correlated positively with cardiometabolic risk factors such as waist circumference (boys) and total cholesterol (TC)-to-HDL-C ratio. Linear regression analysis displayed that among the covariates of age, body mass index, and glucose, TC-to-HDL-C ratio was the most significant determinant of hs-CRP levels (P = .004). CONCLUSION: Cardiometabolic risk factors such as TC-to-HDL-C ratio correlate with hs-CRP levels in children and adolescents. Long-term prospective studies are needed to confirm the association between hs-CRP and cardiometabolic risk in children.