ABSTRACT
Purpose@#At the beginning of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic, physicians paid close attention to children with chronic diseases to prevent transmission or a severe course of infection. We aimed to measure the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) antibody levels in children with chronic gastrointestinal and liver diseases to analyze the risk factors for infection and its interaction with their primary disease. @*Methods@#This cross-sectional study analyzed SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels in patients with gastrointestinal and liver diseases (n=141) and in healthy children (n=48) between January and February 2021. @*Results@#During the pandemic, 10 patients (7%) and 1 child (2%) had confirmed COVID-19 infection (p=0.2). The SARS-CoV-2 antibody test was positive in 36 patients (25.5%) and 11 children (22.9%) (p=0.7). SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity was found in 20.4%, 26.6%, 33.3%, and 33.3% of patients with chronic liver diseases, chronic gastrointestinal tract diseases, cystic fibrosis, and liver transplantation recipients, respectively (p>0.05, patients vs. healthy children). Risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity were COVID-19-related symptoms (47.2% vs. 14.2%, p=0.00004) and close contact with SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction-positive patients (69.4% vs. 9%, p<0.00001). The use, number, and type of immunosuppressants and primary diagnosis were not associated with SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity. The frequency of disease activation/flare was not significant in patients with (8.3%) or without (14.2%) antibody positivity (p=0.35). @*Conclusion@#SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in children with chronic gastrointestinal and liver diseases are similar to that in healthy children. Close follow-up is important to understand the long-term effects of past COVID-19 infection in these children.
ABSTRACT
To evaluate the direct and transdentinal [indirect] agar diffusion antibacterial activity of different commercially available antibacterial dental gel formulations against Streptococcus mutans. The commercially available dental gel formulations were Corsodyl[R] [COG, 1% chlorhexidine], Cervitec[R] [CEG, 0.2% chlorhexidine + 0.2% sodium fluoride], Forever Bright[R] [FOB, aloe vera], Gengigel[R] [GEG, 0.2% hyaluronic acid], 35% phosphoric acid gel and distilled water [control]. Direct agar diffusion was performed by isolating three wells from brain-heart infusion agar plates using sterile glass pipettes attached to a vacuum pump and adding 0.1 ml of the gels to each well. Transdentinal [indirect] agar diffusion was performed by applying gel to 0.2- and 0.5-mm-thick human dentin discs previously etched with phosphoric acid and rinsed with distilled water. Zones formed around the wells and the dentin discs were measured and analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests with Bonferroni correction [p < 0.01]. Direct agar diffusion tests showed significant differences among all gel formulations [p < 0.01] except for COG and CEG [p > 0.01]. COG and CEG exhibited higher antibacterial effects compared to FOB and GEG [p < 0.01] in both direct and transdentinal [indirect] testing procedures. GEG did not show any antimicrobial activity in transdentinal [indirect] testing. Commercially available dental gels inhibited S. mutans, which may indicate their potential as cavity disinfectants