Frequency of hyponatremia in gastroentric patients treated with intravenous hypotonic fluid

Acute gastroenteritis [AGE] is one of the most common infectious illnesses of childhood. While no treatment is needed for self-limited virus-induced AGE, dehydration caused by diarrhea and emesis is of great concern and should be treated vigorously. However, there is no consensus on the most appropriate electrolyte composition of intravenous fluids; therefore, according to basic protocols in our hospital which suggest hypotonic fluid therapy for AGE, investigators aimed to assess the frequency of hyponatremia in gastroenteritis patients treated with intravenous hypotonic fluid therapy. This descriptive observational study was conducted at 17 Shahrivar Pediatrics Hospital between September 2008 and January 2011. The patients' medical records were assessed and children aged between 1 month and 14 years with a diagnosis of gastroenteritis and dehydration were enrolled in the study. According to sodium concentration at TO, patients were divided into three groups: hyponatremic, hypernatrmic and isonatremic. The blood samples were analyzed for the sodium concentration at TO and during 24 hours. Statistical analyses were performed by T test and chi-square using SPSS18 and statistical significance was defined as a p-va/ue less than 0.05. The mean age of the participants was 16.43 +/- 11.1 months; 58 patients were male [67.4%] and 28 were female [32.6%]. At TO, 35 patients [40.7%] were hyponatremic, 2 patients [2.3%] were hypernatremic and 49 patients were isonatremic. Sodium concentration in the hyponatremic and isonatrmic group were 137.25 +/- 1.9 and 138.29 +/- 2.04 mEq/L respectively which showed a significant difference [p=0.028]. Our study showed that increased sodium intake could decrease acquired hyponatremia. It seems that hyponatremia could be prevented by administering high sodium concentration fluids

Effect of oral ondansetron on decreasing the vomiting associated with acute gastroenteritis in Iranian children

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of oral ondansetron in decreasing the vomiting due to acute gastroenteritis in children. In a single center, randomized, double blind, controlled trial, the effect of oral ondansetron was compared with placebo on 176 patients between 1 and 10 years old with acute gastroenteritis. 30 minutes after drug administration, oral rehydration therapy [ORT] was initiated. Severity of vomiting was evaluated during emergency department [ED] stay and 48 hours follow up. Data were collected and analyzed by SPSS16. Fifty two of children [58.5%] were males with the mean age of 3.12 [ +/- 2.30] years. Ten patients in ondansetron and 14 in placebo group had persistent vomiting during ED stay. After analyzing, there was no significant relation between vomiting in 4 and 48 hours and need for intra venous fluid therapy between the two groups although ondansetron generally decreased ORT failure [P=0.03]. Although administrayion of oral ondansetron in gastroenteritis could decrease failure of ORT, it seems that further well-conducted clinical studies are needed to determine effects of oral ondansetron precisely

Prolonged sterile dysuria as a first presentation of pyocolpos

Pyocolpos is a rare clinical finding in vaginal atresia, especially in childhood. We present a child with pyocolpos and a long history of severe sterile dysuria before she was admitted to hospital with fever, urinary tract infection, and abdominal mass

Simple formulas for screening abnormal blood pressure in children and adolescents

Childhood hypertension has been extensively focused on in the past decades because of its increasing incidence, which is related to physicians' awareness and the increasing number of obese children. Age, gender, and body size are the main determinants of blood pressure in children. The revised childhood blood pressure tables of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program are a prerequisite for classification of childhood hypertension. Although these tables provide a reasonable basis, they are intricate and height percentile is needed for final diagnosis. Many attempts have been done to decrease such complexity. We present new formulas that are concise and memorable, and will help physicians to screen prehypertensive and hypertensive pediatric patients

Glomerular filtration rate estimates based on serum creatinine level in healthy people: conventional Jaffe method versus calibrated Jaffe method at laboratories in Rasht

Conventional Jaffe method of serum creatinine measurement is influenced by several drugs and components of blood as well as the expertise of laboratory staffs. We obtained blood samples of 22 healthy volunteers and sent them to 23 laboratories in Rasht, Iran, in which the conventional Jaffe method would be used for serum creatinine measurement. Also, we tested the samples in 1 reference laboratory with the calibrated Jaffe method. Glomerular filtration rates were calculated using the abbreviated equation of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study. Eight of 23 laboratories [34.7%] reported significantly different mean serum creatinine levels from the mean values yielded in the reference laboratory. Seven of 23 laboratories [30.4%] had significantly different estimated glomerular filtration rates in comparison to those calculated in the reference laboratory. Different results for creatinine lead to wrong interpretation of patients' kidney function, and rectifications of this divergence are of utmost importance

Prevalence of hematuria and proteinuria in healthy 4 to 6 year children in daycare centers of Rasht [northern Iran]

Screening of kidney diseases by urinalysis in preschool children was approved in many parts of the world with inexpensive tools such as urinary dipsticks. In this study the researchers investigate the prevalence of hematuria and proteniuria in 4 to 6-year-old children in daycare centers of Rasht [Iran]. The researchers examined proteinuria and hematuria in 1520 healthy children in daycare centers of Rasht. Urine strips were employed to examine the urine which was already collected from the subjects. Another urine sample was collected from those children with abnormal findings in the first samples with dipstick of the same brand a month later. If any positive result was found again, the urine was analyzed with dipstick and microscope concurrently. In the first dipstick samples, the prevalence was 3.2% for hematuria, 5.8% for proteinuria, and 0.13% for a mixture of proteinuria and hematuria. In the second urinalysis in patients with positive findings, hematuria, proteinuria as well as mixed proteinuria and hematuria were 20.4%, 52.0%, and 2.0% correspondingly. In the third analysis of samples, the abnormal findings in all patients were 13 [0.85%] isolated hematuria, 24 [1.57%] isolated proteinuria and one [0.06%] mixed hematuria and proteiuria. This study showed that the prevalence of proteinuria and hematuria during pre-school period [4 to 6 year-olds] may reveal relatively similar frequencies of some other studies