Postpartum Depression Among Mothers of Infants Hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization of newborn babies has been shown to have a negative impact on the mental health of postpartum women. The mental health of new mothers may be further burdened by the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on social, economic, and psychological dimensions. This study aimed to evaluate postpartum depression and related factors in mothers of infants hospitalized in NICU during two distinct COVID-19 pandemic periods and examine any additional effects of the pandemic on the mental health of postpartum women. Methodology The Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) was applied to 250 NICU mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first 125 women's children were hospitalized during a period of high number of cases and deaths when restrictions were in place for NICU parental visits (November 2021 to February 2022, the early group). The remaining 125 women completed the scale when there was a lower number of cases and restrictions had been eased (March to June 2022, the late group). Results In the early group, the EPDS scores were statistically higher (7.53.9 vs. 5.63.4; p < 0.001), smoking and NICU stay duration were significantly higher (p = 0.01), whereas the duration of marriage was significantly lower (p = 0.01). Women in the late group with EPDS scores ≥13 were statistically less educated (p = 0.01). EPDS scores ≥13 were significantly associated with depression during pregnancy and with a history of abortion/stillbirth/neonatal death (odds ratio (OR) = 5.240, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.114 to 27.967, p = 0.03 and OR = 1.641, 95% CI = 1.009 to 2.669, p = 0.04, respectively). Conclusions NICU admission is a significant maternal risk factor for postpartum depression due to the disruption of maternal-infant bonding, and this risk may be exacerbated during times of global public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Depression during pregnancy and the presence of a perinatal loss may also contribute to worse postpartum mental outcomes in NICU mothers.

Awareness or neglecting the diagnosis of cow milk protein allergy in the neonatal period.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cow milk protein allergy (CMPA) can mimic surgical disease, gastroenteritis, sepsis, and necrotizing enterocolitis in the neonatal period. For this reason, we aimed to evaluate the clinical features, differential diagnosis, and treatment methods of neonates with CMPA. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: The charts of twenty-six breastfed full-term and preterm newborns presenting with CMPA between October 2018 and February 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. The clinical symptoms, laboratory findings, and methods used in diagnosis and treatment were analyzed. RESULTS: CMPA was diagnosed in preterm infants 50% (n=13) at the same rate as in full-term infants 50% (n=13) between 32 to 38 weeks corrected age (median 36 weeks). Among patients with CMPA, 69.2% (n=18) had blood in the stool at the onset. Cow's Milk-related Symptom Score score was found to be significantly higher prior to diagnosis vs. after treatment with the cow milk protein-free mom's milk diet [12(11-13) vs. 4(3-5), p<0.001]. Seventy-two hours after the commencement of the mothers' elimination diet, macroscopic blood in stool disappeared in all patients except one patient. Oral food challenge (OFC) for the diagnosis of CMPA was carried out on all (n=26) neonates. Eosinophilia was seen in 46.2% of patients (n=12). The methemoglobin concentration was 1.1 to 1.5% (median 1.3%). CONCLUSIONS: CMPA should be kept in mind for well-appearing preterm and full-term infants suspected of necrotizing enterocolitis and gastroenteritis, respectively, presenting with bloody stool and eosinophilia. The use of OFC can be implemented since neonates were very well monitored in the neonatal intensive care unit. Treatment is possible by continuing breastfeeding.

A neonatal case of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis with intrauterine onset after COVID-19 infection during pregnancy: Cause or coincidence?

Coronavirus 19 disease (COVID-19) is known to predispose patients to increased thrombotic events and the risk is higher in pregnancy which is already a hypercoagulable state. Vertical transmission of the disease during pregnancy was neglected according to data early in the pandemic, however, despite conflicting results from different studies, there is an increasing suspicion of vertical transmission with the rise of new fetal and neonatal cases and perinatal transmission can be higher than expected. An early term neonate, with the history of maternal COVID-19 infection in the start of third trimester, was diagnosed as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and chronic hemorrhagic ischemia, with intrauterine onset.

Pertussis antibody levels in infants and their mothers receiving combined tetanus-diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis vaccine during pregnancy in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: Pertussis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in infants under two months of age and these high risk babies are dependent on maternally derived antibodies until completion of their first immunization series. This study aimed to evaluate the vaccine response of late preterm and term newborns as well as their mothers who underwent combined tetanus-diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccination during pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 70 pregnant women were administered Tdap vaccine (Boostrix®, GSK) between 27 and 33 gestational weeks of pregnancy. The IgG antibodies against pertussis toxin (PT) and filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) in maternal blood before vaccination and in both maternal and umbilical cord blood after vaccination were evaluated using the in-house ELISA method. The geometric mean concentrations (GMC) and placental transfer ratios of antibodies were measured. RESULTS: Participants' with a mean age of 29.59 ± 4.70 years received Tdap vaccine at an average 28.6 ± 1.31 gestational weeks. Average pre and post vaccination levels of anti-PT IgG GMCs and anti-FHA IgG GMCs were 8.01 IU/ml vs 39.48 IU/ml (p = 0.001) and 122.24 IU/ml vs 183.97 IU/ml (p < 0.001), respectively. The anti-PT and anti-FHA IgG GMCs of cord blood after vaccination was 25.15 IU/ml and 118.77 IU/ml, respectively (p < 0.001 and p = 0.064). Placental transfer ratios of anti-PT ve anti-FHA IgG antibodies were detected as 0.65 and 0.62, respectively. CONCLUSION: Immunization of pregnant women with Tdap at the third trimester results in high maternal and infant antibody levels. Maternal immunization during each pregnancy seems to be the best strategy in revealing the highest maternal and infant antibodies and in narrowing the gap between birth and immune system maturation in infants. Pregnant women in our country should also get the Tdap vaccine during pregnancy especially in the early third trimester.

Respiratory syncytial virüs infections in neonates and infants.

Respiratory syncytial virus is one of the major causes of respiratory tract infections during infancy with high rates of hospitalization and mortality during the first years of life. It is the most common cause of acute bronchiolitis and viral pneumonia in children below two years of age and second the most common cause of postneonatal infant mortality all around the world following malaria. In addition, the virus has been causally linked to recurrent wheezing and associated with pediatric asthma. The respiratory syncytial virus infections tend to be severe in high risk patients such as patients below six months of age, with prematurity, congenital heart diseases, neuromuscular diseases and immune deficiencies. No specific treatment is available for respiratory syncytial virus infections to date. Severe cases require supportive therapy, mainly oxygen supplementation and hydration, and less frequently, ventilatory support. Because there is no vaccine to prevent respiratory syncytial virus infections or clinically effective treatment to administer to children with respiratory syncytial virus infection, immunoprophylaxis with palivizumab is currently the only method for reducing morbidity associated with severe respiratory syncytial virus in high-risk infants.

Nephrocalcinosis as a complication of subcutaneous fat necrosis of the newborn.

Subcutaneous fat necrosis of the newborn is an uncommon disorder affecting the adipose tissue of term infants. It is usually known as a transient, benign and self-limited disease, characterized by painful skin lesions beginning within the first week of life. The prognosis of the disease is generally good, but it may be complicated by potentially life-threatening metabolic alterations, including hypercalcemia, thrombocytopenia, hypoglycemia, and hypertriglyceridemia. Hypercalcemia is the most serious complication of subcutaneous fat necrosis because of its effects on the renal and cardiovascular systems. We thereby present a case of subcutaneous fat necrosis with all these metabolic alterations, which was also complicated by nephrocalcinosis as a non-transient and serious complication.

Treatment of pediatric Burkitt lymphoma in Turkey.

This study aimed to assess the demographic data and treatment results of children who were diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma and treated according to the Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster-95 (BFM) protocol in a single institution. A total of 48 patients (37 boys, 77%) with a median age of 8 years (range 2 to 16 years) at diagnosis, were evaluated. Primary tumor sites were abdomen (70.8%), head and neck (22.9%), peripheral lymph node (2%), bone (2%), and testis (2%). The 5-year overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) were 78.1±4% and 76.6±6%, respectively. In univariate analysis, hemoglobin level less than 10 g/dL, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) positivity and dialysis requirement at diagnosis were found to be important reverse predictor factors for EFS (P; 0.001, 0.001, 0.004, respectively). In multivariate analysis, hemoglobin level less than 10 g/dL and dialysis at diagnosis were found to be important reverse predictor factors for EFS (P; 0.0001). The EFS of our patients was lower than the values achieved with BFM-95 protocol in other centers. This study provides evidence that low hemoglobin level, CSF positivity and dialysis at diagnosis were important predictor factors for EFS in children with Burkitt lymphoma.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia treated with idarubicin complicated by focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

The authors report a 9-year-old boy presenting with a left cerebral ischemic infarction as the first manifestation of acute promyelocytic leukemia. During consolidation chemotherapy, the patient developed nephrotic syndrome and a renal biopsy revealed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). Remission in bone marrow was achieved with chemotherapy, however, new intracranial ischemic areas developed on follow-up. Acute promyelocytic leukemia complicated by FSGS has not been previously reported in children. There may be a relationship between anthracycline treatment and FSGS. Thrombosis could be related with both leukemia and nephrotic syndrome, here thrombosis was the initial symptom, before FSGS was diagnosed.

Duration and dispersion of the P wave after the Senning operation.

We studied the duration and dispersion of the P wave in patients after a Senning operation, assessing its value in detecting the risk of atrial tachycardias.We measured the duration and dispersion of the wave in surface 12 lead electrocardiograms obtained from 18 patients with sinus rhythm, having a mean age of 12.8 years, with 13 being males and 5 females, who had undergone a Senning operation, comparing the values obtained in 35 age and gender-matched healthy people. The patients had undergone repair at a mean age of 13.4 months, and had a mean duration of follow-up of 12.8 years after the procedure. We also made 24 hour Holter recordings.The maximal duration of the P wave, at a mean of 129.3 milliseconds, and dispersion with a mean of 78 milliseconds, were both significantly increased in the patients compared with their controls, the mean values for the normal subjects being 103.7 and 54 milliseconds. Supraventricular tachycardia was detected in 1 of 3 patients with dispersion greater than 100 milliseconds, and in 2 of 15 patients (13%) with dispersion less than 100 milliseconds as measured from the Holter recordings (p > 0.05).Thus, the maximum duration and dispersion of the P wave were increased in patients after a Senning operation, but we were unable to establish any relationship between these measurements and atrial tachycardias as observed using Holter monitoring.

Thiamine-responsive megaloblastic anemia: early diagnosis may be effective in preventing deafness.

Thiamine-responsive megaloblastic anemia syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by diabetes mellitus, megaloblastic anemia and sensorineural hearing loss. Mutations in the SLC19A2 gene, encoding a high-affinity thiamine transporter protein, THTR-1, are responsible for the clinical features associated with thiamine-responsive megaloblastic anemia syndrome in which treatment with pharmacological doses of thiamine correct the megaloblastic anemia and diabetes mellitus. The anemia can recur when thiamine is withdrawn. Thiamine may be effective in preventing deafness if started before two months. Our patient was found homozygous for a mutation, 242insA, in the nucleic acid sequence of exon B, with insertion of an adenine introducing a stop codon at codon 52 in the high-affinity thiamine transporter gene, SLC19A2, on chromosome 1q23.3.

Association between genetic polymorphism in DNA repair genes and risk of B-cell lymphoma.

OBJECTIVES: The authors evaluated the possible effect of DNA repair genes, XPD (Xeroderma pigmentosum group D) codon (312 and 751) and XRCC1 (X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1) codon (194 and 399) SNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms) on the risk of childhood B-cell lymphoma. METHODS: The polymorphisms were analyzed in 33 patients with BL cases and in 52 healthy, age-matched controls using PCR-RFLP method. RESULTS: The authors observed no association between variation in the XPD codon Asp312Asn, Lys751Gln, and XRCC1 codon Arg399Gln polymorphisms and B-cell lymphoma for any parameter. In contrast, tryptophan allele frequency in control and patient groups was 0.10 and 0.03 respectively (p = .04). The frequency of XRCC1 194Arg/Trp genotype in B-cell lymphoma was significantly lower than that in controls (p = .005). No significant relationship was found between genotypes and stage, lactate dehydrogenase, or bone marrow involvement. CONCLUSIONS: XRCC1 194Trp allele may be associated with a protective effect against development of childhood B-cell lymphoma. However, these results were based on a small number of case and further studies should be done.

A rare cause of ischemic stroke: fibromuscular dysplasia.

Childhood ischemic stroke is uncommon and may be associated with many causes and require extensive evaluation. Fibromuscular dysplasia is a rare cause of unknown etiology of childhood stroke which is mostly related with renovascular hypertension and in adults about 85% of cases renal artery has been involved, whereas the intracerebral circulation is the main area affected in children and the documented cause of stroke. We report a 4-year-old girl who presented with facial paralysis and diagnosed as intracranial fibromuscular dysplasia without renal artery involvement.

Coronary events and anatomy after arterial switch operation for transposition of the great arteries: detection by 16-row multislice computed tomography angiography in pediatric patients.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of multislice computed tomographic (MSCT) angiography as a noninvasive method for detecting ostial, proximal, and middle segment coronary stenosis or occlusion and anatomy in patients with transposition of the great arteries who had undergone arterial switch operation (ASO). Sixteen-detector-row MSCT angiography was performed in 16 patients treated with ASO for transposition of the great arteries. The median age was 10.3 years (range, 6.2-16.3 years). Sixteen-detector-row MSCT angiography was performed in 16 patients who had undergone ASO. CT imaging was performed in the craniocaudal direction from 2 cm above the carina up to the heart basis. Noninvasive assessment of coronary artery stenosis and anatomy were investigated by MSCT angiography. Two patients were excluded from the study because of artifacts. Of 14 evaluated patients, 1 patient had ostial stenosis (7.1%). A coronary artery anatomy variant was present in six patients: left main artery (LMA) and right coronary artery (RCA) originating from the right sinus as a single orifice (n = 2); left circumflex artery (LCX) originating from the RCA (n = 1); LMA and RCA, after branching to the LCX, originating separately from the right sinus (n = 1); and LMA (n = 1) and left anterior descending artery (LADA; n = 1) originating directly from the right sinus. Intramural bridging in the LAD (n = 2) was detected. Five patients were normal. In conclusion, MSCT angiography, as a noninvasive, feasible technique for assessing coronary stenosis or occlusion and anatomy, can be used in the follow-up of patients who have undergone ASO.

[The prevalence of depression and its associated factors among resident doctors working in a training hospital in Istanbul]. / Istanbul'da Bir Egitim Hastanesinde Calisan Tipta Uzmanlik Ogrencilerinde Depresyon Yayginligi ve Iliskili Etkenler.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of depression and to evaluate the association of sociodemographic factors, as well as aspects of the work environment, with depression among resident doctors working in a training hospital in Istanbul. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a teaching hospital which has 332 residents in Istanbul. The required sample size was determined to be 207. The study population was stratified proportionally according to hospital departments and a random sampling method was used. Data were collected with a questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic variables, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MJSQ). The associations were studied through univariate and multivariate analyses. FINDINGS: The study included 156 residents who agreed to participate (response rate: 75.3%). The prevalence rate of probable depression was 16.0% (95% CI: 10.7-22.7). In the multivariate analysis, the rate of depression was significantly higher among women compared to men (OR: 5.16, 95% CI: 1.51-17.68, p<0.01). Age, marital status, hospital department, duration of residency, number of night shifts, and duration of exposure to daylight in the work environment were not associated with depression. Among the participants, 90.4% did not want to get a feedback concerning their BDI scores. A negative correlation was determined between depression and job satisfaction scores. CONCLUSION: Among resident doctors, women in particular should be evaluated as an important at-risk group for depression. Prevention and control programs that also include components for reducing stigma should be implemented.