[Study of socioeconomic home environment of children hospitalised at the Department of Paediatrics of Municipal Hospital in Lodz]. / Analiza srodowiska spolecznego pacjentów oddzialu Pediatrycznego Szpitala Miejskiego w Lodzi. Doniesienie wstepne.

UNLABELLED: One of types of child abuse is lack of proper care concerning health and development. This was the motivation to carry out this study in hospitalised children in our Department. AIM: analysis of socioeconomic home environment of children hospitalised in the Department of Paediatrics of municipal hospital, situated in the centre of Lodz city. MATERIAL AND METHOD: the analysis was carried out in 618 children (326 girls and 292 boys), aged from 3 to 18 years, hospitalised in the Department of Paediatrics during the year 2006. The following factors were analysed, cause of admission, family structure, parental legal situation, parents education, parents (or guardians) occupation, number of siblings, living conditions. RESULTS: concerning living conditions: 9.2% studied children lived in one room with 4 or more persons, 5% children were from residential care, the homes of 40% families locked basic sanitary standards. Data concerning mothers: 63% had primary education, 41.7% were working, 2.9% were either dead or did not live with the family, 4.5% had reduced or no parental rights. Data concerning fathers: 50.2% had primary education, 26.5% were not working, 17.2% were dead or were not living with the family, 7.4% had reduced or no parented rights. Analysis of cause of admission and number of hospitalisations of these children may be related to insufficient care for their well being and development, in a significant on part of parents or other care gives. CONCLUSIONS: In the home setting of a large part of children treated in our Paediatric Department of the Lodz Municipal Hospital the study indicated gross evidence of poverty, which may have led to health neglect. This shows the need for more precise studies. The present results will serve as guidelines for elaboration and implementation of a more complex and effective programme for prevention of factors of health neglect, which is one of the elements of child abuse.

[Alterations of procalcitonin and interleukin 6 after cardiopulmonary bypass in children with congenital heart disease]. / Zmiany stezen prokalcytoniny i interleukiny 6 u dzieci z wrodzonq wadq serca podczas zabiegu kardiochirurgicznego i po jego zakonczeniu.

UNLABELLED: Cardiac surgery induces systemic inflammatory response that may have been implicated the postoperative organ dysfunction. This inflammatory response is thought to be produced by exposing patients to proinflammatory factors. The aim of our study was to investigate alterations in procalcitonin (PCT) concentration in peripheral blood in children as the potential early indicator of complications occurring during and after surgery in extracorporeal circulation. Additionally, we evaluated the perioperative time course of IL-6. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The investigations were carried out in 21 children undergoing cardiac operation with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Serum concentrations of PCT and IL-6 were sequentially measured before induction of anesthesia, at the initiation of CPB, at the end of CPB, and 24 hours, and 72 hours after CPB. RESULTS: There was no significant PCT-elevation at all 5 times of measurement. Levels of IL-6 increased significantly after surgery, and remained elevated for up to 1 day. Peak values correlated with the duration of CPB (r=0.68, p=0.0006). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude, that cardiac surgery with CPB did not have any influence on the secretion of PCT in children. These results suggest that IL-6 was more effective than PCT to monitor patients with a favorable outcome.