The effect of phototherapy on fecal calprotectin levels.

OBJECTIVE: Fetal calprotectin levels increase in the early stages of necrotizing enterocolitis. Although the effects of several factors on fetal calprotectin have been studied, the effect of phototherapy is not known. In this study, we analyzed the effect of phototherapy on fetal calprotectin levels. METHODS: Ninety breast-fed newborns (46 male, 44 female) who were hospitalized for indirect hyperbilirubinemia and treated with phototherapy were included to the study. Forty-two of them were term and 44 of them were preterm. Newborns treated with phototherapy (n = 53) constituted the phototherapy group (29 preterm, 24 term) and 37 newborns who did not receive phototherapy (19 preterm, 18 term) constituted the control group. Fecal samples were collected 24 hours after phototherapy had been started. Fecal samples (100 mg) were weighed with sensitive scales and preserved at -80°C after buffering with a special solution. All samples were studied at the same time with a fecal calprotectin kit by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant difference between fecal calprotectin levels of term and preterm babies who received phototherapy and babies who did not receive phototherapy. CONCLUSION: There was no effect of 24-hour phototherapy on fecal calprotectin levels in preterm and term newborns.

Repair of wide myelomeningocele defects with the bilateral fasciocutaneous flap method.

OBJECTIVE: Five large myelomeningocele defects repaired by bilateral fasciocutaneous flaps are presented in this article. PATIENTS AND METHODS: After the neurological repair, bilateral fasciocutaneous flaps were raised, transposed over the midline, and sutured to each other. RESULTS: All operations lasted shorter than one hour and no major complication was noted in the follow-up. Three of the defects were in the thoracolumbar and two in the lumbosacral regions. The areas of the defects were between 5x6 cm (30 cm2) and 8x10 cm (80 cm2). CONCLUSION: The bilateral fasciocutaneous flap technique offers a shorter operation duration and lower bleeding rate; it is simple to learn and practice and does not abolish alternative operation techniques.

Delay in diagnosis of hypopituitarism after traumatic head injury: a case report and review of the literature.

Neuroendocrine complications are among important and frequently missed complications of traumatic brain injury. Hypopituitarism, the partial or complete insufficiency of anterior pituitary secretion may be underrecognized due to its subtle clinical manifestations in traumatic patients. We report a case of 14.5-year-old girl who was admitted due to growth failure and had been diagnosed to have multiple hypophyseal hormone deficiency including thyroid-stimulating hormone, gonadotropins, adrenocorticotropin hormone which developed years after traumatic head injury.