Search

Airway secretions may increase in intubated patients due to the impaired mucociliary clearance, impaired cough reflex, abnormal glottic function, insufficient moisturizing, and respiratory tract infections. As with any intervention, patients should be cautiously monitored for possible complications during the endotracheal suctioning. Procedure-related changes in the cerebral and somatic tissue oxygenation, hemodynamics, and oxygen saturation can be observed in these patients. It is important to ensure maintenance of tissue oxygenation during these and other interventions performed in critically ill children. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the endotracheal suctioning on tissue oxygenation in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation in the pediatric intensive care unit. Cerebral and somatic near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) monitoring were performed noninvasively using standardized NIRS equipment as a means of monitoring regional tissue oxygenation. Vital signs, level of sedation, pain scores, and somatic and cerebral tissue oxygenation values of mechanically ventilated patients were recorded prospectively 5 minutes before, during, and after endotracheal suctioning. Cerebral NIRS measurements did not exhibit any statistically significant changes during endotracheal suctioning. Somatic NIRS levels changed significantly before, during, and after endotracheal suctioning and remained low throughout the procedure. Endotracheal suctioning is an invasive intervention that facilitates clearance of tracheal secretions and maintenance of the oxygenation and ventilation. The maintenance of the tissue oxygenation should be documented during these and other interventions performed on critically ill children. Somatic NIRS is a useful tool for monitoring tissue oxygenation during such procedures.

This study was aimed to evaluate the success rate of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen therapy and factors causing therapy failure. This prospective observational study included 131 children who received HFNC oxygen and followed-up in the pediatric emergency department, pediatric clinics, and pediatric intensive care unit between March 2018 and December 2019. The median age was 23.0 months (interquartile range [IQR]: 9.0–92.0) and 65 patients were male (49.6%). The most common reason for requiring HFNC oxygen therapy was pneumonia (n = 75, 57.3%). A complex chronic condition was present in 112 (85.5%) patients. Therapy success was achieved in 116 patients (88.5%). The reason for requiring treatment and the patients' complex chronic condition did not affect the success of the therapy (p = 0.294 and 0.091, respectively). In the first 24 hours of treatment, a significant improvement in pulse rate, respiratory rate, pH, and lactate level were observed in successful HFNC oxygen patients (p

The aim of this study was to evaluate the Candida species, predisposing factors, antifungal treatment approaches, and clinical outcomes of invasive Candida infections (ICIs) in a tertiary pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). A retrospective study was performed from January 2008 to January 2019 including 102 children with ICIs who were admitted to a university hospital in southeastern Turkey. Positive blood cultures were detected in 43 (42.1%) patients, and positive urine cultures were detected in 59 (57.8%). According to our results, Candida albicans (42.2%) was the most common species for all isolates followed by C. parapsilosis (17.6%). In our patient population, non-albicans Candida species were dominant (57.8%) in all isolates. The most common facilitating factor in our study was the use of mechanical ventilator support (87.3%). The mortality rate of our patients with ICIs was 13.7%. Candida albicans was found to have the highest mortality rate among all Candida species (30.7%). When we compared patients with C. albicans and those with non-albicans Candida species in terms of risk factors, we detected a significant difference between the two groups for total parenteral nutrition use (p = 0.027). Fluconazole was the most preferred (58.8%) treatment option in our PICU for ICIs. Our results showed an increased trend in micafungin use in recent years. ICIs are a significant problem due to the high mortality and morbidity rates in critically ill pediatric patients in PICUs. In recent years, an increase in Candida infections caused by non-albicans Candida species has been reported. Multicenter prospective studies are needed to determine the risk factors for ICIs.

BACKGROUND Measurement of the optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) with point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a non-invasive and radiation-free technique that can be used to assess increased intracranial pressure (ICP). Ophthalmic artery and central retinal artery Doppler indices can be used like transcranial Doppler to evaluate increased ICP. This study aims to examine the diagnostic value of ONSD measurements and central retinal artery Doppler indices in the evaluation of pediatric patients with increased ICP. METHODS This was a prospective, case-controlled single center study. The study group was comprised of a total of 38 pediatric patients with increased ICP and the control group included 19 healthy children. Ophthalmic ultrasound was performed and ONSD and central retinal artery Doppler indices were measured. RESULTS The mean age of the study group was 80.84 ± 65.12 months. The mean ONSD was 5.9 ± 0.8 (3.6-8.1) mm in the study group and the mean resistive index (RI) was 0.71 ± 0.08 (min:0,55-max:1) and was significantly greater than the control group (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). In terms of predicting increased ICP, the ONSD measurement was the strongest parameter, with its area under the curve: 0.767 (95 percent confidence interval: 0.68-0.85). In the study group, the cut-off value for ONSD was 5.8 mm (66 percent sensitivity, 100 percent specificity) and the cut-off value for RI was 0.68 (63 percent sensitivity, 83 percent specificity). CONCLUSIONS Point-of-care ultrasound is a noninvasive and important tool in pediatric intensive care units. Our study is significant as one of the few pediatric studies where central retinal artery Doppler indices are evaluated in addition to OSND, in patients with increased ICP.

Metformin is an oral antidiabetic medication which belongs to the class biguanide. Its most hazardous and life-threatening side effect is lactic acidosis which has been increasingly reported in recent years. Early diagnosis and aggressive treatment approaches have significantly reduced morbidity and mortality rates in metformin intoxication. In this case report, we emphasize the importance of early continuous renal replacement therapy in metformin-associated lactic acidosis in a 16-year-old patient who developed severe renal damage during the follow-up period of renal replacement therapy due to lactic acidosis after taking metformin in a suicide attempt.

Aim Foreign body aspiration is one of the common home accidents that requires urgent diagnosis and treatment, especially in children aged between 1 and 3 years. The type, location, and obstruction level of the aspirated material, age of the patient, and time of diagnosis influence the severity of the clinical picture. In our study, we aimed to evaluate patients who underwent bronchoscopy in our clinic with a diagnosis of foreign body aspiration in light of literature data. Material and methods The medical records of 87 patients who underwent rigid bronchoscopy with a prediagnosis of foreign body aspiration in Cukurova University, Faculty of Medicine, between January 2016 and August 2018, and were followed up in the pediatric intensive care unit after the procedure were examined retrospectively. The subjects were evaluated in terms of age, sex, primary referal center, time of presentation, symptoms at presentation, physical examination findings, radiologic investigations, type and location of foreign body, and duration of stay in the intensive care unit. Results A total of 87 patients were included in the study. Thirty-seven patients (42.5%) were female. The mean age was found as 33.73±39.44 (range, 5-202) months. The most common (74.7%) symptom at presentation was sudden onset of coughing. The foreign body aspirated was organic in 62.1% of patients. The most common foreign bodies aspirated were peanuts, with a rate of 19.5%. Four adolescent female patients underwent broncoscopy because they aspirated needles they held in their mouths while tying their headscarves. Interestingly, one patient aspirated a stone and one patient aspirated a parasite. The most frequent location of foreign body was the right main bronchus (n=27, 31%). Conclusion In the diagnosis of foreign body aspiration, the most important step is maintaining a high index of suspicion. Foreign body aspiration should be considered in patients who present with cough, respiratory distress or cyanosis, unilaterally diminished breath sounds, ronchi or stridor on physical examination, and air trapping on chest X-ray. Bronchoscopy is life-saving in the presence of any suspicious history suggestive foreign body aspiration or refractory pneumonia, even if a physical examination and radiologic findings are normal, especially in high-risk children between 1-3 years old.

Answer 1: Brown tumor: Brown tumors are rare focal giant cell lesions of the bone caused by hyperparathyroidism (HPT). Although brown tumors can present at different locations and with unexpected clinical manifestations, common areas of involvement are the mandible, sternum, pelvis, ribs and femur. It is a lytic but benign bone tumor, commonly present in patients with secondary HPT due to chronic kidney disease (CKD), mainly in those with untreated renal osteodystrophy (ROD).

PubMedID: 25966785 [No abstract available]