Aims: The study evaluated children's nutritional status at the moment of hospitalization. Patients and Methods:The nutritional status of 113 hospitalized patients was retrospectively evaluated at the time of hospitalization in the Clinic of Pediatric Gastroenterology between May 2013 and November 2014. During hospitalization, height for age, weight for age, and weight for height z scores were calculated. Results:Of the 113 patients in the study, 58 were female and 55 were male; the mean age was 59.59 ± 61.73 months and 67.87 ± 60.99 months, respectively. According to the World Health Organization standards, 33 (29.2%) underweight patients, 17 (15.0%) patients with acute malnourishment, and 21 (18.6%) patients with chronic malnourishment were detected. Based on weight for age data, 10 (8.8%) patients were severely malnourished, 22 (19.5%) patients were moderately malnourished, 27 (23.9%) patients were mildly malnourished, 40 (35.4) patients had normal weight, 8 (7.1%) patients were overweight, and 6 (5.3%) patients were obese. According to the Water low classifi cation, 14 (12.4%) children were stunted, 6 (5.3%) children were wasted-stunted, and 15 (13.3%) children were wasted. Conclusion:High rates of malnutrition were detected in hospitalized patients, therefore nutritional status should be carefully assessed at the moment of hospitalization to reduce the mortality rate, and patients should be given immediate nutritional support. The early diagnosis of mild or moderate malnutrition, and the timely start of treatment, will diminish the progression to severe malnutrition in developing countries like Turkey.

Rabies is an acute, fatal viral infection of the central nervous system, and one of the oldest zoonotic diseases in human history. A Syrian boy aged 14 had been hospitalized for 2 days with a preliminary diagnosis of Guillain-Barre syndrome because of muscle weakness that spread rapidly to the upper extremities. He was transferred to our unit when the muscle weakness worsened. Respiratory failure developed following admission to the ICU, and the patient was intubated and given ventilator support. Ascending paralysis and albuminocytologic dissociation in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination suggested a preliminary diagnosis of Guillain-Barre syndrome and plasmapheresis treatment was initiated. No clinical improvement was achieved despite plasmapheresis. On the 10 th day of hospitalization, we learned that he had been bitten on the ankle by a stray dog in Syria 2 months ago and had not received prophylaxis. Suspecting that this might be a case of rabies, body fluid samples of the patient were sent to the National Reference Laboratory. The patient died on the 12 th day of admission. A postmortem brain biopsy was taken, and Negri bodies were detected. This case report emphasizes that rabies should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with paralysis.

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