We aimed to evaluate the patients who were diagnosed as Henoch Schonlein purpura (HSP) for disease characteristics and prognosis of those with joint, gastrointestinal (GI), and renal involvement. Two hundred and fifty-four children who were followed up with the diagnosis of HSP in the Pediatric Nephrology Clinics of Meram Medical Faculty of Selcuk University and Medical Faculty of Gazi University between January 2003 and June 2006 were retrospectively evaluated. The clinical follow-up and treatment regimens of patients in whom renal biopsy was performed were evaluated in detail. The study group consisted of 254 children, 147 boys (57.8%) and 107 girls (42.2%), and the ratio of boys to girls was 1.37. The percentages of skin, joint, GI, and renal manifestations were 100%, 66%, 56%, and 30%, respectively. Eight patients had intussusception. Five of them recovered with steroid treatment only while three patients were operated on. Sixty-four patients (44%) with GI involvement had severe disease and were successfully treated with steroids. Renal biopsy was performed in 26 patients. Among those 26 patients, two of them recovered spontaneously within 3 and 4 weeks. Ten patients improved with only steroid treatment while 12 patients recovered with steroid and cyclophosphamide treatment. Two patients were resistant to steroid and cyclophosphamide treatment and were treated with cyclosporine A. We believe that steroid therapy given to the HSP patients with GI manifestations might be helpful to prevent probable complications such as GI bleeding and intussusception. In addition, combined therapy with steroid and cyclophosphamide can usually be an appropriate treatment for patients with nephrotic proteinuria.

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MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGINGORIGINAL ARTICLE PURPOSE We aimed to compare apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values among magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners from different vendors. MATERIALS AND METHODSWe used a custom-made phantom solution consisting of distilled water, 0.9% NaCl, 25% NaCl, and shampoo for diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) examinations. DW-MRI was performed with similar sequence parameters using six different 1.5 Tesla MR scanners (scanners A-F). ADC maps were automatically constructed for all DW-MR images (b factors of 0 and 1000 s/mm 2 ). ADC measurements were performed using regions of interest and seven different software programs, including four different postprocessing workstations, two different picture archiving and communication systems, and operator console software for each MR scanner. RESULTSThe ADC values generated by scanners A and F were higher and those of scanner B were lower than those generated by the other scanners (P = 0.002). The intravendor difference in the ADC values averaged from scanners D, E, and F was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The difference between the ADC values obtained by scanners C and E was not statistically different (P = 0.15).CONCLUSION ADC values may differ among different MRI systems used for DW-MRI. Thus, the MRI vendor should be considered when using DW-MRI in a clinical setting.

Few studies investigating the effects of automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), depression, and sleep quality exist in the literature. We aimed to determine differences between APD and CAPD modalities with respect to these parameters. Twenty APD and 48 CAPD patients were included in this cross-sectional study. Biochemical values were measured at outpatient evaluation. A modified postsleep inventory was used to evaluate sleep quality. Health-related quality of life and depression were evaluated by the Short Form of Medical Outcomes Study and Beck Depression Inventory, respectively. Automated peritoneal dialysis and CAPD patients were compared in terms of sleep quality, HRQoL, and depression. Our results showed that there were no significant differences between APD and CAPD in any of the studied parameters. Moderate or severe sleep problems were found in 60% and 69% of the APD and CAPD patients, respectively. Mean HRQoL scores for any of the 8 Short Form of Medical Outcomes Study-36 domains were similar in the 2 groups. The mean physical component score was 51.1 ± 21.2 and 48.9 ± 18.2 in APD and CAPD patients, respectively (P=0.672). The mean mental component score was 47.5 ± 20.1 in APD patients, whereas it was 42.4 ± 19.5 in CAPD patients (P=0.291). Depression was detected in 70% of APD and 62.5% of the CAPD patients. The mean Beck Depression Inventory scores were also similar in the 2 groups. This study showed that HRQoL, sleep quality, and depression were similar in APD and CAPD patients.