Varicella can cause complications that are potentially serious and require hospitalization. Our current understanding of the causes and incidence of varicella-related hospitalization in Turkey is limited and sufficiently accurate epidemiological and economical information is lacking. The aim of this study was to estimate the annual incidence of varicella-related hospitalizations, describe the complications, and estimate the annual mortality and cost of varicella in children. VARICOMP is a multi-center study that was performed to provide epidemiological and economic data on hospitalization for varicella in children between 0 and 15 years of age from October 2008 to September 2010 in Turkey. According to medical records from 27 health care centers in 14 cities (representing 49.3% of the childhood population in Turkey), 824 children (73% previously healthy) were hospitalized for varicella over the 2-year period. Most cases occurred in the spring and early summer months. Most cases were in children under 5 years of age, and 29.5% were in children under 1 year of age. The estimated incidence of varicella-related hospitalization was 5.29-6.89 per 100,000 in all children between 0-15 years of age in Turkey, 21.7 to 28 per 100,000 children under 1 year of age, 9.8-13.8 per 100,000 children under 5 years of age, 3.96-6.52 per 100,000 children between 5 and 10 years of age and 0.42 to 0.71 per 100,000 children between 10 and 15 years of age. Among the 824 children, 212 (25.7%) were hospitalized because of primary varicella infection. The most common complications in children were secondary bacterial infection (23%), neurological (19.1%), and respiratory (17.5%) complications. Secondary bacterial infections (p < 0.001) and neurological complications (p < 0.001) were significantly more common in previously healthy children, whereas hematological complications (p < 0.001) were more commonly observed in children with underlying conditions. The median length of the hospital stay was 6 days, and it was longer in children with underlying conditions (<0.001). The median cost of hospitalization per patient was $338 and was significantly higher in children with underlying conditions (p < 0.001). The estimated direct annual cost (not including the loss of parental work time and school absence) of varicella-related hospitalization in children under the age of 15 years in Turkey was $856,190 to $1,407,006. According to our estimates, 882 to 1,450 children are hospitalized for varicella each year, reflecting a population-wide occurrence of 466-768 varicella cases per 100,000 children. In conclusion, this study confirms that varicella-related hospitalizations are not uncommon in children, and two thirds of these children are otherwise healthy. The annual cost of hospitalization for varicella reflects only a small part of the overall cost of this disease, as only a very few cases require hospital admission. The incidence of this disease was higher in children <1 year of age, and there are no prevention strategies for these children other ...

Sphingomonas paucimobilis is a causative agent of infection in immunocompromised patients, and healthcare-associated infection. Although the infections associated with S.paucimobilis occurs rarely, it has been encountered with increasing frequency in clinical settings. In the current study we reported clinical features of the children with S.paucimobilis infection, and the antimicrobial susceptibilities of the isolated strains among the patients.This study was conducted in Dr. Behçet Uz Children’s Hospital, Turkey, during the period of January 2005 and December 2012. The medical records of pediatric patients with positive cultures for S.paucimobilis were reviewed.Sphingomonas paucimobilis isolates were recovered from 24 pediatric patients. The median age was 4 years (ranging from 3 days infant to 15 years) and 58,3% were male. Eight (33,3%) of the patients were under 1 months of age. Among the patients; 13 (54,2%) infections were community related however 11(45.8%) infections were nosocomial infection. The median duration of hospital stay was 7 days (ranging from 4 to 22 days). The most effective antibiotics were fluoroquinolones, carbapenems, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.This is the first largest study in children to evaluate the clinical features of S. paucimobilis infections. Sphingomonas paucimobilis may cause infections in both previously healthy and immunocompromised children. Although variable antimicrobial regimens were achieved to the patients, there was no attributable fatality due to S.paucimobilis infections due to the low virulence of the bacteria.

Background: The role of bronchodilators in the treatment of bronchiolitis remains controversial. M e t M : A double-blind, placebo controlled trial was performed to evaluate the clinical response to nebulized salbutamol. One hundred and fifty-six infants aged between 7 weeks and 24 months who had had an episode of wheezing and other signs and symptoms of bronchiolitis were randomized to three groups as follows: (i) nebulized salbutamol was administered to 52 patients in group I at a dose of 0.15 mgkg in 2 mL saline: (ii) saline was nebulized to 52 patients in group I1 and (iii) in group 111 52 patients received mist in a tent. All three groups were administered oxygen during the procedures. Treatment was repeated with the same agent after 30 min if the respiratory score was 5 or more. Respiratory rate, heart rate, oxygen saturation and presence of cyanosis, wheezing, retractions were recorded before and after each treatment. Results:The decrease in the respiratory score was 5.2 * 1.8, 0.82 * 2.4 and 1.7 1.3 in group I, I1 and 111, respectively. The decrease in group I was significantly higher than in the other groups. Heart rate was similar between groups. Oxygen saturation decreased in group I without reaching statistical significance. Comluswns:Salbutamol was shown to be effective and safe in the treatment of acute bronchiolitis. , 1 8 October 1997. recorded. A second dose of each-medication was given to Salbutamol in bronchiolitis 253 patients with a RDS greater than 5 at 30 min. Heart rate, S,o, and RDS were recorded again at the end of the first hour and the study was completed. Statistical analysis was performed by Student's t-test, Chi-squared and ANOVA analysis.

The results demonstrated that the infrared tympanic thermometer could be a good option in the measurement of fever in the pediatric population. The noncontact infrared thermometer is very useful for the screening of fever in the pediatric population, but it must be used with caution because it has a high value of bias.