Aim: The aim of this study was to determine demographic and clinical features in children diagnosed with gallstones, risk factors for gallstone formation, the effectiveness of ursodeoxycholic acid therapy, and the course of the disease.Materials and methods: Patients aged 0–18 years were followed up for at least 6 months after the diagnosis of gallstones with ultrasonography and were evaluated retrospectively. Patients were evaluated with respect to age, sex, presenting symptoms, BMI, facilitating factors, accompanying diseases, family history of gallstones, history of ceftriaxone use, laboratory tests, ultrasonography findings and follow-up, and therapeutic approaches and results.Results: The study was completed with 70 patients. Thirty-nine (55.7%) patients were females. The mean age of the patients was 9.3±5.29 (0.3–18) years. The mean age among females was statistically significantly higher than that among males (P=0.007).No risk factor for stone formation was encountered in 50% of cases, whereas a family history of gallstones was present in 17.1%. Use of ceftriaxone was present in 8.6% of cases, total parenteral nutrition in 10%, obesity in 5.7%, hereditary spherocytosis in 4.3%, and Down’s syndrome in 4.3%. The probability of dissolution of stones was 3.6 times higher in patients with stone sizes up to 5 mm [odds ratio (OR): 3.65,P=0.020], 3.9 times higher in those aged younger than 2 years (OR: 3.92,P=0.021), and 13.9 times higher in those with a single stone (OR: 13.97,P=0.003).Conclusion: Our findings show that unknown causes are still prevalent in stone formation and that ursodeoxycholic acid exerts no effect on stone dissolution; however, diagnosis at younger than 2 years of age, a single stone, and small size of stone are factors affecting dissolution.

The effects of probiotics on treatment of Helicobacter pylori eradication in children

Body composition,children,fat,obesity

Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate of the children who came to our hospital with the complaint of foreign body (FB) ingestion and were treated. Methods: A retrospective evaluation was made of the records of children who presented at our institution between January 2014 and August 2021 with the complaint of FB ingestion. Results: Evaluation was made of 297 children, comprising 121 female children (40.7%) with a mean age of 61.1 ± 50.3 months (range, 4–202 months). The ingested FB most frequently was coins (n = 88, 29.6%). The most common complaint on presentation was vomiting in 47 cases (15.8%). Endoscopy was applied to 75 cases (25.3%), and most common FB was removed from the upper esophagus in 31 cases (41.3%). The most frequently removed FB was coins at the rate of 40%. Of the 211 cases left to a spontaneous course, 117 were in the intestines, 22 in the stomach, and in 72 cases localization could not be determined on conventional radiography as the FB was not opaque. In 7 cases with a bolus of food caught in the esophagus, 3 had corrosive esophagus stricture (1 case with colon transposition), 2 had operated esophagus atresia, 1 had eosinophilic esophagitis, and 1 had congenital esophagus stricture. Conclusions: Although there can be serious outcomes, there is spontaneous expulsion in most cases. However, a significant proportion requires a timely endoscopic procedure. Attention must be paid to underlying diseases when FBs, such as a food bolus, are in the esophagus.

The aim of this study was to investigate the causes of elevated levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in children. We analyzed the medical records for children aged 3 months to 18 years who presented to the hospital with ALT >45 IU/L and/or AST >50 IU/L, between 2012 and 2014, for various reasons, including those not related to liver disease. In total, 281 children met the study criteria. This group comprised of 125 (44.5%) females and 156 (55.5%) males. At the presentation, the most common patient complaint was fatigue (53.4%), while 15.7% of the patients reported no symptoms. The most common findings on the physical examination were jaundice and hepatomegaly. In 15% of the cases, the findings were normal. According to the diagnosis, the most common cause of the elevated transaminases were infections (34%), with hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection as the leading cause (18.9%). Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) was the cause in 18.1% of the cases and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in 11.1%. The highest transaminase levels were associated with HAV infection, while DILI and NAFLD caused only slightly elevated transaminases. Overall, our results show that the elevated transaminases in children are most often caused by infections, DILI, and NAFLD. In a majority of cases, elevated ALT and AST indicate liver disease, however, they could also be associated with conditions other than liver damage. Additionally, the elevated enzymes can be detected in completely healthy individuals.