Oguzhan Babacan - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Oguzhan Babacan

Pediatrics & Neonatology, 2015

Neonatal sepsis is an important cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in the neonatal intensi... more Neonatal sepsis is an important cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in the neonatal intensive care unit. Soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) has been evaluated in sepsis and septic shock, and it was found to be valuable in distinguishing septic cases from nonseptic cases. Endocan is constitutively expressed by endothelial cells, and high levels of endocan may be of relevance for the promotion of systemic inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the levels of sTREM-1 and endocan were increased in late-onset neonatal sepsis. Patients were classified into septic and nonseptic groups. Blood was collected from a peripheral vein of all septic newborns and healthy newborns at the time of initial laboratory evaluation before any treatment, and within 48-72 hours after initiation of treatment. Serum sTREM-1 and endocan measurements were performed when the study was finished. The study population comprised of 50 neonates: 20 nonseptic neonates and 30 septic neonates. The groups were similar with regards to baseline characteristics. The initial measurements of interleukin-6 (IL-6), sTREM-1, endocan, and immature/total neutrophil ratio (I/T ratio) were significantly higher in septic neonates in comparison with nonseptic neonates. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses revealed that IL-6, sTREM-1, endocan, and I/T ratio resulted in significant areas under the curve (AUC) with respect to early identification of septic neonates. Soluble TREM-1 and IL-6 performed best to distinguish septic neonates from nonseptic neonates. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that increased IL-6 and sTREM-1 were strong predictors of neonatal late-onset sepsis. Serum sTREM-1, IL-6, endocan levels, and I/T ratio increased in septic neonates. However, the diagnostic accuracy of circulating sTREM-1 seemed to be better than endocan and I/T ratio, but lower than IL-6.

Advances in Medical Sciences, 2015

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a severe disease of mostly premature infants with high morbidi... more Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a severe disease of mostly premature infants with high morbidity and mortality rates. There is no reliable biomarker for detecting newborns at risk for NEC development. We aimed to investigate small intestinal lactoferrin (LF) and calprotectin (CAL) levels as predictors and indicators of disease severity in an experimental newborn rat model. Newborn pups were randomly divided into two groups, NEC and control. The NEC group pups were decapitated on the second, third and fourth days of the experiment for an assessment of the different stages of NEC. In the study group, hypoxia-reoxygenation model used to induce NEC. As biochemical parameters, small intestinal LF and CAL levels were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique and intestinal injury scoring was evaluated as a pathologic parameter. Small intestinal levels of both LF and CAL increased in the second and the third day groups, but began to decrease by the fourth day. The first, second and third day levels of LF and CAL were higher than controls. The intestinal injury scores of all NEC groups were significantly higher than the control group. Small intestinal lactoferrin and calprotectin were good markers for demonstrating NEC. However, instead of spot testing, monitoring the levels of these markers may be more informative.

Health, 2010

The present study aimed to investigate the correlation of MPV and splenomegaly as inflammation ac... more The present study aimed to investigate the correlation of MPV and splenomegaly as inflammation activity of FMF patients at the attacks free period. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 43 patients with FMF. This study was performed at the attack free period as clinical and laboratory. For this study, patients were divided into two groups. Patients with splenomegaly is called group 1 (n = 12) and patients with no splenomegaly is called group 2 (n = 31). Groups were compared respect to age, gender, platelet counts, acute phase reactants and MPV. The mean MPV (fl) were significantly higher in group 1 (8.9 ± 0.8) than in group 2 (8.4 ± 0.5, p < 0.05). This study suggested that increased MPV and splenomegaly without amyloidosis could be a sign of chronic inflammation in children with FMF even in attack free period.

Regulatory peptides, Jan 10, 2013

Infants born prematurely are prone to bronchopulmonary dysplasia which is a devastating form of c... more Infants born prematurely are prone to bronchopulmonary dysplasia which is a devastating form of chronic lung disease that develops in very low birth weight infants. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are pattern recognition receptors that initiate innate immune responses. We tested TLR2, 4, and 9 levels in the lungs of rat pups given caffeine at the first days of postnatal life. Twenty-four rat pups equally divided into three groups. The study group received caffeine immediately after birth for ten days. The levels of TLR9 were found significantly higher in study group than control groups. We conclude that the beneficial and anti-inflammatory effects of caffeine in the lungs of newborn rats may be due to increased TLR9 levels.

International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries, 2015

Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2014

Objective: The aim of this study is to provide normative data about pituitary diameters in a pedi... more Objective: The aim of this study is to provide normative data about pituitary diameters in a pediatric population. Pituitary imaging is important for the evaluation of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis defect. However, data about normal pituitary gland diameters and stalk are limited, especially in children. Structure and the measurements of pituitary gland and pituitary stalk may change due to infection, inflammation, or neoplasia. Methods: Among 14,854 cranial/pituitary gland magnetic resonance imaging scans performed from 2011 to 2013, 2755 images of Turkish children aged between 0 and 18 were acquired. After exclusions, 517 images were left. Four radiologists were educated by an experienced pediatric radiologist for the measurement and assessment of the pituitary gland and pituitary stalk. Twenty cases were measured by all radiologists for a pilot study and there was no interobserver variability. Results: There were 10-22 children in each age group. The maximum median height of the pituitary gland was 8.48 ± 1.08 and 6.19 ± 0.88 mm for girls and boys, respectively. Volumes were also correlated with gender similar to height. Minimum median height was 3.91 ± 0.75 mm for girls and 3.81 ± 0.68 mm for boys. The maximum and minimum pituitary stalk basilar artery ratios for girls were 0.73 ± 0.12 and 0.59 ± 0.10 mm. The ratios for boys were 0.70 ± 0.12 and 0.56 ± 0.11 mm. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated the pituitary gland and stalk size data of children in various age groups from newborn to adolescent. It is thought that these data can be applied in clinical practice. Future prospective followup studies with larger samples, which correlate the structural findings with the clinical and laboratory results are awaited.

TAF Preventive Medicine Bulletin, 2014

Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, 2014

Abstract Objective: Neonatal sepsis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in newborns.... more Abstract Objective: Neonatal sepsis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in newborns. The chemokine CXCL12 and its receptor CXCR4 are now known to play an important role in inflammatory states. However, it is unclear how chemokines respond to late-onset neonatal sepsis. Patients were classified into the groups of septic and non-septic ones. Samples of venous blood were obtained from all septic and non-septic newborns at the beginning and within 48-72 h after initiation of treatment. Serum levels of CXCR4 and CXCL12 were measured. Concentrations of IL-6, CXCR4 and CXCL12 at the time of diagnosis were significantly higher in the septic neonates compared with the non-septic ones. Additionally, there were statistically significant differences in septic neonates between the first and the second levels of IL-6, CXCR4, CXCL12 and I/T ratio. ROC curve analyses revealed that IL-6, CXCR4, CXCL12 and I/T ratio resulted in significant AUC with respect to early identification of septic neonates. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that increased IL-6, CXCR4 and CXCL12 were strong predictors of neonatal LOS. Serum CXCR4 and CXCL12 levels increase in septic neonates and that both chemokines decrease within 48-72 h of treatment. Serum concentrations of both chemokines represent promising novel biomarkers for neonatal sepsis.

Regulatory Peptides, 2013

Pediatric Surgery International, 2012

Objective Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a common and devastating gastrointestinal condition ... more Objective Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a common and devastating gastrointestinal condition of neonatal infants. The pathophysiology of NEC remains poorly understood. We tried to evaluate the effectiveness of inhaled NO compared to L-arginine usage in necrotizing enterocolitis model in rats. Material-methods 46 newborn pups from 4 time-mated Sprague-Dawley pregnant rats were divided equally into 4 groups as follows: NEC (subjected to NEC), NEC ? L-arginine, NEC ? inhaled NO and control. Results SOD, GSH-Px and NOx levels were significantly higher and MDA levels were significantly lower in NEC ? inhaled NO group compared to NEC ? L-arginine group. There was significantly lower intestinal injury and apoptosis index scoring in NEC ? inhaled NO group compared to NEC ? L-arginine group. Conclusion We think that inhaled NO can be used as a novel therapeutic agent like L-arginine in NEC, like using in pulmonary hypertention in newborns but much more studies are needed.

Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2014

To evaluate possible contribution of maturational delay of brain stem in the etiology of breath-h... more To evaluate possible contribution of maturational delay of brain stem in the etiology of breath-holding spells in children using brain stem auditory evoked potentials. The study group included children who experienced breath-holding spells. The control group consisted of healthy age- and sex-matched children. Age, gender, type and frequency of spell, hemoglobin, and ferritin levels in study group and brain stem auditory evoked potentials results in both groups were recorded. Study group was statistically compared with control group for brain stem auditory evoked potentials. The mean age of study and control groups was 26.3 ± 14.6 and 28.9 ± 13.9 months, respectively. The III-V and I-V interpeak latencies were significantly prolonged in the study group compared with the control group (2.07 ± 0.2 milliseconds; 1.92 ± 0.13 milliseconds and 4.00 ± 0.27 milliseconds; 3.83 ± 0.19 milliseconds; P = 0.009 and P = 0.03, respectively). At the same time, III-V and I-V interpeak latencies of patients without anemia in the study group compared with those of control group were significantly prolonged (2.09 ± 0.24 milliseconds; 1.92 ± 0.13 milliseconds and 4.04 ± 0.28 milliseconds; 3.83 ± 0.19 milliseconds; P = 0.007 and P = 0.01, respectively). Our results consider that maturational delay in myelination of brain stem may have a role in the etiology of breath-holding spells in children.

Pediatric Neurosurgery, 2015

Ventricle sizes are important for the early diagnosis of hydrocephalus or for follow-up after ven... more Ventricle sizes are important for the early diagnosis of hydrocephalus or for follow-up after ventriculostomy. Diameters of ventricles may change, especially in childhood. This study aims to provide normative data about ventricle diameters. Among 14,854 cranial MRI performed between 2011 and 2013, 2,755 images of Turkish children aged 0-18 years were obtained. After exclusions, 517 images were left. Four radiologists were trained by a pediatric radiologist. Twenty images were assessed by all radiologists for a pilot study to see that there was no interobserver variation. There were 10-22 children in each age group. The maximum width of the third ventricle was 5.54 ± 1.29 mm in males in age group 1 and 4.98 ± 1.08 mm in females in age group 2. The Evans' index was <0.3 and consistent with the literature. The third ventricle/basilar artery width ratio was found to be >1 and <2 in all age groups and both gender groups. Our study showed the ventricle size data of children in various age groups from newborn to adolescent. The ventricle volume/cerebral parenchyma ratio seems to decrease with age. We think that these data can be applied in clinical practice, especially for the early diagnosis of hydrocephalus.