Çevik Özdemir, Hamide Nur; Ayran, Gülsün

Objectives: Social isolation is an important public health issue that is becoming increasingly prevalent among adolescents today. Recognizing the risk of social isolation in children and adolescents during their developmental years can contribute to the prevention of depression and anxiety disorders, as well as risky behaviors such as suicide and substance abuse. Valid and reliable measurement tools are needed to assess social isolation in adolescents. There is a lack of surveys to identify gaps in social isolation among Turkish adolescents. This study aims to adapt the Social Isolation Questionnaire (QIS) scale, which was developed for adolescents, to Turkish culture and to evaluate its psychometric properties. Methods: This descriptive and methodological study was conducted between July and November 2024 with 1922 adolescents. Data were collected using an introductory information form, the QIS, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale. In the evaluation of the data, explanatory and confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach’s alpha, split-half, item–total score correlation, and test–retest analysis were used. Results: The average age of the adolescents was 13.97 ± 1.67 years (min = 12, max = 17). A total of 50.6% of the adolescents were male and 49.4% were female. A total of 81.2% of the adolescents had a nuclear family structure. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure explaining 55.97% of the variance. The factor loadings were greater than 0.30, and all fit indices were greater than 0.90. The total Cronbach’s α value of the scale was 0.83, while the values for the subdimensions ranged from 0.73 to 0.75. Conclusions: The Turkish version of the QIS is a valid and reliable measurement tool for assessing social isolation in adolescents. This questionnaire can be used by health professionals and researchers to identify adolescents at risk of social isolation and plan appropriate mental health interventions. This questionnaire can be used in studies focusing on adolescent mental health and well-being, contributing to the development and implementation of strategies in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ece, Bunyamin; Aydin, Sonay

Shear wave elastography (SWE) is a non-invasive imaging technique used to quantify the elasticity/stiffness of any tissue. There are normative SWE studies on tonsils in healthy children in the literature. The purpose of this study is to analyze the palatine tonsils in children with acute tonsillitis using ultrasound and SWE. In this prospective study, pediatric patients aged 4–18 years diagnosed with acute tonsillitis and healthy children were included. Those with antibiotic use, chronic tonsillitis, adenoid hypertrophy, and having chronic disease, immunodeficiency, and autoimmune disease, or any rheumatological disease were excluded. The volume and elasticity of palatine tonsil were measured via ultrasound and SWE. The study included 81 (46 female, 35 male) acute tonsillitis patients, and 63 (38 female, 25 male) healthy children between the ages of 4 and 18. Elasticity (kPa) values of tonsils were found significantly higher in the tonsillitis group (SWE-R: 25.39 ± 4.64, SWE-L: 25.01 ± 4.17) compared to the normal group (SWE-R: 9.71 ± 2.37, SWE-L: 9.39 ± 2.19) (p < 0.001). In the tonsillitis group, a significant positive correlation was found between tonsil volume and elasticity (r: 0.774, p: 0.002). In conclusion, in pediatric patients with acute tonsillitis, higher kPa values were obtained with SWE in the palatine tonsils.

Subaşi, İzzet Özay; Bingöl, İzzet; Yaşar, Niyazi Erdem; Dumlupinar, Ebru; Ata, Naim; Ülgü, M. Mahir; Birinci, Şuayip; Ayvali, Mustafa Okan; Erkuş, Serkan; Söylemez, Mehmet Salih

Background: Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder in childhood. Our aim is to identify the demographics of CP in Turkish children in addition to clinical associations and surgical preferences. Methods: Based on national health system data and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 code for CP, data were evaluated from a total of 53,027 children with CP born between 2016 and 2022, and 9658 of them underwent orthopedic surgery in those years. The incidence and frequency of CP were assessed for the parameters of age and gender. Age at the time of surgery; codes pertaining to surgical interventions; and regions, cities, and hospitals where diagnoses and surgical procedures were performed were also evaluated. Results: There were 29,606 male (55.8%) and 23,421 (44.2%) female patients. The diagnoses of the patients were mostly (76.1%) performed in secondary and tertiary hospitals. The prevalence of CP among children in 2016–2022 was estimated to be 7.74/1000 children. The minimum and maximum incidence rates of cerebral palsy among children between 2016 and 2022 were calculated to be 0.45 and 1.05 per 1000, respectively. Tenoplasty–myoplasty tendon transfer operations were the most common surgeries (47.1%). Conclusion: CP remains a significant health challenge, underpinning a considerable proportion of childhood motor dysfunction. A dedicated national registry system for CP focused on classifying the condition, streamlining treatment, and tracking outcomes would be a valuable tool in our collective efforts to address this critical issue more effectively.

Subaşı, İzzet Özay; Veizi, Enejd; Çepni, Şahin; Alkan, Hilmi; Oğuz, Temel; Fırat, Ahmet

Background: Physical examination findings such as limited hip abduction (LHA), asymmetric skin creases (ASC), and a popping sensation in the hip facilitate the diagnosis of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). Screening with a simple physical examination during the first weeks of infancy is important for early detection of the condition, and a wide range of medical professionals, including general practitioners, obstetricians, pediatricians, and orthopedic surgeons etc. are involved in this process. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between easily recognizable physical examination findings such as LHA, thigh/groin ACSs, and Ortolani and Barlow tests with ultrasound findings for the diagnosis of DDH. Methods: This study included 968 patients undergoing routine hip ultrasonography between December 2012 and January 2015. All patients were examined by an experienced orthopedic surgeon who was not the physician who performed the ultrasound examination to exclude bias between physical examination findings and ultrasound findings. Asymmetric skin folds (thigh and groin), limited abduction, Barlow and Ortolani tests were recorded. The relationship between the physical examination findings, ultrasound findings, and developmental dysplasia was investigated. Results: Of the 968 patients, 523 were female (54%) and 445 were male. On ultrasonography examination, 117 patients were found to have DDH. The sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive values of patients who were found to have both LHA and thigh/groin ASCs in all three physical examinations were high (83.8%, 70.2%, and 96.9%, respectively) while positive predictive values were found to be low (27.8%). Conclusion: Asymmetric skin creases on the thigh and groin and limited hip abduction, when evaluated together, have high sensitivity and specificity with additional high negative predictive values and could help during the initial screening process of DDH.