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    The frequency of Toxocara infection in mental retarded children
    (Fundaco Oswaldo Cruz, 2004) Kaplan, M; Kalkan, A; Hosoglu, S; Kuk, S; Özden, M; Demirdag, K; Ozdarendeli, A
    Human toxocariasis is commonly seen in places where stray and Toxocara canis-infected dog population is high. There is a strong correlation between frequency of Toxocara infection, life style, and infection risk. Institutionalization of mental retarded patients increases to risk of toxocariasis. In this study, we aimed at investigating the frequency of Toxocara infection among children with mental retardation not requiring institutionalization. The study included 96 cases, who had educatable mental retardation and 85 healthy subjects who comprised the control group. Anti-Toxocara IgG or IgM antibodies were investigated in all serum samples, using ELISA method. The frequency of Toxocara infection was found significantly higher in mental retarded cases than in those in the control group (18.8% and 7.1% respectively) (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between mental retarded children and the control group in terms of mean age, age groups, gender, owning dogs and cats and duration of their ownership, socio-economic level and behavioural factors, and personal hygiene (p > 0.05). We did not find any significant difference between Toxocara seropositive and seronegative mental retarded children in terms of demographic factors and epidemiological factors that could increase the risk of Toxocara infection (p > 0.05). The present study is the first seroprevalence study carried out with a mental retarded group not requiring institutionalization. Determination of high frequency of Toxocara infection suggests that these subjects constitute a risk factor for Toxocara infection, which may be attributed to their behavioural patterns.
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    Traumatic spinal cord injuries in Turkey
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2000) Karacan, I; Koyuncu, H; Pekel, Ö; Sümbüloglu, G; Kirnap, M; Dursun, H; Kalkan, A
    Study design: An epidemiological study conducted all over the country. Objective: The present retrospective study was conducted to survey the new traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) cases during 1992 in Turkey. Setting: Intensive care units, emergency services and departments of orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery and rehabilitation of state hospitals, rehabilitation centers: military and university hospitals. Methods: Postal questionnaires were used for data collection and the records from medical institutes nation-wide were reviewed for the analysis of the epidemiological factors. Results: Five hundred and eighty-one new traumatic SCI cases were reported in 1992. The annual incidence was found to be 12.7 per million population. Male to female ratio was 2.5 : 1 and the average age at injury was 35.5+/-15.1 (35.4+/-14.8 for males and 35.9+/-16.0 for females). The most common cause of injury was motor vehicle accidents (48.8%) followed by falls (36.5%), stab wounds (3.3%), gunshot injuries (1.9%) and injuries from diving (1.2%). One hundred and eighty-seven patients (32.18%) were tetraplegic and 394 patients (67.8%) were paraplegic. The most common level of injury was C5 among tetraplegics and T12 among paraplegics. The most prevalent associated injury was head trauma followed by extremity fractures. Severe head trauma resulting in death may obscure the real incidence of SCI and may cause underreporting of cases in epidemiological studies. Conclusion: Considering that motor vehicle accidents and falls were found to be the leading causes of traumatic SCI, it was concluded that the prevention measures should be focused mainly on these in order to reduce the frequency of SCI in Turkey.