Pediatric Hematology and Oncology
The origin of the word “hematology” comes from Greek and means “blood science”. Hematology is a discipline that deals with structure and function of the blood and the bone marrow in normal situations and diseases. Blood delivers all vital substances to tissues and organs. In addition to this delivery mission, blood has very important functions such as protection of our body against microbes and other environmental agents. Blood consists of a fluid called plasma and 3 types of cells in this fluid.
Red blood cells (erythrocytes)
White blood cells (leukocytes)
Blood platelets (thrombocytes)
These blood cells are produced by stem cells in the bone marrow and they break down after a certain period. Since these cells are continuously produced by bone marrow, the number of blood cells is kept constant within certain limits. The lymph glands, thymus and spleen collaborate with the white blood cells in order to protect the body against microbes and harmful agents (immune system).
WHICH DISEASES FALL INTO THE FIELD OF PEDIATRIC HEMATOLOGY?
1) Symptoms and diseases related to red blood cells:
Fatigue, loss of appetite, tiredness and poor exercise capacity, jaundice, pallor, appetite to non-nutritive substances, such as soil and paper (PICA),tachycardia, breath holding spell, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, redness and sorews in mouth and tongue, nail disorders, school failure, forgetfulness, temper, short stature, retarded growth and development, anemia, iron deficiency, vitamin B12 deficiency, folic acid deficiency, hemolytic anemia, thalassemia (Mediterranean anemia), sickle cell disease, G6PD deficiency, hereditary spherocytosis, Fanconi anemia, aplastic anemia, polycythemia (elevated red blood cells), etc.
2) Symptoms and diseases related to white blood cells and immunity:
Getting sick frequently, fever and immune deficiency at frequent intervals, recurrent infections, aphta in mouth, recurrent ear infection-pneumonia-diarrhea, failure to gain weight and weight loss, inflammation of the skin and warts, leukocytosis (elevated white blood cells), leukopenia (decreased white blood cells), neutropenia, congenital neutropenia, cyclic neutropenia, leukocyte adhesion deficiency, chronic granulomatous disease, etc.
3) Diseases related to bleeding:
Nosebleed, umbilical bleeding, bruising, prolonged menstrual bleeding, abnormal results of preoperative bleeding tests, prolonged bleeding after surgery and circumcision, gastric and intestinal bleeding, bleeding in the urinary tract, bleeding into the joint, thrombocytopenia (platelet deficiency), immuno-thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), dysfunction of platelets (Bernard Solier and Glanzman thrombasthenia), Hemophilia (congenital factor deficiency), von Willebrand disease, Glanzman's disease, hemolytic uremic syndrome, etc.
4) Diseases related to coagulation:
Vascular occlusion in any body part (thrombosis), stroke, occlusion of the pulmonary vessels (pulmonary thromboembolism), occlusion of the hepatic vessels (Budd-Chiari syndrome), occlusion of the renal vessels (renal vein thrombosis) and other thromboses, thrombophlebitis, hereditary conditions that cause tendency to coagulation, protein C deficiency, elevated platelets, etc.
5) Diseases of blood producing marrow cells and lymphoid gland cells:
Enlargement of lymph nodes, bone pain, joint pain and swelling, enlargement of liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly), prolonged fever, weight loss, swelling in the abdomen, infectious mononucleosis (EBV infection / kissing disease), enlargement of blood vessel (hemangioma), blood cancer (acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia), lymph cancer (lymphoma), Hodgkin's disease, etc.
6) Blood disorders that occur in diseases of other systems or due to medicines:
Pediatric Hematology Department works to prevent onset of all those diseases, to diagnose the condition if the disease has already develop and to treat and follow up them.