MATERIAL AND METHOD
Patients between 5-18 years of age and applied to the outpatient clinics
of Pediatric Pulmonary Diseases with the diagnosis of non-cystic
fibrosis bronchiectasis and osteoporosis were included in the study.
Patients presented to the outpatient clinics of pediatric for routine
follow-up with no chronic disease were included as the control group.
DEXA measurement was performed in order to evaluate the bone mass of
patients with bronchiectasis.
BMD value measured by DEXA is expressed by Z and T scores. Comparison of
the measured bone mass with reference values according to age and gender
and definition of it as standard deviation is the Z score. The standard
deviation of comparison of the bone mass with the mean bone mass of the
young adult reference population is the T score. BMD measured in
children is evaluated as Z score. The length of the measured bone in
addition to the height, pubertal phase, skeletal maturation, race and
body composition is considered in order to correctly interpret the data
obtained by DEXA method (8). Another method of evaluation in children is
QUS (9).
Ethics board approval was obtained from the Ethics Board Committee dated
January 8, 2016, and numbered 2016/399. An informed consent was obtained
from all patients included in the study after explaining the aim and
extent of the project in detail to each of them.
Collection and Storage of Samples and Study Method
Blood samples obtained were centrifuged at a cooling centrifugation
device with the trademark Hettich Rotina 46R (HettichZentrifugen, Tuttlingen , Germany) at 4000 cycles/minute
for 10 minutes and the sera were separated. Serum samples were stored in
New Brunswick U570 (New Brunswick Scientific, New Jersey, ABD)
refrigerator at -80°C. Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method
was used in the serum samples using human RANKL (Biovendor Research and
Diagnostic Products Karasek, The Czech Republic), OPG Biovendor Research
and Diagnostic Products Karasek, The Czech Republic, bALP (Quidel
Corporation, San Diego, USA), OST (Biovendor Research and Diagnostic
Products Karasek, The Czech Republic), NTX (Alere Scarborough,
Scarborough, USA) kits.
The results were calculated according to the absorbance concentration
calibration graphics using Biotek ELX 50 microplate washer
(BioTek Instruments, Vermont, USA) and Bio-rad Microplate
absorbance reader xMark (Bio-rad Laboratories, California, USA )
system.