The effects of Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on routine antenatal care visits and complications of pregnancy

OBJECTIVE: Routine follow-up of pregnancy is a comprehensive care process starting from planning of pregnancy that involves rational and careful use of medical, psychological, and social support. In this study, our objective was to compare the adherence rate to routine antenatal follow-up program during the COVID-19 pandemic with that of previous years among pregnant women, in an effort to shed light on health policies to be developed similar events in the future. METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out between March 11, 2019, when isolation measures were initiated in the context of precautionary steps taken in Turkey against the COVID-19 pandemic, and June 1, 2020, when the "normalization" was initiated. RESULTS: During the study period in 2020, the proportion of cesarean sections were higher, 61.1%, as compared to previous years (p=0.27). The stillbirths were numerically lower (1.2%, p=0.77), but the rate of spontaneous abortions was significantly higher (19.6%, p=0.009). The number of follow-up visits per pregnancy was lower than in previous years (3.8, p=0.02), although the proportion of patients visiting the outpatient units for regular controls to the overall patient group increased as compared to previous years (52.0%). CONCLUSION: During the flare-up of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e. between March and June 2020), the rate of obstetric/neonatal morbidity and mortality except spontaneous abortion was not significantly higher as compared to the corresponding period in previous years. However, considering the potential increase in the risk of obstetric complications during a pandemic, specialized management programs targeting basic pregnancy follow-up services should be developed

Karcinom jezika s endobronhijalnom metastazom: rijedak slučaj

Endobronchial metastases of extrapulmonary malignant tumors are quite rare. We present a patient with endobronchial metastasis previously operated for tongue carcinoma. A 71-year-old female patient presented with the complaint of cough. She had a history of tongue carcinoma operation 2 years before. Chest x-ray revealed an air-fluid level in the lower zone of the right hemithorax. There was a big cavitary lesion in the right lower lobe and bilateral multiple nodular lesions, some of which had cavity formation on computed tomography. Bronchoscopy revealed a polypoid lesion with necrotic appearance and pathologic examination showed squamous cell carcinoma. The lesion was accepted as a metastasis of tongue carcinoma after evaluation of the materials taken from the tongue on previous operation. There was no finding suggestive of local recurrence; however, the patient died from hemoptysis and respiratory insufficiency. In conclusion, endobronchial metastasis should be considered in patients with extrapulmonary malignancies and bronchoscopic examination should be performed in such cases, even in the presence of atypical radiological findings.Endobronhijalne metastaze ekstrapulmonalnih zloćudnih tumora vrlo su rijetke. Prikazuje se bolesnica s endobronhijalnom metastazom, koja je prethodno operirana zbog karcinoma jezika. Bolesnica u dobi od 71 godine žalila se na kašalj. Anamneza je pokazala da je bolesnica bila operirana zbog karcinoma jezika dvije godine ranije. Rentgenografijom prsišta otkrivena je razina zraka i tekućine u donjem dijelu desnog hemitoraksa. Nađena je velika kavitarna lezija u desnom donjem režnju te obostrano višestruke nodularne lezije od kojih su neke pokazale stvaranje kaviteta na kompjutoriziranoj tomografiji. Bronhoskopski je otkrivena polipoidna lezija nekrotičnog izgleda, a patološki je opisana kao karcinom pločastih stanica. Nakon procjene materijala prethodno uzetog tijekom operacije jezika zaključeno je da lezija predstavlja metastazu podrijetlom iz karcinoma jezika. Nijedan nalaz nije upućivao na lokalni recidiv karcinoma, a bolesnica je umrla od hemoptize i respiracijske insuficijencije. U zaključku, na endobronhijalne metastaze treba misliti kod bolesnika s ekstrapulmonalnim zloćudnim bolestima i provesti bronhoskopski pregled, čak i kod atipičnih radioloških nalaza

Buğday Tanelerinin Bazı Fiziksel Özelliklerinin Görüntü İşleme Tekniğiyle Belirlenmesi

Bu araştırmada; ülkemizde yaygın olarak yetiştirilen bazı buğday çeşitleri tanelerinin uzunluk, genişlik, kalınlık, izdüşüm alanı, çevre, küresellik derecesi ve farklı şekil katsayıları gibi bazı fiziksel özelliklerinin görüntü işleme tekniğinden yararlanılarak belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Ekmeklik ve makarnalık tipte 13 farklı buğday çeşidi seçilmiştir. % 10, % 12, % 14 tohum nem içeriklerindeki buğday taneleri; hilum ekseni yanda, hilum ekseni altta ve dik olmak üzere 3 farklı konumda kağıtlar üzerine yerleştirilerek örnekler hazırlanmıştır. Bunlar bir tarayıcıdan geçirilerek TIFF uzantılı dosyalar halinde bilgisayar ortamına aktarılmış ve “UTHSCSA Image Tool Version 3.0” görüntü işleme programıyla değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda; elle ve görüntü işlemeyle yapılan ölçüm sonuçları arasındaki korelasyon katsayısının yüksek olması nedeniyle buğday tanelerinin bazı fiziksel özelliklerinin belirlenmesinde görüntü işleme tekniğinden başarıyla yararlanılacağı belirlenmişti

Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Objective: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly utilized in adults and children for treatment of various conditions. Studies on CAM in diabetes have mainly focused on the adult population and its application in children has not been well established. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and characteristics of CAM use in Turkish children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM)

Are trends in SST, surface Chlorophyll-a, primary production and wind stress similar or different over the decadal scale in the south-eastern Black Sea?

Aytan, Ulgen/0000-0002-6530-3083; Valente, Andre S. F. G./0000-0002-8789-7038; Agirbas, Ertugrul/0000-0001-7987-9668; yildiz, Ilknur/0000-0003-2424-8644; Feyzioglu, Ali Muzaffer/0000-0003-1171-5493WOS: 000362928100004A 10-year time series of in-situ sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll-a concentration and wind stress from 2002 to 2011 was used to examine temporal changes in the South-Eastern Black Sea, together with primary production rates (PP) calculated empirically. Satellite-derived SST was used to support the in-situ SST, and showed a good agreement. the yearly averaged trend for in-situ and satellite-derived winter SST revealed a statistically significant warming over the last decade in the region of. interest. Statistically significant correlation between winter NAO and winter averaged SST suggested that winter SST in the South-Eastern Black Sea is influenced by NAO climatic trends. A consistent decrease in wind stress was observed throughout the time series. Inverse relationship between winter averages of SST and wind stress suggested that SST is forced by wind speed. Chl-a and PP fluctuations during the study period revealed that the system is dominated by nanoplankton with some additional contribution from larger species. We concluded that SST in the South-Eastern Black Sea has increased over the decade, whereas the trend in Chl-a and PP rates were not straightforward. Hence, these conditions with respect to other parameters will need to be considered in future studies for the Black Sea ecosystem

Approaches of the healthcare staff in a tertiary healthcare service providing hospital for seasonal influenza vaccination

Introduction: Seasonal influenza had many epidemics and pandemics throughout history and caused millions of people getting sick with severer progress and even death in the risk group. Having the influenza vaccination is essential for healthcare staff to protect their health as well as other individuals of the society. The present study aimed to determine the approaches of all healthcare personnel and candidates in Rize Training and Research Hospital providing tertiary healthcare services and to analyze their causes for not having the vaccination.Methods: The present cross-sectional research was carried out in Rize (Turkey). A questionnaire applied to 898 volunteers among 2200 hospital staff. Results: It was detected that the median age of the participants is 25 years; 61.0% of the participants are female; 59.8% of them are single; 69.8% do not have any children and 38.0% have a graduate degree. The rate of having vaccination once within lifetime was detected as 41.6% and the highest rate was observed in the physician group whereas the lowest rate was observed in the nursing student group. The causes for avoiding to have the vaccination included the considerations about the ineffectiveness of the vaccination, having influenza and the delay of arrival of the vaccination to the hospital. However, the rate of having vaccination was determined as 2.6% within all healthcare staff for this year. The majority of the participants who had the vaccination consisted of the nurses who consider themselves within the risk group. Conclusions: A significant decrease was detected in the vaccination rates of the healthcare staff when compared with previous years. The awareness should be increased to increase the vaccination rates. For this purpose, training should be organized, and the sustainability of such training should be provided

A retrospective analysis of individuals living with HIV/AIDS

Aim: The objective of this study was to assess the general characteristics, transmission routes and sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory data of individuals living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection during the course of their follow-up. Material and Methods: The study population consisted of 80 individuals diagnosed with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) who were aged 18 or above. These individuals were followed up in the infectious diseases and clinical microbiology outpatient clinic. A retrospective analysis was conducted on the epidemiological data pertaining to the patients. Results: Of the 80 patients, 72 were male, and the mean age was 44.98 +/- 12.76 years (range: 18-71 years). In the majority of patients (57.5%), the diagnosis was established through the analysis of routine blood tests. The most prevalent mode of transmission was heterosexual intercourse, accounting for 75% of cases. In accordance with the criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 66 cases were classified as stage A, one case was designated as stage B, and 13 cases were categorized as stage C. The most frequently utilized antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens were tenofovir alafenamide + emtricitabine + cobicistat + elvitegravir in 28.75% of cases and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate + emtricitabine + dolutegravir in 21.25% of cases. The most prevalent opportunistic infections were oral candidiasis (6.25%) and tuberculosis (5%). Two cases of Kaposi's sarcoma and one case of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were identified as AIDS-related malignancies. Discussion: The global prevalence of HIV/AIDS remains a significant public health concern. It is therefore recommended that people living with HIV be followed up on a regular basis, with their sociodemographic characteristics analyzed and recorded

Risk factors and outcome in patients with bacteraemia secondary to ventilatoraAssociated pneumonia due to acinetobacter baumannii

Introduction: Acinetobacter baumannii is a multi-drug resistant (MDR), gram -negative, infectious nosocomial pathogen, commonly affecting critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU). Patients with ventilator -associated pneumonia (VAP) may contract A. baumannii bacteremia, which may significantly impair prognosis. This study evaluates the risk factors and outcomes in patients with bacteremia secondary to VAP. Materials and Methods: Two hundred thirty one VAP and bacteremia attacks secondary to VAP due to A. baumannii, followed in intensive care units over a six-year period, were examined. Risk factors and outcomes were compared from patient records. Results: The median age and gender distribution of the episodes were similar. In the bacteremia group, the ratio of peripheral venous catheterizations and total parenteral nutrition (TPN) use was significantly higher than in the non-bacteremia group (p= 0.001 vs. p< 0.001, respectively). The median APACHE-II score in the bacteremia group was significantly higher than in the non-bacteremia group (28 vs. 24, respectively, p< 0.001). However, median SOFA 1 (SOFA at ICU admission) and SOFA 2 (SOFA at diagnosis) scores did not differ from those in the non-bacteremia group (6 vs. 5, respectively, p= 0.173 and 9 vs. 9, respectively, p= 0.088). There was no significant difference observed in the distribution of the Charlson comorbidity index between the groups. The incidence of mortality was 2.8 times higher in the bacteremia group compared to the non-bacteremia group. Conclusion: Total parenteral nutrition and venous catheterization are identified as risk factors for bacteremia in patients with VAP caused by A. baumannii, with a 2.4 and 2.2 fold increase, respectively. While SOFA 1 and SOFA 2 scores may not hold significance in the presence of bacteremia, the APACHE-II score alone may be significant. Additionally, prolonged and unsupervised use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) in critically ill ICU patients may elevate the risk of bacteremia and associated mortalities in VAP patients

Correlation of suicidal thoughts and toxoplasmosis in patients with depression

Objective We investigated the correlation between serum anti-Toxplasma gondii IgG and suicidal thoughts in depressive patients. Methods Depressive patients with (n = 100) and without (n = 100) suicidal thoughts along with 100 healthy control subjects were recruited for this study. In all three groups, a semi-structured clinical interview form called Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) Axis-I Disorder (SCID-I), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), suicidal behavior scale, and a sociodemographic data form were completed. Sera from all participants were taken, and anti-toxoplasma IgG was measured by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)-Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay. Statistical analysis of the data was performed. Results The serum anti-toxoplasma IgG levels of patients with suicidal thoughts were significantly higher than those without suicidal thoughts and the controls, which were 80.04 +/- 40.66, 78 +/- 14.82, and 19.98 +/- 14.65, respectively, p < 0.001. There was no correlation between toxoplasma IgG and HAMD score in patients lacking suicidal thoughts (r = -0.112, p = 0.463). Conclusion This study shows a correlation between seropositivity for anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG and depression with suicidal thoughts

Late onset, hospital acquired infective endocarditis after COVID-19

Scientists worked on the diagnosis and treatment of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in the beginning of the pandemic, which started in December 2019. However, as time goes by, we began to face the long-term complications of COVID-19. Arrhythmias, myocarditis, myocardial infarction, thromboembolic events are cardiovascular complications that we frequently encounter. Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2; attaches to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor to enter the cell, which is overexpressed in pericytes. This binding causes endothelial activation and inflammation. Inflamed endothelium becomes susceptible to attachment of microorganisms, particularly staphylococci, and may lead infection of endocardium and so infective endocarditis. There are cases of infective endocarditis described in the literature, that occur early or late after suffering from COVID-19. In this study, we mentioned about a case diagnosed as healthcare-associated infective endocarditis. The patient had a history of COVID-19 and hospitalization due to late complications and developed infective endocarditis after 10 days of discharge