Assessment of Turkish oncology nurses' knowledge regarding COVID-19 during the current outbreak in Turkey

Purpose To assess Turkish oncology nurses' knowledge regarding novel coronavirus (COVID-19) during the current outbreak in Turkey. Methods This descriptive study was carried out with the 185 oncology nurses between April and May 2020 in Turkey. Research data were collected through online survey using "Nurse Information Form" and "Nurse Information Scale for COVID-19." Multilinear regression analysis was used in determining the factors affecting oncology nurses' information regarding COVID-19. Results According to the data delivered from 185 oncology nurses, 57.7% of the participants had an undergraduate degree, 74.1% were working in adult oncology units, and 52.4% of them were working as clinical nurses, 48.1% of the nurses received education for COVID-19 (51.9% did not receive) and 70.3% followed and read the COVID-19 Guidelines published by the Ministry of Health (29.7% did not follow guidelines). Using multiple regression analysis, a model based on the relationship between the variables was created. In the model, the descriptive characteristics of the oncology nurses and their experiences of COVID-19 were found to explain 29.1% of their knowledge level for COVID-19. Nurses' education level, the presence of a relative diagnosed with COVID-19, and following the COVID-19 guidelines were found to statistically significantly affect the knowledge levels of COVID-19. Conclusion These findings suggest that hospital management and the Ministry of Health should provide more information for the oncology nurses to better control of cancer patients from the infectious disease

The effects of administered interventions on quality of life of children with cancer in Turkey: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to analyse the effects of administered interventions on the quality of life of children with cancer in Turkey. Methods The quantitative studies conducted with paediatric oncology patients, analysing the quality of life of Turkish children, and published papers from 2009 to 2019 were searched. Joanna Briggs Institution MAStARI Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research Control List and Quality Index were used for methodological assessment. Five studies comprising a total of 264 samples were included. Four studies were nonrandomised controlled trials, and one was a quasi-experimental study. Results Tests for heterogeneity showed that the studies, which included interventions increasing the quality of life of children with cancer, were heterogeneous. The common effect size of all studies on quality of life was determined as having a strong positive effect. Conclusions This meta-analysis and systematic review contribute to the knowledge of Turkish health care professionals regarding these interventions by producing results with high levels of evidence on the improvement of the quality of life among children with cancer. The present study also significantly raises awareness and encourages health care professionals to implement interventions for the improvement of quality of life among children with cancer

Comparison of Heparin and Saline for Prevention of Central Venous Catheter Occlusion in Pediatric Oncology: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: The management of central venous catheter (CVC) occlusion remains an area without clear evidence-based guidelines. Studies have been conducted that compare the use of heparin and normal saline for reducing thrombosis, but the evidence is not strong enough to suggest a significant advantage of one over the other. Therefore, the study aimed to assess the effectiveness of heparin and normal saline flushing in preventing CVC occlusion in pediatric patients with cancer. Data Sources: A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and ClinicalTrials.gov platform using specific keywords. The search was conducted until March 2022. Five randomized controlled trials are included in this study. Conclusion: Five studies with a total of 316 pediatric cancer patients met the inclusion criteria. The studies were found to be heterogeneous due to variations in the types of cancer, heparin concentration, flushing frequency of CVCs, and methods used to measure occlusion. Despite these differences, there was no significant difference in the effect of flushing with heparin and normal saline in preventing CVC occlusion. The analysis revealed that normal saline is as effective as heparin in preventing CVC occlusion among pediatric cancer patients. Implications for Nursing Practice: This systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated that there is no significant difference between the use of heparin and normal saline flushing in preventing CVC occlusion among pediatric cancer patients. Considering the potential risks of heparin, the use of normal saline flushing may be recommended to prevent CVC obstruction

Arrhythmogenic Potential of Vitamin D Insufficiency

WOS: 000375337700022Introduction: Although the reports are also present demonstrating the exact opposite, general opinion is that vitamin D has favorable effects on cardiovascular system. The association between vitamin D insufficiency and coronary artery disease, heart failure and hypertension were well demonstrated. Nevertheless the impact of vitamin D insufficiency on arrhythmia remains unclear. Materials and methods: Low vitamin D and control groups consisted of 74 and 80 patients respectively. Parameters of arrhythmia including QT and P wave dispersion, SDNN, SDNN-index, pNN50, RMSSD, HF and LF as well as the number of atrial pre-systole, atrial pair; supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular pre-systole, ventricular pair, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, sustained ventricular tachycardia were compared between the patients with vitamin D insufficiency and controls. Results: Maximum QTc, minimumQTc, QTc dispersion, maximum p wave, minimum p wave, p wave dispersion, SDNN, SDNN index, RMSSD, pNN50, HF and LF values were found to be similar between low vitamin D and control groups (p>0,05). Furthermore there was not a significant difference in the number of atrial pre-systole, atrial pair, supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular pre-systole, ventricular pail; non-sustained ventricular tachycardia and sustained ventricular tachycardia (p>0,05). Additionally, serum vitamin D levels were not found to be correlated with QTc dispersion and SDNN (r=-0,010, p=0,933 and r=-0,034, p=0,777 respectively). Conclusion: Serum vitamin D levels do not have any impact on the current arrhythmic status and the risk of developing arrhythmia. Beside the questioned value of vitamin D in general cardiovascular outcomes, arrhythmia is unlikely to be a component of the possible effects of vitamin D insufficiency on cardiovascular system

Investigation of base excision repair gene variants in late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Base excision repair (BER) defects and concomitant oxidative DNA damage accumulation play a role in the etiology and progression of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). However, it is not known whether genetic variant(s) of specific BER genes contribute to reduced BER activity in LOAD patients and whether they are associated with risk, development and/or progression of LOAD. Therefore, we performed targeted next generation sequencing for three BER genes, uracil glycosylase (UNG), endonuclease VIII-like DNA glycosylase 1 (NEIL1) and polymerase β (POLβ) including promoter, exonic and intronic regions in peripheral blood samples and postmortem brain tissues (temporal cortex, TC and cerebellum, CE) from LOAD patients, high-pathology control and cognitively normal age-matched controls. In addition, the known LOAD risk factor, APOE was included in this study to test whether any BER gene variants associate with APOE variants, particularly APOE ε4. We show that UNG carry five significant variants (rs1610925, rs2268406, rs80001089, rs1018782 and rs1018783) in blood samples of Turkish LOAD patients compared to age-matched controls and one of them (UNG rs80001089) is also significant in TC from Brazilian LOAD patients (p<0.05). The significant variants present only in CE and TC from LOAD are UNG rs2569987 and POLβ rs1012381950, respectively. There is also significant epistatic relationship (p = 0.0410) between UNG rs80001089 and NEIL1 rs7182283 in TC from LOAD subjects. Our results suggest that significant BER gene variants may be associated with the risk of LOAD in non-APOE ε4 carriers. On the other hand, there are no significant UNG, NEIL1 and POLβ variants that could affect their protein level and function, suggesting that there may be other factors such as post-transcriptional or-translational modifications responsible for the reduced activities and protein levels of these genes in LOAD pathogenesis. Further studies with increased sample size are needed to confirm the relationship between BER variants and LOAD risk

Clinical and molecular evaluation of MEFV gene variants in the Turkish population: a study by the National Genetics Consortium

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a monogenic autoinflammatory disorder with recurrent fever, abdominal pain, serositis, articular manifestations, erysipelas-like erythema, and renal complications as its main features. Caused by the mutations in the MEditerranean FeVer (MEFV) gene, it mainly affects people of Mediterranean descent with a higher incidence in the Turkish, Jewish, Arabic, and Armenian populations. As our understanding of FMF improves, it becomes clearer that we are facing with a more complex picture of FMF with respect to its pathogenesis, penetrance, variant type (gain-of-function vs. loss-of-function), and inheritance. In this study, MEFV gene analysis results and clinical findings of 27,504 patients from 35 universities and institutions in Turkey and Northern Cyprus are combined in an effort to provide a better insight into the genotype-phenotype correlation and how a specific variant contributes to certain clinical findings in FMF patients. Our results may help better understand this complex disease and how the genotype may sometimes contribute to phenotype. Unlike many studies in the literature, our study investigated a broader symptomatic spectrum and the relationship between the genotype and phenotype data. In this sense, we aimed to guide all clinicians and academicians who work in this field to better establish a comprehensive data set for the patients. One of the biggest messages of our study is that lack of uniformity in some clinical and demographic data of participants may become an obstacle in approaching FMF patients and understanding this complex disease