The efficacy and safety of omalizumab in refractory chronspontaneous urticaria: Real-life experience in Turkey

Introduction: This study used real-world data to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of omalizumab in treating recalcitrant chronic spontaneous urticaria in Turkish patients. Methods: Study data were collected retrospectively from eight tertiary-care hospitals in Turkey. This study included 132 patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria that were resistant to H1 antihistamine treatment in a dose up to four times the licensed dose and were treated with 300 mg/month of omalizumab for 6 months. Results: The mean weekly urticarial activity score (UAS7) after omalizumab treatment improved significantly compared to the pretreatment score (p <0.001). Treatment response was detected primarily in the 1st and 2nd months after treatment. No significant association was observed between omalizumab’s treatment effectiveness and disease-related parameters or laboratory data. The mean dermatology life quality index was 23.12 ± 6.15 before treatment and decreased to 3.55 ± 3.60 6 months after treatment (p <0.001). No side effects were reported in 89.4% (118) of the patients. Conclusion: This study showed that UAS7 decreased significantly and quality of life improved in omalizumab-treated patients. Moreover, treatment effectiveness was mainly observed in the first 2 months after treatment. However, no association was observed between omalizumab treatment effectiveness and disease-related parameters or laboratory data

Takviye edici gıda olarak vaccinium myrtillus ekstraktının bacillus subtilis gelişimi üzerine etkilerinin incelenmesi

Amaç: Yaban mersini içeriğinde yüksek oranda yer alan fenolik bileşikler sayesinde çeşitli bakterilerin üremesini inhibe etmektedir. Bu tez çalışması kapsamında piyasada satışa sunulan yaban mersini ekstraktlarının Bacillus subtilis gelişimi üzerine etkisinin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır.Gereç ve Yöntem: Tez çalışmasında Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı tarafından takviye edici gıda olarak onaylanmış İmmunat ve Destekten markalarına ait yaban mersini ekstraktları kullanılmıştır. İki ekstrakt %10 başlangıç konsantrasyonundan itibaren 96 kuyucuklu plate kullanılarak mikrodilüsyon yöntemi ile seyreltilmiştir. Her kuyucuğa 100μl hacimde 0.5 McFarland’a ayarlanmış bakteri süspansiyonu eklenerek 24 saat inkübe edilmiştir. İnkübasyon sonucunda Byonoy96 (GmbH) plate okuyucu kullanılarak optik yoğunluk ölçümleri yapılmıştır. Sonuçlar GraphPad 9 analiz programı ile karşılaştırılarak anlamlılık düzeyi p<0,05 olarak değerlendirilmiştir.Bulgular: İki ekstraktın %10’luk başlangıç konsantrasyonunda sadece biri bakteriyel üremeyi inhibe edebilmiştir. Diğer konsantrasyonların hepsinde bakteriyel üreme saptanmıştır. Minimum inhibitör konsantrasyonu sadece bir ekstrakt için belirlenebilmiştir.Sonuç: Ekstrakt hazırlanırken kullanılan çözücüler ekstraktın antibakteriyel etkisini değiştirebilmektedir. Yaban mersini meyve ekstraklarının gıda ve sağlık endüstrisinde doza bağlı olarak antimikrobiyal etkilerinin göz önünde bulundurulması önemlidir.Objective: It inhibits the growth of various bacteria thanks to the phenolic compounds in the content of blueberries at a high rate. Within the scope of the thesis study, it was aimed to examine the effects of blueberry extracts, which are available for sale in the market, on the development of Bacillus subtilis.Meterials and Methods: In the thesis study, blueberry extracts belonging to the brands Immunat and Destekten approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry as food supplements were used. The two extracts were diluted using the microdilution method from an initial concentration of 10%. 100μl of bacterial suspension adjusted to 0.5 McFarland was added to each well and after 24 hours of incubation, optical density measurements were made using Byonoy96 (GmbH) plate reader. The results were compared with the GraphPad 9 analysis program and the significance level was evaluated as p<0.05.Findings: Of the 10% initial concentrations of the two extracts, only one of them was able to inhibit bacterial growth. Bacterial growth was detected at all other concentrations. The minimum inhibitory concentration could be determined for only one extract.Result: The solvents used in the preparation of the extract can change the antibacterial effect of the extract. It is important to consider the dose-dependent antimicrobial effects of blueberry fruit extracts in the food and health industry

Dermoscopic findings in scalp psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis; Two new signs; Signet ring vessel and hidden hair

Background: Psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis are both chronic erythemato-squamous dermatoses that can involve the scalp. It may be difficult to differentiate these two diseases when there is isolated scalp involvement. Recently, trichoscopy is commonly used to differentiate noncicatricial alopecias including psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis that can lead to telogen effluvium (TE). Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate the trichoscopic figures that may help to differentiate scalp psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis. Materials and Methods: Thirty one with scalp psoriasis and 112 patients with seborrheic dermatitis were enrolled. Trichoscopic examinations were performed using a videodermatoscope (MoleMax 3 ® ). Trichoscopic findings of scalp psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis were compared with each other, with 100 healthy individuals and with other noncicatricial alopecias including female androgenetic alopecia (FAGA) (n: 138), male androgenetic alopecia (n: 63), FAGA of male pattern (FAGA.M) (n: 5), alopecia areata (39), TE (n: 22) and trichotillomania (n: 4). Results: Atypical red vessels, red dots and globules (RDG), signet ring vessels (SRV), structureless red areas and hidden hairs (HH) were statistically more common in psoriasis while twisted red loops and comma vessels (CV) in seborrheic dermatitis. RDG were considered as the characteristic videodermatoscopic figure for psoriasis and arborizing red lines and CV for seborrheic dermatitis. In comparison with previous reports, our study yielded two new trichoscopic structures supporting the diagnosis of psoriasis; HH and SRV. Besides, according to our study, CV were described for the first time in seborrheic dermatitis and considered to be specific for seborrheic dermatitis. Conclusion: This study confirmed that trichoscopy might be useful in differentiating scalp psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis from each other and from other noncicatricial alopecia with three trichoscopic structures as HH, SRV and CV

Attitudes and behavior of nurses in state and private hospitals with respect to family-centered care

Giriş: Araştırma özel ve devlet hastanelerinde çalışan hemşirelerin ebeveynlerin çocuklarının bakım uygulamalarına katılmalarına ilişkin tutumlarını karşılaştırmak amacıyla tanımlayıcı olarak yapılmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Tanımlayıcı nitelikte olan araştırmanın evrenini, 1 Mayıs-30 Haziran 2013 tarihleri arasında İstanbul il merkezinde bulunan iki devlet hastanesi ve bir özel hastanenin çocuk sağlığı ve hastalıkları kliniklerinde çalışan 70 hemşire oluşturmuştur. Araştırmada veri toplama aracı olarak; Hemşire tanıtım formu ve Ebeveyn Katılım Tutum Ölçeği (PPAS) olmak üzere iki adet form kullanılmıştır. Ölçekten alınacak en düşük puan 24, en yüksek puan 120’dir. Ölçekten alınan puanın yüksek olması ebeveynin çocuğun bakımına katılımını kabul edici bir tutumu göstermektedir. Elde edilen veriler, sayı, yüzdelik, ortalama kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular: Araştırma kapsamına alınan hemşirelerin tanımlayıcı özellikler açısından benzer olduğu bulunmuştur (p>0,05). Araştırmadaki hemşirelerin aile merkezli bakımla ilgili bilgi sahibi olma durumu sorulduğunda %64,3’ünün konu ile ilgili bilgi sahibi oldukları, bilgi aldıkları kaynaklar incelendiğinde ise %34,8’inin konu ile ilgili bilimsel yayınlar ve mesleki eğitim kapsamındaki derslerinden bilgi aldıklarını ifade ettikleri saptanmıştır. Hemşirelerin %54,3’ünün ebeveyn katılım tutum ölçeği toplam puanının 84 puan ve üstü olduğu bulunmuştur. Yapılan analizler sonucunda hemşirelerin çalıştığı hastane ve PPAS skoru değerlendirildiğinde devlet hastanesinde çalışan hemşirelerin (85,67±6,17) ebeveynlerin çocuklarının bakımına katılımına ilişkin tutumlarının özel hastanede çalışanlara (81,88±5,26) göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı düzeyde daha olumlu olduğu belirlenmiştir (p0.05). They were asked whether they knew about family-centered care, 64.3% said they were familiar with the subject; when the source of their knowledge was queried, 34.8% stated that they had been informed through scientific publications and courses they took during their professional training. Of the nurses, 54.3% were found to display total parent participation attitude scores of 84 and above. In the evaluation of the PPAS scores of the nurses in terms of the hospital they worked, the scores of nurses working at state hospitals (85.67±6.17) were significantly more positive than the scores of the nurses working at the private hospital (81.88±5.26) (p<0.05). Conclusions: The accepting attitudes of nurses regarding the family-centered care approach indicated that nurses with higher level of education had opportunity to benefit from the focus placed on family-centered care in graduate nursing school programs and that had positive effect on their attitudes

Attitudes and Behavior of Nurses in State and Private Hospitals with Respect to Family-Centered Care

Introduction: The study was conducted as descriptive research for purpose of comparing the attitudes of nurses working at private and state hospitals with respect to the concept of having parents participate in the care of their children

Scalp Dermatoscopic Findings in Androgenetic Alopecia and Their Relations with Disease Severity

Background: Clinicians are searching for new methods to diagnose and predict the course of androgenetic alopecia noninvasively. Objective: Our aim is to evaluate trichoscopic findings and their relations with disease severity in and rogenetic alopecia. Methods: The videodermatoscopic findings of 143 female and 63 male patients with androgenetic alopecia were compared with each other, with those. of healthy subjects (n=100), and with those of patients with other nonscarring alopecias (n=208). Mann-Whitney U-test, chi(2) analyses, and logistic regression analysis were used for statistical analysis. Results: No statistically significant relation was found between trichoscopic findings and severity in male androgenetic alopecia (MAGA) on the basis of the modified Hamilton Norwood scale (among 7 degrees); however, multihair follicular unit and perifollicular pigmentation were related to low severity whereas white dots, honeycomb pattern pigmentation, and brown dots were related to high severity. On the other hand, according to the Ludwig classification, arborizing red lines were related to low severity and brown dots were related to high severity, whereas there was no difference in stages between the Ebling and Olsen classifications in female androgenetic alopecia (FAGA). In the characteristic trichoscopic findings in this study, perifollicular pigmentation was found as a normal feature of the scalp, whereas multihair follicular unit and honeycomb pigment pattern, which were previously considered as normal features, were observed to be related to androgenetic alopecia. Conclusion: No relation was found between MAGA severity and trichoscopic findings, as well as between FAGA severity according to different disease severity classifications and trichoscopic findings

Simple clinical risk score for no-reflow prediction in patients undergoing primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with acute STEMI

Objectives: To identify the STEMI patients at high risk in terms of no-reflow during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with a simple risk score system that can be used before reperfusion

Trichoscopic findings in alopecia areata and their relation to disease activity, severity and clinical subtype in Turkish patients

Background/ObjectiveTrichoscopic studies of alopecia areata are helpful in the non-invasive diagnosis and prediction of the course of the disease. The objective was to determine the relationship of trichoscopic findings in alopecia areata with disease activity, severity and clinical subtype in Turkish patients