A Combined Topical Treatment versus Surgical Treatment in Chronic Anal Fissure

In the treatment of chronic anal fissure, both surgical and topical treatment methods are used. The purpose of this study was to research a combined topical treatment that we prepared and to compare the effectiveness of lateral internal sphincterotomy in chronic anal fissure with this topical treatment. A total of 183 patients with chronic anal fissure were divided into two groups. One hundred and four patients had topical medical treatment (group 1) and seventy-nine patients underwent lateral internal sphincterotomy (group 2). In the first group, a topical combination of ointments consisting of bacitracin-neomycin sulfate, dexpanthenol, and diltiazem was applied to the anal area. Four weeks after treatment, pain and bleeding during defecation, gas/fecal incontinence, treatment-related adverse events and recovery rates were evaluated in both groups. Also, patients were examined for recurrence between the 8th and 10th weeks. There was no significant difference in recovery rates between the groups. In group 1, recovery rate was 82.7%, while in Group 2 it was 92.4% (p = 0.054). In both groups, gas/fecal incontinence ratio was significantly different, supporting the medical treatment (p = 0.02). The severity of pain and bleeding during defecation were compared between the groups. Only the severe pain was significantly higher in the medical treatment group (p = 0.018). The recurrence rate was 5.8% in the medical treatment group, but no recurrence was detected in the surgical group. Due to possible complications of surgical treatment and similar recovery rates, medical treatment of patients with chronic anal fissure can be tried before surgical treatment

Functional gastrointestinal disorders in patients with familial Mediterranean fever

AimFamilial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive autoinflammatory disease characterised by recurrent episodes of fever and polyserositis. To date, insufficient data regarding the prevalence of functional gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia (FD) have been reported in patients with FMF. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of functional gastrointestinal disorders in patients with FMF

Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio in Patients With Familial Mediterranean Fever

BackgroundBlood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (N/L) ratio is an indicator of the overall inflammatory status of the body, and an alteration in N/L ratio may be found in patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). The aim of this study was to investigate the interrelationship between N/L ratio and FMF

The increase of neuropathic symptoms in diabetic patients is related with osteopenia

Purpose To investigate the relationship between the intensity of neuropathic pain and the severity of osteopenia in type 2 diabetic patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (painful DPN). Methods In 220 patients with type 2 diabetes included in the screening, the presence of neuropathic pain was evaluated using the Douleur Neuropathique 4 Questions (DN4) scoring system. One hundred forty-five patients with painful DPN were identified and included in the study. Socio-demographic and laboratory evaluations were made and bone mineral density (BMD) of these patients was evaluated by the dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) method. Results There was a significant correlation between the neuropathic pain score and the total T scores of the lumbar spine and femur in patients with painful DPN. According to the regression analysis (standard coefficients), the DN4 score (0.498); the level of vitamin D (- 0.246) and the female sex (0.236) for the lumbar spine region; age (0.387); DN4 score (0.261); and vitamin D level (- 0.155) for the femur region were independently influencing factors on the development of osteoporosis. When osteoporosis (T score <= - 2.5) of the lumbar spine was analyzed by binary logistic regression, the risk of osteoporosis in women was 4.4 times higher, and the risk increased with increasing DN4 score. Conclusion The increase of neuropathic symptoms in patients with DPN is an effective and important factor in the development of diabetic osteopenia

The awareness of chest physicians about nutritional assessment in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Introduction: The number of studies that target nonpharmacologic treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD) are increasing because no existing pharmacologic treatment modality for COPD leads to significant improvement in lung function. Positive effects can be observed in patients with COPD using nutritional support alone or as an adjunct to exercise. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the awareness of chest physicians about the nutritional state of patients with COPD

Mucosal healing effect of nilotinib in indomethacin-induced enterocolitis: A rat model

AIM: To investigate the effects of nilotinib in a rat model of indomethacin-induced enterocolitis

The Serum S100B Level as a Biomarker of Enteroglial Activation in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis

Objective. Recent studies have demonstrated that enteric glial cells (EGC) participate in the homeostasis of the gastrointestinal tract. This study investigated whether enteroglial markers, including S100B protein and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), can serve as noninvasive indicators of EGC activation and disease activity in UC patients. Methods. This clinical prospective study included 35 patients with UC and 40 age- and sex-matched controls. The diagnosis of UC was based on standard clinical, radiological, endoscopic, and histological criteria. Clinical disease activity was evaluated using the Modified Truelove-Witts Severity Index. Serum samples were analyzed for human GFAP and S100B using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Results. GFAP was not detected in the serum of either UC patients or controls (P>0.05). However, we found a significant (P<0.001) decrease in the serum S100B levels in the UC patients. No correlation between the serum S100B level and the disease activity or duration was observed (P>0.05). The serum S100B levels did not differ between UC patients with active disease (24 patients, 68.6%) or in remission (11 patients, 31.4%) (P>0.05). Conclusions. Ulcerative colitis patients had significantly lower serum S100B levels, while GFAP was of no diagnostic value in UC patients

Association between liver fibrosis and coronary heart disease risk in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Background Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is being increasingly recognized as the most common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. It has been shown that NAFLD in adults is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Because of the limitations of liver biopsy, noninvasive scoring indexes such as the NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS) were developed. The Framingham risk score (FRS) provides an estimate of CHD risk. In our study we aimed to investigate whether the severity of liver fibrosis estimated with the NFS is associated with a higher risk of CHD among individuals with ultrasonography-diagnosed NAFLD