Türk Psikiyatri Dergisi 2005; 16(4) Turkish Journal of Psychiatry Development and Reliability Study of the Adolescent Inhalant Use Severity Scale

Results: The correlation between the questionnaire scores and the Visual Analog Scale scores was adequate (0.72). The mean scores of addicts were higher than those of nonaddicts (p<0.001). The Cronbach alpha value was 0.84. Three items had no internal consistency and the same items' interrater and test re-test reliability correlations were low. Conclusion: It is thought that when the 3 inconsistent items are removed the 18-item Yeniden Inhalant Use Severity Scale (YUKUD) is a reliable and valid measure to evaluate the severity of inhalant use in adolescents and that it can be used in related research

An Evaluation of Sexual Functions and Marital Adjustment in Female Patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Objective:The purpose of this study was to investigate sexual functions and marital adjustment which are neglected issue in married female patients diagnosed with Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and to reveal the factors affecting these.Materials and Methods:Sexually active, 47 married females who diagnosed with FMS and 50 healthy volunteers in a similar age group were included in the study. Beck anxiety inventory, beck depression inventory, female sexual function index (FSFI) and dyadic adjustment scale (DAS) evaluations were also performed for both groups. In the patient group, the severity of pain was evaluated by the visual analogue scale and functional impairment due to the disease was assessed by the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ).Results:No significant difference was determined between the two groups in terms of socio-demographic features. FSFI and DAS total scores were significantly lower in the patient group compared to the controls (p<0.001, p=0.028, respectively). Low DAS scores were determined in patients with low FSFI scores (p=0.003, r=+0.043). Neither FSFI nor DAS scores have exhibited correlation with duration of disease and FIQ scores. Depression was correlated with both FSFI and DAS (p<0.001, r=-0.569; p<0.001, r=-0.546, respectively).Conclusion:In this study, sexual functions and marital adjustment were adversely affected in patients with FMS. This effect was found closely related to depression. However, there was no relationship determined between duration of the disease, the severity of pain and the functional impact

LIMPRINT study - the Turkish experience

Background: Lymphedema and chronic oedema is a major healthcare problem in both developed and non-developed countries The LIMPRINT study is an international health service based study to determine the prevalence and functional impact in adult populations of member countries of the International Lymphoedema Framework (ILF). Methods: 1051 patients from 8 centers in Turkey were recruited using the LIMPRINT study protocol. Data were collected using the core and module tools which assess the demographic and clinical properties as well as disability and QoL. Results: Most of the Turkish patients were recruited from specialist lymphedema services and were found to be female, housewives and having secondary lymphedema due to cancer treatment. The duration of lymphedema was commonly less than 5 years and most of them had ISL Grade 2 lymphedema. Cellulitis, infection and wounds were uncommon. The majority of patients did not get any treatment or advice before. Most of the patients had impaired QoL and decreased functionality, but psychological support was neglected. Although most had social health security access to Lymphedema centres nevertheless access seemed difficult due to distance and cost. Conclusion: The study has shown the current status and characteristics of lymphedema patients, treatment conditions, the unmet need for the diagnosis and treatment as well as burden of the disease in both patients and families in Turkey. National health policies are needed for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment in Turkey that utilise this informative data

The efficacy of cinacalcet in the treatment of hyperparathyroidism in Turkish hemodialysis patient population

WOS: 000393291900012OBJECTIVE: Cinacalcet reduces parathyroid hormone levels by increasing the sensitivity of the parathyroid gland to calcium. in this study, we firstly aimed to evaluate the efficacy of cinacalcet in Turkish hemodialysis patients. MATERIAL and METHODS: 4483 hemodialysis patients were screened and 469 patients who had used cinacalcet were included in the study. the patients were divided into 4 groups according to drug usage durations (Group 1: 3 months, Group 2: 6 months, Group 3: 9 months and Group 4: 12 months). the patients' Parathormone, Ca, P and CaxP levels at the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th months were compared to the start of treatment and previous months. RESULTS: the levels of Parathormone, Ca, P and CaxP significantly decreased compared to their initial levels in all groups (from 1412 pg/ml to 1222 pg/mL for Parathormone, p< 0,001) in the 3rd month. However, this reduction was not continued in the subsequent months (Parathormone: 1381 pg/ml for the 12th month). CONCLUSION: Cinacalcet may not provide adequate benefit in control of hyperparathyroidism in Turkish hemodialysis patient population

The frequency of Duchenne muscular dystrophy/Becker muscular dystrophy and Pompe disease in children with isolated transaminase elevation: results from the observational VICTORIA study

IntroductionElevated transaminases and/or creatine phosphokinase can indicate underlying muscle disease. Therefore, this study aims to determine the frequency of Duchenne muscular dystrophy/Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD) in male children and Pompe disease (PD) in male and female children with isolated hypertransaminasemia.MethodsThis multi-center, prospective study enrolled patients aged 3–216 months with serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and/or aspartate transaminase (AST) levels &gt;2× the upper limit of normal (ULN) for ≥3 months. Patients with a known history of liver or muscle disease or physical examination findings suggestive of liver disease were excluded. Patients were screened for creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) levels, and molecular genetic tests for DMD/BMD in male patients and enzyme analysis for PD in male and female patients with elevated CPK levels were performed. Genetic analyses confirmed PD. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of the patients were analyzed.ResultsOverall, 589 patients [66.8% male, mean age of 63.4 months (standard deviation: 60.5)] were included. In total, 251 patients (188 male and 63 female) had CPK levels above the ULN. Of the patients assessed, 47% (85/182) of male patients were diagnosed with DMD/BMD and 1% (3/228) of male and female patients were diagnosed with PD. The median ALT, AST, and CPK levels were statistically significantly higher, and the questioned neurological symptoms and previously unnoticed examination findings were more common in DMD/BMD patients than those without DMD/BMD or PD (p &lt; 0.001).DiscussionQuestioning neurological symptoms, conducting a complete physical examination, and testing for CPK levels in patients with isolated hypertransaminasemia will prevent costly and time-consuming investigations for liver diseases and will lead to the diagnosis of occult neuromuscular diseases. Trial RegistrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT04120168

Uçucu madde kullanan ergenlerde bilinçlendirme eğitiminin etkinliği

UMATEM’de (Uçucu Madde Tedavi Araştırma ve Eğitim Merkezi) tedavi görmekte olan ergenlerde bilinçlenmenin sağlanması ve tedaviye yönelik işbirliğinin arttırılması amacıyla yapılan çalışmada, uçucu madde kullanan ergenlerden oluşturulan 31 kişilik deney grubuna üç oturumluk bireysel eğitim uygulanmıştır. Eğitimde “YENİDEN Eğitim ve Sağlık Derneği” tarafından hazırlanan “Sokakta Yaşayan ve Madde Kullanan Çocuklara Psikososyal Yaklaşım Kılavuzu”’nda bireysel uygulamalar bölümünde yer alan “bağımlılık hakkında bilgilendirme”, “uçucu maddeler ve etkileri”, “riskli durumlar”, “madde kullanma arzusu ile baş etme”, “ısrarlara karşı koyabilme” ve “acil durumlar” adlı konuları içeren bölümler uygulanmıştır. Eğitim uygulanan ergenlerin, eğitim öncesi, eğitim sonrası ve eğitimden bir hafta sonra soru formundaki sorulara verdikleri doğru yanıtlar ile bilgi düzeyleri değerlendirilmiştir. 31 kişiden oluşan kontrol grubu ergenlerin ise hastaneye yatışı takip eden hafta içinde ve ortalama 10 gün sonra bilgi düzeyleri aynı soru formu ile değerlendirilmiştir. Sosyo-demografik veriler için kullanılan bilgi formu ile bilgi düzeyini değerlendirmeye yönelik soru formundan elde edilen veriler bilgisayar ortamında, değerlendirilmiştir. Sosyo demografik açıdan aralarında anlamlı farklılık bulunmayan deney ve kontrol grubu ergenlerin soru formundaki sorulara verdikleri doğru yanıt sayıları karşılaştırıldığında, deney grubu ergenlerin sorulara verdiği doğru yanıt sayısı, ve tedavi motivasyonu kontrol grubu ergenlere göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı derecede farklı bulunmuştur (p<0,001). Çalışma kapsamına alınan ergenler, bir yıl sonra kesitsel olarak madde kullanımı açısından değerlendirildiğinde, deney grubu ergenlerde madde kullanmaya devam edenlerin oranı kontrol grubu ergenlere göre daha düşük saptanmış ve bu farklılık istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulunmuştur (p<0,001). Sonuç olarak; uçucu madde kullanan ergenlerin bilinçlenmesine yönelik uygulanan bireysel eğitim programı ile deney grubu ergenlerin bilgi düzeyi ve motivasyonu arttmış ve uygulanan eğitim tedavi sürecine katkı sağlamıştır. Bu ve benzer eğitim ve beceri geliştirme programlarının daha yaygın olarak kullanılması ve psikiyatri hemşirelerinin bu programlarda aktif rol alması önemlidir. SUMMARY THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AWARENESS EDUCATION AMONG ADOLESCENT INHALANT ADDICTS In the study, which was conducted in Istanbul Bakırköy Inhalant Use Research and Treatment Center (UMATEM), 31 inhalant user inpatient subjects were taken three individual sessions in order to obtain awareness and to increase the cooperation in therapy. In the education, topics were prepared by “YENİDEN-Association of Health and Education” that are contained in the chapter on individual practice of “Guidance for a psychosocial approach to inhalant addicted street children”, “information on addiction”, “inhalants and their effects”, “at-risk situations”, “coping with craving”, “resistance of peer pressure” and “planning of urgent situations”. The level of knowledge of adolescents was assessed with questionnaires for pre-, post- and after a week from education according to their right answers. The treatment group consisted of 31 adolescents that received the individual education during the week that following the hospitalization. Then the level of knowledge of the 31 adolescents in the control group was tested with the same questionnaires during the week following the hospitalization and retested approximately !0 10 days later. The data gained from the questionnaires that were used for the socio-demographic data and for the evaluation of the level of knowledge related with the education applied were assessed with computer program . No difference was found between adolescents in the treatment and control groups in terms of socio-demographic status. The difference between treatment group and control group – related to the knowledge and motivation for therapy - was statistically significant (p<0,001). The adolescents were evaluated one year later concerning inhalant abuse, it turned out that the number of the adolescents in the treatment group continuing inhalant abuse was less than the adolescents of the control group. In conclusion, the awareness education aimed at adolescent inhalant addicts raised the level of knowledge and motivation of the adolescents in the treatment group. It is important that similar education and skill development programs are applied extensively and psychiatric nurses have an active role in such programs