KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF COMMUNITY PHARMACY PERSONNEL ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL TRACK AND TRACE SYSTEM, IN TURKEY

Pharmaceutical Track and Trace System (PTTS) is a successful implementation of Track and Trace approach which has been applied since 2010 in Turkey. Briefly, it defines the infrastructure framework for all units belonging to each product and works by using the Datamatrix code, which provides the sureness of the uniqueness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the community pharmacy personnel's attitudes and knowledge about the PTTS, in order to reveal their expectations and identify problems thereof. 56 community pharmacies located in Beyoglu district of Istanbul, Turkey (n = 120) were included. The data were collected from 15th - 30th of April 2017 by a structured questionnaire. Besides evaluating descriptive statistics, chi(2) test was conducted to analyse relationship between demographics and knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the pharmacy personnel, respectively. This study shows that PTTS is found useful especially for providing drug safety and facilitating and accelerating the recall of the drugs

Glycemic control and health behaviors in adolescents with type 1 diabetes

The purpose of this study was to determine the health/health risk behaviors of a group of Turkish adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to determine the prevalence and explore the exact effect of these behaviors on glycemic control (GC). A total of 210 adolescents (age 12-20 years; diabetes duration >6 months; no additional comorbidities), completed a self-administered questionnaire (including some questions from Health Behavior in School aged Children study questionnaire). Subjects were divided into two groups based on the hemoglobin Alc (HbAlc) levels, measured in the last 3 months: good GC (HbAlc 8%). Chi-square tests and backward stepwise logistic regression analysis were used in statistical analyses. Of the patients, 57 had good GC and 153 had poor GC. The results of the backward stepwise logistic regression analysis indicated that being overweight and frequent electronic media use were risk factors for poor GC, whereas computer use for homework for long period of time (>= 2 hours/day) was found to be a protective factor in terms of GC. Screening adolescents in terms of health/health risk behaviors such as frequent electronic media use, and giving adolescents health responsibilities should be an integral part of the follow-up of these patients, and intervention programs that lead to behavioral changes should be developed

ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES TOWARD COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE (CAM) AMONGST TURKISH MEDICAL FACULTY STUDENTS

Background: Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies are becoming increasingly acceptable to the general public and are increasingly used around the world. The international rise in focus on CAM and the increased incorporation of CAM into medical curricula make it important to gain insight into the knowledge and attitudes of medical students about CAM and its integration in the medical curriculum

Evaluation of left ventricular function and myocardial deformation in children with beta-thalassemia major by real-time three-dimensional (four-dimensional) and speckle tracking echocardiography

Aim This study aimed to evaluate the role of real-time three-dimensional (four-dimensional) and speckle tracking echocardiography for early detection of left ventricular systolic dysfunction and also for the relationship between myocardial deformation parameters and myocardial iron load which is measured by cardiac magnetic resonance relaxation time T2* values in asymptomatic children with beta-thalassemia major. Material and Methods This multicenter cross-sectional study included 40 patients (mean age 15.4 +/- 2.9, 42.1% male) and 40 healthy children whose age, gender, and body mass index-matched with patients. Each participant underwent conventional echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging. Left ventricular ejection fraction; global longitudinal, circumferential, radial strains; twist; and torsion were measured by real-time three-dimensional and speckle tracking echocardiography. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging T2* was measured in patients. Results Left ventricular global longitudinal, circumferential, and radial strains were decreased despite preserved global ventricular function in patients compared to healthy children (p = p = .029, p = p = 20 ms and patients with T2* = 20 ms, and T2* < 20 ms. Conclusion We found that even in asymptomatic children with beta-thalassemia major, left ventricular longitudinal, circumferential and, radial functions were impaired by real-time three-dimensional (four-dimensional) and speckle tracking echocardiography. This novel echocardiographic method might be an important tool for detecting subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction irrespective of T2* values