Bilge Hapcioglu, Yildiz Yegenoglu, Rian Disci, Zayre Erturan and Hande Kaymakcalan

The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of tinea pedis and onychomycosis in children of elementary school age and to examine the socio-demographic attributes that may be effective in correlation of both mycoses. 3,390 female and 3,768 male children between ages 6–14 have been examined in seven schools. Skin scrapings and nail samples were taken from 13 students who were suspected to have tinea pedis and from 49 students who were suspected to have onychomycosis. According to direct microscopy (10–15% KOH+calcofluor white) and culturel examination (Sabouraud dextrose agar and dermatophyte test medium) 11 students were diagnosed as tinea pedis and 24 were diagnosed as onychomycosis. Trichophyton rubrum was isolated in 3 students with tinea pedis whose culture was positive and five Candida albicans, five Candida glabrata and one Candida tropicalis cases were isolated from 11 samples with onychomycosis. Tinea pedis prevalence has been found to be 3.3%0. Differences between onychomycosis prevalence based on age have been found to be significant (p<0.001). In conclusion, it has been determined that the prevalence of tinea pedis and onychomycosis among children is low. Candida spp. was isolated from all of the 14 samples diagnosed as onychomycosis. Our study shows similar results with previous studies done in Turkey and that Trichophyton rubrum continues to be the most isolated agent

BRONCHODILATING EFFECT OF INHALED AND INTRAVENOUS MAGNESIUM-SULFATE (COMPARED WITH AERESOL TERBUTALINE)

The bronchodilating effect of intravenous magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) was studied in 25 asthmatic patients with mild to moderate bronchial reactivity. Subjects received, in random order, on separate days, 3 days apart, saline (NaCl) and MgSO4 inhalation. Spirometry was recorded on each test day before and 5 minutes after NaCl and MgSO4 inhalation. Neither NaCl nor MgSO4 were found to have a significant effect on spirometric measurements. Three days later the patients were administered with an intravenous infusion of saline placebo and 2 g Of MgSO4. Magnesium sulfate infusion rapidly relieved bronchoconstriction and produced significant improvement in lung function measurements

Calcaneal quantitative ultrasound measurements in young male and female professional dancers

The aim of this study was to assess the bone status of dancers using calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS). Twenty-four male and 26 female dancers (aged 19-36 years) and 100 age- and sex-matched nonathletic controls were included in this study. QUS parameters (broadband ultrasound attenuation [BUA], speed of sound [SOS], quantitative ultrasound index [QUI], and estimated heel bone mineral density [eBMD]) were obtained for both heels in all subjects using a gel-coupled QUS device. Two-way analysis of variance, including the factors of dancing status and gender, revealed significant differences in all QUS parameters between the dancers and the controls (p < 0.001 for all), without a significant interaction with gender status. For each heel (right versus left), the mean QUI, BUA, SOS, and eBMD values of the male and female dancers were 22.0% vs. 20.9% and 16.6% vs. 16.0%; 21.6% vs. 24.1% and 13.2% vs. 14.3%; 2.3% vs. 2.0% and 1.7% vs. 1.7%; and 25.0% vs. 23.9% and 19.0% vs. 18.6% higher than those of the male and female controls, respectively. Analysis of covariance still revealed significant differences between the dancers and the controls after controlling for the influence of body mass index (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the finding that significant bilateral differences in BUA did exist in the controls but not in the dancers demonstrated site-specific effects of exercise on bone, indicating that it is the dance that improved bone properties. Calcaneal QUS, with a strong discriminative ability between those involved in professional dance and normally active individuals, emerges as an attractive technology for exploring the benefits of exercise on bone, which might be a challenge for those in the conditioning field, who need to identify those who need intervention in terms of bone status and promote participation in high-impact physical activity, such as dance, to enhance bone quality

Descriptive Characteristics of Cancer Patients in Istanbul University Institute of Oncology

Objective: The present study was conducted to determine the profile and preferences of the recently diagnosed cancer patients at the Istanbul University (I.U.) Oncology Institute. Material and Methods: The hospital's patient registration system and a questionnaire were used to collect data on 9306 patients. Patients who presented to the I.U. Oncology Institute from 2001 to 2003 were investigated for sex, age, social security, education levels and distances traveled to the I.U. Oncology Institute. Results: Male/female ratio was 1.01 in 2001, 1.05 in 2002 and 1.11 in 2003, respectively. The five most frequent cancer types were breast (36.7%), gastrointestinal tract (15.2%), genital system (14.9%), respiratory (6.6%) and lymphoid system (5.6%) cancers for females, and the respiratory system (31.7%), gastrointestinal system (20.6%), genital system (10.7%), lymphoid system (6.6%) and oral cavity (5.4%) for males. Smokers were 68.5% for males and 27.0% for females. Overall, 79.8% of cancer patients were living in Istanbul, 20% were coming from different cities in Turkey and 0.2% was foreigners. The mean distance traveled by the patients to the institute was 325 km (111-2400 km) for outsiders and 11 km (1-68 km) for residents in Istanbul; 90.3% of the patients accessed from the Marmara region followed by the Black Sea region. Conclusion: Cancer control depends on defining the number of cancer cases, the most common cancer types and the geographic spread of cancer through Turkey

CIVIL DEFENSE ORGANIZATIONS IN HOSPITALS OF ISTANBUL

Objective: The study was designed to determine the civil defense profiles in both private and state hospitals in Istanbul and to give contribution to first and emergency aid organizations in prospective extraordinary circumstances