Determining the COVID-19 Knowledge, Awareness and Anxiety Levels of Intern Dentists

Introduction: COVID-19 is a contagious disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The nature of dentistry leads to close contact with patients and exposure to saliva, blood, and other bodily fluids during treatment processes and it is a field where high-frequency devices that can make it easier for virus contamination are used. This study aims to determine the knowledge and approaches of COVID-19 infection control of intern dentists who have begun face-to-face education and their COVID-19-related fear and anxiety levels. Methods: The study comprised 4th and 5th-year students who began face-to-face education at the Ankara University Faculty of Dentistry 2020/2021 spring semester. A questionnaire was used as the data collection tool for this study. The data were collected using a knowledge questionnaire and a COVID-19 fear and anxiety scale. Results: The average COVID-19 knowledge score of the students was 63.65±9.64, their coronavirus fear average score was 17.63±5.57, and their anxiety average score was found to be 2.37±3.32. A positive relationship was found between the anxiety scores and the COVID-19 fear scores. The results of this study show that the COVID-19 knowledge level and fear of dentistry students are moderate and that their COVID-19 anxiety level is low. Conclusion: It was found that the knowledge and fear of coronavirus levels of intern dentistry students were moderate and that their coronavirus anxiety level was low

Management of granulomatous lobular mastitis: an international multidisciplinary consensus (2021 edition)

Granulomatous lobular mastitis (GLM) is a rare and chronic benign inflammatory disease of the breast. Difficulties exist in the management of GLM for many front-line surgeons and medical specialists who care for patients with inflammatory disorders of the breast. This consensus is summarized to establish evidence-based recommendations for the management of GLM. Literature was reviewed using PubMed from January 1, 1971 to July 31, 2020. Sixty-six international experienced multidisciplinary experts from 11 countries or regions were invited to review the evidence. Levels of evidence were determined using the American College of Physicians grading system, and recommendations were discussed until consensus. Experts discussed and concluded 30 recommendations on historical definitions, etiology and predisposing factors, diagnosis criteria, treatment, clinical stages, relapse and recurrence of GLM. GLM was recommended as a widely accepted definition. In addition, this consensus introduced a new clinical stages and management algorithm for GLM to provide individual treatment strategies. In conclusion, diagnosis of GLM depends on a combination of history, clinical manifestations, imaging examinations, laboratory examinations and pathology. The approach to treatment of GLM should be applied according to the different clinical stage of GLM. This evidence-based consensus would be valuable to assist front-line surgeons and medical specialists in the optimal management of GLM.Improving the Ability of Diagnosis and Treatment of Difficult Disease

Multisystem imaging findings of a case with relapsing polichondritis

Relapsing polychondritis is a rare immune-mediated systemic inflammatory disease. It is associated with inflammation in cartilaginous tissue and primarily affects cartilaginous structures of the ears, nose and tracheobronchial tree but also the joints, the inner ear, the eyes, and the cardiovascular system (1). With this report we share the multisystem imaging findings of a case with relapsing polychondritis

Is the necrosis/wall ADC ratio useful for the differentiation of benign and malignant breast lesions?

WOS: 000402802300017PubMed ID: 28339285Objective: To determine whether the necrosis/wall apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) ratio is useful for the malignant-benign differentiation of necrotic breast lesions. Methods: Breast MRI was performed using a 3-T system. In this retrospective study, calculation of the necrosis/wall ADC ratio was based on ADC values measured from the necrosis and from the wall of malignant and benign breast lesions by diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). By synchronizing post-contrast T1 weighted images, the separate parts of wall and necrosis were maintained. All the diagnoses were pathologically confirmed. Statistical analyses were conducted using an independent sample t-test and receiver operating characteristic analysis. The intraclass and interclass correlations were evaluated. Results: A total of 66 female patients were enrolled, 38 of whom had necrotic breast carcinomas and 28 of whom had breast abscesses. The ADC values were obtained from both the wall and necrosis. The mean necrosis/wall ADC ratio (6 standard deviation) was 1.6160.51 in carcinomas, and it was 0.6560.33 in abscesses. The area under the curve values for necrosis ADC, wall ADC and the necrosis/wall ADC ratio were 0.680, 0.068 and 0.942, respectively. A wall/necrosis ADC ratio cut-off value of 1.18 demonstrated a sensitivity of 97%, specificity of 93%, a positive-predictive value of 95%, a negative-predictive value of 96% and an accuracy of 95% in determining the malignant nature of necrotic breast lesions. There was a good intra- and interclass reliability for the ADC values of both necrosis and wall. Conclusion: The necrosis/wall ADC ratio appears to be a reliable and promising tool for discriminating breast carcinomas from abscesses using DWI. Advances in knowledge: ADC values of the necrosis obtained by DWI are valuable for malignant-benign differentiation in necrotic breast lesions. The necrosis/wall ADC ratio appears to be a reliable and promising tool in the breast imaging field

SAĞLIK HİZMET BÖLGELERİNİN PERFORMANSININ VERİ ZARFLAMA ANALİZİ İLE DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, Türkiye’de Sağlık Bakanlığı tarafından oluşturulan 30 Sağlık Hizmet Bölgesinin (SHB) performanslarının değerlendirilmesidir. Yöntem: SHB’lerin performansının değerlendirilmesi amacıyla Veri Zarflama Analizi (VZA) kullanılmıştır. SHB’lerin etkinlik skorları girdi yönelimli olarak CCR ve BCC modellerine göre hesaplanarak karşılaştırılmıştır. Bulgular: CCR modeli sonuçlarına göre 30 SHB içerisinde 12 tanesi etkin, 18 SHB etkin değildir. Etkin olmayan SHB’ler içerisinde etkinlik skoru en düşük olan SHB 0,7660 ile Malatya, Elâzığ, Bingöl ve Tunceli’nin yer aldığı 4. SHB’dir. BCC modeli sonuçlarına göre ise etkin SHB sayısı 21 iken 9 SHB etkin değildir. CCR modeline göre genel etkinlik skor ortalaması 0,9498 iken, BCC modelinde 0,9769 olarak hesaplanmıştır. Her iki modelde de en düşük etkinlik skoruna sahip olan 4. SHB’nin etkin olabilmesi için CCR modeline göre yatak sayısının %39,86, pratisyen hekim sayısının %25,26, uzman hekim sayısının %25,34, hemşire/ebe sayısının ise %39,17 oranında azaltılması gerekmektedir. Özgünlük: Sağlık bölge planlaması yapısının amacına ulaşması için mevcut durumlarının değerlendirilmesi önemlidir. Literatür incelendiğinde SHB’lerin performansını değerlendiren bir çalışmaya rastlanmamıştır

A novel approach to contrast-induced nephrotoxicity: The melatonergic agent agomelatine

WOS: 000376488500007PubMed ID: 26886874Objective: To study the potential nephroprotective role of agomelatine in rat renal tissue in cases of contrast-induced nephrotoxicity (CIN). The drug's action on the antioxidant system and proinflammatory cytokines, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, levels of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and the gene expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) was measured. Tubular necrosis and hyaline and haemorrhagic casts were also histopathologically evaluated. Methods: The institutional ethics and local animal care committees approved the study. Eight groups of six rats were put on the following drug regimens: Group 1: healthy controls, Group 2: GLY (glycerol), Group 3: CM (contrast media-iohexol 10 ml kg(-1)), Group 4: GLY+CM, Group 5: CM+AGO20 (agomelatine 20 mg kg(-1)), Group 6: GLY+CM1AGO20, Group 7: CM1AGO40 (agomelatine 40 mg kg(-1)) and Group 8: GLY+CM+AGO40. The groups were evaluated by one-way analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple comparison test. Results: Agomelatine administration significantly improved the serum levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine, SOD activity, GSH and MDA. The use of agomelatine had substantial downregulatory consequences on TNF-alpha, NF-kappa B and IL-6 messenger RNA levels. Mild-to-severe hyaline and haemorrhagic casts and tubular necrosis were observed in all groups, except in the healthy group. The histopathological scores were better in the agomelatine treatment groups. Conclusion: Agomelatine has nephroprotective effects against CIN in rats. This effect can be attributed to its properties of reducing oxidative stress and inhibiting the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines (NF-kappa B, TNF-alpha and IL-6). Advances in knowledge: CIN is one of the most important adverse effects of radiological procedures. Renal failure, diabetes, malignancy, old age and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use pose the risk of CIN in patients. Several clinical studies have investigated ways to avoid CIN. Theophylline/aminophylline, statins, ascorbic acid and iloprost have been suggested for this purpose. Agomelatine is one of the melatonin ligands and is used for affective disorders and has antioxidant features. In this study, we hypothesized that agomelatine could have nephroprotective, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects against CIN in rats

Does the cardiovascular drug levosimendan prevent iodinated contrast medium nephrotoxicity with glycerol aggravation in rats?

Background We investigated whether levosimendan prevents contrast medium nephrotoxicity with glycerol aggravation in rats. Methods Forty-eight Wistar albino rats were assigned to eight groups (n = 6 x 8). No medication was administered to group I (controls); glycerol (intramuscular injection of 25% glycerol, 10 mL/kg) group II; intravenous iohexol 10 mL/kg to group III; glycerol and iohexol to group IV; iohexol and intraperitoneal levosimendan 0.25 mg/kg to group V; glycerol, iohexol, and levosimendan 0.25 mg/kg to group VI; iohexol and levosimendan 0.5 mg/kg to group VII; and glycerol, iohexol, and levosimendan 0.5 mg/kg to group VIII. One-day water withdrawal and glycerol injection prompted renal damage; iohexol encouraged nephrotoxicity; levosimendan was administered 30 min after glycerol injection and continued on days 2, 3, and 4. The experiment was completed on day 5. Serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), nuclear factor kappa ss (NFK-ss), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and histopathological marks were assessed. One-way analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple comparison tests were used. Results Levosimendan changed serum BUN (p = 0.012) and creatinine (p = 0.018), SOD (p = 0.026), GSH (p = 0.012), and MDA (p = 0.011). Levosimendan significantly downregulated TNF-alpha (p = 0.022), NFK-ss (p = 0.008), and IL-6 (p = 0.033). Histopathological marks of hyaline and haemorrhagic cast were improved in levosimendan-injected groups. Conclusion Levosimendan showed nephroprotective properties due to its vasodilator, oxidative distress decreasing and inflammatory cytokine preventing belongings

The use of breast magnetic resonance imaging parameters to identify possible signaling pathways of a serum biomarker, HE4

WOS: 000376906600019PubMed ID: 27192502Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters; clinical features such as age, tumor diameter, N, T, and TNM stages; and serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) levels in patients with breast carcinoma and use this as a means of estimating possible signaling pathways of the biomarker, HE4. Methods: Thirty-seven patients with breast cancer were evaluated by breast MRI and serum HE4 levels before therapy. Correlations between parameters including age, tumor diameter T and N, dynamic curve type, enhancement ratio (ER), slope wash in (S-WI), time to peak (TTP), slope washout (S-WO), and the serum level of HE4 were investigated statistically. Human epididymis protein 4 levels of early and advanced stage of disease were also compared statistically. Results: Breast MRI parameters showed correlation to serum HE4 levels and correlations were statistically significant. Of these MRI parameters, S-WI had higher correlation coefficient than the others. Human epididymis protein 4 levels were not statistically different in early and advanced stage of disease. Conclusions: High correlation with MRI parameters related to neo-angiogenesis may indicate signaling pathway of HE4