Comparison of knowledge scores of medical students in problem-based learning and traditional curriculum on public health topics

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study was to compare the knowledge scores of medical students in Problem-based Learning and traditional curriculum on public health topics. METHODS: We planned a cross-sectional study including the fifth and sixth year medical students of Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey. The fifth year students (PBL group, n = 56) were the pioneers educated with PBL curriculum since the 1997–1998 academic year. The sixth year students (traditional education group, n = 78) were the last students educated with traditional education methods. We prepared 25 multiple-choice questions in order to assess knowledge scores of students on selected subjects of Public Health. Our data were collected in year 2002. RESULTS: Mean test scores achieved in PBL and traditional groups were 65.0 and 60.5 respectively. PBL students were significantly more successful in the knowledge test (p = 0.01). The knowledge scores of two topics were statistically higher among PBL students. These topics were health management and chronic diseases. CONCLUSION: We found that mean total evaluation score in the PBL group was 4.5 points higher than in the traditional group in our study. Focusing only on the knowledge scores of students is the main limitation of our study. Upon the graduation of the first PBL students in the 2002–2003 academic year, we are planning additional studies regarding the other functions of a physician such as skill, behaviour and attitude

Çocuklarda uyku özellikleri ve uyku bozukluklarının değerlendirilmesi: Kırıkkaleden bir ön çalışma

Amaç: Çalışmanın amacı, Kırıkkalede yaşayan çocuklarda uyku düzeni ve alışkanlıklarının belirlenerek, uyku sorunlarının aydınlatılması, ailelerin uyku konusunda bilgilendirilmesidir. Olgular ve Metod: İki ay-16 yaş arası 240 çocuk gelişme basamakları ve uyku özellikleri dikkate alınarak yaş gruplarına (2-5 ay, 6-11 ay, 12-17 ay, 18-23 ay, 2-4 yaş, 5-6 yaş, 7-10 yaş, 11-16 yaş) ayrıldı. Her gruba 30 çocuk alındı. Ebeveynler ve yedi yaş üzeri çocuklara, yüz yüze görüşme yöntemiyle uyku özellikleri, sorunları ve uykuyu etkileyebilecek faktörler hakkında çoktan seçmeli sorulardan oluşan anket yapıldı. Bulgular: Toplam uyku süresi diğer ülkelerin verileri ile benzerdi. Odada elektromanyetik alet bulunması ile uyku düzeni ve bozukluğu arasında ilişki bulunmadı (p0.05). İki yaşından büyük çocukların yaklaşık 1/3ünün en az haftada bir kez kabus gördüğü saptandı. Uyku bozukluğu açısından, cinsiyet ve sosyoekonomik düzeyler arasında farklılık bulunmadı. En sık görülen uyku bozuklukları %8 horlama, %7 ağzı açık uyuma, %5 uykuda konuşma, %4 diş gıcırdatma, %3 horlama apne olarak saptandı. Uyku bozukluğu olmayan çocukların okul başarısı daha yüksek olarak saptandı (p0.05). Yatmadan önce diş fırçalama, kitap okuma, müzik dinleme gibi ritüelleri uygulayan annelerin eğitim düzeylerinin diğer annelere göre yüksek olduğu (p0.05) ve uyku ritüelleri uygulanmayan çocuklarda okul başarısının daha düşük olduğu saptandı (p0.05). Sonuç: Ebeveynlerin çocuklarının uyku düzeni ve problemleri hakkında sorgulanması, altta yatan sorunların tespitinde önemli ip uçları verebilir. Aynı zamanda iyi uyku ve uyku hijyeni hakkında aileler bilgilendirilmelidir.Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the sleep patterns and habits of children in Kırıkkale to detect sleeping problems while informing the parents about sleep. Methods: Two hundred forty children with the age range of 2 months-16 years were divided into eight groups with respect to age (2-5 months, 6-11 months, 12-17 months, 18-23 months, 2-4 years, 5-6 years, 7-10 years, 11-16 years). Each group contained 30 subjects. Parents and children older than 7 years were questioned for sleeping paterns, disorders and factors affecting their sleep by multiple-choice questions and using face-toface interview technique. Results: Total sleep duration was comparable with the duration of other countries. No correlation was found between the existence of electromagnetic devices in the room and the sleeping patterns and disorders (p>0.05). Nearly 1/3 children older than 2-years of age were found to have nightmares at least once a week. There were no differences in sleeping disorders between different genders and socioeconomic levels of the children (p>0.05). Sleeping disorders increased with age were snoring (8%), sleeping with open mouth (7%), talking in sleep (5%), teeth grinding (4%), snoring and apnea (3%). Children who do not have any sleeping disorders have school success higher than the others with sleeping disorders (p<0.05). The education levels of mothers who carry out sleep rituals including tooth brushing, reading book, listening music were higher than the other mothers (p<0.05) and school success of children who do sleep rituals were lower thatn the other children (p< 0.05). Conclusion: Parents should ask to their children about the sleeping patterns and disorders of the children, because this would be an important occasion to discover an underlying disorder. Furthermore, parents should be given information about sleep disorders and sleep hygiene

Personality attributes as predictors of psychological well-being for NCOs

The authors examined the nature of the relationships between job-specific personality dimensions and psychological well-being for noncommissioned officers (NCOs) in the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF). A job-specific personality inventory, comprising measures of 11 personality dimensions was developed for selection purposes. The inventory was administered to a representative sample of 1,428 NCOs along with a general mental health inventory developed by the authors, which consisted of 6 dimensions of psychological well-being. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggested existence of a single factor underlying the 6 psychological well-being dimensions, Mental Health, and 2 latent factors underlying the 11 personality dimensions, Military Demeanor and Military Efficacy. The 2 personality constructs explained 91% of the variance in the Mental Health construct. A stepwise regression indicated that beta weights of the personality measures were significant except for military bearing, orderliness, and dependability. Results suggest that job-specific personality attributes were predictive of mental health. Implications of the findings for the selection of NCOs are discussed

Boğmaca: Klinik tanının önemi

Boğmaca, öksürük nöbetleriyle karakterize akut, bulaşıcı bir solunum yolu enfeksiyonudur. Bebeklerde en önemli ve ciddi komplikasyonu pnömoniye bağlı solunum yetmezliğidir. Nöbetlerle boğulur tarzda öksürük ve siyanoz ile başvuran, hiç aşı olmamış, yatışının ikinci gününde pnömoni, altıncı gününde lökomoid reaksiyon geliştiren üç aylık bebek sunulmuştur. Özellikle bebeklerde pnömoninin mortalite ile ilişkisi ve lö¬komoid reaksiyonun prognostik önemi vurgulanmıştır.Pertussis is an acute, contagious respiratory infection characterized by pa&not;roxysmal coughing episodes. The most important and severe complication in infants is respiratory failure due to pneumonia. We report the case of a 3-month-old infant without any immunization who presented with cough, whooping and cyanosis, and developed pneumonia on the second day and a leukemoid reaction on the sixth day of admission. The relation between pneumonia and mortality, especially in infants, and the prognostic impact of a leukemoid reaction are emphasized

Lyme disease (Borreliosis) in a Saint Bernard dog: First clinical case in Turkey

Lyme disease is a zoonotic infection caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted by ticks of the Ixodes species. This is the first clinical case report of Lyme disease in Turkey. The subject was a 2-year-old male Saint Bernard with recurrent shifting leg lameness that began at about 6 months of age. In sera samples, B. burgdorferi IgM, IgG, and Western Blot were found to be positive. Chronic borreliosis was diagnosed and a long-term arnoxicillin treatment was recommended. One year after the initial presentation, the dog was asymptomatic according to the owner. A clinical examination performed 2 years after the diagnosis failed to find any evidence of clinical Lyme disease

Bladder Metastasis of non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: an Unusual Cause of Hematuria

Approximately 2% of bladder malignancies are metastatic. The lung cancer makes metastasis sporadically to the bladder. A-69-year-old female patient presented with a history of pain in kidneys, vomiting and hematuria. Cystoscopic examination of the patient revealed small bladder capacity and solitary lesions in the bladder wall. Thoracic computed tomography scan identified multiple solid masses in the right lung. A chemotherapy regimen against epithelial tumors (Granisetron, Carboplatin, and Gemcitabine) was recommended. At the end of the 3 courses, chemotherapy regimen was stopped because of poor general health condition. She died in 9th month of the diagnosis

Could Lower Bone Turnover be a Cause of Chest Pain During Childhood?

Albayrak, Meryem/0000-0003-2711-5150WOS: 000282424800008PubMed: 20552184Chest pain, a frequent complaint during childhood, rarely originates from a cardiac pathology. Although it usually is idiopathic, it also could be associated with psychogenic, musculoskeletal, respiratory, and digestive disorders. This study aimed to investigate a possible relation between bone mineral density and chest pain in children. Bone mineral density and bone metabolism parameters were measured for 50 children with chest pain, and the findings were compared with those for 40 age- and sex-matched healthy children. Most of the cases (64%) were in the idiopathic group, and musculoskeletal chest pain was the second most frequent complaint (12%). Although bone mineral densities and osteocalcin levels did not differ significantly between the whole chest pain group and the control group, both were found to be lower in the musculoskeletal chest pain group than in other groups and the control group (p < 0.05). Musculoskeletal chest pain may be related to reduced bone mineral metabolism, and monitoring of risk factors is of particular importance.Kirikkale UniversityKirikkale University [03.08.02.01]This study was supported in part by grant no. 03.08.02.01 from Kirikkale University

Use of distraction radiography in canine hip dysplasia: a comparison of early and late results with two different distractors

In recent years, radiologic detection of passive joint laxity, i.e., distraction radiography, has become important in the early diagnosis of hip dysplasia in dogs. In this study, Ortolani Diagnosis and Distraction Index (DI), i.e., radiographic passive joint laxity, were determined for 122 dogs between 3- and 9-months-of-age, and this data was compared with adult period control radiographies (the period after 18-months-of-age). By this means an attempt was made to determine the relation between DI and Ortolani diagnosis, Norberg angle and Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) classiflcation. A high correlation was established between the results taken by two types (PennHip and wooden lath) of distractors. Although no correlation was found between breed, age, sex, body weight and DI measurement, a significant correlation was found between DI measurement and FCI classiflcation and Norberg angles after the age of 18 months. On the other hand, no signiflcant correlation was found between Ortolani diagnosis and DI measurement and FCI-Norberg data after the age of 18 months. Consequently, the usage of distraction radiography was observed to be more effective than other clinical and radiographic methods in the early diagnosis of hip dysplasia in dogs