Evaluation of paradoxical vocal cord motion and differential diagnosis

[No Abstract Available

Efficacy of platelet-rich fibrin matrix on viability of diced cartilage grafts in a rabbit model

Objectives/Hypothesis: The objective of this study was to compare the viability of cartilage grafts embedded in platelet-rich fibrin matrix (PRFM) wrapped with no material (bare diced cartilage grafts), oxidized methylcellulose (Surgicel), or acellular dermal tissue (AlloDerm). Study Design: Experimental study. Methods: In this study, six New Zealand rabbits were used. Cartilage grafts including perichondrium were excised from each ear and diced into 2-mm-by 2-mm pieces. There were four comparison groups: 1) group A, diced cartilage (not wrapped with any material); 2) group B, diced cartilage wrapped with AlloDerm; 3) group C, diced cartilage grafts wrapped with Surgicel; and 4) group D, diced cartilage wrapped with PRFM. Four cartilage grafts were implanted under the skin at the back of each rabbit. All rabbits were sacrificed at the end of 10 weeks. The cartilages were stained with hematoxylin-eosin, Masson’s Trichrome, and Orcein. After that, they were evaluated for the viability of chondrocytes, collagen content, fibrillar structure of matrix, and changes in peripheral tissues. Results: When the viability of chondrocytes, the content of fiber in matrix, and changes in peripheral tissues were compared, the cartilage embedded in the PRFM group was statistically significantly higher than in the other groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: We concluded that PRFM has significant advantages in ensuring the chondrocyte viability of diced cartilage grafts. It is also biocompatible, with relatively lesser inflammation and fibrosis

Comparison of traditional and online education in airway management

Background: Endotracheal intubation is commonly used to maintain the airway during airway management, but it requires skill and experience, so standard endotracheal intubation performed by beginner managers carries a high risk of failure. This study was conducted based on the hypothesis that there are differences between the traditional and online education models in terms of learning and skill development in situations requiring basic skills, and it aimed to compare the traditional and online education models to evaluate endotracheal intubation learning and skills. Methods: This single-centre, prospective study aimed to evaluate the endotracheal intubation performance of volunteers. The research involved examining the endotracheal intubation experience of fourth-year medical school students who completed their education either traditionally or online at the Recep Tayyip Erdogan university simulation-based learning centre (RSIM). Approval was obtained before commencement from the local ethical committee (decision no. 2023/03, E-40465587-050.01.04-572). Results: Mean time for successful intubation in the traditional and online education models evaluated was statistically significant at the non-difficult (p=0.005), moderately difficult (p=0.007) and difficult airway (p=0.014) levels. Conclusions: Traditional and online education models affect endotracheal intubation ability. In endotracheal intubation with either a direct or a video laryngoscope, the traditional education model offered a more successful experience than the online education model. In addition, skills with the video laryngoscope were stronger in novice users than with the direct laryngoscope

Radiological findings and their relationship with mortality in acute pulmonary embolism

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate whether sarcopenia had the potential to predict mortality by analyzing epicardial and visceral fat thickness measurements, which are among the radiological findings and scores known to be crucial in determining the prognosis and risk classification of patients diagnosed with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) in the emergency department. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included patients diagnosed with acute PE in the emergency department from January 2019 to December 2022 and involved the retrospective examination of their demographic characteristics, clinical parameters, and radiological data obtained from computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) [main pulmonary artery (MPA) diameter, pulmonary artery obstruction, right and left ventricular diameters, epicardial and visceral tissue thicknesses, and pectoralis muscle thickness (PMT)]. The primary endpoint was mortality during the hospitalized treatment and follow-up processes, and the secondary endpoint was mortality within 90 days after diagnosis. RESULTS: Of the 389 patients included in the study, 11.6% had a fatal outcome in the early period following hospitalization for treatment, and 22.6% had a fatal outcome within the 90-day (late) period after diagnosis. In patients with late-period mortality, pleural fluid (30.8%), pericardial fluid (16.7%), and atelectasis (32.6%) were found to be statistically significantly higher. Among the markers obtained from imaging examinations, only PMT – right: 9.4 [interquartile range (IQR): 6.0-14.0]; left: 9.1 (IQR: 5.4-13.8) – was associated with mortality. According to logistic regression analysis, the MPA diameter was associated with early-period mortality, and it was determined that the right ventricular diameter and the right and left PMT values had a predictive effect on late-period mortality. CONCLUSIONS: To predict mortality, CTPA-based scoring systems that include markers such as PMT, pericardial and pleural fluid, and atelectasis would be more effective; however, large-scale studies are needed to enrich these findings

A Turkish-French Versified Dictionary Written for Turkish Children: Miftâh-ı Lisân

Anadili Türkçe olan çocuklara Fransızca öğretmek maksadıyla Yûsuf Hâlis Efendi tarafından 1266/1849-1850’de kaleme alınan ve bu dillerdeki yegâne örnek olan Miftâh-ı Lisân adlı manzum sözlük, bazı yenilikleri de beraberinde getirmiştir. Manzum sözlük geleneğinde Osmanlı coğrafyasında önceleri elsine-i selâse denilen Türk, Arap ve Fars dillerinden ikisinin veya üçünün kullanıldığı sözlükler yazılmış, daha sonra ise muhtelif ihtiyaçlar sebebiyle Osmanlı tebasının konuştuğu dillerde ikidilli manzum sözlükler kaleme alınmıştır. Miftâh-ı Lisân ile ilk defa bu daire dışında bir örnek verilmiştir. Bir diğer yenilik ise daha önce kaleme alınan manzum sözlüklerde karşılaşılmayan alfabe sorununu gidermeye dönüktür. Fransızcanın Latin harfleriyle yazılması sebebiyle bu eserde, kelimelerin telaffuzları Arap harfleriyle gösterilmiş, ayrıca altlarına Latin harfleriyle Fransızca imlâları yazılmıştır. Bu çalışmada manzum sözlüklerin tarihçesinden ve işlevinden kısaca bahsedildikten sonra Türkçe-Fransızca manzum sözlükle ilgili bilgiler verilmiş ve buna benzer örnekler olup olmadığı dile getirilmiştir. Çalışmada ayrıca bu sözlüğün mukaddime ve hatime kısımları ve bunların mensur söylenişleri ile sözlük kısmından bir kıtaya yer verilmiştir. Matbu metinden bazı sayfaların da yer aldığı çalışmanın sonuç kısmında ayrıca Miftâh-ı Lisân’ın yazılış amacına ulaşıp ulaşmadığı sorgulanmıştır.Turkish-French versified dictionary written by Yûsuf Hâlis Efendi in 1266/1849-1850 is the only example in these languages. This dictionary, which is written to teach French to native Turkish children, made some changes in the versified dictionary tradition. Bilingual or multilingual Turkish, Arabic and Persian versified dictionaries were written in the Ottoman geography, and later on, such dictionaries were written in other languages of Ottoman people. Miftâh-ı Lisân is an example that is written outside this circle for the first time. Another novelty is the elimination of the alphabet problem, which is not encountered in previous versified dictionaries. Since the French were written in Latin letters, the pronunciations of French words were shown in Arabic letters, and these words also written in the Latin alphabet. In this study, after briefly mentioning the history and functions of versified dictionaries, information about Turkish-French versified dictionary will be given. Besides, the introduction and the epilogue of the text, as well as their modern Turkish rendering, will be provided. In the conclusion part, it will also be questioned whether the author has reached his goal. The study will also include sample pages of the published text

A prognostic marker in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss serum calprotectin

Objectives. Calprotectin, a protein released by neutrophils, has been used in many studies as a biomarker showing the presence of inflammation. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between serum calprotectin level and response to the treatment of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL). Methods. The present study is a prospective, cross-sectional historical cohort study.The study group consisted of 44 patients with ISSHL, and the control group consisted of 41 healthy volunteers without ear pathology. At the same time, patients in the study group were divided into three groups according to the response to ISSHL treatment (recovered, partially recovered, unrecovered). The relationship between the groups was statistically evaluated in terms of serum calprotectin levels. Results. The mean serum calprotectin value was 75.67 +/- 19.48 ng/mL in the study group and 50.24 +/- 29.14 ng/mL in the control group (P=0.001). Serum calprotectin value according to the severity of hearing loss in the mild, moderate and severe was 66.20 +/- 8.82, 70.35 +/- 16.77, and 91.23 +/- 1.9.73 ng/mL, respectively. Serum calprotectin value in the severe group was significantly higher compared to the moderate and mild groups (P=0.004, P=0.001, respectively). Serum calprotectin value according to the treatment response in the recovered, partially recovered and unrecovered groups was 63.36 +/- 11.54, 80.17 +/- 12.06, and 85.33 +/- 22.33 ng/mL, respectively. Serum calprotectin value in the recovered group was significantly lower compared to the partially recovered and unrecovered groups (P=0.002, P= 0.001, respectively). Conclusion. Serum calprotectin value informs the clinician about both the severity of hearing loss and the response to treatment. Hence, serum calprotectin can be used as an important biomarker in ISSHL patients for the determination of the prognosis of disease

Elevated serum calprotectin as an inflammatory marker in obstructive sleep apnea

OBJECTIVE To investigate the serum calprotectin (SCal) levels and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) values in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). METHODS Sixty-seven OSA patients and 46 healthy volunteers without any sleep disorders were included in the study. The patient group was divided into three subgroups according to the severity of OSA. The SCal levels and NLR values were compared among subgroups and between the experimental and control groups. RESULTS The mean SCal level and NLR value were higher in the study group than in the control group (p = 0.002 and p = 0.001, respectively). The SCal levels were significantly higher in patients with severe OSA than in those with moderate and mild OSA (p = 0.004 and p = 0.001, respectively). DISCUSSION Unlike NLR, the SCal level may inform the severity of OSA and could be used as an indicator for OSA

Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2-Related Factor (NRF2), Heme Oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and Total Oxidant-Antioxidant Status in Patients with COVID-19

Introduction: Studies on nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) levels in COVID-19 patients are limited. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between some biomarkers of oxidant-antioxidant status with COVID-19 disease. Material and methods: The patients older than 18 years of age who tested positive for SARS CoV-2 PCR (polymerase chain reaction) with clinical symptoms and signs were included in this study. Total antioxidant status (TAS), total antioxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI) and HO-1 and Nrf2 levels were analyzed from serum samples taken before and after treatment. Results: In this study, 16 patients followed up with the diagnosis of COVID-19 were included. 9 (56.3%) of the patients were female and 7 (43.8%) were male. The mean age was 33.75 ± 17.03 years. All patients were symptomatic and were hospitalized to be followed up. It was determined that Nrf2 and HO-1 values increased significantly after treatment. Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between Nrf2 and TAS values and TAS increases significantly in parallel to an increase in Nrf2, and there was a significant but negative correlation between Nrf2 and TOS and OSI values, and thus an increase in Nrf2 led to a decrease in TOS and OSI values. There was a significant positive correlation between HO-1 and TAS, and TAS increased significantly, as HO-1 increased. Conclusions: The decrease in TOS and OSI and the increase in Nrf2 and HO-1 during the follow-up period in COVID-19 patients suggest that the body tries to prevent ROS-related oxidative stress via Nrf2 and HO-1 and that oxidative stress may have a key role in the pathophysiology of COVID-19

Efficiency of Expansion Sphincter Pharyngoplasty in the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Objective:Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is characterized by recurrent episodes of upper respiratory- tract obstruction during sleep and decrease in arterial oxygen saturation. Expansion sphincter pharyngoplasty (ESP) is a simple, safe, and effective method for the surgical treatment of OSAS. The aim of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of ESP with polysomnography (PSG) in OSAS patients.Methods:This study was conducted on patients referred to our center for the treatment of snoring, apnea, witnessed apnea, and daytime sleepiness during 2010- 2018. Overall, 67 patients (16 females, 51 males) who had PSG test at postoperative three months and were considered suitable with history, physical examination, and surgery after PSG were included in the study. Patients were classified into three groups according to OSAS severity: mild, moderate, and severe. Patient age, sex, body mass index (BMI), pre- and postoperative period apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), Epworth sleepiness scores, and PSG data were recorded.Results:The mean BMI of all groups was 27.44±2.73. The postoperative AHI decreased from 18.26±2.23 to 8.01±0.97 (p<0.001). Surgical success rate was 67.2%; it was higher in females (p=0.047). The highest success rate was found in the mild OSAS group; however, this difference was not statistically significant when compared to the other groups (p=0.217). There were statistically significant improvement at postoperative Epworth sleepiness scores and minimum O2 saturations (p<0.001 and p=0.018, respectively).Conclusion:ESP is an effective and successful surgery in selected patients with lateral pharyngeal and retropalatal narrowing