Comparison of Radiofrequency Thermal Ablation and Microdebrider-Assisted Turbinoplasty in Inferior Turbinate Hypertrophy: A Prospective, Randomized, and Clinical Study

Objective:To compare the effectiveness of radiofrequency thermal ablation with those of microdebrider- assisted turbinoplasty, we designed a prospective, randomized clinical study.Methods:Forty patients suffering from nasal obstruction due to bilateral inferior turbinate hypertrophy were enrolled. Half of the patients were operated by radiofrequency thermal ablation, while the other half underwent microdebrider-assisted turbinoplasty. The outcomes of both techniques were compared in terms of symptomatology, nasal patency, and mucociliary transport.Results:A statistically significant difference existed between the two groups with respect to nasal obstruction and the frequency of obstruction at the first post-operative week and first and third post-operative months (p<0.05). Rhinomanometry detected a significant decrease in nasal resistance values in both surgical groups compared to the preoperative values. The mucociliary transport time was significantly prolonged in the first postoperative week and first postoperative month in microdebrider-assisted inferior turbinoplasty group.Conclusion:Both radiofrequency thermal ablation and microdebrider-assisted turbinoplasty are effective techniques for treating inferior turbinate hypertrophy. The treatment modality should be individually determined, and parameters such as tissue healing, volume reduction, and mucociliary activity must be taken into account

Prevalence of Allergic Rhinitis in Children in the Trabzon Province of the Black Sea Region of Turkey

Objective: We aimed to determine the prevalence of allergic rhinitis in children aged 12-15 years who lived in the Trabzon Province, specify possible risk factors, and compare the data obtained with those of the other studies conducted in our country and in other countries.Methods: First, 1372 students from nine primary schools determined according to the recommendations of Department of Public Health and approval of The Provincial Directorate of Health were screened in their schools with questionnaire forms. Second, students providing the response “yes” to the first and/or second questions in the questionnaire forms were considered as possible allergic rhinitis patients and invited to our clinic. Then, 246 students were subjected to a skin prick test. Data were collected with the evalution of questionnaire and skin prick test results together.Results: The prevalance of allergic rhinitis in children between 12 and 15 years age was found to be 14.5% in Trabzon. Female gender was found to be a relative a risk factor for allergic rhinitis (p=0.015). The prevalence of allergic rhinitis in children whose both parents were smoking was significantly higher than that in children whose only one parent was smoking or both parents were nonsmokers (p=0.0024). In addition, living in an apartment flat (p=0.015) and owing pets (p=0.04) were detected to be other risk factors for allergic rhinitis.Conclusion: According to our investigations, this is the first prevalence study in Trabzon, which is the largest settlement in the Eastern Black Sea Region. The prevalence of allergic rhinitis in children was found to be 14.5%. Female gender, smoking habits of the parents, owing pets, and living in an apartment flat are risk factors for allergic rhinitis

What does the Data of 354,725 Patients from Turkey Tell Us About Cervical Smear Epithelial Cell Abnormalities? - The Epithelial Cell Abnormality Rate is Increasing - Quality Control Studies and Corrective Activity are Musts

Objective: There is no other screening program close to the success rate of PAP test. Cervical cytology constitutes a large workload so that quality control in cervical cytology is important for the quality assurance of pathology laboratories. Material and Method: In this study, we collected the cervical cytology results from all over Turkey and discussed the parameters influencing the quality of the PAP test. The study was conducted with Turkish gynaecopathology working group and 38 centers (totally 45 hospitals) agreed to contribute from 24 different cities. The study was designed to cover the cervical cytology results during 2013. The results were evaluated from the data based on an online questionnaire. Results: The total number of Epithelial Cell Abnormality was 18,020 and the global Epithelial Cell Abnormality rate was 5.08% in the total 354,725 smears and ranging between 0.3% to 16.64% among centers. The Atypical squamous cells/Squamous intraepithelial lesion ratios changed within the range of 0.21-13.94 with an average of 2.61. When the centers were asked whether they performed quality assurance studies, only 14 out of 28 centers, which shared the information, had such a control study and some quality parameters were better in these centers. Conclusion: There is an increase in the global Epithelial Cell Abnormality rate and there are great differences among centers. Quality control studies including the Atypical squamous cells/Squamous intraepithelial lesion ratio are important. Corrective and preventive action according to quality control parameters is a must. A cervical cytology subspecialist in every center can be utopic but a dedicated pathologist in the center is certainly needed