The Place of Histochemical Stains for Differential Diagnosis in Duodenal Biopsies

The biopsy is the primary examination method in diagnosing duodenal pathologies and Gluten enteropathy that can cause symptoms such as gas, diarrhea, weight loss, anemia, osteoporosis. Allows monitoring of response to therapy. Histochemical studies are inevitable in specific findings such as reactive changes, giardia, subepithelial collagen thickening, fibrosis, and gastric metaplasia. We aimed to understand the contribution of histochemical applications to differential diagnosis and to show their superiority compared to hematoxylin-eosin sections in routine use by simultaneously making histomorphological evaluations on hematoxylin and eosin sections. This research is a retrospective study conducted in 2011, using the archives of Yüzüncü Yıl University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, between 2001-2010. Ten normal, 50 Gluten enteropathy and 50 duodenitis samples; Along with histopathological examinations, we applied Masson Trichrome, Periodic acid-Schiff, Periodic acid-Schiff with diastasis, Periodic acid Schiff-Alcian Blue, High Iron Diamine-Alcian Blue. Chi-square, likelihood ratio tests, and SPSS (ver: 13) statistical package program used. We detected microscopic findings parallel to diagnostic criteria. While the number of goblet cells and intraepithelial neutrophils did not differ in the groups (P =0.176 and P=0.096), there was a significant variation in the intraepithelial lymphocyte count (P=0.010). The frequency of flattening and blunting of the villi, crypt hyperplasia, and Brunner gland hyperplasia were significant in gluten enteropathies (P=0.000). Conclusion We could not find any difference in specific pathologies associated with histochemical studies in our group, so hematoxylin-eosin sections are more valuable in the differential diagnosis

COVID-19 in pediatric nephrology centers in Turkey

Background/aim: There is limited data on COVID-19 disease in children with kidney disease. We aimed to investigate the characteristics and prognosis of COVID-19 in pediatric nephrology patients in Turkey. Materials and methods: This was a national, multicenter, retrospective cohort study based on an online survey evaluating the data between 11th March 2020 and 11th March 2021 as an initial step of a detailed pediatric nephrology COVID-19 registry. Results: Two hundred and three patients (89 girls and 114 boys) were diagnosed with COVID-19. One-third of these patients (36.9%) were between 10–15 years old. Half of the patients were on kidney replacement therapy: kidney transplant (KTx) recipients (n = 56, 27.5%), patients receiving chronic hemodialysis (n = 33, 16.3%) and those on peritoneal dialysis (PD) (n = 18, 8.9%). Fifty-four (26.6%) children were asymptomatic. Eighty-two (40.3%) patients were hospitalized and 23 (28%) needed intensive care unit admission. Fifty-five percent of the patients were not treated, while the remaining was given favipiravir (20.7%), steroid (16.3%), and hydroxychloroquine (11.3%). Acute kidney injury developed in 19.5% of hospitalized patients. Five (2.4%) had MIS-C. Eighty-three percent of the patients were discharged without any apparent sequelae, while 7 (3.4%) died. One hundred and eight health care staff were infected during the study period. Conclusion: COVID-19 was most commonly seen in patients who underwent KTx and received HD. The combined immunosuppressive therapy and frequent exposure to the hospital setting may increase these patients’ susceptibility. Staff infections before vaccination era were alarming, various precautions should be taken for infection control, particularly optimal vaccination coverage

Analysis of Factors Affecting Patient Satisfaction: Focus on Asthma Patients

Background: Patient satisfaction is regarded as an important indicator in assessing the quality of care. Over the past 20 years, in particular, there has been increasing interest in patients' perceptions about the provision of healthcare. Although asthma is a disease that increases the burden on health expenditure and has high cost requirements, there have been few studies evaluating the views of asthma patients about their treatment. The aims of this study were to identify factors affecting the satisfaction of asthma patients and to contribute to the sparse literature on this topic. Methods: The study sample consisted of 387 asthma patients who were referred to Hacettepe University's Chest Diseases Polyclinic and Allergy Unit in Ankara, Turkey, between August 2000 and March 2001. A questionnaire consisting of 66 questions was developed to explore demographic characteristics (11 questions), quality of life (32 questions), severity of disease (2 questions), and patient satisfaction with the care received (21 questions). The items for the satisfaction part of the questionnaire were selected from three separate questionnaires used in three independent studies, including the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire. Factor analysis was performed on the satisfaction items, which revealed five dimensions in which the items were grouped: (i) doctor competency; (ii) provision of information; (iii) quality of care; (iv) waiting time; and (v) hospital quality. The general reliability coefficient was 0.87. Regression analyses were carried out to determine how patients' satisfaction with their medical treatment was affected by the following variables: demographic characteristics (age, other diseases, sex, education, duration of treatment), severity of disease, quality of life, whether medical tests were performed, and whether treatment was received from academic physicians (professors and associate professors) or from consultants and assistants. Results: The results of the regression analyses revealed that patients who had undergone medical tests or who had received treatment from academic physicians (rather than from consultants or assistants) had higher satisfaction levels than their counterparts. Furthermore, female patients had higher levels of satisfaction than their male counterparts. In addition, it was found that the five satisfaction dimensions were all significantly correlated with each other and that patients' general satisfaction was also significantly correlated with all five satisfaction dimensions. The percentages of patient satisfaction that were likely to be explained by the variables used in the study were 22.7% for doctor competency, 25.6% for provision of information, 46.2% for quality of care, 13.7% for waiting time, and 9% for hospital quality. Overall, 32.4% of satisfaction was explained by the variables used in the study. Conclusion: The fact that only 32.4% of general patient satisfaction was explained by the variables used in the study indicates that there are still very important gaps in our understanding of factors affecting patient satisfaction. This study found that the levels of patient satisfaction with care were influenced by provider characteristics (academic status) rather than patient characteristics. After controlling for patient characteristics, patients of professor and associate professor physicians were more satisfied than patients of assistant physicians, especially in regard to doctor competency, quality of care, provision of information, waiting time, and overall satisfaction. Medical education should continue to emphasize the importance of these aspects of the physician-patient encounter. A qualitative approach could be used in further research to investigate the variance that cannot be explained by other models.Asthma, Patient-preference

Turunçgillerde Genetik Mühendisliği Uygulamaları

Diğer bitkilerde olduğu gibi turunçgillerde de genetik mühendisliği uygulamalarının yapılması ve yaygınlaşması, istenilen özellikleri sağlayacak genlerin bulunmasına ve bunları bitkiye aktaracak transformasyon yöntemlerinin geliştirilmesine bağlıdır. Bu iki temel koşulun sağlanmasıyla turunçgillere ıslah çalışmalarıyla kazandırılamayan bazı özellikler genetik mühendisliği yoluyla kazandırılabilir. Bu amaçla turunçgillerde son on yılda çok sayıda çalışma yapılmış olup farklı bitki materyali ve farklı gen aktarım yöntemleri kullanılarak transgenik bitkiler üretilmiştir. Başlangıçta transformasyon çalışmaları sadece raportör genler kullanılarak yapılmıştır. Daha sonra transformasyon yöntemlerinin optimizasyonu ve tarımsal açıdan önemli genlerin çeşitli kaynaklardan klonlanmasıyla turunçgillerde hastalık ve zararlılar yanında abiyotik streslere dayanıklılık ve meyve kalitesinin artırılmasına yönelik genetik mühendisliği uygulamaları da başlamıştır. Bu uygulamalar sonucunda birçok transgenik bitki üretilmiş olup halen bu transgenik bitkilerin moleküler ve biyolojik karakterizasyonları yapılmaktadır. Bu çalışmada dünyada turunçgillerde yapılan genetik transformasyon çalışmaları ve bunların sonuçları derlenerek yakın gelecekteki durumu ve ülkemiz açısından önemi tartışılmıştır. Anahtar sözcükler: Turunçgiller, genetik mühendisliği, genetik transformasyon, doku kültürü, Biyotik ve abiyotik streslere dayanıklılı

Informal Payments In The Health Sector: A Case Study From Turkey

The practice of making informal payments in the health sector is common in a number of countries. It has become an important policy issue around the world. These payments can jeopardize governments' attempts to improve equity and access to care and policies targeted to the poor. It is widely believed that a considerable amount of out-of-pocket payment in the health sector in Turkey is informal. To examine this issue, we used a questionnaire adopted from a wider international study. We concluded that informal payments in Turkey are significant and have important implications for health care reform.WoSScopu