The Surgical Anatomy of the Brachial Plexus Brakial Pleksusun Cerrahi Anatomisi Original Investigation

ABSTRACT AIM: The brachial plexus (BP) has a complex structure and risky relations with its neighborhoods. This study was designed to investigate and overcome the morphometric features of the BP and the difficulties regarding surgery of BP lesions. MATERIAL and METHOD: Twelve BP of six adult cadavers were dissected and neural structures, branches, and variations were evaluated. Morphometric measurements were done and surgical approaches were discussed. RESULTS: The length of anterior (ventral) rami of C5-T1 are in decreasing order such as C5 > C6 > C7 > C8 > T1 and the width of them is in decreasing order such as C7 > C8 > C6 > T1 > C5. The length of upper trunk (UT) , middle trunk (MT) and lower trunk (LT) are approximately similar (UT~MT ~LT) , but the width is in decreasing order as LT > UT > MT. The length of the cords are in decreasing order as posterior cord (PC) >lateral cord (LC) >medial cord (MC), whereas their widths are PC>LC>MC . CONCLUSION: From the ventral rami to the cords, BP has a complex and variable anatomic structure. The selection of surgical procedure to the BP needs to be mastered by having the best knowledge of the relevant anatomy. SONUÇ: Brakiyal pleksus ventral ramuslardan kordlara kadar kompleks ve değişken bir anatomik yapıya sahiptir. Brakiyal pleksusa yapılacak cerrahi yöntemin seçiminde ilgili bölgenin anatomisinin çok iyi bilinmesi gereklidir

Evaluation of Nutritional Status and Anxiety Levels in Patients Applying to the Radiation Oncology Outpatient Clinic during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Turkish Society for Radiation Oncology Group Study (TROD 12:02)

Cancer patients often face malnutrition, which negatively affects their response to cancer treatment. This study aims to analyze the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on nutritional status and anxiety in cancer patients with different types and stages of cancer. This is a cross-sectional cohort study that includes 1,252 patients with varying cancer types from 17 radiation oncology centers. The nutritional risk scores (NRS-2002) and coronavirus anxiety scale (CAS) scores of all patients were measured. NRS-2002 >= 3 and CAS >= 5 were accepted as values at risk. Of all patients, 15.3% had NRS-2002 >= 3. Breast cancer was the most prevalent cancer type (24.5%) with the lowest risk of nutrition (4.9%, p = 5) were significantly related to voluntary avoidance and clinical postponement of hospital visits due to the pandemic (p < 0.001), while clinical postponement was particularly frequent among patients with NRS-2002 < 3 (p = 0.0021). Fear and anxiety in cancer patients with COVID-19 cause hesitations in visiting hospitals, leading to disrupted primary and nutritional treatments. Thus, nutritional monitoring and treatment monitoring of cancer patients are crucial during and after radiotherapy