May C-peptide index be a new marker to predict proteinuria in anemic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus?

Objective. C-peptide is a reliable marker of beta cell reserve and is associated with diabetic complications. Furthermore, HbA1c level is associated with micro- and macro-vascular complications in diabetic patients. HbA1c measurement of diabetic patients with anemia may be misleading because HbA1c is calculated in percent by taking reference to hemoglobin measurements. We hypothesized that there may be a relationship between C-peptide index (CPI) and proteinuria in anemic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the association between C-peptide levels and CPI in anemic patients with T2DM and proteinuria

Tsunami early warning in the eastern Mediterranean, Aegean and black sea

A National Tsunami Warning Centre in Turkey (NTWC-TR) established at the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute (KOERI) under the ICG/NEAMTWS (The Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Northeastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected seas region) initiative is operational since January 2012 based on MOD1 Tsunami Scenario Database and TAT (Tsunami Analysis Tool) received from EC-JRC through a collaborative agreement. NTWC-TR is also acknowledged as a Candidate Tsunami Watch Provider within NEAMTWS. The Centre is relying on a system on systems embodying seismic and sea level monitoring, tsunami modeling, message dissemination systems, preparedness and mitigation activities. Considerable improvement on the seismic and sea-level network has been achieved; the communication infrastructure at KOERI has been upgraded and now includes its own GTS system. Further improvement of the Tsunami Warning System at the NTWC-TR will be accomplished through KOERI's cooperation with EC-JRC and METU to improve the scenario database and through participation in the FP-7 Project TRIDEC focusing on new technologies for real-time intelligent earth information management to be used in Tsunami Early Warning Systems. Copyright © 2012 by the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE)

Evaluation of the factors affecting the necessity for revision surgery in choanal atresia.

Objective: This study aims to compare the effects of different surgical techniques for congenital choanal atresia (CCA), and particular emphasis is given to the analysis of the factors affecting the surgical outcome. The necessity for revision surgery and surgical outcomes were retrospectively investigated in patients undergoing revision surgery according to a recently proposed classification system. Material and method: A retrospective study was conducted on patients operated for CCA between January 2007 and December 2018 at a university hospital. Data in the medical records, including patient age when the initial surgery was performed, gender, additional anomalies and medical conditions, the duration of gestation, side and type of atresia, type of surgery and need for revision surgery were reviewed. Results: Forty-five patients treated for CCA in our university hospital were screened. The mean follow-up duration was 82.16 months. Revision surgery was required in 9 of 26 cases, which are included in the study (34.6%). Fourteen patients presented with bilateral CCA, while 12 were unilateral cases. Sixteen patients (61.5%) had comorbid medical conditions. While the removal of vomer and mucoperiosteal flap use affects successful surgical repair, no differences were observed in choanal atresia type, laterality, use of stent and the presence of additional medical conditions. Conclusion: The most important factors affecting surgical success for CCA are the removal of the vomer and closure of all bare bone tissues using a mucoperiosteal flap. Use of stents provides no additional benefit, apart from preventing synechiae formation

Causative pathogens and antibiotic resistance in diabetic foot infections: A prospective multi-center study

WOS: 000378759700027PubMed ID: 26965794Aim: Clinical practice guidelines for the management of diabetic foot infections developed by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) are commonly used worldwide. The issue of whether or not these guidelines need to be adjusted for local circumstances, however, has seldom been assessed in large prospective trials. Methods: The Turk-DAY trial was a prospective, multi-center study in which infectious disease specialists from centers across Turkey were invited to participate (NCT02026830). Results: A total of 35 centers throughout Turkey enrolled patients in the trial. Overall, investigators collected a total of 522 specimens from infected diabetic foot wounds for culture from 447 individual patients. Among all isolates, 36.4% were gram-positive organisms, with Staphylococcus aureus the most common among these (11.4%). Gram-negative organisms constituted 60.2% of all the isolates, and the most commonly isolated gram-negative was Escherichia coli (15%). The sensitivity rates of the isolated species were remarkably low for several antimicrobials used in the mild infection group. Conclusions: Based on our findings, several of the antimicrobials frequently used for empirical treatment, including some also recommended in the IDSA guidelines, would not be optimal for treating diabetic foot infections in Turkey. Although the IDSA guideline recommendations may be helpful to guide empiric antimicrobial therapy of DFIs, they should be adjusted to local conditions. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Quality of life and related factors among chronic hepatitis B-infected patients: a multi-center study, Turkey

Background: The aim of this study was to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients in Turkey and to study related factors