A Rare Cutaneous Adnexal Tumor: Malignant Proliferating Trichilemmal Tumor

Proliferating trichilemmal tumors (PTTs) are neoplasms derived from the outer root sheath of the hair follicle. These tumors, which commonly affect the scalp of elderly women, rarely demonstrate malignant transformation. Although invasion of the tumors into neighboring tissues and being accompanied with anaplasia and necrosis are accepted as findings of malignancy, histological features may not always be sufficient to identify these tumors. The clinical behavior of the tumor may be incompatible with its histological characteristics. Squamous-cell carcinoma should certainly be considered in differential diagnosis because of its similarity in morphological appearance with PTT. Immunostaining for CD34, P53, and Ki-67 is a useful adjuvant diagnostic method that can be used in differential diagnosis aside from morphological findings. In this study, we aimed to present the case of a 52-year-old female patient with clinicopathological features. We reported a low-grade malignant proliferating trichilemmal tumor in this patient and detected no relapse or metastasis in a 24-month period of follow-up

Incidence of coronary bifurcation lesion as a culprit lesion in patients with acute myocardial infarction: impact of treatment strategy on short- and long-term outcomes

Background: Although, there are several studies comparing single and two-stent techniques in patients with bifurcation lesions, evidence in patients presenting with myocardial infarction (MI) is still insufficient.1-3 We aimed to assess the short- and long-term outcomes of provisional and two-stent techniques of bifurcation lesions in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Patients and Methods: 2992 patients with MI who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were enrolled in the present study. Of 2992 patients, 385 patients with MI had bifurcation lesions. The Synergy between PCI with TAXUS™ and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score, pre-PCI Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow, post-PCI TIMI flow, duration of procedure, angiographic features, post-PCI side branch loss, 1- and 12-month mortality rates were noted. Results: 169 (43.9%) patients had ST-segment elevation MI, whereas 216 (56.1%) patients had non-STsegment elevation MI. 355 (92.2%) patients underwent provisional stenting and 30 (7.8%) patients underwent two-stent technique. Side branch loss was observed in 40 patients (11.2%) in the provisional group and 1 patient (3.3%) in the two-stent group (p=0.2). Compared to provisional group, durations of angiography and revascularization in two-stent group were significantly longer (p<0.001 and p<0.001). Both 1-month and 12-month mortality rates were similar in provisional and two-stent groups (4.2% vs. 3.3%, p=0.8 and 11.5% and 13.3%, p=0.7; respectively). Conclusion: In patients presenting with ACS and bifurcation lesions, procedural success, side branch loss, as well as short- and long-term mortality were similar in both provisional and two-stent techniques

Clinical features and major bleeding predictors for 161 fatal cases of COVID-19: A retrospective observational study

The aim of this study was to investigate the patient characteristics and laboratory parameters for COVID-19 non-survivors as well as to find risk factors for major bleeding complications. For this retrospective study, the data of patients who died with COVID-19 in our intensive care unit were collected in the period of March 20 - April 30, 2020. D-dimer, platelet count, C-reactive protein (CRP), troponin, and international normalized ratio (INR) levels were recorded on the 1st, 5th, and 10th days of hospitalization in order to investigate the possible correlation of laboratory parameter changes with in-hospital events. A total of 161 non-survivors patients with COVID-19 were included in the study.  The median age was 69.8±10.9 years, and 95 (59%) of the population were male. Lung-related complications were the most common in-hospital complications. Patients with COVID-19 had in-hospital complications such as major bleeding (39%), hemoptysis (14%), disseminated intravascular coagulation (13%), liver failure (21%), ARDS (85%), acute kidney injury (40%), and myocardial injury (70%). A multiple logistics regression analysis determined that age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, use of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) or low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), hemoglobin, D-dimer, INR, and acute kidney injury were independent predictors of major bleeding. Our results showed that a high proportion of COVID-19 non-survivors suffered from major bleeding complications

Amyand's hernia: Case series and our experience

Background: Acute appendicitis in an inguinal hernia that has been called as "Amyand's Hernia" since the day on which Claudius Amyand has described the condition. That was the first appendectomy ever reported in the literature. The incidence of acute appendicitis in an inguinal hernia is 0,13 % of all cases with acute appendicitis. Herein, the patients diagnosed with Amyand's hernia are evaluated retrospectively

Risk Factors for Mortality in Denim Sandblasters Silicosis: Selecting Candidate for Lung Transplantation

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to review the risk factors for silicosis together with survival analysis and a perspective for lung transplantation with data from a single center

<p>The Impact of Lesion Complexity and the CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc Score on Spontaneous Reperfusion in Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction</p>

Background. In patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a patent infarct-related artery (IRA) on initial angiography is defined as spontaneous reperfusion (SR). Objective. The present study aimed to determine the impact of lesion complexity and the CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc score on SR in patients with STEMI. Methods. A total number of 1,641 consecutive patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI were assessed for this study. Patients were divided into 2 groups, those with SR, SR(+) (n = 239), and those without SR, SR(-) (n = 1402), according to their initial angiography and SR status. CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc scores were calculated for all patients. The lesion complexity of coronary artery disease was assessed with the SYNTAX score. Results. The CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc and SYNTAX scores were significantly lower in the SR(+) group compared to the SR(-) (mean CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc, 1.36 +/- 0.64 vs. 2.01 +/- 0.80, p < 0.001; mean SYNTAX score, 15.51 +/-& nbsp;5.94 vs. 17.08 +/-& nbsp;8.29, p < 0.001). After the multivariate regression analysis, a lower CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc (OR = 0.288, p < 0.001), SYNTAX score (OR = 0.920, p=0.007), uric acid (OR = 0.868, p=0.005), CRP (OR = 0.939, p=0.001), BNP (OR = 0.998, p=0.004), and troponin (OR = 0.991, p=0.001) were independent predictors of SR. In-hospital mortality rates were significantly lower in the SR(+) group compared to the SR(-) (0% vs. 6.7%, p < 0.001). Conclusion. Our study demonstrated that lesion complexity and the CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc score are independently associated with spontaneous reperfusion

Echocardiographic features of patients with COVID-19 infection: a cross-sectional study

COVID-19 patients with cardiac involvement have a high mortality rate. The aim of this study was to investigate the echocardiographic features in COVID-19 patients between severe and non-severe groups. For this single-center study, data from patients who were treated for COVID-19 between March 25, 2020 and April 15, 2020 were collected. Two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) images were obtained for all patients. Patients were divided into two groups based on the severity of their COVID-19 infections. 2DE parameters indicating right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular (LV) functions were compared between the two groups. A total of 90 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 were included in this study. The mean age of the severe group (n = 44) was 63.3 +/- 15.7 years, and 54% were male. The mean age of non-severe group (n = 46) was 49.7 +/- 21.4 years, and 47% were male. In the severe group, RV and LV diameters were larger (RV, 36.6 +/- 5.9 mm vs. 33.1 +/- 4.8 mm, p = 0.003; LV 47.3 +/- 5.8 mm vs. 44.9 +/- 3.8 mm, p = 0.023), the LE ejection fraction (LVEF) and the RV fractional area change (RV-FAC) were lower (LVEF, 54.0 +/- 9.8% vs. 61.9 +/- 4.8%, p < 0.001; RV-FAC, 41.4 +/- 4.1% vs. 45.5 +/- 4.5%, p < 0.001), and pericardial effusions were more frequent (23% vs. 0%) compared to patients in the non-severe group. A multiple linear regression analysis determined that LVEF, right atrial diameter, high-sensitivity troponin I, d-dimer, and systolic pulmonary artery pressure, were independent predictors of RV dilatation. The results demonstrate that both right and left ventricular functions decreased due to COVID-19 infection in the severe group. 2DE is a valuable bedside tool and may yield valuable information about the clinical status of patients and their prognoses

The pharmacists' ability to use pressurized metered-dose inhalers with a spacer device and factors affecting it

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the pharmacists' ability to use pMDIs with a spacer device and the factors that affect this ability. Method: Face to face interviews were conducted with the pharmacists. A nine item questionnaire was completed and the checklist for how to use pMDIs with a spacer device was filled out. Results: A total of 307 pharmacists voluntarily participated in this study. Fifty-six (18.2%) of the pharmacists stated that they did not know how to use pMDIs with a spacer device. These pharmacists were excluded and remaining 251 pharmacists included in the study. Only 100 (39.8%) pharmacists demonstrated all of the inhaler spacer device usage steps correctly. The step in which pharmacists made the most mistakes was "take 5-6 deep and slow breaths, hold for 10 s and slow breaths." Those pharmacists who were more likely to correctly use pMDIs with a spacer device were younger (p = 0.023), had dispensed more asthma medications per day (p < 0.001), had dispensed more asthma medications per day for patients younger than six years of age (p = 0.016), and sold inhaler spacer devices at their pharmacy (p = 0.042). Conclusion: Approximately one third of the pharmacists in the current study were able to correctly demonstrate all of the steps for proper usage of pMDIs with a spacer device, which indicates that pharmacists should be included in the training program and be provided continuous training on the use of pMDIs with a spacer device

A Case of Primary Hyperparathyroidism due to Intrathyroidal Parathyroid Cyst

Parathyroid cysts constitute 0.08–3.41% of all parathyroid masses. Intrathyroidal parathyroid cysts, however, are rare conditions with only a few cases being reported. Most of the parathyroid cysts are found to be nonfunctional and functional cysts are generally thought to be due to cystic degeneration of parathyroid adenomas. A cystic, smooth contoured lesion of 24 × 19 × 16 mm was observed in left thyroid lobe of a 76-year-old woman during ultrasonography which was performed as routine workup for primary hyperparathyroidism. It was defined as a cystic thyroid nodule at first. Tc99m sestamibi scintigraphy was performed to see any parathyroid lesions, but no radioactive uptake was observed. Intact parathormone (iPTH) level was found to be >600 pg/mL in cyst aspiration fluid. Left lobectomy was performed, with a diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism due to functional parathyroid cyst. Serum iPTH level was decreased >50% postoperatively and histopathological evaluation was consistent with an encapsulated parathyroid adenoma with a cystic center. Parathyroid cysts are among rare causes of primary hyperparathyroidism. Diagnosis is made by markedly increased iPTH level in cyst fluid and observation of parathyroid epithelium lining the cyst wall