EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF THERAPEUTICS

Introduction: The objective of this study was to evaluate a dressing material on ischemic wound model in diabetic rats. Study was conducted during the months of June 2012-March 2013 at Ege University in Izmir, Turkey. Materials and Methods: Sprague Dawley rats weighing 200-250 g obtained from an experimental animal production center (Saki Yenili-Ankara,Turkey) were used in this study. Animals were randomly assigned to diabetic (n= 20) and nondiabetic (n= 20) groups. After diabetes induction and wound creation, animals within each group were assigned to two wound dressing groups by a second randomization. The study was carried out on these four groups. After diabetes induction and wound creation, animals within each group (n= 10) were assigned to olive leaf extract (OLE) wound dressing and normal saline (sodium chloride, 0.9% NaCI) wound dressing groups by a second randomization. 0.9% NaCl and OLE dressing was applied to wounds once a day by the researcher. The areas of wounds were measured by Walker Formula. OLE wound dressing healed wounds faster and earlier than classic wound dressing (p< 0.05). Results: In the diabetic group; wounds closure time was found to be 24.80 +/- 1.48 in OLE wound dressing and 28.00 +/- 2.31 days in classical wound dressing. Conclusion: As a result in terms of success ratios, OLE wound dressing for wound healing in diabetic and non-diabetic wounds has been determined to be more effective in comparison with classic wound dressing method

Nursing students' approaches toward Euthanasia

PubMed ID: 25084711Background: In Turkey, which is a secular, democratic nation with a majority Muslim population, euthanasia is illegal and regarded as murder. Nurses and sti.idents can be faced with ethical dilemmas and a lack of a legal basis, with a conflict of religious beliefs and social and cultural values concerning euthanasia. The aim of this study was to investigate undergraduate nursing students' attitudes towards euthanasia. Method. The study, which had a descriptive design, was conducted with 600 students. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year nursing students at a school of nursing were contacted in May 2009, and 383 students (63.8% of the study population of a total of 600 students) gave informed consent. Two tools were used in accordance with questionnaire preparation rules. Results: The majority of students were female and single (96.9%), and their mean age was 21.3 ± 1.5 years. A majority (78.9%) stated they had received no training course/education on the concept of euthanasia. Nearly one-third (32.4%) of the students were against euthanasia; 14.3% of the students in the study agreed that if their relatives had an irreversible, lethal condition, passive euthanasia could be performed. In addition, 24.8% of the students agreed that if they themselves had an irreversible, lethal condition, passive euthanasia could be performed. Less than half (42.5%) of the students thought that discussions about euthanasia could be useful. There was a significant relation between the study year and being against euthanasia (p < 0.05), the idea that euthanasia could be abused (p < 0.05), and the idea that euthanasia was unethical (p < 0.05). Conclusion: It was concluded that the lack of legal regulations, ethical considerations, religious beliefs, and work experience with dying patients affect nursing students' attitudes towards euthanasia. © 2014, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc