Volume CXIV, Number 4, November 7, 1996

Objective: Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal disorder caused by complete or partial X chromosome monosomy that manifests various clinical features depending on the karyotype and on the genetic background of affected girls. This study aimed to systematically investigate the key clinical features of TS in relationship to karyotype in a large pediatric Turkish patient population.Methods: Our retrospective study included 842 karyotype-proven TS patients aged 0-18 years who were evaluated in 35 different centers in Turkey in the years 2013-2014.Results: The most common karyotype was 45,X (50.7%), followed by 45,X/46,XX (10.8%), 46,X,i(Xq) (10.1%) and 45,X/46,X,i(Xq) (9.5%). Mean age at diagnosis was 10.2±4.4 years. The most common presenting complaints were short stature and delayed puberty. Among patients diagnosed before age one year, the ratio of karyotype 45,X was significantly higher than that of other karyotype groups. Cardiac defects (bicuspid aortic valve, coarctation of the aorta and aortic stenosis) were the most common congenital anomalies, occurring in 25% of the TS cases. This was followed by urinary system anomalies (horseshoe kidney, double collector duct system and renal rotation) detected in 16.3%. Hashimoto's thyroiditis was found in 11.1% of patients, gastrointestinal abnormalities in 8.9%, ear nose and throat problems in 22.6%, dermatologic problems in 21.8% and osteoporosis in 15.3%. Learning difficulties and/or psychosocial problems were encountered in 39.1%. Insulin resistance and impaired fasting glucose were detected in 3.4% and 2.2%, respectively. Dyslipidemia prevalence was 11.4%.Conclusion: This comprehensive study systematically evaluated the largest group of karyotype-proven TS girls to date. The karyotype distribution, congenital anomaly and comorbidity profile closely parallel that from other countries and support the need for close medical surveillance of these complex patients throughout their lifespa

ERAS vs. Traditional Protocol in Patients Who Had Radical Cystectomy with Ileal Conduit: A Retrospective Comparative Analysis of 182 Cases

Objective. To examine the effects of ERAS protocol application on hospital stay, postoperative antibiotic use, and gastrointestinal recovery time in radical cystectomy patients with ileal conduit. Materials and Methods. This retrospective study included 182 patients (112 traditional vs. 72 ERAS) who underwent radical cystectomy (RC) with ileal conduit between November 2017 and December 2020. Patients were compared in terms of time to start enteral feeding (SEF), length of hospital stay (LOS), time to first stool, duration of postoperative intravenous antibiotic use, postoperative ileus rate, and serum albumin levels. Results. The traditional and ERAS groups contained 112 and 72 patients, respectively. LOS (14.79 ± 6.44 vs. 10.44 ± 4.64 days, p=0.003), first stool time (4.43 ± 2.39 vs. 2.89 ± 1.81 days, p=0.011), and duration of postoperative intravenous antibiotic use (8.79 ± 5.17 vs. 4.61 ± 4.90, p=0.004) were to be found significantly shorter in the ERAS group. Conclusion. According to the results of this study, the ERAS protocol shortened the length of hospital stay, duration of antibiotic use, and time of first stool in patients who underwent RC with ileal conduit

Parent-school collaboration based on the frequency of visits to their child's school

This study examines parent-school collaboration in primary schools. School administrators, teachers, and parents are the stakeholders of the school, together with the students. Coordinated and harmonious work by all stakeholders increases the success of the school. The family plays an important role in raising a child, and the importance of collaboration between school and family is increasing day by day. Therefore, we expect parents to collaborate with teachers and school administrators in this process. The sample consists of 336 primary school parents randomly selected from 4 schools in Edirne, Turkey. We used the "parent-school collaboration scale" to collect research data. The scale contains 30 items and 5 subscales. ANOVA (Analysis of variance) was used in the analysis of the data, and in cases where the difference between population means was significant, LSD (the least significant difference) test statistical techniques were used to determine the source of the difference. Interdimensional relationships were determined by the Pearson correlation coefficient technique. There is a recursive relationship between the parents' collaborative attitude and their communication with the school. If the level of communication between parents and other stakeholders in the school increases, the attitude towards collaboration with the school will also be more positive. According to the research findings, the importance of parents sharing information about their children is emerging

The efficacy of radiographic anatomical measurement methods in predicting success after extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy for lower pole kidney stones

Objectives To assess the impact of lower pole calyceal anatomy on clearace of lower pole stones after extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) by means of a new and previously defined radiographic measurement method. Materials and Methods Sixty-four patients with solitary radiopaque lower pole kidney stones were enrolled in the study. Infundibulopelvic angle (IPA), infundibulotransverse angle (ITA), infundibular lenght(IL), and infundibular width (IW) were measured on the intravenous urographies which were taken before the procedure. Results 48 of 64 patients (75%) were stone-free after a follow-up period of 3 months. The IPA,ITA,IL and IW were determined as statistically significant factors, while age,gender and stone area were found to have no impact on clearance. Conclusion By the help of radiographic measurement methods related to lower pole kidney anatomy, appropriate patient selection and increment in success after ESWL may be achieved

On parameter adjustment of the fuzzy neighborhood-based clustering algorithms

Day by day huge amounts data are produced, and evaluation of these data becomes more difficult. The data obtained should provide meaningful, correct, and accurate information. Therefore, all data must be separated into clusters correctly, and the right information from these clusters must be obtained. Having the correct clusters depends on the clustering algorithm that is used. There are many clustering algorithms. The density-based methods are very important among the groups of clustering methods, as they can find arbitrary shapes. An advanced model of the density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) algorithm, called fuzzy neighborhood DBSCAN Gaussian means (FN-DBSCAN-GM), is offered in this study. The main contribution of FN-DBSCAN-GM is to find the parameters automatically and to divide the data into clusters robustly. The effectiveness of FN-DBSCAN-GM has been demonstrated on overlapping datasets (six artificial and two real-life datasets). The performances of these datasets are compared with the percentage of correct classification and validity index. Our experiments showed that this new algorithm was a preferable and robust algorithm

The association of reproductive hormones, thyroid function, and vitamin levels with premature ejaculation: A prospective case-control study

Purpose: To investigate whether serum hormone (testosterone, prolactin, gonadotropins, and thyroid hormones) and vitamin (vitamin B12, folic acid, and vitamin D) levels are associated with premature ejaculation (PE). Materials and Methods: This prospective case-control study included 126 patients with PE (lifelong PE [LPE] in 94 and acquired PE [APE] in 32) who presented to the urology outpatient clinic between April 2016 and January 2023 and 92 healthy men as a control group. The diagnosis of PE was based on the criteria defined by the International Society for Sexual Medicine. Serum total testosterone (TT), free and bioavailable testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, prolactin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, free triiodothyronine, thyroxine (fT4), vitamin B12, folic acid, and vitamin D levels were measured. Results: Serum TT, fT4, and vitamin D levels were significantly higher in patients with PE than in the control group (p=0.022, p=0.002, and p=0.044, respectively). However, the serum vitamin B12 level was significantly lower in the PE group (p=0.021). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, only vitamin B12 was found to be an independent risk factor for PE, with an estimated odds ratio of 0.997 (95% confidence interval 0.994–0.999, p=0.036). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that lower vitamin B12 levels are associated with the presence of PE. Therefore, we believe that it would be beneficial to consider vitamin B12 levels in the evaluation of patients with PE

Public awareness of testicular cancer and self-examination in Turkey: A multicenter study of Turkish Urooncology Society

WOS: 000317169500016PubMed ID: 21429771Background: Testicular self-examination is the easiest and cheapest way to scan testicular cancer. However, the public awareness about testicular self-examination is very low. We aimed to investigate the public awareness of Turkish people about testicular cancer and testicular self-examination. Methods: We performed a survey consisting of 10 questions concerning testicular cancer and testicular self-examination in 799 students in the first year of 12 different medical schools. Aiming for a common method of data collection, the questionnaires were administered to the students during a class just before the lesson started. The whole data from all of the centers were pooled in a common data-base file. Results: Eighty-nine (11.1%) of the participants reported that they had knowledge about testicular cancer, but only 11(1.4%) of them answered all the questions about testicular cancer correctly. Eight (1%) of the participants reported that they had been performing testicular self-examination routinely once a month. Four (0.5%) of them were both well informed about testicular cancer and had been performing testicular self-examination once a month as suggested. Conclusion: The present study showed that awareness on testicular cancer and testicular self-examination is very low and suggests a need for efforts in Turkey to increase public awareness and education. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved