Education Diplomacy in Higher Education Institutions: An Evaluation of International Student Centers as Think Tanks

The international activities of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are considered an element of soft power in inter-state relations and are included within the scope of education diplomacy in the literature. States such as the United States of America (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK), which are among the pioneers of education diplomacy, shape their international activities within this framework through international education as well as international research. The main adaptive stakeholders of academic and administrative activities in both fields include universities as well as various state institutions, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and think tanks. This study examines the relationship between think tanks and education diplomacy, the role of Turkish and US HEIs in education diplomacy, and whether international student organizations of universities can be considered think tanks. Literature review and content analysis methods were preferred as methods in the study. Within the scope of the literature review, education diplomacy and think tanks, and within the scope of content analysis, existing administrative regulations and publications were examined, taking into account the structures of Turkish and US HEIs on the axis of education diplomacy. The conclusion of the study is that the international student management preferences of Turkish and US HEIs have similar outputs with think tanks by assuming a kind of central role in the contribution of countries to education diplomacy, thus gaining the ability to become a more active, institutional and sustainable stakeholder in education diplomacy and this situation provides various advantages to higher education

Use of hematological parameters in evaluation of treatment efficacy in cutaneous leishmaniasis

ABSTRACT Objective: In the present study we investigated the role of hematological parameters, including neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and platelet/lymphocyte ratio, mean platelet volume and platelet distribution width in the evaluation of treatment efficacy in adult patients diagnosed with cutaneous leishmaniasis. Methods: The study group included 45 adult patients diagnosed with cutaneous leishmaniasis and treated as inpatients in the dermatology clinic between 2011 and 2014. A group of 45 healthy adults served as a control group. Results: Pre-and post-treatment white blood cell count, neutrophils, and lymphocytes were significantly reduced among the patient group relative to the control group. Platelet distribution width, red cell distribution width, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and platelet/lymphocyte ratio were significantly elevated among the patients compared to the healthy subjects. Pre-treatment white blood cell, lymphocyte and platelet counts were significantly elevated compared to post-treatment counts among the patient cohort. Treatment was associated with reduced eosinophil count, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and platelet/lymphocyte ratio relative to pre-treatment status. Conclusion: Routine hematological testing results such as platelet/lymphocyte ratio, white blood cell count, neutrophil count, red cell distribution width, platelet distribution width, and mean platelet volume may be clinically significant markers of the inflammatory state useful in the evaluation of early treatment efficacy among patients with cutaneous Bulgular: Hastaların hem tedavi öncesi hem de tedavi sonrası değerleri kontrol grubu ile karşılaştırıldığında beyaz küre, nötrofil ve lenfosit oranları istatiksel olarak anlamlı düşük bulundu. Trombosit dağılım hacmi, kırmızı küre dağılım geniş-liği, Nötrofil/Lenfosit ve Trombosit/Lenfosit oranı ise istatiksel olarak anlamlı yüksek bulundu. Hastaların tedavi öncesi ve sonrası değerleri karşılaştırıldığında ise tedavi öncesi beyaz küre, lenfosit ve trombosit değerleri istatiksel olarak anlamlı yüksek bulunurken eozinofil, Nötrofil/Lenfosit ve Trombosit/Lenfosit oranları istatiksel olarak anlamlı düşük bulundu. Sonuç: Rutin olarak hemogram testi içinde kolaylıkla ölçülebilen Trombosit/Lenfosit oranı, beyaz küre, nötrofil sayısı, kırmızı küre dağılım genişliği, trombosit dağılım hacmi ve ortalama trombosit hacmi gibi parametreler kutanöz leishmaniazis hastalarında inflamatuvar durumun belirlenmesinde ve erken dönemde tedavi etkinliğinin değerlendirilmesinde kullanılabilecek belirteçler olabileceğini düşünüyoruz. Anahtar kelimeler: Erişkin hasta, kutanöz leishmaniasis, nötrofil/lenfosit oranı, trombosit/lenfosit oranı Sula B and Tekin R. Haematological parameters in cutaneous leishmaniasis 16

Analysis of antimicrobial consumption and cost in a teaching hospital

SummaryBackgroundThe aim of this study is to compare the periods before and after the intervention applied using the ATC/DDD method in order to ascertain the rational use of antibiotics in a newly established hospital.MethodThe appropriateness of the hospital's antibiotic use, consumption rates and the costs were calculated and compared with other hospitals. Based on these data, an intervention has been planned in order to raise the quality of antibiotic use. The periods before and after the intervention were compared. Between 16 May 2011 and 23 May 2012, data were collected from all hospital units by the infectious diseases specialists and a point prevalence survey was conducted. Anatomical therapeutic chemical classification and the defined daily dose (DDD) methodology were used to calculate the antibiotic consumption.ResultsOn two specific days in 2011 and 2012, 194 out of 307 patients (63.2%) and 224 out of 412 patients (54.4%) received antibiotic treatment, respectively. In 2011 and 2012, the percentage of appropriate antibiotic use was 51% and 64.3%, respectively. Both in 2011 and 2012, inappropriate antibiotic use was found to be significantly higher in surgical clinics in comparison to the internal diseases clinics and the ICU. This was caused by the high rates of inappropriate perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis observed in surgical clinics. During both years, approximately one-third of the antibiotics were prescribed for the purposes of perioperative prophylaxis, while 88.5% and 43.7% of these, respectively, were inappropriate and unnecessary. Cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, combinations of penicillins (including β-lactamase inhibitors) and carbapenems were the most frequently prescribed antibiotics during the study periods. The mean total antibiotic consumption was 93.6 DDD/100 bed-days and 63.1 DDD/100 bed-days, respectively. The cost of total antibacterial consumption was € 7901.33 for all the patients (€ 40.72 per infected patient) and € 6500.26 (€ 29.01 per infected patient), respectively.ConclusionEach hospital should follow and assess their antibiotic use expressed in DDD in order to compare their antibiotic use with national and international hospitals (WHO, 2009 [14])

Impact of an educational meeting on knowledge and awareness of general practitioners on upper respiratory tract infections

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate knowledge ofprimary care physicians regarding the use of antibioticsfor the upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) and thespecific outcomes of a health educational meeting in twocities using a self -administered questionnaire.Materials and methods: A standard questionnaire wasfilled by the participants before and after the meeting. Thequestionnaire had seven questions about definition, epidemiology,diagnosis and treatment of URTIs. The knowledgeand approaches of practitioners concern about diagnosisand antibiotic use in URTIs were evaluated. Theproportion of overall satisfied answers before and afterthe meeting was compared.Results: Totally 110 primary care physicians joined intothe study. Before the educational meeting, more than30% of participants stated that the at least 50% of thecausative agents of the URTIs are bacteria. Eighty-eightpercent declared that anaerobes or Neisseria are not theplausible causative agents in URTIs. Only 14% of them indicatedthat procaine penicillin is the primary agent for thetreatment of Streptococcus pyogenes. On the other hand,95% of survey participants considered that penicillin isthe first choice for URTI with Beta-hemolytic Streptococcus.After the educational meeting, most of participants’knowledge showed a significant improvement in knowledge.There were a significantly more correct answers toall questions after the educational meeting compared tobefore the meeting. (27.7% of doctors before vs.92.7%after, p<0.001).Conclusion: As a conclusion, attending the educationalmeetings helps primary care physicians’ to increase theirknowledge and it provides to gain a standard approach intheir professional life

Self-reported antibiotic stewardship and infection control measures from 57 intensive care units: An international ID-IRI survey

We explored the self-reported antibiotic stewardship (AS), and infection prevention and control (IPC) activities in intensive care units (ICUs) of different income settings. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire to collect data about IPC and AS measures in participating ICUs. The study participants were Infectious Diseases-International Research Initiative (IDI-IR) members, committed as per their institutional agreement form. We analyzed responses from 57 ICUs in 24 countries (Lower-middle income (LMI), n = 13; Upper-middle income (UMI), n = 33; High-income (HI), n = 11). This represented (similar to 5%) of centers represented in the ID-IRI. Surveillance programs were implemented in (76.9%-90.9%) of ICUs with fewer contact precaution measures in LMI ones (p = 0.02); (LMI:69.2%, UMI:97%, HI:100%). Participation in regional antimicrobial resistance programs was more significantly applied in HI (p = 0.02) (LMI:38.4%,UMI:81.8%,HI:72.2%). AS programs are implemented in 77.2% of institutions with AS champions in 66.7%. Infectious diseases physicians and microbiologists are members of many AS teams (59%&amp;50%) respectively. Unqualified healthcare professionals(42.1%), and deficient incentives(28.1%) are the main barriers to implementing AS. We underscore the existing differences in IPC and AS programs' implementation, team composition, and faced barriers. Continuous collaboration and sharing best practices on APM is needed. The role of regional and international organizations should be encouraged. Global support for capacity building of healthcare practitioners is warranted. (C) 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences