Evaluation of the relationship between the acute attacks in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and oral health by Rustogi index

Aim: To examine the relationship between the acute attacks of the patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and their general oral hygiene and the general condition of their prostheses. Methods: As a prospective questionnaire and clinical examination study, patients with COPD attacks using total prostheses and healthy individuals were compared using the Rustogi index. After obtaining consent from all patients, age, Modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale (Mmrc) scores, an inhaler used, COPD stage, and the status of total prostheses were recorded. Also the habits of the use of the prostheses were evaluated for each group. Results: 32 COPD patients and 34 healthy participants, 29 female and 37 male, with a mean age of 69.19±3.16 were evaluated. When the correlation between COPD attack and denture cleaning frequency, which was the main hypothesis of the study, was evaluated, a significant correlation was observed. (r:0.549, p<0.001) There was a significant difference between the patient and healthy individuals whether they removed the dentures at night and the frequency of denture cleaning. (p< 0.01 ) Conclusions: In COPD, whether both mechanical and pharmacological cleaning of the prostheses is done regularly should be evaluated at each control. Regular dental check-ups can control the course of the disease, as well as contribute to reducing morbidity, mortality, and also health outgoings. Further studies in which serum inflammatory markers and microbiological examinations will be evaluated can be recommended

Evaluation of fatigue-related kinesiophobia and associated factors in individuals with lung cancer with and without respiratory comorbidity

Aim: To investigate fatigue-related kinesiophobia and associated factors in individuals with lung cancer. Methods: A total of 52 individuals were included in the study and the individuals were divided into two groups, each consisting of 26 individuals. Charlson comorbidity index, Brief Fatigue Inventory, modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale, Tampa Kinesiophobia Scale-Fatigue are applied as data collection tools. Results: The individuals in the study had similar demographic characteristics. There was no difference between the groups in the study in terms of fatigue-related kinesiophobia. There was a difference between the pain and performance status of the individuals in the study in activities of daily living (p<0.05). Conclusion: At the end of this study, it was observed that individuals with lung cancer with respiratory comorbidity had worse pain, fatigue and performance values in activities of daily living, while kinesiophobia values related to fatigue were similar

COVID-19 Pandemic: A comparison of adult and pediatric populations

Aim:  Couple of pneumonia cases were reported in a short period in Wuhan, China. The cases were revealed to be associated with a different coronavirus type was named SARS-CoV-2 and the disease was identified as Covid-19.  It is known that the disease occurs in all age groups. We aimed to evaluate the differences in clinical and laboratory features between adult and pediatric patients. Method: The study is a retrospective cross-sectional study and consists of 206 patients with a definitive diagnosis of Covid-19 confirmed by a positive real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for SARS-CoV-2. They hospitalized in health institutions connected to City Health Administrative of Bolu, Turkey between 11.03.2020 and 19.04.2020. The number of the pediatric patients (0-17 age group) was 106, that of the adult patients (18 and above age group) was 100. Data concerning the patients consisted of age, symptoms, laboratory parameters such as hemogram, biochemistry, coagulation. Results: The mean values of platelet (PLT), platocrit (PCT), percentage of monocytes (MONO %) and MONO in the “0-17” age group were found to be significantly higher than the mean values in the “18 and above” age group. The hemoglobin (HGB) mean value of the “0-17” age group was significantly lower than that of the “18 and above” age group. The mean C - reactive protein (CRP) value of the “0-17” age group (4.55; min: 1.20 – max: 11.80) was significantly lower than that of the “18 and above” age group (5.35; min 1.25- max: 19.77) with no statistically significance. In pediatric group, the most common symptoms were other symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting and joint pain whereas the adult patients had fever and cough often with statistically significant. Conclusion: Clinical findings and laboratory abnormalities in Covid-19 are less common in children. Although it seems that Covid-19 is less symptomatic in children, they are also affected by the disease. Performing RT-PCR test based on the contact history of the children may help to minimize morbidity with an early diagnosis. Multicenter studies with more numbers of patients should be performed

Protective effect of thymoquinone on smoking-induced vascular damage: An experimental study in rats

Aim: To investigate the protective effect of thymoquinone on smoking-induced vascular damage in rats. Method: A total of 28 rats were allocated in this experimental study. Rats were equally divided in four groups; as control group (n=7) and study groups including only smoking group (n=7), smoking plus thymoquinone group (n=7) and smoking plus dexamethasone group (n=7). The animals in study groups were subjected to regular cigarette smoke exposure during 2 months, hereby smoking-induced vascular injury model was established in the animals. The thoracic aorta of the animals were surgically resected and then evaluated histopathologically. The prepared aortic tissue samples were analyzed under light microscope in terms of thickness of aortic wall, endothelial continuity and injury as well as degenerative alterations on the endothelium. Results: Mean aortic wall thicknesses were 77.8 and 114.5 μ in only smoking group and smoking plus thymoquinone group respectively, and this difference was statistically significant. In only smoking group partial endothelial damage and complete endothelial damage were observed in 2 and 4 animals respectively whereas in smoking plus thymoquinone group no endothelial damage and partial endothelial damage were observed in 2 and 4 animals respectively. When these groups were compared in terms of endothelial damage, the difference was detected to be statistically significant. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that thymoquinone has a protective effect on rat endothelium and alleviates the smoking-induced vascular damage in rats

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of nosocomial COVID-19 in Turkey: A retrospective multicenter study

Objective: To identify the clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospital-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infection during the vaccination period nationwide in Turkey. Methods: COVID-19 patients followed in the pandemic services across Turkey between January 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022 were investigated retrospectively. Nosocomial COVID-19 was defined as a patient neither diagnosed with COVID-19 nor suspected COVID-19 at the hospital admission and was confirmed COVID-19 ≥5 days after hospital admission. The primary outcome of this study was in-hospital mortality; demographic features and vaccination status was compared between survivors and non-survivors. Results: During the study period, 15 573 COVID-19 patients were followed in 18 centers and 543 (3.5%) patients were nosocomial COVID-19. Most patients with nosocomial COVID-19 (80.4%) were transferred from medical wards. 162 (29.8%) of the patients with nosocomial COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit due to disease severity and 138 (25.4%) of the patients died during hospital stay. Advanced age (≥65 years) and number of comorbid diseases (≥2) was found to be associated with mortality in nosocomial COVID-19 (OR 1.74, 95% Cl 1.11-2.74 and OR 1.60, 95% Cl 1.02-2.56, respectively). Vaccination was associated with survival in nosocomial COVID-19 (OR 0.25, 95% Cl 0.16-0.38). Conclusions: Patients with nosocomial COVID-19 had increased admission to intensive care units and higher mortality rate. Vaccination can decrease the in-hospital mortality rate

Frequency of Direct Oral Anticoagulants Usage in Acute Pulmonary Thromboembolism Treatment in Turkey (TUPEDO)

Background: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been used in acute pulmonary thromboembolism as an alternative to warfarin due to drug interactions, narrow therapeutic range, and necessary close International Normalized Ratio (INR) monitoring. Phase 3 study results have reported that these drugs are at least as effective as warfarin and beneficial in terms of bleeding; however, studies that present up-to-date life data are necessary. Aims: To evaluate the frequency of using DOACs, which are prescribed with a limited number of indications in our country, and real-life data results. Study Design: Cross-sectional study Methods: This cross-sectional survey collected the clinical data (history, current treatment, treatment duration, etc.) of patients with pulmonary thromboembolism and who applied to the physician for follow-up between October 15, 2019, and March 15, 2020. The researchers kept the patient records sequentially. Results: Data from 836 patients with acute pulmonary thromboembolism from 25 centers were collected, and DOAC was used in 320 (38.5%) of them. The most preferred DOAC was rivaroxaban (n = 294, 91.9%). DOAC was mostly preferred because it could not provide an effective INR level with warfarin (n=133, 41.6%). Bleeding was observed in 13 (4%) patients. Conclusion: The use of direct oral anticoagulants is becoming almost as widespread as conventional therapy. Real-life data results are important for their contribution to clinical practice

RESEARCH BURDEN OF INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASES IN TURKEY - RBILD

Introduction: The aim of our study is to investigate the etiological distribution of ILD in Turkey by stratifying the epidemiological characteristics of ILD cases, and the direct cost of initial diagnosis of the diag-nosed patients. Material-Method: The study was conducted as a multicenter, prospective, cross-sectional, clinical observation study. Patients over the age of 18 and who accepted to participate to the study were included and evaluated as considered to be ILD. The findings of diagnosis, examination and treatment carried out by the cent-ers in accordance with routine diagnostic procedures were recorded observationally. Results: In total,1070 patients were included in this study. 567 (53%) of the patients were male and 503 (47%) were female. The most frequently diagnosed disease was IPF (30.5%). Dyspnea (75.9%) was the highest incidence among the presenting symptoms. Physical examination found bibasilar inspiratory crackles in 56.2 % and radiological findings included reticular opacities and interlobular septal thickenings in 55.9 % of the cases. It was observed that clinical and radiological findings were used most frequently (74.9%) as a diagnostic tool. While the most common treatment approaches were the use of systemic steroids and antifibrotic drugs with a rate of 30.7% and 85.6%, respectively. The total median cost from the patient's admission to diagnosis was 540 Turkish Lira. Conclusion: We believe that our findings compared with data from other countries will be useful in showing the current situation of ILD in our country to discuss this problem and making plans for a solution