Türk hekimlerinin fibromiyalji tedavisindeki tutumları; pregabalinofobi ağrı tedavisinin yeni gerçeği mi?

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to determine the treatment preferences of physicians interested in fibromyalgia treatment and to investigate their hesitations about prescribing pregabalin. METHODS: Our survey study was conducted between February 5 and 20, 2021. The survey forms were sent to the known email addresses and phone numbers of 1569 physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR), algology, and rheumatology physicians. The replies to the surveys were checked for possible resubmissions. The pooled data were evaluated with the SPSS 22.0 statistical package program. Frequency distributions were calculated and presented as n, %. RESULTS: Four hundred and six PMR, rheumatology, and algology specialists fulfilled the study forms. About 59.0% of physicians stated that they prefer duloxetine as the first-line agent of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) treatment. Pregabalin was only 6.0% of the physicians' first choice for FMS. About 35.0% of the participating physicians stated that the PMR department should follow up FMS patients. About 44.3% of the participants noted that they refer FMS patients to other departments which interested in FMS treatment and do not want to follow-up FMS patients. About 81% agreed that pregabalin causes addiction. About 36.7% stated that at least 20% of the patients could abuse pregabalin and 97.8% of physicians stated that they were prejudiced about prescribing pregabalin to prisoners. Approximately two of the three physicians experienced an act of violence in their hospital regarding pregabalin prescribing. CONCLUSION: These data showed that the 'Pregabalinophobia' should be accepted. This condition is associated with life safety concerns of the physician not only from unreliability of the drug. It seems that the doctors have valid reasons to develop this prejudice.Amaç: Bu çalışma, fibromiyalji tedavisi ile ilgilenen hekimlerin tedavi tercihlerini belirlemek ve pregabalin reçetelemek konusundaki tereddütlerini araştırmayı amaçlamaktadır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Anket çalışmamız 5 Şubat 2021–20 Şubat 2021 tarihleri arasında gerçekleştirildi. Fiziksel tıp ve rehabilitasyon, algoloji ve romatoloji hekimlerinden oluşan 1569 kişinin bilinen e-posta adreslerine ve telefon numaralarına anket formları gönderildi. Anketlere verilen yanıtlar olası yeniden gönderimler açısından kontrol edildi. Veri havuzu SPSS 22.0 istatistik paket programı ile değerlendirildi. Frekans dağılımları hesaplandı ve n, % olarak sunuldu. Bulgular: Dört yüz altı fiziksel tıp ve rehabilitasyon, romatoloji ve algoloji uzmanı çalışma formlarını tamamladı. Hekimlerin %59’u fibromiyalji tedavisinde birinci basamak ajan olarak duloksetin tercih ettiklerini belirtti. Pregabalin, hekimlerin fibromi-yalji için ilk tercihinin sadece %6'sıydı. Çalışmaya katılan hekimlerin %35'i fibromiyalji hastalarının fiziksel tıp ve rehabilitasyon bölümlerinde takip edilmesi gerektiğini belirtti. Katılımcıların %44,3’ü fibromiyalji hastalarını, fibromiyalji tedavisi ile ilgilenen ve fibromiyalji hastalarını takip etmek isteyen diğer bölümlere sevk ettiklerini belirtti. Katılımcıların %81'i pregabalinin bağımlılığa neden olduğunu kabul etti. Katılımcıların %36,7'si fibromiyalji hastalarının en az %20'sinin pregabalini kötüye kullanabileceğini belirtti. Hekimlerin %97,8'i mahkumlara pregabalin reçete edilmesi konusunda ön yargılı olduğunu belirtti. Üç hekimden yaklaşık ikisi hastanelerinde pregabalin reçete edilmesi ile ilgili bir şiddet olayına maruz kaldığını belirtti. Sonuç: Bu veriler “pregabalinofobi”nin kabul edilmesi gerektiğini göstermektedir. Bu durum, yalnızca ilacın güvenilmezliğinden değil, hekimin can güvenliği endişeleriyle de ilişkilidir. Görünüşe göre doktorlarda bu ön yargının oluşmasında geçerli nedenler vardır

Comparison of confirmed and probable COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit during the normalization period

The decrease in social distance together with the normalization period as of June 1, 2020 in our country caused an increase in the number of COVID 19 patients. Our aim was to compare the demographic features, clinical courses and outcomes of confirmed and probable coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients admitted to our intensive care unit (ICU) during the normalization period. Critically ill 128 COVID-19 patients between June 1 - December 2, 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. The mean age was 69.7±15.5y (61.7% male). Sixty-one patients (47.7%) were confirmed. Dyspnea (75.0%) was the most common symptom and hypertension (71.1%) was the most common comorbidity. The mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation System (APACHE II) score; Glasgow Coma Score (GCS); Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores on ICU admission were 17.4 ± 8.2, 12.3 ± 3.9 and 5.9 ± 3.4, respectively. 101 patients (78.1%) received low flow oxygen, 48 had high flow oxygen therapy (37.5%) and 59 (46.1%) had invasive mechanical ventilation. 53 patients (41.4%) had vasopressor therapy and 30 (23.4%) patients had renal replacement therapy (RRT) due to acute kidney injury (AKI). Confirmed patients were more tachypneic (p=0.005) and more hypoxemic than probable patients (p<0.001). Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and AKI were more common in confirmed patients than probable (both p<0.001). Confirmed patients had higher values of hemoglobin, C- reactive protein, fibrinogen, D-dimer than probables (respectively, p=0.028, 0.006, 0.000, 0.019). The overall mortality was higher in confirmed patients (p=0.209, 52.6% vs 47.4%). Complications are more common among confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU. The mortality rate of confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU was found to be higher than probable patients. Mortality of confirmed cases were higher than prediction of APACHE-II scoring system

Dynamics of the Turkish paintings market: A comprehensive empirical study

This paper constructs the most comprehensive paintings price index in Turkey by using 32,391 manually collected sales transactions, including artworks of 413 artists over the period 1990–2016. The results indicate that the Turkish paintings market underperforms the domestic stock market, but leading to the higher returns compared to the global paintings and the global stock markets. The results from the causality analysis also demonstrate that there is the feedback effect between the domestic paintings and the domestic stock market. Furthermore, the findings cannot reject the null hypothesis that there is no bubble in the Turkish Paintings price index. Finally, the geopolitical and the political risks in Turkey are among the main reasons for the diminishing returns of the Turkish paintings market after 2010. © 2018 Elsevier B.V

Suicide and economic uncertainty: New findings in a global setting

This study extends the previous literature on the association between country-level economic uncertainty and suicide rate to 141 countries by introducing the World Uncertainty Index. We first examine the role of economic uncertainty on the suicide rates in a global setting for the period 2000–2019 and then analyze if the association varied across different income groups. Our primary findings suggest that a rise in economic uncertainty is related to an increased suicide rate. According to the estimates based on various income levels, higher economic uncertainty is associated with increased suicide risk in high-income countries. For middle- and low-income countries, we find no such impact. Overall, we conclude that contemporaneous and lagged economic uncertainty is a concern for the increased risk of suicide, especially in high-income countries. The results highlight the need for proactive suicide-prevention strategies in uncertain times

Suicide as globalisation's Black Swan: global evidence

Objectives This empirical study investigated the relationship between globalisation and suicide rates. We examined whether there is a beneficial or harmful relationship between economic, political and social globalisation and the suicide rate. We also estimated whether this relationship differs in high-, middle- and low-income countries. Study design Using panel data from 190 countries over the period 1990–2019, we examined the relationship between globalisation and suicide. Method We compared the estimated effect of globalisation on suicide rates using robust fixed-effects models. Our results were robust to dynamic models and models with country-specific time trends. Results The effect of the KOF Globalisation Index on suicide was initially positive, leading to an increase in the suicide rate before decreasing. Concerning the effects of economic, political, and social dimensions of globalisation, we found a similar inverted U-shaped relationship. Unlike the middle-income and high-income countries, we found a U-shaped relationship for the case of low-income countries, indicating that suicide decreased with globalisation and then increased as globalisation continues to increase. Moreover, the effect of political globalisation disappeared in low-income countries. Conclusion Policy-makers in high- and middle-income countries, below the turning points, and low-income countries, above the turning points, must protect vulnerable groups from globalisation's disruptive forces, which can increase social inequality. Consideration of local and global factors of suicide will potentially stimulate the development of measures that might reduce the suicide rate

Coexistence of acute myocardial infarction with normal coronary arteries and migraine with aura in a female patient

Acute myocardial infarction with normal coronary arteries is a well known condition, which is typically diagnosed in young patients. Coronary vasospasm, inherited, acquired or malignancy-induced hypercoagulable state, collagen vascular disease and coronary arterial embolism have been considered as underlying etiologic factors. An association between migraine with aura and increased risk of ischemic stroke, angina and myocardial infarction has been demonstrated in studies. Patients with migraine and especially with aura should be followed closely against cardiovascular events even if they are young and do not have traditional risk factors