Clinical Features and Treatment Strategies of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma: a Multicenter Retrospective Study

DergiPark: 379015tmsjAims: Primary central nervous system lymphoma is a rare, highly malignant disease with poor prognosis. Thecurrent knowledge about the disease is mostly gathered from prospective clinical trials and the optimal treatment modality is still a matter of debate. In this study it is aimed to acquire more information about the clinical features of the disease and the responses to different treatment modalities.Methods: The archives in Trakya University Hospital, İnönü University Turgut Özal Medical Center, PamukkaleUniversity Hospital and Erciyes University Hospital researched retrospectively. Demographic, treatment and survival data were retrieved and their statistical analysis was performed. As descriptive statistics number and percentages, arithmetic mean ± standard deviation, median (maximum-minimum) were used. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan- Meier method.Results: Median age of patients at diagnosis was 53 and out of 28 patients 15 (53.6 %) of them were male. As the symptoms of the disease 18 (66.7%) patients presented headache, 15 (53.8%) presented focal deficit. As initial treatment 26 (92.9%) patients received chemotherapy, while 19 (67.9%) patients were treated with surgical resection and the median overall survival time was 7 months. Conclusion: Achieving complete remission as response to the initial treatment is associated with an improvedoverall survival. Other survival analysis to compare the impact of all initial treatment methods on overall survival resulted statistically insignifican

Citation Analysis of Master's Theses at Çankırı Karatekin University Department of Information and Records Management/Çankırı Karatekin Üniversitesi Bilgi ve Belge Yönetimi Bölümü Yüksek Lisans Tezlerinin Atıf Analizi

Purpose: This study aims to conduct a citation analysis on master's theses completed at Çankırı Karatekin University, Department of Information and Records Management (ÇAKUDIRM). Method: Within the scope of the study, citation analysis was carried out on a total of 4,365 citation data (language of publication, type of source, author(s,) and half-life) collected manually from the bibliography section of 37 master's theses completed in ÇAKU-DIRM between 2017 and 2021. In addition, the number of pages, publication year, thesis advisors and jury members of the theses were also analysed. Findings: The most frequently cited information source types in theses were periodicals (36%), books (31%) and electronic publications (18%). The language of the cited sources was Turkish (67%), English (32%) and other languages (1%). The most frequently cited Turkish and English periodicals were Türk Kütüphaneciliği (Turkish Librarianship), Bilgi Dünyası (Information World), Resmi Gazete (Official Gazette), The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Library Trends, and Reference Services Review, respectively. Although varying by type of information source, the overall literature half-life was 9 years. Hüseyin Odabaş, Coşkun Polat, and Mehmet Ali Akkaya were the most frequently employed faculty members among a total of 7 advisors. The most frequently cited authors were Hüseyin Odabaş, Coşkun Polat, and Bülent Yılmaz, respectively. Implications: The results of this study are expected to be effective in developing and managing library collections in universities offering Information and Records Management graduate programs. In addition, this study reveals that the rate of English resource usage in the theses completed in the ÇAKU-DIRM program, which does not require a foreign language score at the stage of admission to the master's program, is higher than the theses in the Istanbul University DIRM program that require a foreign language score. Since the design and findings of this study are not suitable for making inferences about how foreign language resource use is realized, it is recommended to conduct an individual research on students' use of foreign language resources in graduate theses to develop institutional and national policies. Originality: In the literature, citation analysis has been done on the graduate theses of the Information and Records Management departments of universities in Turkey with a deeprooted history, such as Hacettepe, Istanbul and Ankara. On the other hand, ÇAKU-DIRM differs from the universities that were the subject of previous studies as it is young and does not require an English language score for admission to the master’s program

Habits of using social media and the internet in psoriasis patients

Introduction: Psoriasis significantly affects the patients quality of life, which often leads patients to seek online information about this disease. Objectives: To explore the habits of patients with psoriasis related to their use of social media (SM) and the internet to obtain information about their disease. Methods: 1,520 patients completed the survey and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire. The Psoriasis Area Severity Index scores (PASI) and clinical data of the patients were recorded by their physicians. Results: Of the 1,114 patients that reported using SM and internet, 48.38% regularly and 31.14% sometimes resorted to obtain information about psoriasis. The use of SM and internet for psoriasis was statistically significantly higher among young people (P = 0.000), those with university or higher education (P = 0.009), higher DLQI (P = 0.000) and PASI (P = 0.011) scores, facial (P = 0.050), scalp (P = 0.032), hand (P = 0.048), genital (P = 0.001) and inverse (P = 0.000) involvement, and arthralgia/arthritis (P = 0.006). The participants mostly used the Google (86%) and Facebook (41%). More than half of the participants (62.8%) expected dermatologists to inform society that psoriasis is not contagious. Conclusions: Internet and SM being widely available and offering substantial information to be easily accessed make it very attractive for patients to use these platforms to investigate diseases, including psoriasis. If what is presented on SM conflicts with what the physician says, patients mostly trust the latter, but at the same time, they tend not to share the results of their online inquiries with their physicians

Patient use of complementary and alternative medicine for psoriasis vulgaris and factors believed to trigger the disease: A multicenter cross-sectional study with 1621 patients

Introduction: Due to the chronic recurrent nature of psoriasis vulgaris (PV) and lack of definitive treatment for the disease, patients often resort to alternative treatments. Physicians seem to have low awareness of this issue. Objectives: To elicit the perceptions of 1,621 PV patients on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and examine factors reported to worsen PV. Methods: The patients sociodemographic characteristics, Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), disease duration, and severity were recorded, and the patients CAM use was questioned in detail. The patients were also asked about factors that worsened PV and their experiences with a gluten-free diet. Results: Of the patients, 56.51% had used CAM. The mean age, illness duration, PASI scores and DLQI of those using CAM were significantly higher. CAM use was significantly higher in those with facial, genital involvement, and arthralgia/arthritis. The patients mostly referred to CAM when PV became severe (46.4%). Of the CAM users, 45.52% used herbal topicals. The physicians of 67.03% did not inquire whether they used CAM. Of the participants, 37.73% considered that stress worsened their disease. Gluten-free diet did not affect PV symptoms in 52.22%. Conclusions: Patients CAM use is often overlooked by dermatologists. Our results showed that more than half the patients used CAM and did not share this information with their physicians. Therefore, the awareness of physicians should be increased and patients should be asked about the use of CAM and directed to the appropriate medical treatment options by physicians

Türkiye'de koroner yoğun bakım ünitelerindeki hastane içi mortalite (MORCOR-TURK) çalışmasında hasta temel karakteristikleri ve öngördürücüleri

OBJECTIVE: The MORtality in CORonary Care Units in Türkiye (MORCOR-TURK) trial is a national registry evaluating predictors and rates of in-hospital mortality in coronary care unit (CCU) patients in Türkiye. This report describes the baseline demographic characteristics of patients recruited for the MORCOR-TURK trial. METHODS: The study is a multicenter, cross-sectional, prospective national registry that included 50 centers capable of 24-hour CCU service, selected from all seven geographic regions of Türkiye. All consecutive patients admitted to CCUs with cardiovascular emergencies between September 1-30, 2022, were prospectively enrolled. Baseline demographic characteristics, admission diagnoses, laboratory data, and cardiovascular risk factors were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 3,157 patients with a mean age of 65 years (range: 56-73) and 2,087 (66.1%) males were included in the analysis. Patients with arterial hypertension [1,864 patients (59%)], diabetes mellitus (DM) [1,184 (37.5%)], hyperlipidemia [1,120 (35.5%)], and smoking [1,093 (34.6%)] were noted. Non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) was the leading cause of admission [1,187 patients (37.6%)], followed by ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in 742 patients (23.5%). Other frequent diagnoses included decompensated heart failure (HF) [339 patients (10.7%)] and arrhythmia [272 patients (8.6%)], respectively. Atrial fibrillation (AF) was the most common pathological rhythm [442 patients (14%)], and chest pain was the most common primary complaint [2,173 patients (68.8%)]. CONCLUSION: The most common admission diagnosis was acute coronary syndrome (ACS), particularly NSTEMI. Hypertension and DM were found to be the two leading risk factors, and AF was the most commonly seen pathological rhythm in all hospitalized patients. These findings may be useful in understanding the characteristics of patients admitted to CCUs and thus in taking precautions to decrease CCU admissions

Intestinal microbiasis and its relationshiph with inflammatory indicator in heart failure

Bu çalışma Pamukkale Üniversitesi Bilimsel Araştırma Projeleri Koordinasyon Birimi'nin 17.01.2018 tarih ve 2018TIPF005 nolu kararı ile desteklenmiştir.Giriş: Mikrobiyata, kalp yetersizliği de dâhil olmak üzere birçok metabolik hastalığa katkıda bulunan olarak kabul edilmiştir. Amaç: Koroner arter hastalarında, kalp yetersizliği olan ve olmayan grupların mikrobiyal kompozisyonları karşılaştırılarak, kalp yetersizliğinin altta yatan hastalıktan bağımsız intestinal mikrobiyata üzerindeki etkisini araştırmayı amaçladık. Metod: Semptomatik kronik kalp yetersizliği olan 19 hasta (ejeksiyon fraksiyonu < %40) kalp yetersizliği grubuna ve korunmuş ejeksiyon fraksiyonu olan 21 hasta kontrol grubuna dahil edildi. Tüm hastaların anjiyografik olarak belgelenmiş koroner arter hastalığı vardı. Aktif enfeksiyon, kronik enflamatuvar hastalıklar, malignite, böbrek replasman tedavisi gerektiren böbrek yetersizliği, gastrointestinal cerrahi öyküsü, son 2 ayda antibiyotik, probiyotik veya steroid içeren immün baskılayıcı ajanların kullanımı öyküsü olan hastalar çalışmaya dahil edilmedi. Dışkı örnekleri polimeraz zincir reaksiyonu denatüre gradyan jel elektroforezi (PCRDGGE) ve metagenomix yaklaşımı kullanılarak analiz edildi. İstatistiksel ve biyolojik çeşitlilik analizleri için R (Ver 3.5.0) yazılımı kullanılmıştır. Bulgular: Shannon and Chao-1 gibi α- çeşitlilik indeksi için hasta ve sağlıklı grup arasında şube, cins ve tür mikrobiyata düzeyinde anlamlı fark saptanmadı. Hem cins düzeyinde enterokok (p<0.05) hem de tür düzeyinde lactobacillus letivazi (p<0.01) hastalarda sağlıklı kontrollerden daha yüksek saptandı. Hastalardaki birçok cins ve tür kontrollerden daha düşük saptandı (p<0.05). NT-pBNP mikrobiyota çeşitliliği ile ilişkili idi. Sonuç: Koroner arter hastalığından bağımsız olarak kalp yetersizliğinin varlığı bağırsak mikrobiyata çeşitliliğini değiştirmedi.Objective: Microbiota has been recognized as a contributer to many metabolic diseases including heart failure. Purpose: We aimed to investigate the effect of heart failure on intestinal microbiota independent of underlying disease, by comparing the microbial composition in patients with coronary artery dısease with or without heart failure. Methods: Nineteen patients with symptomatic chronic systolic heart failure (ejection fraction <40%) were included in the heart failure group, whereas 21 patients with preserved ejection fraction served as the control group. All patients had angiographically documented coronary artery disease. Patients with active infection, chronic inflammatory diseases, malignancy, renal failure requiring renal replacement therapy, gastrointestinal surgical history, receiving immunosuppressive agents including antibiotics, probiotics or steroids in the last 2 months were excluded from the study. Faecal samples were analyzed using polymerase chain reactiondenatured gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and metagenomix approach. R (Ver 3.5.0) software was used for statistical and biodiversity analysis. Results: For a-diversity index such as Shannon and Chao-1, no statistical difference was found between the 2 groups with respect to microbiota phylum, genus, and species. Enterococcus genus (p<0.05) and Lactobacillus letivazi (p<0.01) species were found more in patients than controls. Many genus and species were found less in patients than controls (p<0.05). Pro-BNP was associated with the diversity of microbiata. Conclusion: The presence of heart failure did not change the microbial diversity independent of coronary artery disease