Clinical Outcomes and Effectiveness of Renal Artery Stenting in Patients With Critical Atherosclerotic Renal Artery Stenosis: Does it İmprove Blood Pressure Control and Renal Function Assessed by Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate?

INTRODUCTION: Atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS) is associated with uncontrolled hypertension and chronic renal failure. AIM: To evaluate the influence of gender and presence of chronic renal failure on the outcomes of percutaneous transluminal renal artery stenting (PTRAS) due to atherosclerosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 28 ARAS patients underwent PTRAS and 36 stents were placed. Basal characteristics, laboratory data and blood pressure of patients were recorded. The differences between genders and improvement/deterioration of renal functions and blood pressure were analyzed. The predictors of outcomes were determined. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics were similar between men and women. Significant improvement of systolic and diastolic blood pressure control was achieved after PTRAS (153.04 ±17.07 mm Hg vs. 124.75 ±11.40 mm Hg, p = 0.001 and 92.50 ±10.76 mm Hg vs. 77.54 ±8.23 mm Hg, p < 0.001, respectively). Although mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and creatinine levels did not significantly improve at the 6-month follow-up visit compared to baseline values, of the 28 patients 13 (46.4%) patients had improvement of renal functions. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that PTRAS is a safe procedure and may offer blood pressure control but beneficial effects of PTRAS on renal function may be anticipated in a selected group of patients, especially those with a low eGFR

A Survey Study on Evaluation and Management of Nocturnal Enuresis in Pediatricians and Family Physicians

Objective:Nocturnal enuresis (NE) is one of the most common disorders in pediatric urology, and patients often turn to family physicians (FP) and pediatricians (P) initially. The aim of this study was to understand the awareness, self-confidence and suggestions of physicians regarding the management of NE.Materials and Methods:In this study, 360 FP and family medicine residents (FMR), as well as 280 P and pediatrics residents (PR), were contacted through a cellular phone texting system. A simple multiple-choice questionnaire (Surveymonkey®) consisting of 10 questions was used to gather data. The survey included questions about their experience, training, evaluation, and management of NE.Results:A total of 119 FPs and Ps (18.5%) filled the questionnaire. Thirty (25.21%) of the participants were P, 27 (22.69%) PR, 3 (2.52%) FP and 59 (49.58%) FMR. The rate of physicians who encounter at least 5 children with NE per month is 31.33%. The mean self-confidence in the management of NE was 4.5 out of 10. The self-confidence of pediatricians was significantly higher than that of PR and FMR (p<0.001, p<0.001). Most (n=78, 65.55%) of the participants stated that they received training on EN during medical faculty and 62 (52.10%) during residency. Psychological problems (89.92%), sleep disorders (78.15%), and excessive fluid intake (75.63%) were the most frequently considered factors in etiology. While most responders (75.63%) considered dietary regulation and behavioral interventions as the first-line treatment, 25.21% consult a pediatric urologist and only 1.6% recommend medical treatment.Conclusion:Although FP and P admit they had training on NE, they mostly felt incompetent to manage NE and exclusively avoided pharmacological treatment

Investigation into sleep and quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Purpose: Aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the sleep and life of rheumatoid arthritis patients and the factors affecting this relationship. Method and material: This research is a descriptive design study. This study was conducted in the Rheumatology polyclinic of a university hospital between January 2011 and June 2011 in İzmir/Turkey. Simple random sampling method was used in this study. The data of the research were collected through face-to-face interviews. “Patient Identification Form”, “Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index” and “Nottingham Health Profile” scale were used for data collection. Results: In Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, total score average of the rheumatoid arthritis patients was found out to be 10.92±4.80. Score averages of the sub-scales of Nottingham Health Profile were found as following: Pain= 67.48±26.53, Energy Level=69.55±30.10, Emotional Reaction= 50.78±27.00, Physical Mobility= 50.59±24.40, Social Isolation= 32.50±30.47 and Sleep= 59.12± 32.53. Conclusion: In line with the findings of the study, it was determined that a great majority of the rheumatoid arthritis patients had poor sleep quality and as well as a low quality of life. Özet Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı Romatoid Artritli hastalarda uyku ve yaşam kalitesi arasındaki ilişkiyi ve bu ilişkiyi etkileyen faktörleri incelemektir. Yöntem: Araştırma tanımlayıcı tipte bir çalışmadır. Araştırma, Ocak- Haziran 2011 tarihleri arasında İzmir/Türkiye’de bir üniversite hastanesinin Romatoloji polikliniğinde yürütülmüştür. Çalışmada basit randomize örnekleme yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın verileri yüz yüze görüşme yöntemiyle toplanmıştır. Veri toplama için, “Hasta Tanıtım Formu”, “Pittsburgh Uyku Kalitesi İndeksi” ve “Nottingham Sağlık Profili” kullanıldı. Bulgular: Romatoid Artritli hastaların Pittsburgh Uyku Kalitesi İndeksi Toplam Puan Ortalaması; 10.92±4.80 olarak bulundu. Nottingham Sağlık Profili alt boyutları puan ortalamaları sırasıyla: Ağrı=67.48±26.53, Enerji Düzeyi=69.55±30.10 Emosyonel Reaksiyon= 50.78±27.00; Fiziksel Hareketlilik= 50.59±24.40, Sosyal İzolasyon= 32.50±30.47 ve Uyku= 59.12± 32.53 olarak bulundu. Sonuç: Araştırma bulguları doğrultusunda, Romatoid Artritli hastaların büyük bir çoğunluğunun uyku ve yaşam kalitesinin kötü olduğu saptanmıştır

New TEMPO containing polymers for all polymeric oxidation procedure

2,2,6,6-Tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl (TEMPO) is a versatile compound which is used mainly in organic oxidation reactions and organic battery applications. Incorporating TEMPO into a polymer could provide many applications into its repertoire. In this study, new polymeric TEMPO derivatives are synthesized and characterized to be used as catalysts in the presence of another polymer which constitutes N-halamine functionality. These polymeric mixtures were superior since the mixture could easily be separated from the reaction medium by simple filtration and reused in some other oxidation reactions numerous times. In turn, an all polymeric oxidation method was developed for oxidation of primary alcohols