Aim: Cancer, an important public global health problem, is the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular diseases. We aimed to reveal the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) by the positive ...fecal occult blood test (FOBT), requested within the scope of periodic health examination (PHE) in patients applied to the family medicine outpatient clinic.
Materials and Methods: A total of 119 people aged between 50 and 70 years, who applied to the family medicine outpatient clinic of a university hospital for general health check-up, were included in the study. A questionnaire, in which socio-demographic data and CRC risk factors were questioned, was applied to the participants. The hemogram, FOBT, colonoscopy, and the pathology results of the patients were evaluated.
Results: Of 119 participants, 62 (52.1%) were female and 57 (47.9%) were male. The mean age of the participants was 61.0±7.6 years. FOBT was found to be positive in 65 (54.6%) of all participants. Five people (4.2%) who participated in the study were diagnosed with CRC according to the biopsy results obtained during the colonoscopy procedure. In our study, the rate of malignancy detection in all patients with positive FOBT including CRC diagnosis was found to be 7.7% (n=5). Our study detected statistically significant relationships between FOBT positivity and diagnosis of CRC.
Conclusion: Following the appropriate recommendations of PHE guidelines and CRC screenings in individuals with high-risk levels, FOBT contributes to early diagnosis and referral to treatment as soon as possible.
Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı postmenapozal dönemdeki kadınlarlarda görülen kas iskelet sistemi ağrılarının ortaya çıkmasında D vitamini eksikliğinin etkisini araştırmaktır
Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışma ...postmenapozal dönemde olan 130 hasta ve 50 sağlıklı gönüllüden oluşturuldu. Hasta ve kontrol grubunda hastaların demografik bilgileri ve visual analog skala (VAS) ile ağrı skorları belirlendi. Serum 25 hidroksi D vitamini (25(OH)D), Östrodiol (E2), kalsiyum, fosfor, alkalen fosfataz (ALP) ve parathormon (PTH) düzeyleri değerlendirildi.
Bulgular: Çalışmaya katılan hastaların yaş ortalaması 51.03±4.22 ve kontrol grubunun ise 48.37± 5.47 yıldı. Serum 25 (OH) D düzeyi hasta grubunda kontrol grubuna göre anlamlı olarak düşüktü. Kalsiyum, fosfor, ALP ve PTH düzeyleri arasında her iki grup arasında farklılık görülmedi. Ağrı durumunu değerlendirmek için kullanılan VAS ağrı skoru hasta grubunda kontrol grubuna göre anlamlı olarak yüksek saptandı. Postmenapozal hastalarda VAS ağrı skorları D vitamini eksikliği ve yetersizliği olan gruplarda, D vitamini düzeyleri yeterli olan gruba göre anlamlı olarak yüksek saptandı. Hasta grubunda uygulanan korelasyon analizinde 25 (OH) D düzeyleri ile yaş, vücut kütle indeksi ve VAS skoru arasında negatif korelasyon ve egzersiz ve E2 arasında pozitif korelasyon saptandı.
Sonuç: Postmenapozal hastalarda ağrı şiddetindeki artışın serum 25 (OH) D düzeylerindeki azalmayla ilişkili olduğunu göstermektedir. Üstelik 25(OH)D düzeyleri düşük hastalarda alt ekstremite ağrılarının daha fazla görüldüğü veserum 25 (OH) D’nin kas iskelet sistemi ağrılarının şiddetini belirlemede rol oynayabileceği kanısındayız.
Amaç: Son yıllarda inflamasyon göstergesi olarak değerlendirilen C-reaktif proteinin (CRP)/ortalama trombosit hacmi (OTH) oranı ve beyaz küre sayısı (BKS)/ortalama trombosit hacmi (OTH) oranının ...toplum kökenli pnömonili (TKP) çocuklarda tanı ve hastalık şiddeti ile ilişkisini araştırmaktır.
Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışma TKP tanısı alan 3 ay ile 18 yaş arasında 60 hasta ve 30 sağlıklı çocuktan oluşturuldu. Hasta ve kontrol grubunda CRP, BKS, OTH, nötrofil/lenfosit oranı (NLO) değerleri ile birlikte CRP/OTH ve BKS/OTH değerleri incelendi.
Bulgular: Hasta ve kontrol grubu arasında OTH düzeyleri açısından anlamlı fark saptanmazken, CRP/OTH, BKS/OTH, NLO ve plateletkrit düzeyleri hasta grubunda anlamlı olarak yüksek bulundu. Ciddi pnömonili hasta grubunda (n=27) BKS, NLO, BKS/OTH, CRP/OTH ve CRP düzeyleri hafif-ılımlı pnömonili gruba (n=33) göre anlamlı olarak yüksek saptandı. CRP/OTH ve BKS/OTH oranlarının hastalık belirtilerinin süresiyle arasında pozitif korelasyon gösterildi. Receiver Operating Characteric (ROC) analizinde CRP (Eğri altındaki alan (EAA)=0.801), BKS (EAA=0.761) ve BKS/OTH (EAA=0.731) düzeylerinin TKP’nin tanısında yeterliliği anlamlı bulundu. Ciddi TKP’li hastaların ayrımında ise CRP/OTH (EAA=0.733) ve CRP (EAA=0.708) düzeyleri anlamlı bulundu.
Sonuç: CRP/OTH ve BKS/OTH oranları TKP tanısının değerlendirilmesinde ve CRP/OTH oranı hastalık aktivitesinin belirlenmesinde iyi bir belirteç olabileceğini göstermektedir.
The aims of this study were to investigate the effect of exercise therapy on the oxidative stress in fibromyalgia patients and relationship between oxidative stress and fibromyalgia symptoms. Thirty ...women diagnosed with fibromyalgia according to the American College of Rheumatology preliminary criteria, and 23 healthy women whose age- and weight-matched women were enrolled the study. Pain intensity with visual analog scale (VAS), the number of tender points, the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ), the Beck depression inventory (BDI) were evaluated. The oxidative stress parameters thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, protein carbonyls, and nitric oxide, and antioxidant parameters thiols and catalase were investigated in patients and control group. After, combined aerobic and strengthen exercise regimen was given to fibromyalgia group. Exercise therapy consisted of a warming period of 10 min, aerobic exercises period of 20 min, muscle strengthening exercises for 20 min, and 10 min cooling down period. Therapy was lasting 1 h three times per week over a 12-week period. All parameters were reevaluated after the treatment in the patient group. The oxidative stress parameters levels were significantly higher, and antioxidant parameters were significantly lower in patients with fibromyalgia than in the controls. VAS, FIQ, and BDI scores decreased significantly with exercise therapy. The exercise improved all parameters of oxidative stress and antioxidant parameters. Also, all clinical parameters were improved with exercise. We should focus on oxidative stress in the treatment for fibromyalgia with the main objective of reducing oxidative load.
Abstract
Objectives
As a result of developed generalized inflammation, the main prognostic factor determining morbidity and mortality in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients is acute ...respiratory distress syndrome. The purpose of our study was to define (1) the laboratory tests that will contribute to the diagnosis and follow-up of COVID-19 patients, (2) the differences between the laboratory-confirmed (LC), unconfirmed (LUC), and control (C) groups, and (3) the variation between groups of acute-phase reactants and biomarkers that can be used as an indicator of disease severity and inflammation.
Materials and Methods
A total of 102 patients undergoing treatment with COVID-19 interim guidelines were evaluated. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test was positive in 56 (LC), classified as mild or severe, and negative in 46 (LUC) patients. In addition, 30 healthy subjects (C) with negative RT-PCR tests were also evaluated.
All statistical analyses were performed with the SPSS 22.0 program and the
p
-values for significant findings were less than 0.05. Parametric/nonparametric distribution was determined by performing the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test for all groups. Student's
t
-test was used for variables with parametric distribution and the Mann–Whitney U-test for variables with the nonparametric distribution. A cut-off level for biomarkers was determined using the ROC (receiver operator characteristic) curve.
Results
In the LC group, platelet, platecrit, mean platelet volume, platelet diameter width, white blood cell, lymphocyte, eosinophil, neutrophil, immature granulocyte, immature lymphocyte, immature monocyte, large immune cell, and atypical lymphocyte counts among the complete blood count parameters of mature and immature cell counts showed a significant difference according to the C and LUC groups. C-reactive protein, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, and C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) indices were significantly elevated in LC patients and were significantly higher in patients classified as severe compared to mild. When CAR optimal cutoff was determined as 0.475, area under the curve was 0.934, sensitivity was 90.91%, specificity was 86.21%, positive predictive value was 92.59%, and negative predictive value was 83.33%. The diagnostic accuracy for CAR was 89.29%.
Conclusion
The CAR index with the highest diagnostic value and the highest predictability could be the most useful biomarker in the diagnosis and evaluation of disease severity in COVID-19 patients.
Depression is a common condition in obese women that can result in severe impairment of their physical and social functioning. A deficiency of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is involved in ...the mechanism of depression. The aim of this study is to investigate whether BDNF levels differ between obese female patients and healthy controls and whether BDNF levels alter with affective states in depressive obese women.
The study group included 40 obese, 40 preobese, and 40 normal weight women. BDNF levels were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in patient and control groups. For identifying the depression and anxiety status, Beck Depression/Anxiety Inventories were used; and for the evaluation of cognitive functions, the mini-mental state examination was used.
BDNF levels were significantly lower in obese patients compared to the control group (P<0.01). BDNF levels were significantly lower in obese patients with depression compared to the obese patients without depression (P<0.05). The Beck Depression Inventory showed a negative correlation with BDNF (r=-0.044; P<0.01) and a positive correlation with the Beck Anxiety Inventory (r=0.643; P<0.001), vitamin B12 levels (r=0.023; P<0.001), and insulin levels (r=0.257; P<0.05) in obese patients. When receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to analyze the suitability of BDNF to identify depression in obese women, the area under the curve for BDNF, 0.756, was found to be significant (P=0.025). BDNF levels lower than 70.2 pg/mL were associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms.
The results of our study suggest that the decrease in BDNF levels can be used as a marker for depression diagnosis in obese patients.
Objective To investigate the relation between copeptin, arginine vasopressin (AVP), and nocturnal enuresis (NE). Methods Forty-four patients with NE and 44 healthy children aged between 6 and 14 ...years were enrolled. Patients with nonmonosymptomatic and secondary NE were excluded from the study. A small questionnaire, filled by parents, collected information about sociodemographic characteristics. Blood was obtained for plasma AVP and copeptin concentrations. Results Copeptin levels were significantly lower in patient group (3.74 ± 1.44 pg/mL) than the control group (16.57 ± 3.91 pg/mL), whereas AVP levels were not significantly different between groups. Copeptin levels were significantly lower in patients (3.17 ± 1.15 pg/mL) who had bed-wetting 2 or more nights a week, which is considered as severe bed-wetting, than the patients (4.95 ± 1.24 pg/mL) who had bed-wetting 1 night or less than 1 night a week. Conclusion This study demonstrates the presence of decreased levels of copeptin in patients with NE compared with healthy patients. AVP levels were not different between groups. To our knowledge, this is the first report assessing the relationship between copeptin and NE.
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