Turk J Med Sci
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Regional anesthesia for surgery is associated with increased anxiety for patients. This study aimed to compare the effect of propofol and dexmedetomidine infusion on perioperative anxiety during regional anesthesia. ⋯ Dexmedetomidine infusion was found to significantly reduce anxiety levels at the end of surgery compared to propofol during regional anesthesia.
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Background/aim: Malignant melanoma is the most common cause of death due to skin cancers. The most common mutations in RAFRAS pathway from tumor oncogenes are BRAF and NRAS. In this study, we analyzed the frequency of BRAF and NRAS gene mutations and investigated their association with clinicopathological features of melanomas in the Turkish population. ⋯ Conclusion: We found lower mutation rate when compared to regional studies. NRAS mutation was common in men. This is the first study from our region evaluating the prognostic value of clinical stage and necessity of adjuvant treatment with the presence of BRAF and NRAS mutations.
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Background/aim: Recovery after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) can be complicated, leading to postoperative morbidity. The roles of hematologic and surgery-related parameters are important. The main purpose of this study is to determine the role of preoperative and postcardiopulmonary bypass neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on postoperative recovery. ⋯ There was a positive correlation between preoperative NLR and length of stay in the ICU (P = 0.017) and the hospital (P = 0.014). No statistically significant differences in postoperative drainage or incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation were detected between the two groups. Conclusion: The results of our study demonstrate that the postoperative NLR may be useful to predict the length of hospital and ICU stays and help the management of follow-up and treatment processes in patients undergoing CABG surgery.
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Background/aim: This study was performed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of shear wave elastography by virtual touch tissue imaging quantification in patients with diffuse thyroid gland pathology and to differentiate Graves' disease from Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Materials and methods: Thirty patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and 22 patients with Graves' disease were evaluated with conventional ultrasonography and shear wave elastography by virtual touch tissue imaging quantification. Thirty healthy participants formed the control group. ⋯ Results: The mean shear wave velocity of the controls (1.92 ± 0.14 m/s) was significantly lower than that of the patients with Graves' disease (2.71 ± 0.22 m/s) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (2.50 ± 0.20 m/s). Patients with Graves' disease had significantly higher shear wave velocities than those with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Shear wave elastography by virtual touch tissue imaging quantification can be used to discriminate a normal thyroid gland from diffuse thyroid gland pathology after conventional sonography and may assist in the diagnosis of Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
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Background/aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of certain maternal, fetal, and umbilical cord blood unit factors on storage and/or discard incidence of collected cord blood units from perinatal medicine patients. Materials and methods: A total of 273 cord blood units collected between January 2011 and December 2016 in the Division of Perinatology of Hacettepe University Hospital were evaluated retrospectively in this study. Results: Of the collected cord blood units, 53.8% (147/273) were stored. ⋯ Conclusion: Infant birth weight, cord blood unit volume, total nucleated cell count, and CD34+ cell count were significantly different between the eligible and discarded cord blood unit groups. The low rate of specimen storage was most likely because of the unique characteristics of perinatal medicine patients. Physicians should choose appropriate donors for cord blood collection to increase the rate of cord blood utilization.