Survey of environmental exposure to asbestos in the town of Buyuktatlar, Turkey

Asbestos-related cases admitted to Chest Diseases Clinic of Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University Medical Faculty generally came from Buyuktatlar, a town adjacent to the Afsin district of Kahramanmara? city. This led us to screen for lung pathologies due to exposure to environmental asbestos in the town of Buyuktatlar. Six hundred and eighty-five inhabitants older than 30 years living in the town were identified as the study group and 488 persons (71·2%) were accepted for evaluation. Then, chest X-rays of these cases were taken and bilateral pleural plaque, bilateral pleural thickening, reticular lung infiltrations, and costophrenic angle obliteration were evaluated as asbestos-related disorders (ARD). ARD were diagnosed in 56 (11·5%) of the 488 chest X-rays that were assessed and no differences were observed between genders. Twenty-five of the cases were investigated by high-resolution computed tomography. Twenty-four were confirmed as ARD. In addition, chrysotile fiber was found in two of four soil samples taken from the town.     

Effect of needle length for response to hepatitis B vaccine in macrosomic neonates: a prospective randomized study

Objectives

The objective of this study was to determine whether use of a longer (1 in.) rather than a standard (5/8 in.) needle used for macrosomic neonates (birthweight over 4000 g) may affect antibody titers after immunization against hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Methods

Fifty nine healthy infants were vaccinated at birth, 1, and 6 months of age with hepatitis B vaccine, with follow up to 7 months of age. Infants were randomized into two groups according to needle length of first vaccine at birth. First group vaccinated with standart needle length and other group received vaccine by longer needle length.

Results

Macrosomic infants who were immunized with a longer needle achieved significantly higher antibody titers to hepatitis B surface antigen than standart needle length (median, 3890.2 vs 1311.7 mIU/mL, respectively; p = 0.001).

Conclusions

Macrosomic neonates benefit from longer needle length with higher levels of antibody titers after HBV vaccination.     

Will a second biopsy sample affect treatment decisions in patients with chronic hepatitis B?

Background and aim

Liver biopsy is the gold standard for assessment of fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B. However, it has some disadvantages, including inter-observer and intra-observer variability in biopsy interpretation and specimen variation. A standard biopsy specimen represents only about 0.0002 % of the whole liver. It has been shown that two biopsy samples collected during a procedure have significant influence on the diagnostic performance of interpretation in patients with hepatitis C or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Therefore, we aimed to assess the influence of collecting two liver biopsy samples during a single procedure for staging and grading chronic hepatitis B.

Patients and methods

27 patients were included in the study. The median age of the patients was 43.51 ± 11.69. Fifteen patients were female, 12 patients were male. In the biopsy procedure, two samples of liver lobes were obtained. Grade and stage scores were compared between the two samples. Fibrosis staging and grading were assessed according to the Ishak scoring system.

Results

Numbers of portal tract and biopsy size were equal in the two samples. There was a significant difference between the samples in terms of histological activity index (p value = 0.04). However, the difference was not enough to distinguish the mild and moderate stages. On the other hand, no significant difference in fibrosis staging between the two samples was found.

Conclusions

With this relatively small size of patients, in this study, we showed that a proper liver biopsy size is sufficient to predict treatment decisions in chronic hepatitis B patients. However, further studies are needed to show the association of sampling variability in patients with hepatitis B.

     

Efficiency of percutaneous nephrolithotomy in pediatric patients using adult-type instruments

To evaluate the efficiency of percutaneous nephrolithotomy using adult-type instruments in children with kidney stones. Between September 2004 and October 2009, 18 children (19 renal units) underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy using adult-type instruments. Following percutaneous access under fluoroscopy, 20-30F tract dilatation was performed (1,92,427F), and lithotripters were used. Postoperatively, kidney-ureter-bladder X-ray and antegrade pyelography were performed to evaluate residual stones and contrast passage to the bladder. 8 boys and 10 girls with a mean age of 9.8 ± 4.56 years were evaluated. Mean stone burden was 338 ± 196.21 mm2. Stones were located in the left and right kidneys in 16 (84.2%) and 3 (16.8%) patients, respectively. Horse-shoe kidney was present in one patient. Mean operation (including cystoscopy) and fluoroscopy times were 106 ± 49.60 and 5.2 ± 2.14 min, respectively. Postoperatively, 10(52.6%) patients were stone free and 4 (21.1%) patients had clinically insignificant stones. Saline extravasation developed in three patients and surgery was aborted in one patient. Stone fragments migrated into the ureter in two patients and managed by additional endourological interventions. Nephrostomy catheters were kept for a mean of 2.6 ± 1.12 days. Four patients required blood transfusion due to bleeding. Postoperative fever of <39°C developed in five patients and >39°C in one patient. Mean hospitalization time was 5.3 ± 3.12 days. Overall, 73.7% of our patients were stone free, including patients with clinically insignificant stones. Particularly in children with a high-stone burden, the use of adult-type instruments might have a positive impact on stone-free rate, operation time and fluoroscopy time without increasing the complication rate.     

The impact of radiotherapy on quality of life for cancer patients: a longitudinal study

Purpose

The aim of this study was to assess for changes in quality of life (QOL) among cancer patients who undergo radiotherapy (RT) and to identify factors that influence QOL in this group.

Materials and methods

Three hundred sixty-seven cancer patients who received curative RT were investigated using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire at the start of RT, end of RT, and 1 and 6 months post-RT.

Results

The patients were 49 % women, 51 % men, and median age at diagnosis was 57 years (range, 16–86 years). Compared to pre-RT, at the end of RT, the global health status score (p?<?0.001), nausea/vomiting (p?<?0.001), and apetite loss scores (p?<?0.001) were significantly poorer. Compared to the end of RT, at 1 and 6 months post-RT, global health status, all functional, and all symptom scores were significantly improved (p?<?0.001). Patient sex influenced scores for pain (p?=?0.036), appetite loss (p?=?0.027), and financial difficulty (p?=?0.003). Performance status influenced scores for global health status (p?=?0.006), physical functioning (p?<?0.001), cognitive functioning (p?=?0.001), and role functioning (p?=?0.021). Comorbidity influenced fatigue score (p?<?0.001). Cancer stage influenced scores for physical functioning (p?=?0.001), role functioning (p?=?0.010), and fatigue (p?<?0.001). Treatment modality (chemoRT vs. RT alone) influenced scores for physical functioning (p?=?0.016), fatigue (p?<?0.001), nausea/vomiting (p?=?0.009), and appetite loss (p?<?0.001); and RT field influenced scores for nausea/vomiting (p?=?0.001), appetite loss (p?=?0.003), and diarrhea (p?=?0.037). Radiotherapy dose functioning (p?<?0.001), cognitive functioning (p?<?0.001), social functioning (p?<?0.001), fatigue (p?<?0.001), and pain (<60 vs ≥60 Gy) had an effect on scores for physical functioning (p?<?0.001), role functioning (p?<?0.001), emotional (p?<?0.001), insomnia (p?<?0.001), constipation (p?<?0.001).

Conclusion

While RT negatively affects cancer patients’ QOL, restoration tends to be rapid and patients report significant improvement by 1 month post-RT. Various patient- and disease-specific factors and RT modality affect QOL in this patient group. We advocate measuring cancer patients’ QOL regularly as part of routine patient management.     

Does enthesopathy relate to M694V gene mutation in patients with Familial Mediterranean fever?

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a systemic hereditary autoinflammatory disorder. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship of enthesitis to FMF and to search the potential association between enthesitis and MEFV gene missense variations in patients with FMF. The study consisted of 72 FMF patients (mean age 29.12?±?11.47 years, 32 females), 29 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) (mean age 34.14?±?11.73 years, 16 females), and 34 healthy volunteers (mean age 23.06?±?6.41 years, 8 females). FMF patients were classified according to the kind of MEFV gene mutation. Doppler ultrasound was used to determine enthesitis based on the Outcome Measures in Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinical Trials (OMERACT) scoring system. OMERACT score was significantly different between FMF patients and control group (p?<?0.001 in all patients, p?=?0.009 in men, and p?=?0.002 in women). However, it was not significantly different between FMF and AS patients in both sexes. OMERACT score did not differ between FMF patients with and without M694V gene mutation. The best cutoff point of OMERACT score to predict enthesitis was found as ≥0.5 with sensitivity of 29 %, specificity of 100 %, positive predictive value of 100 %, and negative predictive value of 40 %.