A study of psychiatric nurses' beliefs and attitudes about work safety and assaults in Turkey

In Turkey, the cultural structure effects the gender roles in the society, and women are subject to violence in an intense manner both inside the family and in their workplaces. In nursing, which is still defined as a woman's job in our country, it is possible to encounter many aggressive and threatening behaviours. Knowing no geographical borders, aggression leads to dissatisfaction and alienation with the profession for the nurses working at the psychiatric institutions in Turkey, thus aggression is a significant health risk in physical, psychological and social dimensions. The research was carried out with 162 randomly selected nurses working in the psychiatric institutions in Istanbul using the Attitudes Toward Patient Physical Assault Questionnaire. It has been determined that nurses' rate of exposure to verbal/physical assault by the patients and their relatives is high and that they experience an intense uncertainty and conflict, especially in legal issues, and that the duration of working in the psychiatry clinics effects attitudes toward the assaults. It is concluded that the nurses working at the psychiatry clinics in Turkey are under risk in regards to safety and they need protection and support, both in emotional and in legal terms.     

Videothoracoscopy versus intrapleural streptokinase for management of post traumatic retained haemothorax: a retrospective study of 65 cases

BACKGROUND: Post traumatic retained haemothorax (PRH) may cause pulmonary restrictions or septic pleural complications. Currently, minimally invasive procedures such as videothoracoscopy or intrapleural fibrinolysis have replaced open surgery in an effort to avoid these complications. OBJECTIVE: We have reviewed retrospectively our use of videothoracoscopy versus intrapleural streptokinase for the management of PRH over the last 10 years. PATIENTS AND METHOD: There were 56 males and nine females in the study. Thirty-one cases had been managed by intrapleural streptokinase (group I), and videothoracoscopy was performed on 34 cases (group II). Therapeutic results for both groups were determined by chest radiographs. RESULTS: In the population from which we drew our study group, retained haemothoraces occurred in 10.9% of 596 cases with traumatic haemothorax. In group I, 22 patients had radiological improvement; the others underwent thoracotomy. In this group, mean hospitalisation time was 14.5(+/-4.2) days, and three cases were complicated by empyema. In group II, all patients except four had complete radiological improvement; two of them required a decortication. In this group, mean hospital stay was 9.8(+/-3.7) days. There were no deaths in either group. The differences between group I and group II for length of hospital stay and number of thoracotomies was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Videothoracoscopy is therefore a more effective procedure than intrapleural streptokinase for the management of PRH.     

Management strategies for patients with nipple discharge

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess management strategies for patients with nipple discharge (ND). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The records of 13,443 women with breast-related complaints who were examined by the same surgeon between 1 January 1960 and 31 December 2000 were retrospectively assessed. Patients with ND were grouped according to whether they had had a spontaneous or provoked discharge. The parameters investigated in each group were age, physical findings, number of pregnancies, duration of lactation, duration of discharge, colour of discharge, and histopathological features. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U-tests were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: ND was the presenting symptom in 603 (4.5%) of the cases. Two hundred and eighty-seven (48%) of the 603 patients showed spontaneous nipple discharge (SND group) and the other 316 (52%) showed provoked nipple discharge (PND group). In the SND group, 124 (43%) tissue specimens were obtained by either biopsy or sub-areolar exploration. Histopathological examination revealed that the most frequent causes of ND in these cases were intraductal papilloma (49 patients; 40%), intraductal carcinoma (35 patients; 28%), and cystic disease (15 patients; 12%). Twenty tissue specimens were obtained from the group with PND. In these cases, the most frequently identified causes of ND were cystic disease (seven patients; 35%), intraductal papilloma (six patients; 30%), ductal ectasia (two patients; 10%), and carcinoma (one patient; 5%). The SND and PND groups differed significantly with respect to age (P = 0.001) and duration of ND (P = 0.008). The incidence of cancer was higher in the SND specimens than in the PND specimens (28% vs 5%, respectively; P = 0.01). The number of pregnancies was significantly higher and the duration of lactation was significantly longer in the SND group (P = 0.03 and P = 0.02, respectively). CONCLUSION: The study confirms previous reports that patients with SND have a higher incidence of carcinoma than those with PND. The results suggest that older age, higher number of pregnancies, and longer duration of lactation may predispose to cancer development in patients with SND. The possibility of breast cancer should also be kept in mind when one is assessing patients with PND. Careful physical examination and close follow-up is the optimal management strategy for patients with any type of ND.     

Effect of torsion on microarterial anastomosis patency

All kinds of technical faults must be prevented in microvascular anastomosis for successful reconstructive microsurgery. Torsion at the anastomosis site is one of the most basic technical errors. In this study, we investigate the effect of different degrees of microarterial torsion on patency and its physical changes on anastomosis in a rat model. A total of 144 microanastomosis were performed in 72 Sprague-Dawley rats. They were divided into 9 groups. The anastomosis was performed at 0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, 135 degrees, 180 degrees, 225 degrees, 270 degrees, 315 degrees, and 360 degrees of torsion randomly. Patency rates and the narrowest point of the artery after the anastomosis were recorded after 1 hour for each group. In the second stage of the study, the 9 groups were divided into 2 groups for patency rates and histopathological sampling at the second and seventh days postoperatively. The femoral arteries in all groups were all patent at the end of 1 hour. Only 5 microanastomosis were thrombosed (one in the 45 degrees group, one in the 225 degrees group, one in the 270 degrees group, and two in the 315 degrees group) at the second day of exploration. Only two arteries were thrombosed (one in the 45 degrees group and one in the 315 degrees group) at the seventh day of exploration. The patency rate was 96.8% in experimental groups excluding the control group. Different degrees of torsion had no statistically significant effect on the patency rates of microvascular anastomosis. Torsional repair of the femoral artery in the rat has no significant histopathologic changes, but alternately, endothelial integrity was affected by excessive degrees of torsion. Different degrees of torsion at the anastomosis site do not affect patency rates and cross sectional histology of rat femoral arteries. In clinical practice, minor torsion can be tolerated, however, factors affecting patency such as tension, diameter disproportion, and tight closure can affect the final result of anastomosis. We observed that torsional force of the vessel is distributed along the artery to the weakest point.     

Efficacy of tramadol versus meperidine for pain relief and safe recovery after adenotonsillectomy

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Adequate relief of pain after tonsillectomy is a common problem. We compared meperidine and tramadol when given at induction of anaesthesia with respect to their effects on postoperative pain relief and emergence characteristics after adenotonsillectomy in children. METHODS: Fifty children aged 4-7 yr undergoing tonsillectomy were randomly assigned to receive either tramadol 1 mg kg(-1) (n = 25) or meperidine 1 mg kg(-1) (n = 25) before commencement of the surgical procedure. Anaesthesia was induced with propofol (with cis-atracurium for muscle relaxation) and maintained with sevoflurane in oxygen and nitrous oxide. Postoperative pain was scored by a blinded observer using a facial pain scale in the recovery room at 0 (at arrival of the patient in the postoperative care unit) and at 10, 20 and 45 min thereafter. Agitation scores were also assessed by the same observer at 0 min. Heart rate and mean arterial pressure were recorded at regular intervals. The time to recovery to spontaneous respiration and the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting were noted. RESULTS: Facial pain scale scores were increased in the tramadol group at 0, 10 and 20 min (P < 0.05). No difference was observed in scores at the 45th min postoperation. Agitation scores were higher in the tramadol group than in the meperidine group. No statistical difference was found between the two groups. Heart rates and mean arterial pressures were similar in both groups. The time to recovery to spontaneous respiration was delayed with meperidine compared with tramadol (P < 0.05). The incidence of nausea and vomiting was not statistically different between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Meperidine was more effective for pain relief and provides better emergence characteristics than tramadol after tonsillectomy in children.     

Morphological Changes in Diseased Cementum Layers: A Scanning Electron Microscopy Study

The aim of this study was to compare the morphological changes that occurred in root cementum layers due to periodontal disease by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Ninety-two periodontally hopeless teeth extracted from 29 patients were studied. Measurements of probing depth (PD) and clinical attachment loss (CAL) were taken prior to extractions. After the longitudinal fracturing process of root specimens, healthy and diseased cementum layers of roots were evaluated by SEM for the thickness of the cementum and the morphological changes in collagen fibers. The result of SEM evaluation revealed a significant (P < 0.001) decrease in the thickness of cementum layer on the diseased root surfaces compared to the healthy surfaces. There were denser and conspicuous collagen fibers with their interfibrillar matrix in cementum layers on the healthy root surfaces compared to the diseased surfaces. Within the limits of this study, the thickness of cementum layers in diseased areas was found to be significantly less than that in the healthy areas of root surfaces. However, there exist variations in the density and visibility of cemental fibers between individuals and within the individual.