Anxiety and depression levels of healthcare workers during Covid-19 pandemic

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19), which causes a pandemic in the world, has started to appear in turkey since march 2020. Healthcare workers are at the top of the groups most at risk for covid-19 infection, which can have a negative impact on psychological state.ObjectivesIt was aimed to evaluate anxiety and depression levels among healthcare workers.Methodsthis cross-sectional study performed via an online survey in april 2020. Participants answered questions about sociodemographic features, personal views and experiences about covid-19 and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (hads).ResultsA total of 300 healthcare workers,193 men and 107 women, participated in the survey. According to hads, 44.6% of participants scored above anxiety and 68.2% scored above depression cut-off points. Being younger than 50 and taking care of covid-19 patients in hospitals were independently associated with anxiety risk. Female gender, young age (less than 50) and having comorbidity were independent risk factors for depression.ConclusionHealthcare workers were at high risk of anxiety and depression during covid-19 outbreak. For this reason, psychological support should be given, especially to the group with high risk.     

Single‐port appendectomy in obese children: an optimal alternative?

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate our experience with single‐port appendectomy (SPA) in obese children. Methods: From January 2003 to June 2009, 94 SPA (65 women and 29 men, mean age of 12.4 years) were performed in children with appendicitis. Sixty‐five of these patients were found to have normal weight, whereas 29 were obese. Patients’ records were evaluated regarding operative time, intra‐ and post‐operative complications, initiation of oral intake and histopathological findings. Results: There was no significant difference in operative time between obese and normal weight patients. In the obese group, one wound healing disturbance was documented. In the normal weight group, there were one post‐operative bleeding and one wound infection. There was no difference with regards to the introduction of feeds following appendectomy between the groups. Histological examinations revealed 15 normal, 32 acute, 21 phlegmonous, 20 chronic and two perforated cases of appendicitis, three neurogenic appendicopathies and one case of enterobius vermicularis related appendicitis. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the advantages of single‐port appendectomy in the evaluation of the peritoneal cavity, the minimal rate of intra‐operative incidents with this technique and superior cosmetics validate this alternative approach of minimal access appendectomy in obese children.     

Transesophageal Echocardiographic Diagnosis of Coronary Stenosis in a Stroke Patient

This study represents another example of the usefulness of transesophageal echocardiography in the assessment of stenosis involving the proximal, mid, and distal coronary arteries in stroke patients referred for exclusion of a cardiac source of embolism.     

Successful Treatment of Bone Marrow Failure in Gaucher's Disease with Low-dose Modified Glucocerebrosidase

We report the beneficial effects of enzyme replacement therapywith mannose-terminated human glucocerebrosidase (‘Ceredase’)in a patient suffering from transfusion-dependent bone marrowfailure due to Gaucher's disease. Treatment with low-dose enzymeinfusions, given twice weekly, rapidly reversed the haematopoieticfailure and incapacitating skeletal disease. It appears likelythat prior splenectomy favourably influenced the response tothis therapy.