Turk J Med Sci
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Symptomatic breast hypertrophy has a significant impact on the quality of life of women. The amount of tissue to be excised may be preoperatively estimated by an experienced surgeon. However, this remains a subjective assessment. Accurate quantification of the amount of breast tissue to be resected in the preoperative period will be a guide for both patient information and the surgeon during the operation. The aim of this study is to develop a new method based on simple measurements that can accurately estimate the resection weight in the preoperative period in a wide range of patients undergoing reduction mammoplasty. ⋯ With the formula described herein, one may accurately estimate the amount of tissue to be resected in a wide range of patients undergoing reduction mammoplasty whose sternal notch–nipple distances are between 28–42 cm. Additionally, because measurements for each breast are performed separately, breast asymmetry does not affect the results. In conclusion, the formula we devised is simple, applicable, and has a high accuracy rate.
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Current clinical guidelines recommend to use both clinical and self-reported measurements for evaluation of chronic neck pain. Among the self-reported outcomes, Neck disability index and patient-specific functional scale are the most widely used and recommended instruments. The purpose of our study was to determine the test-retest reliability and validity of patient-specific functional scale which was not validated in Turkish language previously. ⋯ The Turkish version of the patient-specific functional scale is a valid and reliable scale for evaluating functional status in patients with chronic neck pain.
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In Hungary, a nationwide colorectal screening program is about to be introduced in order to improve the high mortality rate of colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim was to summarize experiences from and assess short-term efficacy of the population- based pilot colorectal screening program in 2015 in Csongrád county, Hungary. ⋯ The Csongrád county population-based colorectal cancer screening was evidently successful on the short-term considering participation rate, and the changes in CRC incidence and stage, thus its national extension is necessary.
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Rapid antigen test (RAT) is a practical test to detect the presence of Group A beta hemolytic streptococcus antigens in throat swab samples. The aim of this study is to investigate the changes in the empiric antibiotic prescribing behavior of 10 family physicians in Kırıkkale Province after using RAT in 2017. ⋯ This study shows that there has been a significant decrease in antibiotic prescription in 10 Family Medicine departments in 2017 in comparison to February, March, and April 2015 and 2016. The use of RAT resulted in a decrease in antibiotic prescription rates in 2017.
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Tuberculosis is still one of the most contagious diseases around the world. Key factors of tuberculosis control are rapid diagnostic, efficient treatment, and prevention of contamination by surveillance and monitoring. However, culture is the gold standard method for laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis; the results are several weeks to obtain. In order to prevent contamination of tuberculosis, diagnosis must be made in short time and treatment should be started as soon as possible. The aim of this study is to optimize the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method, which provides a much faster and more sensitive result than the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and allows the replication of target nucleic acid sequences under isothermal conditions without the need for laboratory infrastructure. ⋯ The current study indicated that the LAMP-LFD and colorimetric LAMP protocol optimized with sputum samples can be reliable used as a rapid, sensitive and specific assay in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in the field.