Developing an Index to Measure the Value of Health Care Provided to Stroke Patients.

Background And Objectives: It is possible to evaluate health services for stroke patients based on clinical benefits. However, in recent years, questions about responsiveness and outcomes have also emerged. Currently, there is no index that can assess health-care services for stroke patients along these three dimensions.

Turkey’s response to COVID-19 pandemic: strategy and key actions.

COVID-19 emerged at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, China, and spread rapidly around the world causing many deaths. Due to the intercontinental escalation in the epidemic, while WHO declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, our country’s first case was diagnosed. Before this, the MoH established the Operations Center against possible risks regarding the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plan on January 10, 2020 and formed the Scientific Committee, which has a critical importance in epidemic management.

Potential Criteria for Frameworks to Support the Evaluation of Innovative Medicines in Upper Middle-Income Countries-A Systematic Literature Review on Value Frameworks and Multi-Criteria Decision Analyses.

Background: Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), a formal decision support framework, has been growing in popularity recently in the field of health care. MCDA can support pricing and reimbursement decisions on the macro level, which is of great importance especially in countries with more limited resources.

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to facilitate the development of future MCDA frameworks, by proposing a set of criteria focusing on the purchasing decisions of single-source innovative pharmaceuticals in upper middle-income countries.

Trends in the incidence rate of genitourinary system cancers in Turkey: 2004-2015.

Objective: To analyze age-standardized urological cancer incidence rates in Turkey during the last twelve years based on the available published data (2004-2015).

Material And Methods: Cancer data were obtained from the reports of Turkish Directorate of Public Health Cancer Department for 2004-2015. A trend analysis was conducted using the joinpoint regression analysis to observe the change in the trends over time.

Rapid changes in the incidence of urinary system cancers in Turkey.

Estimation of national cancer incidence for major cancer sites in Turkey has been carried out by analyzing the data obtained from active cancer registry, and published regularly by Institute of Public Health of Ministry of Health. In the light of these statistics, the incidence of urinary cancers in both sexes and their age related distributions have been discussed, paying special attention to prostate, kidney and bladder cancers. The annual incidence of all cancer cases increased gradually, reaching to 221.

The relationships between metabolic syndrome, erectile dysfunction and lower urinary tract symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Objective: To determine the relationship between erectile dysfunction and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).

Material And Methods: Seventy-eight patients who were admitted to our outpatient clinic because of BPH-related LUTS over 40 years of age were included in the study. Patients with LUTS and erectile dysfunction (ED) were evaluated by International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) forms.

Universal health coverage in Turkey: enhancement of equity.

Turkey has successfully introduced health system changes and provided its citizens with the right to health to achieve universal health coverage, which helped to address inequities in financing, health service access, and health outcomes. We trace the trajectory of health system reforms in Turkey, with a particular emphasis on 2003-13, which coincides with the Health Transformation Program (HTP). The HTP rapidly expanded health insurance coverage and access to health-care services for all citizens, especially the poorest population groups, to achieve universal health coverage.

Turkey. Health system review.

Turkey has accomplished remarkable improvements in terms of health status in the last three decades, particularly after the implementation of the Health Transformation Program (HTP (Saglikta Donus, um Programi)). Average life expectancy reached 71.8 for men and 76.

Sperm motility changes after coincubation with various uropathogenic microorganisms: an in vitro experimental study.

Objective: We investigated the relationship between semen motility and various uropathogenic microorganisms.

Materials And Methods: Semen specimens from healthy donors were divided into portions and incubated with uropathogenic microorganisms in concentrations varying from 2 x 10 to 2 x 10(7) microorganisms/ml(-1). Uninfected suspensions of spermatozoa served as controls.

Tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy in selected patients: a prospective randomized comparison.

Objectives: To prospectively compare the outcome of standard and tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) in a selected group of patients with renal stones.

Methods: Patients with simple, isolated renal pelvis or lower pole caliceal stones and no significant hydronephrosis were randomly enrolled to undergo either standard PNL, in which routine nephrostomy tube was placed at the end of operation, or tubeless PNL. Occurrence of intraoperative complications, total operative time exceeding 2 h, indication for additional access or second-look PNL due to residual stones were exclusion criteria.

Multiple primary malignant neoplasms in urologic patients.

Methods: Second primary cancers constitute approximately 9-10% of malignancies diagnosed in the United States. We aimed to show the risk and incidance of second primary tumor occuring associated to urologic tumors and show the distrubution of tumors in Tracia region. We retrospectively examined the patients' files with the diagnosis of malignant disease between the years 1985-2000.

Diagnostic value of cytokeratin-18 as a tumor marker in bladder cancer.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare serum levels of cytokeratin-18 of patients with bladder cancer with those of the healthy controls, and to investigate the relation between cytokeratin level and the tumor stage.

Design And Methods: Serum cytokeratin-18 levels of 38 patients with bladder cancer and of 25 healthy people were determined. Tumor stage was T(1) in 12 patients, T(2) in 9 patients, T(3) in 10 patients and T(4) in 7 patients.