Epidemiology of Takayasu's arteritis in Turkey.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence and incidence of Takayasu arteritis (TA) among the residents of the city of Izmir, the third largest metropolis in Turkey.

Methods: Five tertiary care teaching hospitals, which were the only ones that provided rheumatology specialty care during the study period in the city of Izmir from 2006 through 2010, were invited to take part in the present study. A case search was performed electronically in the information systems of these hospitals using The International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code for Takayasu arteritis (M31.

An evaluation of thyrotoxic autoimmune thyroiditis patients with triplex Doppler ultrasonography.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the usefulness of blood flow parameters obtained from STA and CCA with Triplex Doppler ultrasonography (TDU) on patients with thyrotoxicosis.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study included consecutive 24 patients with thyrotoxicosis and 18 healthy controls. The thyroid gland blood flow parameters were evaluated with TDU.

Acute phase reactants predict the risk of amputation in diabetic foot infection.

Background: prediction of amputation would aid clinicians in the management of diabetic foot infections. We aimed to assess the predictive value of baseline and post-treatment levels of acute phase reactants in the outcome of patients with diabetic foot infections.

Methods: we collected data prospectively during minimum follow-up of 6 months in patients with infected diabetic foot ulcers hospitalized in Dokuz Eylul University Hospital between January 1, 2003, and January 1, 2008.

The effect of creatinine clearance on the short-term outcome of neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers.

Reduced creatinine clearance is related to an increased risk for diabetic foot ulcer development. Wound healing has been reported to be worse in diabetic patients with impaired kidney functions than general diabetic population. This study aimed to investigate the effect of creatinine clearance on the short-term outcome of neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers.

Predictors of amputation in diabetics with foot ulcer: single center experience in a large Turkish cohort.

Objective: Prediction of diabetic foot ulcer outcome may be helpful for clinicians in optimizing and individualizing management strategy. The aim of the present study was to examine the possibility of predicting the outcome of patients with diabetic foot ulcers by using easily assessed clinical and laboratory parameters at baseline.

Design: In this observational study, data were collected prospectively in 670 consecutive diabetic foot ulcer episodes in 510 patients examined between January 1999 and June 2008 and were used to evaluate potential predictors of amputation retrospectively.