Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels as an indicator of severity and mortality for COVID-19.

Objective: Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is a multisystemic disease that can cause severe illness and mortality by exacerbating symptoms such as thrombosis, fibrinolysis, and inflammation. Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) plays an important role in regulating fibrinolysis and may cause thrombotic events to develop. The goal of this study is to examine the relationship between PAI-1 levels and disease severity and mortality in relation to COVID-19.

External validation of the PATHFx decision-support tool on Turkish patients with skeletal metastasis.

Objective: Accurate determination of life expectancy becomes very important when determining the treatment of patients with pathologic fractures. We aimed to investigate the predictive role of the PATHFx model in Turkish patients by estimating the area under curve (AUC) of the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) and externally validating the results of PATHFx on the Turkish population.

Methods: The data of 122 patients who presented to one of four orthopaedic oncology referral centres in Istanbul (2010-2017) and underwent surgical management of pathologic fractures were retrospectively collected.

Clinical characteristics and predictors for recurrence in chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis: a retrospective multicenter analysis.

Background/aim: Chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis (CNO) is a rare disease of unknown etiology and most commonly occurs during childhood or adolescence. The purpose of this study is to collect data on the clinical features, outcomes, and management of the disease and to identify the factors affecting recurrence.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective multicenter cross-sectional study of pediatric patients diagnosed with CNO.

Obesity in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy in Turkey: A cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Obesity prevalence and the relationship between obesity and motor function in children with ambulatory cerebral palsy (CP) were investigated.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The obesity profile of 75 children aged 2-18 years with ambulatory CP was investigated.

International Forum: The Turkish perspective on apheresis activity: The Turkish apheresis registry report.

Therapeutic apheresis is an extracorporeal treatment that selectively removes abnormal cells or harmful substances in the blood that are associated with or cause certain diseases. During the last decades the application of therapeutic apheresis has expanded to a broad spectrum of hematological and non-hematological diseases due to various studies on the clinical efficacy of this procedure. In this context there are more than 30 centers performing therapeutic apheresis and registered in the apheresis database in Turkey.

Should valgus-impacted proximal humerus fractures necessarily be operated on? Radiological versus functional results.

Background/aim: Impacted valgus proximal humerus fracture has been known to be challenging in terms of treatment and outcomes since it was defined. Moreover, it is a type of fracture that is difficult to treat. In addition, exact limits have not yet been determined regarding which parameters affect patients' functional and reported outcomes.

Withdrawal of biologic therapy in juvenile idiopathic arthritis due to remission: predictors of flare and outcomes.

Objectives: To investigate patients who flared after discontinuation of biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic agents (bDMARDs) and identify risk factors associated with flare.

Methods: A multicenter study evaluating systemic and non-systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA and non-sJIA) patients whose bDMARDs were ceased after remission.

Results: A total of 101 patients whose bDMARDs were ceased after remission was evaluated.

Renal involvement, presence of amyloidosis, and genotype-phenotype relationship in pediatric patients with Familial Mediterranean fever: a single center study.

The aim of the study is to investigate how renal involvement is correlated with frequency of amyloidosis, risk factors, and demographic and clinical characteristics in pediatric patients with Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). Demographic and clinical characteristics and laboratory data of the pediatric patients diagnosed with FMF between 1990 and 2018 were recorded from their files. The diagnosis of patients with amyloidosis (AA) was proven by renal biopsy, and as for patients with non-amyloidosis renal involvement (RI wo AA), amyloidosis could not be detected but they were followed up with the diagnosis of proteinuria and/or hematuria.

Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Self Report Scale (SCT-SR): Development and Initial Validation Study.

Objective: Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) is a psychological construct consisting of daydreaming, confusion, slowness in movements, lethargy, and low motivation. It is important to develop a self-report scale to evaluate SCT symptoms in children and adolescents in order to meet the following needs; (1) Considering the closeness of SCT symptoms with internalized symptoms, it can provide more reliable information, (2) It allows information to be obtained from multiple informants, and (3) The main symptoms of SCT include subjective experiences such as daydreaming and mind wandering that may be difficult to observe from the outside. Therefore, it was aimed to develop a self-report SCT scale.

SMPD1 gene variants in patients with β-Thalassemia major.

Background: β-thalassemia major and Niemann-Pick diseases have similar clinical and laboratory findings. We aimed to investigate the effects of sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 1 (SMPD1) gene variants on the clinical and laboratory findings in patients with β-thalassemia major.

Methods And Results: This study included 45 patients who were followed up for β-thalassemia major in our clinic.

Pain, Anxiety, and Quality of Life of COVID-19 Survivors with Myofascial Pain Syndrome: A cross sectional study.

Background: People who have survived COVID-19 may develop chronic pain.

Aims: To investigate the difference in pain level, anxiety, functional status, and quality of life in COVID-19 survivors with myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) in the trapezius muscle compared with MPS patients without COVID-19.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Does Cerebral Oxygenation Change during Peripherally Inserted Central Catheterization in Preterm Infants?

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of peripherally inserted central venous catheterization on cerebral oxygenation by near-infrared spectroscopy in very low birth weight preterm infants.

Study Design: Forty-one preterm infants (gestational age ≤32 weeks and birth weight ≤1,500 g) requiring peripherally inserted central venous catheter were included. Hemodynamic data and cerebral regional oxygen saturation values measured by near-infrared spectroscopy were prospectively collected before (T0) and every 5 minutes for 30 minutes following catheterization.

Adaptive immune system in severe COVID-19 patients in the first week of illness: A pilot study.

Introduction: The presentation of the course of COVID-19-related T-cell responses in the first week of the disease may be a more specific period for adaptive immune response assessment. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between changes in peripheral blood lymphocyte counts and death in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Methods: Thirty-three patients (14 females and 19 males) admitted for severe and desaturated COVID-19 pneumonia confirmed by polymerase chain reaction were included.

The use of vancomycin powder in the compound depressed skull fractures.

Background/aim: Compound or open depressed fractures (CDF) is one of the urgent operations of neurosurgery, as it can result in complications of infection. This study is reported to investigate the effect of topical vancomycin powder to the infection rates in the compound depressed skull fractures which have been operated on.

Materials And Methods: This present study was conducted on 46 cases with compound depressed skull fractures which have been operated on.

The Clinical Importance of Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury: Preliminary Report.

Objective: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious health problem that is related to an increased mortality. In cases of severe TBI, the prediction of prognosis is essential. The enlargement of the optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) shows an increased intracranial pressure and is associated with poor outcomes.

Surveillance of hemodialysis related infections: a prospective multicenter study.

As in many countries, there is neither a surveillance system nor a study to reveal the hemodialysis (HD) related infection rates in Turkey. We aimed to investigate the infection rate among HD outpatients and implement CDC's surveillance system. A multicenter prospective surveillance study is performed to investigate the infection rate among HD patients.

Patient Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Psoriasis Vulgaris and Factors Believed to Trigger the Disease: a Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study With 1621 Patients.

Introduction: Due to the chronic recurrent nature of psoriasis vulgaris (PV) and lack of definitive treatment for the disease, patients often resort to alternative treatments. Physicians seem to have low awareness of this issue.

Objectives: To elicit the perceptions of 1,621 PV patients on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and examine factors reported to worsen PV.

Assessment of Serum Resistin and Plasma Calprotectin Levels as Biomarkers of Inflammation in Patients with Familial Mediterranean Fever Disease.

Objective: While several inflammatory markers are known to increase in familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) disease cases, the need remains for diagnostic tests specific for FMF that monitor inflammatory activity. We aimed to investigate resistin and calprotectin levels during both attack and attack-free periods of FMF disease and evaluate their use as novel biomarkers of inflammation in patients with FMF.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study included 68 male patients diagnosed with FMF and 20 healthy individuals as controls.

Functional Somatic Symptoms and Their Predictors in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder and Fibromyalgia Syndrome.

Introduction: Despite being different medical conditions, functional somatic symptoms (FSSs) are common in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Higher levels of depression, anxiety, somatosensory amplification, hypochondriacal worry and alexithymia may be related to the severity of somatization in patients with MDD and FMS. We aimed to investigate the typology and severity of FSSs and the association between FSSs and these psychiatric symptoms in patients with MDD and FMS.

Bilateral Native Kidney Papillary Renal Cell Carcinomas in a 11-Year-Old Renal Transplant Patient.

Renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) are the most common renal tumors in adults and are usually sporadic and unilateral. Renal transplant recipients have an increased risk of developing RCC. RCC development after kidney transplantation is very rarely reported in children.