Influenza and Pneumonia Vaccination Rates and Factors Affecting Vaccination among Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: Influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations are recommended in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients to decrease associated risks at all stages. Although the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is high in our country, as previously reported, vaccination rates are low.

Aims: To assess the vaccination rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients and factors that may affect these.

What are the Prevalence of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases and the Characteristics of These Patients?

Objective: To determine the prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to assess the characteristics of these patients.

Materials And Methods: Stable COPD patients (age, >40 years) were included in the study between January 2014 and June 2014. Patients with acute exacerbations and a previous lung resection were excluded.

Miliary tuberculosis: Epidemiologicaland clinical analysis of large-case series from moderate to low tuberculosis endemic Country.

The aim of this study was to determine the clinical features, and outcome of the patients with miliary tuberculosis (TB).We retrospectively evaluated 263 patients (142 male, 121 female, mean age: 44 years, range: 16-89 years) with miliary TB. Criteria for the diagnosis of miliary TB were at least one of the followings in the presence of clinical presentation suggestive of miliary TB such as prolonged fever, night sweats, anorexia, weight loss: radiologic criterion and pathological criterion and/or microbiological criterion; pathological criterion and/or microbiological criterion.

Thiol/disulfide homeostasis as a novel indicator of oxidative stress in obstructive sleep apnea patients.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to assess thiol/disulfide (SS) homeostasis as a novel indicator of oxidative stress in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and to investigate the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy on oxidative parameters.

Study Design: Prospective clinical study.

Methods: A total of 104 subjects, 44 in an OSA group and 60 in two control groups (control simple snoring group, control OSA group) were included.

Factors related to depression and anxiety in adults with bronchiectasis.

Introduction And Background: Patients with chronic lung diseases frequently have depressive and anxiety symptoms, but there are very few studies looking at this in patients with bronchiectasis.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate depression and anxiety and related factors among patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.

Patients And Methods: This was a prospective study of 133 patients with bronchiectasis.

The Effect of a Training Program on Oral Health and Behavior Change in Asthma Patients.

Background: Asthma is a chronic disease which is prevalent throughout the world. Physical problems such as deterioration in oral health, which may occur due to the triggering factors of asthma as well as the ineffective use of asthma medicine, seem to affect the daily lives of asthma patients. Therefore, it is important to protect oral health and promote positive behavior changes in asthma patients in order to achieve effective treatment and asthma control.

Artificial Neural Network Approach in Laboratory Test Reporting: Learning Algorithms.

Objectives: In the field of laboratory medicine, minimizing errors and establishing standardization is only possible by predefined processes. The aim of this study was to build an experimental decision algorithm model open to improvement that would efficiently and rapidly evaluate the results of biochemical tests with critical values by evaluating multiple factors concurrently.

Methods: The experimental model was built by Weka software (Weka, Waikato, New Zealand) based on the artificial neural network method.

Double segmentectomy for T4 lung cancer in a pulmonary-compromised patient.

Complete resection is the optimal treatment for primary lung cancer. The choice of surgical methods varies depending on tumor size, tumor location, and each patient's respiratory reserve. Currently, lobectomy with lymph node dissection is the gold standard for the surgical management of lung cancer.

Teaching practices of thoracic epidural catheterizations in different grade of anesthesia residents.

Background And Objectives: In this study, we aimed to clarify the importance of residency grade and other factors which influence the success of thoracic epidural catheterization in thoracotomy patients.

Methods: After the ethical committee approval, data were recorded retrospectively from the charts of 415 patients. All patients had given written informed consent.

Can Sericin Prove Useful as a Pleurodesis Agent or Tissue Glue?

 Sericin is a natural, gum-like, macromolecule protein, synthesized from silkworms for the formation of cocoon shells. The aim of the present study is to describe the effects of sericin when used for pleurodesis and/or as tissue glue.  Adult, male, 12-week-old Wistar albino rats, weighing 257 to 395 g were used in the present study ( = 12).

Investigation of some DNA repair genes association in non small cell lung cancer.

Ribonucleoside-diphosphate reductase subunit M2, also known as ribonucleotide reductase small subunit, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the RRM2 gene and also Ribonucleoside-diphosphate reductase large subunit is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the RRM1 gene. RRM1 is a gene important in determining tumor phenotype, but also induced the expression of PTEN tumor suppressor gene, cell migration, invasion and metastasis formation, and play a preventive role. ERCC2 DNA repair mechanism is associated in more than 20 genes involved in the NER pathway.

A Case of Traumatic Flail Chest Requiring Stabilization with Surgical Reconstruction.

Background Flail chest is the most serious complication that may occur after thoracic trauma. In this article, we present a case of flail chest caused by blunt chest trauma, which presented dramatic clinical improvement following rib fixation and chest wall reconstruction. Case Description A 53-year-old male patient with flail chest because of the trauma who had been followed in intensive care unit for mechanical ventilatory support underwent chest wall stabilization with titanium reconstruction plate and screws.

A Bronchopleurocutaneous Fistula Caused by Unexpected Foreign Body Aspiration: False Barley (Hordeum murinum).

A 13-year-old boy with no previous history of foreign body aspiration, presenting with side pain, was referred to our clinic with a pneumonia diagnosis by an external medical facility where he had been started on antibiotic treatment. Consolidation in the right inferior lobe and minimal pleural effusion were found on the lung radiograph and computed tomography scan. Skin hyperemia and abscess formation in the right chest were observed subsequently.

Fistulization of hydatid mediastinal cyst to the anterior thoracic wall: case report.

Echinococcosis/hydatidosis is a frequent parasitic and zoonotic disease in the population engaged with agriculture and stockbreeding. It is seen most frequently in the liver and lung in adults. Mediastinal location of the disease is very rare.

Coexistence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Superior Vena Cava Syndromes Due to Substernal Goitre in a Patient With Respiratory Failure: A Case Report.

Introduction: Substernal goiter may rarely cause superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) owing to venous compression, and cause acute respiratory failure due to tracheal compression. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) may rarely occur when there is a narrowing of upper airway by edema and vascular congestion resulting from SVCS.

Case Presentation: We presented the clinical course and treatment of acute respiratory failure (ARF) developed in a patient with SVCS and OSAS due to substernal goiter.

PET-CT guided curative conformal radiation therapy in limited stage small cell lung cancer.

Background: The prognosis of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) has been improving with the advances in diagnostic and therapeutic modalities. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) which has been studied in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) for a long time, and it has only recently been applied to SCLC. Therefore we sought to observe firstly the prognostic importance of the FDG uptake in limited disease small cell lung cancer (LD-SCLC) patients and secondly the clinical outcomes and toxicity profiles of LD-SCLC patients treated with conformal radiation therapy (RT) using FDG-PET/CT simulation.

Are soluble IL-2 receptor and IL-12p40 levels useful markers for diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy?

Background: The differential diagnostic utilities of the levels of soluble interleukin (IL)-12p40 and the IL-2 receptor in sera and pleural effusions were evaluated in patients with exudative pleural effusions.

Methods: We enrolled a total of 120 patients with exudative pleural effusions. The clinical, radiological, and histopathological diagnoses were tuberculous pleurisy in 52, malignant pleurisy in 39, and parapneumonic effusions in 29 patients.

Is mean platelet volume really a severity marker for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome without comorbidities?

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a common disorder that can lead to significant cardiovascular complications. Several studies have reported increased platelet activation and aggregation in patients with OSAS. In this study we aimed to show a correlation between mean platelet volume (MPV) and severity of OSAS in patients with OSAS without any overt cardiac disease or diabetes.

Complete blood count alterations after six months of continuous positive airway pressure treatment in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea.

Study Objectives: The cardiovascular complications caused by obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) decrease after continuous positive airway pressure treatment (CPAP). Mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), and red cell distribution width (RDW) are newly recognized tools for assessing cardiovascular risk.

Methods: From a selection of patients with symptoms of nocturnal snoring and/or excessive daytime sleepiness, 36 males with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) > 30/h and 22 age-matched normal male controls with AHI < 5/h were included.

Bilateral familial elastofibroma dorsi: is genetic abnormality essential?

Elastofibroma dorsi is a rare, slowly growing, benign soft tissue tumor located in the periscapular region on the chest wall. Although it is generally unilateral, it may be bilateral in 10% of cases. The tumor is located between the costa and the chest wall muscles.

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration of mediastinal lymphadenopathy: effect of the learning curve.

This study aimed to evaluate the learning curve and efficacy of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in the examination of mediastinal or hilar lymph nodes suspected of having cancer or of benign disease such as sarcoidosis. A success-adjusted cumulative sum model was used to evaluate the learning curve for diagnostic rates and operation time. A total of 99 patients (77 men and 22 women) who underwent EBUS-TBNA from April 2011 to March 2012 in a single centre were analysed retrospectively.

Intrathoracic hibernoma: an uncommon tumour.

Hibernomas are uncommon benign tumours that arise from the remnants of fetal brown adipose tissue. They are usually asymptomatic and have a slow growth pattern. Intrathoracic and pleural locations are exceptional for localization of hibernoma.

The effect of preoperative albendazole treatment on the cuticular membranes of pulmonary hydatid cysts: should it be administered preoperatively?

The Aim Of This Study: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of preoperative albendazole treatment on the tensile strength of the cuticular membranes of pulmonary hydatid cysts.

Material And Methods: A study including 44 patients operated on for pulmonary hydatid cysts was carried out between January 2009 and November 2010. The patients were divided into two groups according to their preoperative albendazole administration.

The role of the tissue culture in granulomatous mediastinal lymphadenitis: tuberculosis or not.

Aim: To evaluate the role of the tissue culture via mediastinoscopic biopsy in granulomatous mediastinal lymphadenitis.

Methods: The dossier data of 92 cases with mediastinal lymphadenitis showing granulomatous lymphadenitis features by cervical mediastinoscopy and whose clinical, radiological and bacteriological definitive diagnosis is tuberculosis and sarcoidosis were examined retrospectively. The rate of the positive tissue culture of mediastynoscopic biopsy in the diagnosis of granulomatous lymphadenitis was calculated.