Reliability of a hospital utilization review method in Turkey.
(1/3051)
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP) is reliable in Turkey. METHODS: Three reviewers, two physicians and one nurse each reviewed 196 patient-days concurrently by using the AEP at three hospitals, two of which were teaching hospitals. Inter-reviewer reliability was assessed both for all cases reviewed (overall agreement), and for only those judged inappropriate by at least one reviewer (specific agreement). In addition, overall agreement between pairs of reviewers was evaluated by the Kappa statistic. RESULTS: The overall agreement between pairs of reviewers was very high: 93.4-95.9%, and it was similar between all pairs. The level of overall agreement was highly statistically significant: k=0.725-0.833, P<0.001. The specific agreement rates ranged from a low of 61.8% to a high of 75%. CONCLUSIONS: These results show, for the first time, that the AEP method is reliable in Turkey. (+info)
Haemoglobin LeporeBoston in a Turkish family.
(2/3051)
Haemoglobin Lepore was demonstrated in four members of a Turkish family. It was found in the heterozygote state and was associated with erythrocyte morphology similar to that observed in the beta thalassaemia trait. The average concentration of haemoglobin Lepore was 8.1% of the total haemoglobin. Structural analysis showed that the Lepore haemoglobin was the LeporeBoston type. This is the first reported instance of the occurrence of haemoglobin Lepore in Turkey. (+info)
Elevated hepatic lipase activity and low levels of high density lipoprotein in a normotriglyceridemic, nonobese Turkish population.
(3/3051)
Low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) are associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease and, in the United States, are often associated with hypertriglyceridemia and obesity. In Turkey, low HDL-C levels are highly prevalent, 53% of men and 26% of women having HDL-C levels <35 mg/dl, in the absence of hypertriglyceridemia and obesity. In this study to investigate the cause of low HDL-C levels in Turks, various factors affecting HDL metabolism were assessed in normotriglyceridemic Turkish men and women living in Istanbul and in non-Turkish men and women living in San Francisco. Turkish men and women had significantly lower HDL-C levels than the San Francisco men and women, as well as markedly lower apolipoprotein A-I levels (25 and 39 mg/dl lower, respectively). In both Turkish and non-Turkish subjects, the mean body mass index was <27 kg/m2, the mean triglyceride level was <120 mg/dl, and the mean total cholesterol was 170-180 mg/dl. The mean hepatic triglyceride lipase activity was 21% and 31% higher in Turkish men and women, respectively, than in non-Turkish men and women, and remained higher even after subjects with a body mass index >50th percentile for men and women in the United States were excluded from the analysis. As no dietary or behavioral factors have been identified in the Turkish population that account for increased hepatic triglyceride lipase activity, the elevation most likely has a genetic basis. high density lipoprotein in a normotriglyceridemic, nonobese Turkish population. (+info)
Restructuring the primary health care services and changing profile of family physicians in Turkey.
(4/3051)
A new health-reform process has been initiated by Ministry of Health in Turkey. The aim of that reform is to improve the health status of the Turkish population and to provide health care to all citizens in an efficient and equitable manner. The restructuring of the current health system will allow more funds to be allocated to primary and preventive care and will create a managed market for secondary and tertiary care. In this article, we review the current and proposed primary care services models and the role of family physicians therein. (+info)
p53 and p16INK4A mutations during the progression of glomus tumor.
(5/3051)
Glomus tumors are significantly rare tumors of carotid body. The great majority of these tumors are benign in character. Here we present two brothers with hereditary glomus jugulare tumor who had consanguineous parents. Radiotherapy was applied approximately 8 and 10 years ago for treatment in both cases. Eight years later, one of these cases came to our notice due to relapse. The mutation pattern of p53, p57KIP2, p16INK4A and p15NK4B genes which have roles in the cell cycle, was analyzed in tumor samples obtained from the two affected cases in the initial phase and from one of these cases at relapse. The DNA sample obtained from the case in initial diagnosis phase revealed no p53, p57KIP2, p16INK4A or p15INK4B mutation. He is still in remission phase. Despite the lack of p53, p57KIP2, p16INK4A and p15INK4B mutation at initial diagnosis the tumor DNA of the other case in relapse revealed p53 codon 243 (ATG-->ATC; met-->ile) and p16 codon 97 (GAC-->AAC; asp-->asn) missense point mutations. No loss of heterozygosity in p53 and p16INK4A was observed by microsatellite analysis of tumoral tissues in these cases. P53 and p16INK4A mutations observed in relapse phase were in conserved regions of both genes. No previous reports have been published with these mutations in glomus tumor during progression. The mutation observed in this case may due to radiotherapy. In spite of this possibility, the missense point mutations in conserved region of p53 and p16INK4A genes may indicate the role of p53 and p16INK4A in tumor progression of glomus tumors. (+info)
Mutation and haplotype studies of familial Mediterranean fever reveal new ancestral relationships and evidence for a high carrier frequency with reduced penetrance in the Ashkenazi Jewish population.
(6/3051)
Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a recessive disorder characterized by episodes of fever with serositis or synovitis. The FMF gene (MEFV) was cloned recently, and four missense mutations were identified. Here we present data from non-Ashkenazi Jewish and Arab patients in whom we had not originally found mutations and from a new, more ethnically diverse panel. Among 90 symptomatic mutation-positive individuals, 11 mutations accounted for 79% of carrier chromosomes. Of the two mutations that are novel, one alters the same residue (680) as a previously known mutation, and the other (P369S) is located in exon 3. Consistent with another recent report, the E148Q mutation was observed in patients of several ethnicities and on multiple microsatellite haplotypes, but haplotype data indicate an ancestral relationships between non-Jewish Italian and Ashkenazi Jewish patients with FMF and other affected populations. Among approximately 200 anonymous Ashkenazi Jewish DNA samples, the MEFV carrier frequency was 21%, with E148Q the most common mutation. Several lines of evidence indicate reduced penetrance among Ashkenazi Jews, especially for E148Q, P369S, and K695R. Nevertheless, E148Q helps account for recessive inheritance in an Ashkenazi family previously reported as an unusual case of dominantly inherited FMF. The presence of three frequent MEFV mutations in multiple Mediterranean populations strongly suggests a heterozygote advantage in this geographic region. (+info)
Recognition of cigarette brand names and logos by primary schoolchildren in Ankara, Turkey.
(7/3051)
OBJECTIVE: To assess the smoking behaviour of primary schoolchildren and their ability to recognise brand names and logos of widely advertised cigarettes, compared with other commercial products intended for children. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey in classroom settings using a questionnaire designed to measure attitudes towards smoking and the recognition of brand names and logos for 16 food, beverage, cigarette, and toothpaste products. SETTING: Ankara, Turkey. SUBJECTS: 1093 children (54.6% boys, 44.4% girls) aged 7-13 years (mean = 10, SD = 1), from grades 2-5. The student sample was taken from three primary schools--one school in each of three residential districts representing high, middle, and low income populations. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of ever-smoking, recognition of brand names and logos. RESULTS: Prevalence of ever-smoking was 11.7% overall (13.9% among boys and 9.1% among girls; p < 0.05). Children aged eight years or less had a higher prevalence of ever-smoking (19.6%) than older children (p < 0.002). Ever-smoking prevalence did not differ significantly across the three school districts. Ever-smoking prevalence was higher among children with at least one parent who smoked (15.3%) than among those whose parents did not (4.8%) (p < 0.001). Brand recognition rates ranged from 58.1% for Chee-tos (a food product) to 95.2% for Samsun (a Turkish cigarette brand). Recognition rates for cigarette brand names and logos were 95.2% and 80.8%, respectively, for Samsun; 84.0% and 90.5%, respectively, for Camel; and 92.1% and 69.5%, respectively, for Marlboro. The Camel logo and the Samsun and Marlboro brand names were the most highly recognised of all product logos and brand names tested. CONCLUSIONS: The high recognition of cigarette brand names and logos is most likely the result of tobacco advertising and promotion. Our results indicate the need to implement comprehensive tobacco control measures in Turkey. (+info)
The orthopaedic aspects of multiple epiphyseal dysplasia.
(8/3051)
Five cases of multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED) were treated from 1985-1996 at the Orthopaedics and Trauma Department of SSK Izmir Educational Hospital. Four patients were female and one was male. The pedigrees of the first two female patients had the same features of inter-related marriages. The patients have been followed up for 5.5-11 years (average of 7.5 years). Surgical operations were mostly required in the lower limbs. Problems in the hips required adductor myotomy, the Soutter procedure, total hip replacement, and pertrochanteric extension osteotomy. Management of the knees required supracondylar shortening and extension osteotomy of the femur, high tibial extension osteotomy, debridement of the knee joint with removal of osteophytes, ogleotomy of the patellar lengthening of the knee flexors and posterior capsulotomy. Interphalangeal arthrodesis for hammer toes, extension osteotomy of the head of the first metatarsals, and Kellers operation were carried out in the foot. In the upper limb decompression and anterior transposition of the ulnar nerve, debridement of the elbow joint, extension and valgus osteotomy of the distal radius, and extension osteotomy of the head of the first metacarpal were required. (+info)