Amides ; therapeutic use ; Antihypertensive Agents ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Fumarates ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Hypertension ; drug therapy ; Male ; Ramipril ; therapeutic use ; Vascular Stiffness ; drug effects

Heart Septal Defects, Atrial ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Pacemaker, Artificial

Background: Adductor canal block (ACB) provides effective analgesia after arthroscopic knee surgery. However, there is insufficient data regarding whether ACB should be performed before or after inflation of a thigh tourniquet. We aimed to investigate the efficacy of ACB performed before and after placement of a thigh tourniquet and evaluate associated quadriceps motor weakness. Methods: ACB was performed before tourniquet inflation in the PreT group, and it was performed after inflation in the PostT group. In the PO group, ACB was performed at the end of surgery after deflation of the tourniquet. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of demographic data. There was no statistically significant difference among the three groups in terms of total postoperative opioid consumption (P = 0.513). Patient satisfaction and the amount of rescue analgesia administered were also not significantly different between the groups. There was no significant difference in terms of static and dynamic visual analog scale scores between the groups (for 24 h: P = 0.306 and P = 0.271, respectively). The incidence of motor block was higher in the PreT group (eight patients) than in the PostT group (no patients) and the PO group (one patient) (P = 0.005). Conclusions Using a tourniquet before or after ACB did not result in differences in terms of analgesia quality; however, applying a tourniquet immediately after ACB may lead to quadriceps weakness.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Functional capacity varies significantly among patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), and it remains unclear why functional capacity is severely compromised in some patients with HFrEF while it is preserved in others. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the role of pulmonary artery stiffness (PAS) in the functional status of patients with HFrEF. METHODS: A total of 46 heart failure (HF) patients without overt pulmonary hypertension or right HF and 52 controls were enrolled in the study. PAS was assessed on parasternal short-axis view using pulsed-wave Doppler recording of pulmonary flow one centimeter distal to the pulmonic valve annulus at a speed of 100 mm/sec. PAS was calculated according to the following formula: the ratio of maximum flow velocity shift of pulmonary flow to pulmonary acceleration time. RESULTS: PAS was significantly increased in the HFrEF group compared to the control group (10.53±2.40 vs. 7.41±1.32, p < 0.001). In sub-group analysis of patients with HFrEF, PAS was significantly associated with the functional class of the patients. HFrEF patients with poor New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional capacity had higher PAS compared those with good functional capacity. In multivariate regression analysis, NYHA class was independently correlated with PAS. CONCLUSION: PAS is associated with functional status and should be taken into consideration as an underlying pathophysiological mechanism of dyspnea in patients with HFrEF.
Acceleration ; Dyspnea ; Heart Failure* ; Heart* ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Pulmonary Artery* ; Stroke Volume ; Vascular Stiffness

PURPOSE: Radiation proctitis (RP) is inflammation and damage to the rectum, manifested secondary to ionizing radiation utilized for treatment. In this study, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory therapeutical and protective effects of ruscogenin in a model of acute RP. METHODS: Thirty-two Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups (n = 8) as sham, control, treatment, and prophylaxis groups. Prophylaxis group and treatment group were dosed ruscogenin by oral gavage for 14 days pre- and postradiation. At the end of the 28th day, all subjects were sacrificed. RESULTS: Histopathological analysis showed a significant increase in cryptitis abscess, cryptitis and reactive atypia, and depth of lymphocytic infiltration of the control group, compared to the other groups (P < 0.05), while treatment and prophylaxis groups showed significant decreases (P < 0.05). Immunohistochemical analysis indicated that immunoreactivity were significantly higher in control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.001, and P < 0.01, respectively), but vice versa for treatment and prophylaxis groups. There was not any significant difference for fibroblast growth factor 2 immunoreactivity. The epithelium of control rectums indicated an increase in TNF-α immunoreactivity while other groups had significant decrease (P < 0.01). Electron microscopical findings were parallel to light microscopy. CONCLUSION: In this study, ruscogenin was observed to be effective on prophylaxis or treatment of acute RP. Although there are various reports on the treatment of the rectum damaged by acute RP in the literature, this could be the first study since there is no research indicating the ultrastructural effect of ruscogenin.
Abscess ; Animals ; Epithelium ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 ; Inflammation ; Microscopy ; Models, Animal* ; Proctitis* ; Radiation, Ionizing ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rectum ; Therapeutic Uses*

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of lymph node ratio (LNR) in patients with stage III ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC). METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective department database review was performed to identify patients with ovarian HGSC at 6 gynecologic oncology centers in Turkey. A total of 229 node-positive women with stage III ovarian HGSC who had undergone maximal or optimal cytoreductive surgery plus systematic lymphadenectomy followed by paclitaxel plus carboplatin combination chemotherapy were included. LNR, defined as the percentage of positive lymph nodes (LNs) to total nodes recovered, was stratified into 3 groups: LNR1 (<10%), LNR2 (10%≤LNR<50%), and LNR3 (≥50%). Kaplan-Meier method was used to generate survival data. Factors predictive of outcome were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: Thirty-one women (13.6%) were classified as stage IIIA1, 15 (6.6%) as stage IIIB, and 183 (79.9%) as stage IIIC. The median age at diagnosis was 56 (range, 18–87), and the median duration of follow-up was 36 months (range, 1–120 months). For the entire cohort, the 5-year overall survival (OS) was 52.8%. An increased LNR was associated with a decrease in 5-year OS from 65.1% for LNR1, 42.5% for LNR2, and 25.6% for LNR3, respectively (p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, women with LNR≥0.50 were 2.7 times more likely to die of their tumors (hazard ratio [HR]=2.7; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.42–5.18; p<0.001). CONCLUSION: LNR seems to be an independent prognostic factor for decreased OS in stage III ovarian HGSC patients.
Carboplatin ; Cohort Studies ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Methods ; Multivariate Analysis ; Paclitaxel ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis ; Turkey

AIM: To compare of intravitreal bevacizumab and intravitreal bevacizumab and triamcinolone acetonide in eyes with bilateral diabetic macular edema.

METHODS: In this retrospective comparative-randomized study, 42 eyes of 21 diabetic patients with bilateral macular edema were evaluated. In one eye intravitreal injection of 1.25 mg bevacizumab(IVB group)was performed and in the fellow eye intravitreal injection of combined 1.25 mg bevacizumab and 1 mg triamcinolone acetonide(IVTA-IVB group)was performed. Main outcomes were the central macular thickness(CMT)measured with optical coherence tomography(OCT), ETDRS visual acuity(VA)and intraocular pressure(IOP).

RESULTS: Mean follow-up time was 4.7±1.5mo. In the IVB and IVTA-IVB groups, mean CMT was 494.7±114.4 μm and 546.8±165.6 μm before injections; 430.4±133.2 μm and 363.7±105.3 μm in first month; 484.8±167.4 μm and 407.3±108.7 μm in 3^rd month; 550.4±191.5 μm and 516.8±158 μm after 6mo respectively. Differences were significant in first and 3^rd months(P<0.05). In the IVB and IVTA-IVB groups, mean ETDRS VA score was 57.1±13.5 and 48.9±13.9 before injections; 62.2±14 and 58.8±12.1 in first month; 59±13.7 and 59.3±13.6 in 3^rd month; 55.6±14.9 and 55.5±8.7 after 6mo respectively. Differences were significant in first and 3^rd and 6mo(P<0.05). There was no IOP difference. IVTA-IVB group gains best VA in 3^rd month after the first injection and maintains it for 6mo whereas IVB group gains best VA at first month and can be able to maintain for 3mo.

CONCLUSION: Injection of 1 mg IVTA-IVB seems to be better than IVB alone in improving VA for 6mo without any steroid dependent complications.

OBJECTIVE: To determine factors influencing overall survival following recurrence (OSFR) in women with low-risk endometrial cancer (EC) treated with surgery alone. METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective department database review was performed to identify patients with recurrent “low-risk EC” (patients having less than 50% myometrial invasion [MMI] with grade 1 or 2 endometrioid EC) at 10 gynecologic oncology centers in Turkey. Demographic, clinicopathological, and survival data were collected. RESULTS: We identified 67 patients who developed recurrence of their EC after initially being diagnosed and treated for low-risk EC. For the entire study cohort, the median time to recurrence (TTR) was 23 months (95% confidence interval [CI]=11.5–34.5; standard error [SE]=5.8) and the median OSFR was 59 months (95% CI=12.7–105.2; SE=23.5). We observed 32 (47.8%) isolated vaginal recurrences, 6 (9%) nodal failures, 19 (28.4%) peritoneal failures, and 10 (14.9%) hematogenous disseminations. Overall, 45 relapses (67.2%) were loco-regional whereas 22 (32.8%) were extrapelvic. According to the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) Trial-99, 7 (10.4%) out of 67 women with recurrent low-risk EC were qualified as high-intermediate risk (HIR). The 5-year OSFR rate was significantly higher for patients with TTR ≥36 months compared to those with TTR <36 months (74.3% compared to 33%, p=0.001). On multivariate analysis for OSFR, TTR <36 months (hazard ratio [HR]=8.46; 95% CI=1.65–43.36; p=0.010) and presence of HIR criteria (HR=4.62; 95% CI=1.69–12.58; p=0.003) were significant predictors. CONCLUSION: Low-risk EC patients recurring earlier than 36 months and those carrying HIR criteria seem more likely to succumb to their tumors after recurrence.
Cohort Studies ; Endometrial Neoplasms* ; Female ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Recurrence* ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis ; Turkey