INTRODUCTION: Minimally invasive interventions are widely used recently. However, incisional hernia is still a problem. Discussions will continue about the surgical treatment since there isn’t any technique able to eliminate the risk of recurrence. Here we aimed to determine the role of Modified Dick technique in incisional hernia repair.
METHODS: Patients; operated for incisional hernia between January 2007 and January 2013 in our clinic were screened retrospectively. Forty patients who underwent Modified Dick operation were included in the study and 40 patients with similar demographic features and treated with onlay mesh approach were randomized as control group.
RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of demographic data, number of previous operations, operation duration and length of hospital stay. The mean defect size was detected as 9.3 cm (6 to 16 cm) in the Modified Dick repair group while 3.9 cm (2-12 cm) in the latter group with a statistical significance of p value <0.001.
There was no statistically significant difference in terms of complication, morbidity and mortality.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Modified Dick Technique did’nt cause additional morbidity and mortality compared with onlay mesh repair. Although it was applied to larger defects, it did’nt prolong operation time. In cases where the defect can’t be closed primarily, the technique prevents the contact of the mesh with the hernia sac by repositioning of fascia over the sac. Therefore this technique can be useful if polypropylene mesh is planned to be applied in cases where the defect can’t be closed properly, especially in giant incisional hernias.

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension is a serious risk factor in the progression of chronic kidney disease(CKD), as well as in nonrenal morbidity and mortality. The correct measurement of blood pressure, therefore, is important. In this study, it was aimed to compare the office blood pressure(OBPM) and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring(ABPM) measurements in patients with and without CKD with renal complications and other data.
METHODS: 163 patients who were followed up in the our outpatient clinic in the recent year, and who underwent ABPM were included in the study. 61 (37.4%) were in the pre-dialysis CKD group and 102(62.6%) were in the hypertensive group without CKD. Patients' ABPM results and the average of the last 3 measurements in the outpatient clinic(OBPM) were screened. Correlation between ABPM and OBPM, as well as the correlation between other data. OBPM-ABPM measurements in patients with and without CKD and their relation with demographic and laboratory data were compared.
RESULTS: OBPM measurements were found to be significantly higher than ABPM measurements. The mean systolic and diastolic BP values were 147/89 mmHg in OBPM and 127/80 mmHg in ABPM(p<0.01). While 114 patients were hypertensive according to OBPM, 65 patients were hypertensive according to ABPM(p<0.01). OBPM measurements were'nt correlated with proteinuria and GFR(p>0.05). However it was found that the 24-hour measurement averages measured with ABPM significantly correlated with proteinuria in positive direction while correlating significantly with GFR in negative direction.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In patients with CKD, blood pressure should be monitored by ABPM. ABPM can be more effective way to prevent renal damage than OBPM.

INTRODUCTION: Pruritus is the most common skin problem in hemodialysis patients and is an important symptom affecting quality of life. An important cause of pruritus is inflammation. Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio is used as an inflammatory marker in chronic diseases. We aimed to investigate whether there is any relationship between itching and neutrophil/ lymphocyte ratio in hemodialysis patients.
METHODS: Eighty patients (45 males, 35 females) and 80 healthy controls (35 males, 45 females) undergoing routine hemodialysis for at least 3 months were included in the study. Biochemical and hematological variables of the patients were recorded, itching was determined and dermatological examinations were performed. The control group was consisted of healthy volunteers who applied to the department of internal medicine for the check-up. Data were analyzed by SPSS 25 program.
RESULTS: The mean age of the patients and controls were 59±14.44 and 57.61±14.29 years, respectively. While 70% (n=56) of the patients had no pruritus, 18% (n=14) had localized itching and 12% (n=10) had itching. Itching was episodic in 20 (25%) of these patients and persistent in 4 (5%). Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and platelet/lymphocyte ratio were significantly higher in the patient group than the control group (p<0.001 and p=0.037, respectively). When the patient group was examined, the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio was lower in the pruritic group, but the difference was not significant (p=0.100). Platelet/lymphocyte ratio was significantly lower in patients with pruritus than those without pruritus (p=0.046). The total duration of dialysis was higher in patients with pruritus than those without pruritus (p=0.031). Phosphorus and calcium x phosphorus values were higher in pruritic patients than non-pruritic patients (p=0.009 and p=0.007, respectively). Pruritus was significantly higher in patients receiving calcium diacetate and levocarnitine (p=0.038 and p=0.011, respectively).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and platelet/lymphocyte ratio were significantly higher in hemodialysis patients compared to the control group; these rates were lower in patients with pruritus than those without itching. Prospective studies involving more patients are needed.

INTRODUCTION: To assess the efficacy of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in predicting the pathology results of renal masses prior to partial nephrectomy (PN).
METHODS: The data of 76 patients who underwent PN between March 2012 and March 2018 was evaluated. Patients were grouped according to pathology results (malign group-benign group), tumor stage (T1a-T1b) and tumor grade (Grade1-Grade2-Grade3) and mass size (≤4 cm->4 cm).
RESULTS: Benign group was consisted of 17 patients and malign group was of 59 patients. No statistically significant difference was found when preoperative NLR of benign and malign groups were compared (p=0.113). When malign group was divided into 2 groups according to tumor stage (T1a-T1b), NLR of T1b group was significantly higher than benign group and T1a group (p=0.007 and p<0.001, respectively). In grade3 tumor group, NLR was significantly higher when compared with grade1 and grade2 groups (p<0.001 and p=0.02, respectively). Thirty-four patients had renal masses >4 cm. NLR was significantly higher in the patients with >4 cm malign renal masses (p=0.035). The cut-off value to predict malignancy was 2.31 with 65% specificity and 50% sensitivity.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: NLR is a valuable parameter at predicting pathology result in patients with renal masses >4 cm. Higher NLR value was associated high grade tumors. Further studies must be performed to certify the efficacy of NLR.

INTRODUCTION: Nowadays, LigaSure® (LS) and Harmonic Scapel® (HS) have been popularized among surgeons during thyroid operations. The comparison of this new technology with conventional ligature have been extensively studied. The aimed of this study was to discuss the results of thyroidectomies with LS or HS in the context of the literature.
METHODS: Between January 2013 and October 2017, 224 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy in our department were evaluated for this study. The demographic characteristics, duration of operations, pathologic variables, duration of hospitalization and complication rates were retrospectively analyzed.
RESULTS: Hundred and forty-nine patients were operated with LS and 75 patients were operated with HS. Thirty-eight patients were male, and 186 patients were female. Patients in the LS group were older than the HS group (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between LS and HS groups in terms of comorbidity rates, disease characteristics, operative time, pathology results and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury rate. Postoperative bleeding, hoarseness rate, hypocalcemia, postoperative serum calcium level and postoperative parathormone levels and length of hospital stay were also similar among LS and HS groups. The drain removal time for LS group was longer than HS group (p<0.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Both devices were found to be safe and effective during total thyroidectomy. Although the drainage rate of the patients in the LS group was found to be significantly higher. But it was not a statistically significant difference.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the smartphone addiction status in adolescents who applied to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic and to investigate the relationship between smartphone addiction and socio-demographic characteristics and smartphone usage behaviors.
METHODS: A total of 119 adolescents aged 11-17 years were included in the study. A questionnaire querying socio-demographic characteristics and including Smart Phone Addiction Scale (SAS) was applied to adolescents.
RESULTS: The mean age of adolescents was 14.39 ± 1.90 and 50.4% (n = 60) were male. 53.8% of the participants stated that they had a smartphone. There was a significant difference between male and female gender in terms of usage purpose of smartphones (p <0.0001). Three groups were formed according to smartphone usage duration: one hour and less, 2-5 hours and 6 hours and more and a significant difference was found among three groups in terms of SAS scores (p <0.0001).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Children and adolescents should be directed to various social activities in order to decrease the smartphone usage duration and families should be informed about smartphone addiction.

INTRODUCTION: To investigate the efficiency and failure of different fixation methods in trochanteric region fractures owing to different biomechanics of older bone. The causes of failure in different fracture types were evaluated in accordance with their priority.
METHODS: The study included 186 elderly patients aged ≥65 years, who underwent surgery and were followed up between April 2011 and October 2016. The mean follow-up period was 16 months. Fractures were classified in accordance with AO-Müller/Orthopaedic Trauma Association (AO/OTA) classification. Proximal Femoral Nail (PFN) was applied to 98 patients, Proximal Femur Locking Compression Plate (PF-LCP) to 14 patients, and Dynamic Hip Screw (DHS) to 74 patients. The causes of failure after fixation were evaluated. The clinical results were evaluated in accordance with the Salvati and Wilson hip score, and Baumgaertner’s reduction standards were used in the evaluation of radiological results.
RESULTS: Nine failures were detected in PFN, 5 in DHS, and 2 were detected in PF-LCP. Twelve patients were regarded to have unstable fractures in accordance with the AO classification (31A2.2-3 and 31A3). Four were stable fractures(31A2.1) of which; 2 had DHS, and 2 had PFN.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Fracture classification defines the fracture as stable or unstable, which is very important for the selection of the appropriate implant. It is thought that some 31 A2.1 type fractures and osteoporotic fractures with a thin lateral cortex which are accepted as stable should be approached with suspicion and could be evaluated as unstable. Provision of medial calcar and posteromedial cortex continuity is one of the most important criteria for the prevention of failure. Computerized tomography can be used to detect posteromedial continuity.

INTRODUCTION: Hemogram parameters are considered as inflammatory markers in various diseases. The objective of this study was to assess mean platelet volume to lymphocyte ratio (MPVLR) of subjects with IBS and to compare to those in healthy population.

METHODS: Patients with IBS whose admissions to our outpatient internal medicine clinic were enrolled to the study. Patients with IBS were divided into two groups according to the predominant symptom, either IBS diarrhea predominant (IBS-D) or IBS constipation predominant (IBS-C). Healthy volunteers were enrolled as control group. General characteristics and MPVLR levels of the groups compared.

RESULTS: The MPVLR of IBS-C, IBS-D and control groups were 0.005 (0.001), 0.004 (0.001) and 0.003 (0.001), respectively (p<0.001). Post Hoc test revealed that MPVLR of IBS-C and IBS-D groups were similar (p=0.44) and MPVLR of control groups was significantly lower than that of the IBS-C (p<0.001) and IBS-D (p<0.001) groups.


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The main outcome of present study was that MPVLR could be used as a marker of IBS. However, it is not useful in differentiating IBS constipation predominance from IBS diarrhea predominance. In conclusion, despite increased MPVLR could not differentiate IBS constipation predominance from the IBS diarrhea predominance, it could be useful in establishing the diagnosis of IBS.

INTRODUCTION: To determine the effect of complementary and alternative therapies on nursing students' attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine and healthy lifestyle behaviors.
METHODS: The population of the study was 187 students from a nursing faculty in Istanbul and 147 students who accepted to participate in the study. Prior to the study, ethics committee permission and written and verbal permission were obtained from the participants. Between February and April 2019, Data was collected using personal information form, Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale and Attitude towards Complementary and Alternative Medicine Scale. Frequency, percentage, Pearson Chi-square test, Mann Whitney U, and independent student t tests were used for data analysis.
RESULTS: The mean age of the students was 20.52±2.68 and most of the group were women. The total score means of the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale of the groups and sub-dimensions of self-realization, health responsibility, physical activity and interpersonal support were similar (p>0.05). It was determined that the group taking the course showed more positive feeding behaviors (p<0.05). When the total scores and subscale scores of Nursing Students Attitude Scale against Complementary and Alternative Medicine were examined, the average score of those who took the course was 28.34±.76 and 31.08±.50 for those who did not. When the scores of the groups were compared, the difference was statistically significant (p=0.001).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Complementary and alternative therapies course is effective in providing nursing students with knowledge, skills and positive attitudes towards nutritional and stress management in terms of positive health behavior and complementary and alternative therapies.

INTRODUCTION: Bendopnea is a novel respiratory symptom recently reported, which is described shortness of breath when bending forward in patients with heart failure (HF). It has been shown that bendopnea is associated with worse clinical outcomes in HF patients. We first reported that the presence of bendopnea in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients in our previous study. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between bendopnea and clinical outcomes in stable PAH outpatients with and without bendopnea.
METHODS: We conducted a prospective observational study of 62 patients who admitted to our special PAH clinic for routine periodic controls. Clinical outcomes of study were HF-related hospitalization and all-cause mortality at 3 and 12 months.
RESULTS: Bendopnea was present 25.8% in the study population. HF-related hospitalization at 3 months was statistically significant higher in patients with bendopnea than patients without bendopnea (p=0.003). There was no statistically difference between two groups in term of all-cause mortality at 3 months (p=0.427). HF-related hospitalization at 12 months was statistically significantly higher in patients with bendopnea (p<0.001). All-cause mortality at 12 months was markedly higher in with bendopnea group than the without bendopnea group (p=0.004). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, bendopnea was an independent predictor of HF-related hospitalization at 3 and 12 months, also bendopnea was a predictor of all-cause mortality at 12 months but not at 3 months.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Bendopnea was associated worse clinical outcomes in stable PAH outpatients. Bendopnea may be used for prognosis and risk assessment in PAH patients.

The aim of this review article is to provide information in the management of common nursing diagnoses in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. SLE is a multisystemic autoimmune disease that can affect the skin, joints, mucosa, heart, lungs, kidneys and nervous system. The course of SLE is characterized by episodes of exacerbation and remission. In treatment of SLE, drug regimens is used to control the symptoms of the disease and reduce the risk of organ damage. Caused by disease and treatment, disruption in daily activities, loss of work and income may adversely affect the quality of life of patients. Pain, fatigue, cutaneous and joint symptoms and nursing diagnoses such as sleep pattern deterioration, changes in body appearance, anxiety and lack of information are frequently encountered among patients. In the management of these nursing diagnoses, it should be aimed to increase adherence of disease and to empower patients by counseling and training given by nurses as well as independent nursing interventions such as exercise, cognitive-behavioral therapy and massage.

INTRODUCTION: Celiac is an autoimmune disease that presents itself due to intake of gluten in people genetically predisposed, a typical symptom of which includes inflammation in intestines. Vitamin deficiencies and osteoporosis are also important findings. The aim in this study to investigate the frequency of vitamin D deficiency and osteoporosis in celiac patients.
METHODS: 80 patients between the ages of 18 and 65 diagnosed with celiac disease as well as a healthy group of 45 people were included in this study. The demographical information, anthropometric, hemogram, biochemical, vitamin B12, vitamin D, folate and ferritin measurements were acquired from the hospital database. In addition, TTG IgA, TTG IgG, and DEXA results were obtained for the patients in the study. Patients with celiac disease were divided into two groups based on the TTG antibody test determining whether they are compatible with gluten-free diet or not. The results concerning the patients compatible and non-compatible with gluten-free diet as well as healthy control group are analyzed using the SPSS 22 program.
RESULTS: The patients compatible with the gluten-free diet as well as those that are not and the healthy group share the same characteristic in terms of age, gender, and tobacco use. The results indicate that weight, liver functions, and hemogram and anemia parameters deteriorated for patients not compatible with the gluten-free diet, whereas the same measurements are on par with the healthy group for those that are compatible with the gluten-free diet. In this study, the vitamin D deficiency in the patient group is high (73.8%), though is not statistically different than the healthy group. 55.1% of patients have osteopenia and 17.9% have osteoporosis. Only 8.9% of patients compatible with gluten-free diet are diagnosed with osteoporosis, compared to 30.3% in non-compatible patients, which is a statistically significant difference.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Hemogram, folate, ferritin and biochemical measurements deteriorate significantly in patients that are not compatible with gluten-free diet. In patients with and without celiac disease, a high rate of vitamin D deficiency has been shown and no association between disease and deficiency has been found. Osteoporosis is frequently seen in patients with celiac disease and increases significantly in patients with non-compliant of gluten-free diet.

INTRODUCTION: It is known that atrial fibrillation catheter ablation provides clinical improvement in patients. Positive effects of catheter ablation in patients with impaired cardiac function have also been proven in recent studies. The aim of our study is to show the effect of catheter ablation on echocardiographic parameters.

METHODS: 97 consecutive patients diagnosed with AF were included in the study. Basal and 6th month echocardiographic data of the patients were compared. Echocardiographic data of patient groups with or without recurrence were also compared.

RESULTS: The mean age of 97 patients included in the study was 65.2 ± 8.6 years. The majority of the patients was paroxysmal AF patients (50/97, 51%). The mean LVEF of the patients was found 48.7 ± 11.4%. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) increased statistically significant compared to the basal value in the 6th month (53.1 ± 10.1 and 48.7 ± 11.6, p = 0.001). No significant difference was shown among the other values. Moreover, a statistically significant increase was observed in LVEF values of the patients without recurrence in the comparison of their basal and 6th-month values. (48.3 ± 12.2 and 54.4 ± 9.9, p = 0.008).


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: AF catheter ablation was observed to have positive effects on LVEF and partly on LVESD. Large-scale randomized studies are required to detect its clinical repercussion.

INTRODUCTION: In this study, it was aimed to determine the factors affecting the privacy levels and privacy levels of the nurses working in the surgical clinics and the operating room.
METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted on 25 April-24 May 2019.120 nurses working in surgical clinics and operating room of an education research hospital in Kocaeli province consisted of the study population and 100 nurses sample."Introductory Information Form" and "Privacy Awareness Scale" were used as data collection tools.  The five-point Likert-type privacy awareness scale consists of 11 items and 3 sub-dimensions.Data were collected by face to face interview method and evaluated using SPPS 25.0 statistical package program.
RESULTS: It was determined that 86% of the nurses included in the study were women, 59% were married, 80% were undergraduate graduates and 77% received patient rights education.The mean age was 34.4 ± 7.4, 6.8 ± 6.4 years in the institution and 13.4 ± 7.7 years in the profession.In the study, the total score average of Öl Privacy Awareness Scale in of all nurses was found to be 4.5 ± 0.44.There was a statistically significant difference between the nurses' own privacy awareness, privacy awareness for others and the maintenance of privacy and general privacy awareness (p <0.05).The difference was due to male gender.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In accordance with the findings, it can be said that the nurses' awareness of privacy is high. It can be suggested that this inability to be performed in different sample groups and supported by observational studies.

INTRODUCTION: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common gynecological and endocrinal disorder amongst women of reproductive age. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in the diameter of the terminal ducts and resistive index (RI) values of the breasts in subjects with PCOS using gray-scale ultrasonography (US) and Color Doppler Ultrasonography (CDUS).
METHODS: The study and control groups consisted of 39 subjects with PCOS and 22 age-matched, healthy volunteers, respectively. Body mass index and the parity history of all of the participants were recorded. The diameters of the terminal ducts of the both breasts were measured with gray-scale US and the RI values were evaluated at the medial, lateral, and retroareolar regions of the breasts with CDUS. The mean values of RI were calculated for each participant.
RESULTS: The diameter of the terminal ducts were statistically significantly increased in subjects with PCOS (range, 0.80-4.4 mm vs. 1-2.95 mm and mean ± standard deviation (SD), 2.04 ± 0.73 mm vs. 1.65 ± 0.64 mm, respectively; p = 0.04). However, there was no statistically significant difference between PCOS and control groups regarding the mean average RI values (mean ± SD, 0.68 ± 0.06 vs. 0.66 ± 0.06, respectively; p = 0.432).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: There was no difference regarding the blood flow between two groups, but the diameters of the terminal ducts were increased in PCOS group.

INTRODUCTION: In modern societies, occupational image perception affects the decision of individuals to choose whether to pursue a career choice or not. The purpose of this research is to identify health management education at the graduate students of occupational image perception level in Turkey.
METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted with the participation of 213 health management students who were studying at the three foundation universities in the 2018-2019 academic year. “Introductory Form” and “Occupational Image Perception Scale” were used to collect the data. The data were analyzed in SPSS 25.0 package program.
RESULTS: 74.1% of the students were female and 93.1% were in the 20-24 age group. The mean score of the health management students for this profession was 3.31 ± 0.36. It was found that students mostly preferred this department with the recommendation of the close environment, and they perceived health management as a qualifying profession but perceived it as a relatively low status occupation
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: It was found that the students of the health management department had a moderate image perception towards the health management occupation. In order to improve the image of health management, students' perspectives on the occupation should be evaluated and their awareness about the importance of occupational image should be increased. It can be suggested that students should be professional in the occupation and to increase their professional skills by continuing their education

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to statistically evaluate the use of rubber band ligation (RBL) for the treatment of haemorrhoids, as well as to determine the factors affecting the success of this treatment and to provide recommendations for the most appropriate treatment methods based on those factors
METHODS: The study included patients who received a follow up after undergoing a band ligation procedure between June 2015 and June 2018 in the hospital’s general surgery clinic. Patient’s sex, age, BMI and satisfaction were assessed, along with duration of symptoms, duration of treatment, haemorrhoid grade, follow up period, rebanding rate, examination findings, complications, and constipation score.
RESULTS: A total of 106 patients, 80 males (75.5%) and 26 females (24.5%), were included in the study. The mean follow up period was 29.9 ± 13.5 months, the mean age of patients was 44.2 ± 12.5 years and the mean BMI was 29.2 ± 4.7. The mean duration of symptoms was 8.9 ± 7.6 years and the mean duration of treatment was 6.5 ± 6.2 months. Forty-nine patients (47.1%) had grade 2 haemorrhoids and 55 patients (52.9%) had grade 3 haemorrhoids. Haemorrhoid grade, constipation score and increase in anal tonus were determined to be factors that significantly affected haemorrhoid relapse. Moreover, patient satisfaction was lower in patients with higher constipation score or increased anal tonus.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Band ligation is a safe, effective treatment for haemorrhoids that can be applied easily to most patients, however, it may not be the first choice for all patients. Alternative procedures may be recommended for patients with higher constipation scores or increased anal tonus, as these factors may affect success for those patient groups.

INTRODUCTION: Nearly half of the patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) complain of chest pain. The precise cause of chest pain MVP is unknown. On the other side, the neutrophil /lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been reported to be a useful marker of prognosis and outcomes for many cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between NLR and chest pain in patients with MVP.
METHODS: In this retrospective study, we screened medical records of all consecutive patients with MVP applied to outpatient clinics between the years 2016 and 2019 at our institution. Basal characteristics, biochemical parameters, and NLR were compared between the patients with MVP and chest pain and the patients with MVP and without chest pain (control group). Independent predictors of chest pain in MVP patients were determined by logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS: The patients with MVP and chest pain had significantly lower body mass index and systolic blood pressure compared to the control group. Heart rate, the number of patients with panic disorder, the number of females, NLR, and white blood cell count (WBC) were significantly higher in patients with MVP and chest pain. In the regression analysis, lower body mass index (OR= 0.76, P<0.01), being female (OR= 2.86, P<0.01), and NLR (OR= 2.91, P<0.01) remained independent predictors of pain in patients with MVP
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: NLR was an independent predictor of the presence of chest pain in our study population. NLR might be associated with the hyperadrenergic state in patients with MVP. Since it is a readily available and cheap method, it can be of clinical value in the evaluation of chest pain in patients with MVP and to determine which patients might benefit from the beta-blockade.

INTRODUCTION: The clinical characteristics and course of sarcoidosis vary according to the age of onset, duration, stage, and extent of the disease. Biomarkers that can predict clinical characteristics and course will provide convenience in disease management. We aimed to determine relationships of hematologic and biochemical parameters with the stage and extent of the disease.
METHODS: The charts of sarcoidosis patients between 2013 and 2018 were retrospectively investigated. Demographic data, clinical findings at the time of diagnosis, stage, and extrapulmonary involvement were recorded together with complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum C-reactive protein, calcium, and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) levels. Patients were classified according to the presence of pulmonary parenchymal and extrapulmonary involvement. Stage-1 patients with no pulmonary parenchymal involvement were in Group 1, and stage-2 and stage-3 patients with pulmonary parenchymal involvement in Group 2.
RESULTS: Of 121 sarcoidosis patients, 30 (24.8%) were male, 91 (75.2%) female. The average age was 50.71±11.76 years. 59 (48.8%) patients were in Group 1, and 62 (51.2%) in Group 2. Pulmonary involvement was present only in 71 (58.7%) patients. Extrapulmonary and pulmonary involvement was present in 50 (41.3%) patients. Most common extrapulmonary involvement was erythema nodosum (15.7%). Serum ACE level was higher in Group 2 than Group 1 (p=0.027) and in cases with pulmonary and extrapulmonary involvement both than those with pulmonary involvement only (p=0.045). No significant deviations were found between the groups regarding other laboratory parameters.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The serum ACE level may be useful in showing both the pulmonary parenchymal and extrapulmonary involvements.

INTRODUCTION: Endovascular treatment has become increasingly more important for symptomatic peripheral artery disease. In this study, we aimed to present the percutaneous procedure data of the last 8 years of our center retrospectively.
METHODS: Interventions of lower extremity arteries performed in our clinic between July 2011 and December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Demographic, laboratory, procedural data and in-hospital adverse events were obtained from patient records.
RESULTS: 541 peripheral artery procedures were searched on the records. A total of 420 vascular endovascular treatment containing iliac (n = 219), femoropliteal (n = 184) and tibial / peroneal (n = 17) arteries were included in the study. The overall procedural success rate was 96%, and the number and success of procedures increased markedly over the years. The success rate of iliac and femoropopliteal procedures was over 97%, whereas tibioperoneal artery interventions were 100%. In-hospital deaths were observed in 3 (0.8%), amputations in 2 (0.5%), major bleeding in 2 (0.5%), dialysis needs in 3 (0.8%) and cerebrovascular event in 1 (0.3%) patients. 85% of the patients were discharged in one day after the procedure.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Endovascular treatment of lower extremity artery diseases is performed in our center with increasing number of procedures, success rate and reasonable complication rates.