Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exhibit mild to moderate symptoms, whereas 15% of COVID-19 cases progress to pneumonia, some associated cutaneous findings are also reported as maculopapular eruptions, morbilliform rashes, urticaria, chickenpox-like lesions, and livedo reticularis. The inactivated COVID-19 vaccines are authorized for use in some countries including Turkey. Here, we report an unusual case of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) reactivation in a 68-year-old male patient who was vaccinated against COVID-19. The patient presented to family medicine clinic with a stinging sensation and pain radiating from the right side of his chest to his back. Physical examination revealed multiple pinheaded vesicular lesions upon an erythematous base occupying an area on his right mammary region and back corresponding to T3–T5 dermatomes. He reported that he got his second dose of COVID-19 vaccine 5 days ago. As COVID 19 decreases the cell-mediated immunity, it could also increase the risk of herpes zoster (HZ). Although the exact reason remains unsolved, vaccine-induced immunomodulation caused by live attenuated vaccines and attenuated alloreactivity caused by inactivated vaccines may be responsible mechanisms for the reactivation of HZ. Epidemiological studies are needed to clarify the possible connection between vaccination and reactivation of herpesvirus infections.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate family physicians’ job strain during the Covid-19 pandemic and determine the effective factors. The study was carried out between 01 May 2020 and 01 June 2020 by applying an online questionnaire to family physicians who worked in primary care in Istanbul and could be reached by telephone application. The survey created by us included socio-demographic information and the Job Strain Scale Short Form. P value was accepted as 0.05, and SPSS 20 package program was used in statistical analysis. 448 Family Physicians participated in the study. Anxiety levels of the participants increased after the pandemic ( p < 0.001). Job strain score increased significantly during the pandemic process ( p < 0.001). The ‘Workload’ sub-dimension of the job strain score was affected by young age, not having children, thinking that the working hours increased, deterioration of sleep quality and increasing anxiety level. It was determined that there was an increase in the “Control” sub-dimension score of family physicians who thought that they were not provided with adequate protective equipment during the pandemic process and who did not find the use of their own personal protective equipment sufficient. ‘Social support’ sub-dimension mean score decreased during the pandemic period. It was determined that it significantly increased in married family physicians compared to single ones. In the pandemic process, anxiety, sleep quality deterioration and job strain increased significantly. In family physicians, after the pandemic, workload and control sub-dimension changes increased, while social support sub-dimension decreased.

Objective: To determine the levels of COVID-19-related fear and to investigate fear-associated factors among older people. Methods: This study was conducted with patients aged 65 years and older from the Family Medicine Clinic of Health Sciences University Şişli Hamidiye Etfal Hospital over a 1-month period. A telephone survey was administered to evaluate patients’ sociodemographic data and knowledge level on the COVID-19 pandemic and the degree of its impact. The fear levels of participants were determined using the fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19 S). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 15.0. A p value of < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The study included 315 participants: 178 were female and 137 were male. The mean age was 71.5 ± 5.6 (min: 65, max: 94) years, and 26 participants were living alone. Moreover, 47.6% participants considered they had sufficient information about the COVID-19 outbreak, and 61.6% received information about the pandemic from television and 22.2% from their inner circle. While 11.7% participants considered they would require psychological support after the COVID-19 pandemic, 30.8% had sleep disorders for the last month. The mean FCV-19 S score was 16.0 ± 6.4; the FCV-19 S scores were statistically higher in participants who were women, living alone, had partial information about the COVID-19 pandemic, had sleep disorders for the last month, and were in requirement of psychological support after the pandemic. Conclusion: It is necessary to screen the older people for the COVID-19-related fear and accompanying psychological disorders and to develop appropriate intervention programs for individuals at risk.

Background: In this study, we aimed to investigate serum total sialic acid (TSA) and soluble intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) levels in breast cancer patients to find a correlation with the cancer stage. Methods: The parameters from sera of 61 patients with breast cancer were measured. The concentrations of serum sICAM-1 and TSA were measured in serum samples from 61 patients with breast cancer and 25 healthy control subjects using enzyme-linked immunoassay and thiobarbituric acid method. Results: Mean serum sICAM-1 and TSA levels were significantly higher in the total patient group than in the control group (p < 0.001). Thus, the correlation between TSA and sICAM-1 became more significant in metastatic breast cancer. There were significant positive correlations between TSA and sICAM-1 in stage I+II (r = 0.59, p < 0.05), stage III (r = 0.47, p < 0.05), and stage IV (r = 0.89, p < 0.01), and total patient group (r = 0.56, p < 0.001). Conclusion: SerumsICAM-1 and TSA levels were higher in patients with breast cancer, than that of the control group, and also in the metastatic breast cancer group. Significant correlations between serum sICAM-1 and TSA may reflect the similar function of these molecules as adhesion molecules, and their roles in the carcinogenesis of breast cancer as well as metastasis.

Objective:Overweight or obesity may cause many chronic illnesses. Furthermore, several studies have shown that high body mass index is associated with mortality and morbidity among the elderly. Therefore, obesity or being overweight could adversely affect the performance of activities of daily living. In this study our aim was to investigate the association between Body Mass Index and Activity of Daily Living in Homecare Patients.Method:The records of 2016 from the homecare unit of Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. During this period, 1105 patients visited this facility. Unconscious or bedridden patients (hemiplegia, hemiparesia, and tetraparesis) and patients with incomplete data were excluded from the study. Therefore, the survey was completed with 250 files, which included all the data needed for our research. Age, gender, Body Mass Index and Barthel Index scores were recorded to the statistical program; p≤0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results:One hundred fifty one (60.4%) were women, and 99 (39.6%) were men. The relations between gender and age, weight, and Barthel index scores were not statistically significant. There was a significant positive correlation between weight and Barthel index scores as well as between Body Mass Index and Barthel index scores (r = 0.190; p = 0.003). The patients were divided into two groups: Group-I (underweight and normal weight) and Group-II (overweight and obese). Group-II exhibited a much higher ability to perform Activity of Daily Living than Group-I (p = 0.002).Conclusion:Some studies report that obesity is protective against Activity of Daily Living, but the opposite is reported in some others. Our study showed increased values of Body Mass Index and Activity of Daily Living ability, which are indicative of protective effects. The relationship between Body Mass Index and physical disability is not yet proven to be linear.

Aim COVID‐19 pandemic has created a serious psychological impact worldwide since it has been declared. This study aims to investigate the level of psychological impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the Turkish population and to determine related factors. Methods The study was carried out by an online questionnaire using the virtual snowball sampling method. The sociodemographic data were collected on the following subjects: participants’ experience on any signs of infection within the last month, the history of COVID‐19 contact‐treatment‐quarantine, level of compliance with precautionary measures, the sources of information and level of knowledge about the pandemic process and their belief levels on the knowledge they acquire. Besides, the questions that take place in the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale‐21 (DASS‐21), and Impact of Events Scale‐Revised (IES‐R) were asked to participants. Results Of the 3549 participants, anxiety was found in 15.8%, depression in 22.6%, stress in 12.9%, and psychological trauma in 20.29% based on moderate and above levels. Female gender, young age, higher education level, being single, high monthly income, presence of psychiatric illness, a large number of people living together, having any signs of infection, and contact history with COVID‐19 infected person or contaminated object are identified as risk factors that may increase psychological impact. Compliance with the rules was found to reduce the risk of psychological response. Conclusions The risk factors for the psychological impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic, and acknowledging these factors can help to formulate the interventions to reduce the stress levels of the population.

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Fecal elastase and ghrelin hormone levels can contribute to the determination of malnutrition in ADHF patients.