BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the prevalence of malnutrition and explore the somatic, psychological, functional, and social or lifestyle characteristics linked to malnutrition in elderly people at a hospital in Turkey.Material/MethodsThis study included 1030 patients older than 65 years of age who were seen at the internal medicine and geriatrics outpatient clinics of the study centers in Istanbul, Ankara, Duzce, Corum, Mardin, Malatya, and Diyarbakir provinces between January and December 2014. All patients underwent Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) tests via one-on-one interview method. The demographic properties of the patients were also recorded during this interview.ResultsAmong 1030 patients included in this study, 196 (19%) had malnutrition and 300 (29.1%) had malnutrition risk. The malnutrition group and the other groups were significantly different with respect to mean GDS score, income status, educational status, the number of children, functional status (ADL, IADL), the number of patients with depression, and the number of comorbid disorders. According to the results of the logistic regression analysis, age (OR=95% CI: 1.007–1.056; p=0.012), BMI (OR=95% CI: 0.702–0.796; p<0.001), educational status (OR=95% CI: 0.359–0.897; p=0.015), comorbidity (OR=95% CI: 2.296–5.448; p<0.001), and depression score (OR=95% CI: 1.104–3.051; p=0.02) were independently associated with malnutrition.ConclusionsOur study demonstrates that age, depression, BMI, comorbidity, and the educational status were independently associated with malnutrition in an elderly population.

Introduction: Leech infestations can lead to many symptoms, such as epistaxis, shortness of breath, obstruction of the upper respiratory tract, and hemoptysis. Leeches can often enter the body with drinking water or washing the mouth and nose.Case Report: In this case report, we presented a patient who was mentally retarded and admitted to emergency medicine with complaints, such as intermittent epistaxis, nasal congestion, sore throat, and shortness of breath.Conclusion: Finally, we understood that these symptoms were related to an oropharyngeal leech.

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BACKGROUND: As in the rest of the world, the prevalence of obesity in Turkey has been increasing in recent years and has become a major public health issue. Although many trials have been conducted to study the effects of obesity on internal diseases, there are few studies investigating the effects of obesity on prognosis of trauma patients. The present study analyzed the effects of body mass index (BMI) on trauma severity and prognosis in trauma patients.

Congenital heart defects with right-to-left shunt are one of the hypoxia-related causes of acquired secondary polycythemia (SP). Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) is the most common congenital cyanotic heart disease in children. Cases of uncorrected ToF in adult ages are rare. This paper reports a woman detected with elevated hemoglobin level during routine tests performed for infertility therapy and subsequently diagnosed SP with related ToF.

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Objective: In this study we aimed to investigate the applicability of Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PE-CARN) rules for decision to perform computed cranial tomography (CCT) in pediatric patients with minor head trauma (MHT).Methods: 317 pediatric patients who underwent CCT for mild head trauma were evaluated retrospectively. The patients were classified in two groups according to PECARN rules: below 2 years old, above 2 years old and then, these patient groups were classified into two subgroups according to the compatibility with PECARN rules. The patients requiring CCT according to PECARN rules were classified as PECARN compatible (PECARN +), the patients who underwent CCT without the need of CCT according to PECARN were classified as PECARN incompatible (PECARN -).Results: Approximately 20% patients in PECARN (+) group had abnormalities leading to prolonged hospitalization and only 3.8% patients of PECARN (-) group had abnormalities. However, none of PECARN (-) group patients required follow-up longer than 48 hours in the hospital. The most common symptoms necessitate CCT in PECARN (+) group were scalp swelling, scalp hematoma and vomiting. In PECARN (-) group the most common signs were cuts in the scalp and dermal abrasions. The incidence of fracture in CCT was significantly higher in PECARN (+) group. Sonuç: BBT ile ciddi radyasyon maruziyeti söz konusu olduğu için minör kafa travmalı çocukların değerlendirilme ve takiplerinde öncelikle nörolojik muayene ve klinik izleme önem verilmesi gerekir. Sonuç olarak, HKT'lı pediyatrik hastalarda BBT kararı için PECARN kuralları yeterlidir.

IntroductionAcute mechanical bowel obstruction is a common condition among surgical emergencies. It has high morbidity and creates a major burden financially due to its recurrent nature. Natural progression and risk factors of bowel obstruction have not been clearly defined, and the surgical approach to be adopted, timing of the intervention and procedures for preventing relapses are still issues that are being debated (1). The causes and therapeutic approaches of bowel obstruction vary (2). Previous studies carried out in different parts of Turkey reported that, although an increase was observed in the incidence of post-surgical adhesion related bowel obstruction in socioeconomically developed regions, incarcerated hernia was still the leading cause of bowel obstruction (3-6). Development of effective medical and surgical therapeutic approaches, combined with better diagnostic tests, have contributed significantly to the decrease in the incidence of complications and mortality and morbidity rates in patients with bowel obstruction (7,8). The purpose of the present Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting morbidity and mortality by evaluating the demographical, etiological and clinical characteristics of patients with mechanical bowel obstruction. Materials and Methods: Data for 171 mechanical bowel obstruction patients were evaluated retrospectively. The patients were assessed in mortality (n=21), morbidity (n=55) and recovery (n=95) groups. Results: Of the patients, 70% were men; and 27.4% were ≥55 years of age. While gender had no impact on mortality and morbidity, age did. Adhesion was observed to be the leading cause (45.6%) of mechanical bowel obstruction, followed by incarcerated hernia in 17.5%. Intestinal necrosis was associated with mortality but not with morbidity. Late presentation and multiple concomitant diseases had no impact on mortality but were associated with morbidity. The presence of a concomitant disease and leukocytosis or leukopenia had a significant impact on both mortality and morbidity. Conclusion: Older age and presence of a concomitant disease, leukocytosis or leukopenia were established to be associated with mortality and morbidity. Late presentation and multiple concomitant diseases were associated only with morbidity. The presence of intestinal necrosis was associated only with mortality. Establishing the risk factors well will be beneficial in lowering the incidences of morbidity and mortality. (JAEM 2012; 11: 1-5) Özet Amaç: Mekanik barsak tıkanıklığı tanısı konulmuş hastalarda demografik, etiyolojik ve klinik özellikler değerlendirilerek morbidite ve mortaliteyi etkileyen faktörlerin araştırılması amaçlandı. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Mekanik barsak tıkanıklığı tanısı alan 171 hastanın bilgileri retrospektif olarak değerlendirildi. Hastalar; mortalite grubu (n=21), morbidite grubu (n=55) ve şifa grubuna (n=95) ayrılarak değerlendirildi. Bulgular: Hastaların %70'i erkek olup, %27.4'ü ≥55 yaş idi. Cinsiyetin mortalite ve morbiditeye etkisi anla...