The purpose of this study was to compare primarily open versus primarily closed surgical treatment of Gartland type III extension supracondylar fractures in children. Also the outcomes of different pinning techniques in open surgery were evaluated retrospectively. Eighty displaced type III extension supracondylar fractures treated consecutively at two different centres were included. The treatment protocol of one institute was primarily closed reduction and percutaneous cross-pinning (n=43). The treatment protocol of the other institute was primarily open reduction and internal fixation (n=37) with two lateral parallel pins (n=11), cross pins (n=11) and two lateral and one medial pin (n=15) according to the stability and configuration of the fracture. According to Flynn's criteria the outcomes of the open and closed reduction groups were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Although the outcomes of closed reduction showed no superiority over open reduction, it should be the first choice of treatment due to its low morbidity and short hospital stay.

ObjectiveWe aimed to determine the prevalence of violence directed at emergency department (ED) physicians in Turkey and confirm the factors influencing such violence.DesignCross-sectional survey study.SettingCountry of Turkey.ParticipantsPhysicians currently practising in EDs in Turkey.Main outcome measuresThe prevalence of violence directed at physicians and factors that may influence it, such as physicians’ personal characteristics, ED characteristics and physicians’ opinions regarding the causes of and suggested methods of preventing violence.ResultsA total of 713 physicians participated. Of these, 78.1% reported being subjected to violence in the past year and 65.9% reported more than one such incident. Being subjected to violence was related to age (p=0.008), working in an ED with a high patient admission rate (p=0.018), current position (p<0.001), working outside regular work hours (p<0.001), working in a state hospital (p<0.001) and level of experience (p<0.001). Gender, type of patient typically seen, region and patient waiting period did not influence subjection to violence. The present safety precautions against violence do not appear to influence the prevalence of violence.ConclusionsOur results indicated that ED physicians’ experience of violence is related to personal characteristics such as age and level of expertise, and hospital and ED characteristics such as high patient admission rates. Presently, no measures taken to reduce this violence have been proven effective.

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An earthquake measuring 7.7 magnitude on the Richter scale occurred at 04:17am on February 6, 2023 in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş province Turkey. In the hours following the 7.7 magnitude event in Kahramanmaraş, a second 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the region and a third 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Gaziantep, causing extensive damage and death. A total of ten provinces directly experienced the earthquake, including Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Gaziantep, Osmaniye, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, and Kilis. The official figures indicate 31,643 people were killed, 80,278 were injured, and 6,444 buildings were destroyed within seven days of the earthquakes (as of 12:00pm/noon on Monday, February 13th). The area affected by the earthquake has been officially declared to be 500km in diameter. This report primarily relies on observations made by pioneer Emergency Physicians (EPs) who went to the disaster areas shortly after the first earthquake (in the early stages of the disaster). According to their observations: (1) Due to winter conditions, there were transportation problems and a shortage of personnel reaching disaster areas on the first day after the disaster; (2) On the second day of the disaster, health equipment was in short supply; (3) As of the third day, health workers were unprepared in terms of knowledge and experience for the disaster; and (4) The subsequent deployment of health personnel to the disaster area was uncoordinated and unplanned on the following days, which resulted in the health personnel working there not being able to meet even their basic needs (such as food, heating, and shelter). During the first week, coordination was most frequently reported as the most significant problem.

Hyaluronan is a glycosaminoglycan, one of the chief components of the extracellular matrix. The aim of the present study is to investigate plasma hyaluronan levels among patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This prospective study enrolled 56 consecutive patients with AMI who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention within 2 hours after admission. Plasma levels of hyaluronan were measured at the time of admission (baseline), and on the 7th and 30th day after AMI. Echocardiographic examinations were performed at baseline and on the 30th day after AMI. The hyaluronan levels were 33.2 ± 3.1 ng/ml (mean ± SD) at baseline, increased on the 7th day (46.2 ± 5.9 ng/ml), and continued to remain high on the 30th day after AMI (50.1 ± 5.1 ng/ml). There were significant correlations of the hyaluronan levels between baseline and on the 7th day (r = 0.535, p < 0.001) and between baseline and on the 30th day (r = 0.263, p = 0.05). Significant correlations were also found between hyaluronan levels on the 30th day, and the peak levels of CK-MB (r = 0.429, p = 0.001) or highly sensitive troponin levels (r = 0.360, p = 0.006). The hyaluronan levels were significantly higher on the 30th day after AMI in patients with anterior infarction, but not in patients with non-anterior infarction (p = 0.01 vs. p = 0.653). In conclusion, this is the first report that demonstrates the increase of plasma hyaluronan levels among patients with AMI.

Background and Aim. The nonsatisfaction among emergency medicine specialty trainees is an underrated issue in Turkey. Several previous studies have evaluated the burn-out and its consequences among physicians, but there is no study conducted with specialty trainees. The aim of this study is to evaluate the reasons for resignation among emergency medicine specialty residents in Turkey. Method. A total of 41 participants, who resigned from emergency medicine residency, were contacted by phone and invited to complete an online survey that included 25 questions about personal characteristics and departmental information. Results. Most frequent reasons of resignation were violence/security concerns (63.4%), busy work environment (53.7%), and mobbing (26.8%). Participants who reported that they have resigned due to inadequate training were mostly over 30 years old (p=0.02), continued more than 6 months to EMST (p<0.001), reported that there was no regular rotation program (p=0.003) or access to full-text scientific journals (p=0.045) in their department. All participants thought that there were deficits in the training programs, and none of them declared regret for resigning. Twenty-eight participants (68.2%) continued their specialty training at a different discipline after resignation. Conclusion. Major barriers against a high-quality and sustainable emergency medicine residency are violence in emergency services, mobbing in academic or administrative bodies, and inaccessibility to scientific resources. These obstacles can only be removed by cooperation of multiple institutions in Turkey.

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