Introduction The growth Stimulation expressed gene 2 (ST2) (or interleukin 1 receptor-like 1, also known as IL1RL1) is considered a biomarker of poor prognosis in cardiovascular diseases. The aims of this study are to investigate ST2 in the pericardial fluid (PF) of coronary artery disease patients and to contribute to the understanding of the pathophysiology of coronary artery disease. Methods 40 patients (blood plasma and PF) who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery and 40 controls (blood plasma only) were included in this study. Soluble ST2 (sST2) level was determined by enzyme-linked ımmunosorbent assay method in plasma and PF, and sST2 gene expression was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR) method. Results The sST2 level was found to be 44.89 ng/ml and 390.357 ng/ml in the control and patient groups’ plasma, and 223.992 ng/ml in the PF of the patient group. An increase in sST2 level was detected in the patient group compared to the control group ( P <0.001). The sST2 expression in plasma was higher in the patient group than in the control group. Additionally, sST2 was more expressed in the plasma of the patient group than PF ( P <0.001). Conclusion The fact that sST2 was detected for the first time in a high level in PF showed that this biomarker was closely related with the heart and strengthened its potential to be used as a biomarker. Therefore, sST2 can contribute to the understanding of the pathophysiology of coronary artery disease.

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Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is endemic in Sanliurfa, a province located at southestern part of Turkey. The aims of this study were to determine CL cases among children aged 7-15 years attending primary schools and evaluate the demographical and clinical characteristics by active screening method. In our study, a total of 163.464 children attending to 123 primary schools have been evaluated in terms of CL prevalence between 2010 to 2012 period. Accordingly, 67.585, 72.279 and 23.600 students studying in 74, 37 and 12 primary schools were actively screened, respectively. Children suspected with CL were invited to the Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Oriental Sore, Sanlıurfa Division of Turkish Public Health Institute. Two slides were prepared from bloodless, serous fluid of the skin lesions and stained with Giemsa for the microscopic examination to identify Leishmania amastigotes. The lesions were also evaluated according to their clinical manifestations, size, duration and number. In the study, 455 (%0.3) of the children were diagnosed as CL. The incidence of CL cases was 0.41%, 0.14%, and 0.31% in 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively. Of the CL cases, 250 (54.9%) were female and 205 (45.1%) were male with a mean age of 10.54 ± 2.42 years. Most of the cases (64.2%) were in 7-11 years old group, while 35.8% were in 12-15 years old group. The average number of the CL lesions was 1.78±0.7, ranging from one to fifteen. Single lesions were detected in 281 cases (61.8%), whereas double, triple and multiple lesions (≥ 4) were detected in 87 (19.1%), 51 (11.2%) and 36 (7.9%) of the CL cases, respectively. The lesions were mostly involved on face (n= 280, 61.5%) and especially cheeks (133/280, 47.5%), followed by upper (n= 127, 27.9%) and lower (n=39, 8.6%) extremities. The average duration of lesions was 13.40 ± 0.47 months (range: 4-104 weeks) and the average size of lesions was 10.32 ± 0.4 mm (range: 3-10 mm). Among all, mostly nodular (n= 211, 46.4%) and ulcerative (n=204, 44.8%) lesions were recorded. Of the cases 330 (72.5%) were diagnosed as acute CL (duration of lesions were ≤ 24 months), while 125 (27.5%) were chronic CL (duration of lesions were > 24 months). Leishmaniasis recidivans were identified in a total of five (1.1%) cases, of them one was acute and four was chronic CL cases. Twenty-five relatives of the children with CL were diagnosed as new CL cases in the 2011-2012 period. Most of the patients (n= 437, 96%) were successfully treated with topical pentavalent antimonials, however 18 (4%) who were unresponsive to local therapy were treated systemically. Our findings showed that local transmission is ongoing in terms of CL. It should be kept in mind that, primary school aged children might be responsible for the ongoing local transmission in endemic regions and the local transmission may be decreased with the early diagnosis and treatment of CL cases.

Bu çalışmada, kardiyopulmoner bypass yöntemi ile kardiyovasküler cerrahi geçiren hastaların farklı zamanlarda alınan hemogram örneklerinin değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Materyal ve Metot: Prospektif olan çalışmamıza çeşitli sebeplerden dolayı kardiyovasküler cerrahi geçiren 30 hastadan preoperatif, anestezi indüksiyonu sonrası, aortik kross klemp sonrası, KPB çıkışından hemen sonra ve postoperatif 5.gün olmak üzere beş farklı zamanda hemogram tüpüne kan örnekleri alındı. Numuneler tam kan sayım cihazında çalışıldı ve istatistiksel analizleri yapıldı.

Background: On-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) method affect almost all biochemical reactions by disrupting the patient’s redox homeostasis. Detection of systemic redox hemostasis in the patient are critical for the CABG method’s success and the prognosis of the disease. In this study, thiol/disulfide parameters, which are indicators of redox homeostasis, and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels in the plasma and pericardial fluid of patients who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery were investigated. Methods: Sixty patients who underwent an on-pump CABG operation with the Cardiopulmonary Bypass (CPB) method were included in this study. Blood samples were taken from the patients before and after the CPB. Pericardial fluid samples were taken before the CPB. Then, thiol/disulfide homeostasis, albümin, and IMA levels in the pericardial fluid, and the patients’ plasma levels were compared. Results: Albumin and IMA levels were significantly higher in postop compared to preop (p < 0.001). Thiol/disulfide parameters, native thiol, total thiol, and disulfide levels were higher and statistically significant in preop than in postoperative examinations (p < 0.001). A negative correlation was found between pericardial fluid IMA and thiol-disulfide parameters (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Changes in thiol/disulfide homeostasis, albümin, and IMA levels at different times during the on-pump CABG may be caused by foreign non-endothelial surfaces, filters, the reperfusion process, and pharmacological effects in the extracorporeal circulation. Thiol/disulfide homeostasis, albumin, and IMA levels should be monitored during the on-pump CABG and should intervene with appropriate therapeutic strategies. In this way, secondary pathologies can be avoided by preventing cellular damage and excessive inflammatory responses.

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Amaç: Kardiyopulmoner Bypass'ta (KPB) kaplı ve kaplı olmayan sistemlerin antioksidanlar üzerindeki etkilerine ve elde ettiğimiz bilgiler doğrultusunda klinik uygulamalarda olası cerrahi yöntemlere katkı sağlamayı amaçlıyoruz. Yöntem: Açık kalp cerrahisi ameliyatına dahil edilen 15 kaplı ve 15 kaplı olmayan oksijenatörden toplam 30 hastadan anestezi, pompa girişi, kros klemp başlangıcı, kros klemp sonu, pompa sonu olmak üzere 5 farklı zamanda alınan kan çalışmaya dahil edildi. Bulgular: Demografik verilere göre çalışmaya dahil edilen kaplı oksijenatörler (grup I) ve kaplı olmayan oksijenatörler (grup II) olarak; 63.3'ü kadın, 36.7'si erkek olmak üzere 30 hastaya işlem uygulandı. Hasta gruplarının klemp süresi, toplam antioksidan kapasite1 ve 3 (TAOK1, TAOK 3), hemoglobin (Hgb), hematokrit (Hct) ve trombosit (Plt) değerleri cinsiyete göre gruplar arasında anlamlı farklılık göstermedi (p&gt;0,05) ). Sonuç: Kardiyopulmoner Bypass (KPB) sırasında kaplı ve kaplı olmayan preoperatif, intraoperatif ve postoperatif dönemde Hgb, Hct ve Plt ve TAOK değerlerini etkilemediği sonucuna varıldı. Objective: We aim to contribute to the effects of coated and uncoated systems on antioxidants in Cardiopulmonary Bypass (CPB) and to possible surgical methods in clinical applications in line with the information we have obtained. Material And Method: Blood taken at 5 different times including anesthesia, pump entry, cross-clamp start, cross-clamp end, pump end from a total of 30 patients from 15 coated and 15 non-coated oxygenators included in open heart surgery surgery were included in the study. Result:As coated oxygenators (group I) and uncoated oxygenators (group II) included in the study according to demographic data; Thirty patients, 63.3 female and 36.7 male, underwent the procedure. Cross-clemp duration, total antioxidant capacity1 and 3 (TAOK1, TAOK 3), hemoglobin (Hgb), hematocrit (Hct) and platelet (Plt) values of the patient groups according to gender were not significantly different between the groups (p&gt;0.05). Conclusion: It was concluded that coated and uncoated systems during Cardiopulmonary Bypass (CPB) did not affect Hgb, Hct, Plt and TAOK values in the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative periods.

Oz Koronavirüsler inanlarda ve hayvanlarda hastalık yapabilen virüslerdir. Genellikle hastalık üst ve alt solunum yollarını tutmaktadır. 2019 sonlarında Çin'in Wuhan kentinde atipik pnömoni vakaları görülmüştür. Vakalarda en sık görülen belirtilerin ateş, öksürük ve solunum sıkıntısı olduğu bildirilmiştir. Daha sonra bu koronavirüs Dünya Sağlık Örgütü tarafından COVID-19 olarak adlandırılmış ve pandemi ilan edilmiştir. COVID-19'un neden olduğu Akut Solunum Sıkıntısı Sendromu (ARDS)'da büyük bir önem taşımaktadır. ARDS'nin konvansiyonel tedavisi genellikle hipokseminin şiddetine göre adjuvan nöromüsküler blokaj ve mekanik ventilasyon ile yönetilir. Ekstrakorporeal membran oksijenasyonu (ECMO), solunum ve kalp yetmezliği için bir kardiyopulmoner destek aracıdır. ECMO, konvansiyonel tedavinin başarısız olduğu durumlarda kullanılabilir. ECMO'nun geçmiş dönemlerde ARDS tedavisindeki güvenirliği, COVID-19'da da önemini artırmaktadır. Ancak ECMO'nun COVID-19 tedavisindeki rolü ve sonucunun şu anda belirsiz olduğunu, daha çok klinik çalışma gerektirdiğini belirtmek gerekir. Sonuç olarak COVID-19 tedavisinde ECMO, konvansiyonel tedavinin başarısız olduğu ARDS ve diğer endikasyonel durumlarda kullanılabilir.