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OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed at investigating the impacts of demographic, hematological, and biochemical factors on the clinical course and the prognostic outcome in adult COVID-19 patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was performed in the internal medicine departments of two hospitals, and data were extracted from the medical files of 1,700 adult COVID-19 patients (836 females, 49.2%; 864 males, 50.8%) with an average age of 48.23 ± 16.68 (range: 18-93). Clinical data included baseline descriptives, prior medical history, admission date, treatment, and hematological and biochemical blood test results. The relationship between the survival, length of hospitalization, hematological, and biochemical parameters was investigated. RESULTS: Advanced age (p<0.001), presence of at least on comorbid disease (p=0.045), increased length of hospitalization (p=0.006), elevated white blood cell (p=0.001) and neutrophil (p=0.002) counts, increased serum levels of glucose (p=0.027), blood urea nitrogen (p<0.001), AST (p=0.006), LDH (p<0.001), CRP (p>0.001), and D-dimer (p=0.001). In contrast, diminution of serum levels of albumin (p<0.001), ALT (p=0.028), calcium (p=0.022), and platelet count (p=0.010) were associated with increased mortality. There was a positive and weak relationship between serum D-dimer levels and length of hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: Our data imply that identifying and validating indicators that predict COVID-19 disease progression to improve health outcomes is crucial. Age, comorbidities, immunological response, radiographic abnormalities, laboratory markers, and signs of organ dysfunction may all predict poor outcomes individually or collectively. Identifying characteristics that predict COVID-19 problems is critical to guiding clinical management, improving patient outcomes, and allocating limited resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: This study treated patients with temporomandibular disc displacement with reduction (with pain, limited mandibular movement, and clicking sound symptoms) using a combination of analgesics, injection, mandibular exercise, and occlusal splints. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Twenty-five patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders were evaluated for pretreatment complaints and clinical findings, such as TMJ sounds, mandibular deviation, limited mouth opening, and bilateral magnetic resonance imaging results. Diagnostic treatment was then planned; all patients received occlusal splints, and 10 patients received injections. RESULTS: Evaluations were conducted 1 year after the initial diagnosis and treatment. Complaints (especially of pain) by the patients who received injections had reduced significantly. After 6 months of occlusal splinting, clinical findings of patients with TMJ disc displacement had greatly improved. To manage parafunctional habits of the patients, night plate usage was continued. Therefore, clinical symptom reduction was maintained. CONCLUSION: The use of mandibular manipulation technique can decrease the anterior disc displacement of the TMJ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on food-borne botulism. Epidemiology of botulism; Information on some cases; Diagnosis and medical management.

Background . In the early stages of severe burn cases, an increase in serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level and a decrease in serum albumin level can be observed. Objective . This study aimed to investigate whether the CRP/albumin ratio at the time of hospital admission in children exposed to severe burns would be an indicator for bacterial growth at the wound site. Method . A total of 137 pediatric patients who were treated in our hospital's burn center due to third-degree burns of 30% or more of their body between January 2019 and October 2023 were included in the study. Results . The mean age was 3.69 ± 4.16 years. CRP/albumin ratio was found to be an independent risk factor for culture positivity (odds ratio: 1.162; P  = .01). Conclusion . High CRP/albumin ratio in children with severe burns may provide important information about the development of wound colonization or infection, most likely due to prolonged hospital stay., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Background: Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is a cardiovascular emergency that can result in mortality. In the interleukin-33 (IL-33) /soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2) signaling pathway, increased sST2 is a cardiovascular risk factor. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of biomarkers in the IL-33/sST2 signaling pathway in determining PTE diagnosis, clinical severity, and mortality., Method: This study was conducted as a single-center, prospective, observational study. Patients admitted to the emergency department and diagnosed with PTE constituted the patient group (n = 112), and healthy volunteers with similar sociodemographic characteristics constituted the control group (n = 62). Biomarkers in the IL-33/sST2 signaling pathway were evaluated for diagnosis, clinical severity, and prognosis., Results: IL-33 was lower in the patient group than in the control group (275.89 versus 403.35 pg/mL), while sST2 levels were higher in the patient group than in the control group (53.16 versus 11.78 ng/mL) (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001; respectively). The AUC of IL-33 to diagnose PTE was 0.656 (95 % CI: 0.580-0.726). The optimal IL-33 cut-off point to diagnose PTE was ≤304.11 pg/mL (56.2 % sensitivity, 79 % specificity). The AUC of sST2 to diagnose PTE was 0.818 (95 % CI: 0.752-0.872). The optimal sST2 cut-off point to diagnose PTE was >14.48 ng/mL (83 % sensitivity, 71 % specificity). IL-33 levels were lower in patients with mortality (169.85 versus 332.04 pg/mL) compared to patients without mortality, whereas sST2 levels were higher in patients with mortality (118.32 versus 28.07 ng/mL) compared to patients without mortality (p > 0.001 for both). The AUC of IL-33 to predict the mortality of PTE was 0.801 (95 % CI: 0.715-0.870). The optimal IL-33 cut-off point to predict the mortality of PTE was ≤212.05 pg/mL (75 % sensitivity, 79.5 % specificity). The AUC of sST2 to predict the mortality of PTE was 0.824 (95 % CI: 0.740-0.889). The optimal sST2 cut-off point to predict the mortality of PTE was >81 ng/mL (95.8 % sensitivity, 78.4 % specificity)., Conclusion: In the IL-33/ST2 signaling pathway, decreased IL-33 and increased sST2 are valuable biomarkers for diagnosis and prediction of mortality in patients with PTE., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Pulmonary Thromboembolism (PTE) is one of the major cardiovascular diseases with high morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis and accurate prognosis are essential in clinical management. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of serum Profilin-1(PFN1) in diagnosing and prognosis PTE., Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on patients older than 18 diagnosed with PTE and healthy volunteers with similar sociodemographic characteristics who applied to the emergency department between March 2022 and March 2023., Results: In the study, 102 patients diagnosed with PTE were in the patient group, and 64 healthy volunteers were in the control group. The median PFN1 level of the patient group was 2878 (124-5001) pg/mL, while the median PFN1 level of the control group was 579 (125-5001) pg/mL. The PFN1 level of the patient group was significantly higher than the control group (p < 0.001). PFN1 levels of 984.46 pg/mL and above had 76.47 % sensitivity and 79.69 % specificity in diagnosing PTE (AUC: 0.817; CI: 0.750-0.873; p < 0.0001). The median PFN1 level of patients with mortality was 5001 (1793.3-5001) pg/mL, while the median PFN1 level of patients without mortality was 1858 (124-5001) pg/mL. PFN1 levels of patients who developed mortality were significantly higher than those who did not develop mortality (p < 0.001). PFN1 levels of 3292.1 pg/mL and above had 90.91 % sensitivity and 71.25 % specificity in PTE prognosis (AUC: 0.861; CI: 0.778-0.921; p < 0.0001)., Conclusion: Serum Profilin-1 levels are helpful as a diagnostic and prognostic indicator in PTE., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Background/aim: Male infertility rises for many reasons, along with age; therefore, we aimed to research the characterization of aquaporin-3, 7, and 8 in human sperm belonging to different age groups., Material and Methods: This study was conducted on sperm samples of men aged over 18 years. A total of 60 men were included in the study and divided into three age groups: group 1, age 18-25 years (n = 20); group 2, age 26-35 years (n = 20); and group 3, age ≥35 years (n = 20). Sperm ejaculates obtained from each participant were used for spermiogram tests, Kruger strict morphology analysis, and immunohistochemistry., Results: We observed no statistically significant differences in terms of macroscopic and microscopic sperm testing. The immunostaining score of aquaporin-3 was the lowest in group 1 and increased in group 3 and group 2, respectively (p < 0.05). Aquaporin-8 immunostaining only increased in group 2 (p < 0.05). Aquaporin-7 immunostaining scores were not different between the groups (p > 0.05). When the immunostaining scores of aquaporin molecules were compared with each other, aquaporin-7 was significantly increased compared with the others (p < 0.05)., Conclusion: According to the results, it can be stated that aquaporin-3 and aquaporin-8 molecules were more expressed at age 26 to 35 years, and aquaporin-7 was densely expressed from age 18 to 25 years. If the characterization of these molecules is adversely affected, male infertility may eventually emerge. We recommend further advanced-level studies on this subject., (© TÜBİTAK.)

Purpose: Silent cerebral infarctions (SCI), as determined by neuron-specific enolase (NSE) elevations, may develop after the transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedure. Our aim in this study was to compare the SCI rates between patients who underwent routine pre-dilatation balloon aortic valvuloplasty (pre-BAV) and patients who underwent direct TAVI without pre-BAV., Methods: A total of 139 consecutive patients who underwent TAVI in a single center using the self-expandable Evolut-R valve (Medtronic, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) were included in the study. The first 70 patients were included in the pre-BAV group, and the last 69 patients were included in the direct TAVI group. SCI was detected by serum NSE measurements performed at baseline and 12 h after the TAVI. New NSE elevations > 12 ng/mL after the procedure were counted as SCI. In addition, SCI was scanned by MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) in eligible patients., Results: TAVI procedure was successful in all of the study population. Post-dilatation rates were higher in the direct TAVI group. Post-TAVI NSE positivity (SCI) was higher in the routine pre-BAV group (55(78.6%) vs. 43(62.3%) patients, p = 0.036) and NSE levels were also higher in this group (26.8 ± 15.0 vs. 20.5 ± 14.8 ng/ml, p = 0.015). SCI with MRI was found to be significantly higher in the pre-BAV group than direct TAVI group (39(55.1%) vs. 31(44.9%) patients). The presence of atrial fibrillation and diabetes mellitus (DM), total cusp calcification volume, calcification at arcus aorta, routine pre-BAV and failure at first try of the prosthetic valve implantation were significantly higher in SCI (+) group. In the multivariate analysis, presence of DM, total cusp calcification volume, calcification at arcus aorta, routine pre-BAV and failure at first try of the prosthetic valve implantation were significantly associated with new SCI development., Conclusions: Direct TAVI procedure without pre-dilation seems to be an effective method and avoidance of pre-dilation decreases the risk of SCI development in patients undergoing TAVI with a self-expandable valve., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Background Ischemic stroke is a focal or global cerebral dysfunction of vascular origin; its treatment aims to provide reperfusion. Secretoneurin is a hypoxia-sensitive biomarker found in high concentrations in brain tissue. We aim to determine secretoneurin levels in patients with ischemic stroke, examine how secretoneurin levels change in the mechanical thrombectomy group, and evaluate the correlation with disease severity and prognosis. Methods Twenty-two patients diagnosed with ischemic stroke in the emergency department underwent mechanical thrombectomy, and twenty healthy volunteers were included in the study. Serum secretoneurin levels were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Secretoneurin levels were measured at the 0 th hour, 12 th hour, and 5 th day in patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy. Results Serum secretoneurin levels were found to be statistically significantly higher in the patient group (7.43 ng/mL) compared to the control group (5.90 ng/mL) (p=0.023). The secretoneurin levels of the patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy were 7.43 ng/mL, 7.04 ng/mL, and 8.65 ng/mL, measured at the 0 th hour, 12 th hour, and 5 th day, respectively, and no significant difference was detected in all three time periods (p=0.142). Conclusion Secretoneurin appears to be a useful biomarker in the diagnosis of stroke. However, it was found that there was no prognostic value in the mechanical thrombectomy group, and it was not correlated with the severity of the disease., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Güngör et al.)

Introduction: Although the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients have been described; the pathogenesis of the disease and its long-term consequences are still unclear. Pulmonary fibrosis is one of these late outcomes. In this study we evaluated Interleukin-17 (IL-17), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) levels of COVID-19 infected patients with different clinical course and their effect on pulmonary fibrosis in post-COVID period., Materials and Methods: In total, 90 patients were evaluated. Among the patients who presented for a control visit between 3-12 weeks after acute infection; patients with signs of pulmonary sequelae radiologically (traction bronchiectasis, interseptal thickening, disorders in parenchyma architecture) were classified as Group I (n= 32), patients who recovered without sequelae radiologically as Group II (n= 32). The Control group included healthy individuals who did not have COVID-19, and was classified as Group III (n= 26)., Result: The mean age in Group I was significantly higher than Group II and III (p<0.001). There was a statistically significant difference between the VEGF and IL-17 values based on the patient group they are in (p<0.05). Vascular endothelial growth factor values of Group I and III were significantly lower than the patients in Group II (p<0.001). IL-17 values of Group I and II were found to be significantly lower than Group III (p= 0.005). There was no statistically significant relationship between groups in terms of IgG4 values., Conclusions: In our study, it was observed that the profibrotic effects of VEGF, IL-17, and IgG4 were not dominant in patients who recovered with pulmonary sequelae after COVID; therefore, it is thought that different mechanisms mentioned or not yet revealed may cause this outcome.

Background: Secretoneurin is a neuropeptide expressed from endocrine, neuroendocrine, and neural tissues. Our study aimed to investigate whether there was a relationship between secretoneurin levels and the severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI)., Methods: Ninety patients aged over 18 years who were admitted to the emergency department with head trauma between April 2020 and October 2020 and 20 healthy volunteers (control group) were included in the study. Patients were divided into three groups according to Glasgow Coma Scale scores: Mild TBI (n=33), moderate TBI (n=28), and severe TBI (n=29). The final status of the patients was evaluated in three groups: exitus, discharge with Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) ≤ 3 and discharge with GOS >3., Results: The median secretoneurin levels of patients with severe TBI 31.71 (14.21-70.95) were found to be significantly higher than in those with moderate TBI [17.30 (10.71-69.27) (P=0.025), and patients with moderate TBI had a substantially higher level of secretoneurin than those with mild TBI 11.70 (6-16.25) (P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between the median secretoneurin levels in patients with mild TBI and the control group 10.73 (5.33-13.18) (P=0.999). The secretoneurin cut-off value of >18.13 ng/mL had a sensitivity of 83.87% and a specificity of 77.97% for poor neurologic outcomes (AUC 0.86, 95% CI: 0.77- 0.92). The secretoneurin cut-off value of >20.67 ng/mL had a sensitivity of 90.91% and a specificity of 74.68% for mortality (AUC 0.85, 95% CI: 0.76-0.92)., Conclusion: Secretoneurin can be a useful biomarker in diagnosing patients with moderate-tosevere TBI. It may also guide physicians in predicting the clinical outcome of patients with TBI., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

We aimed to evaluate whether there was a relationship between endocan (human endothelial cell-specific molecule-1) levels and disease prognosis in patients who presented to the emergency department with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A total of 60 patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized from the emergency department to clinical wards and a control group consisting of healthy adult individuals (n = 28), were included in the study. The majority (93.3%) of the patients were discharged after recovery; 6.7% died. The median endocan value was 243.5 ng/mL in the patient group versus 201.5 ng/mL in the control group ( P = .002). The median endocan level was 240.5 ng/mL in those discharged with recovery and 558 ng/mL in those who died ( P = .001). There was no significant relationship in hospitalization duration, sex, tomography findings, and clinical outcomes. A 202 ng/mL serum endocan level had 86.7% sensitivity and 50% specificity for COVID-19. Serum endocan levels may be a useful biomarker both for the diagnosis of COVID-19 and to predict mortality.

Silent cerebral infarctions (SCI) determined by neuron specific enolase (NSE) elevation may develop more during chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) than non-CTO interventions. Our aim was to examine CTO and non-CTO PCIs for SCI development. 100 consecutive CTO and 100 non-CTO PCI patients were enrolled. SCI was detected by serum NSE measurements performed at baseline and 12 h after the interventions. New NSE elevations > 12 ng/mL after the procedure were counted as SCI. Post-procedural NSE levels were found to be significantly higher in the CTO PCI group and NSE positivity was more prevalent in the CTO PCI group (56 (56%) vs. 31 (31%), p < 0.001), but PCI of CTOs did not independently increase risk of SCI (OR: 2.39 (0.85-6.73), p: 0.10). Patients who developed SCI after PCI had the characteristics of tough PCI interventions. In the multivariate analysis, two parameters were found to be independently associated with SCI development, namely more contrast volume (OR: 1.014 (1.005-1.023), p: 0.003) and longer procedural time (OR: 1.030 (1.010-1.051), p: 0.003). It has been firstly demonstrated in the literature that CTO PCIs, by its nature, have increased rates of SCI when compared to non-CTO PCIs but presence of a CTO was not an independent predictor of SCI. Mainly, procedural characteristics of the PCIs, especially longer procedural times and more contrast consumption, observed more in CTO PCIs, have been found to be independently associated with elevations of plasma NSE levels.

Head lice infestation (HLI) caused by Pediculus humanus capitis has been a public health problem worldwide. Specially designed combs are used to identify head lice, while anti-lice products are applied on the scalp for treatment. In the present study, we aimed to test whether combing only by precision detection comb (PDC) or metal pin comb (MPC) could be effective alternatives to the use of anti-lice products in children. A total of 560 children from two rural schools in Turkey were screened. In the PDC trial, children were combed every second day for 14 days, while in the MPC trial, combing was performed once in every four days for 15 days. Children were divided into two groups (dry combing and wet combing) for both trials and results were compared. The results showed no significant differences between dry and wet combing strategies for both combs for the removal of head lice (p > 0.05). The number of adult head lice declined significantly on each subsequent combing day in both approaches, except on day 15 in the MPC trial. In the end, no louse was found in 54.1 and 48.9% of children in the PDC and MPC trials, respectively. Since family members of infested children were not available, they were not checked for HLI. Four times combing within 2 weeks with MPC combs was found effective for both treatment of low HLI and prevention of heavy HLI. In conclusion, regular combing by special combs decreases HLI level in children and is safely applicable as long-term treatment.

Background: Odontogenic myxoma is a rare, benign neoplasm and is often located in the maxillofacial region centrally most common in the mandible. Soft tissue localization that can be classified as a peripheral myxoma is rarely seen than the central localization. Peripheral myxoma is slowly growing and less aggressive compared to the central myxoma and has a low recurrence rate., Case Report: In this presentation, the patient with a peripheral odontogenic myxoma of the posterior maxillary gingiva was presented with histological findings following surgery, and the clinical differences and characteristics of the various types of myxomas were discussed by a review of the literature.

Objectives: Potential sources of exposure of the dental health team and their patients to mercury vapor in the dental clinic include accidental spillage of elemental mercury, use of mechanical amalgamators, and dry cutting of old amalgam restorations using high-speed instrumentation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent of mercury exposure in Turkish dental staff by cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry., Method and Materials: A total of 211 clinicians, dental students, and dental nurses answered a questionnaire concerning sex, age, occupation, number of amalgam restorations performed per week, number of amalgam restorations removed per week, methods of trituration, number of amalgam restorations present in their own mouths, frequency of fish consumption, smoking, vitamin intake, and bruxism. For each subject, a 5-mL sample of whole blood was drawn and frozen until the time of analysis. Blood mercury levels were measured by means of cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. Blood mercury levels were also analyzed in a control group of 58 non-dental-staff blood donors., Results: Normal blood mercury values are considered to be in the range of 0 to 5 ng Hg/mL. Of the dental staff evaluated, 51.7% had a blood concentration of mercury less than 5 ng Hg/mL, and 33.6% had a blood concentration above 5 ng Hg/mL. The difference between the test and control groups was statistically significant (P < .01)., Conclusion: Mercury is being absorbed as a result of dental practice but that although there is, in general, a low level of mercury contamination in the dental operatory because of amalgam work, sufficient care is being taken to prevent higher levels of contamination with an increased use of mercury.