Changes in cancer screening process in primary care during the covid-19 pandemic. A record-based descriptive study.

OBJECTIVES: To reveal the number of cancer screenings in primary care during the pandemic period and whether there is a change in screening compared to the pre-pandemic period. METHODS: This record-based descriptive study was carried out by evaluating the number of people who applied to family health centers or cancer early diagnosis, screening, and education center (KETEM) units for cancer screening (breast, cervical, and colorectal) for any reason. The study data were scanned between January 2017 and December 2020 and were obtained from the Gaziantep Provincial Health Directorate Cancer Branch. RESULTS: Breast cancer screening was the highest in December 2019 (n=2971), cervical cancer screening was the highest in October 2019 (n=4693), and colon cancer screening was the highest in September 2019 (n=2464). Breast cancer screening was the lowest in August 2020 (n=0), cervical cancer screening was the lowest in May 2020 (n=6), and colon cancer screening was the lowest in February and March 2018. Although the target populations and percentages in breast cancer, cervical cancer and colon cancer screenings increased with the following years, the screening populations and percentages decreased in 2020 compared to other years (percentages, 4.4%, 6.2%, 1.9%). CONCLUSION: For cancers that can be prevented by early diagnosis, it is of great importance to increase cancer screenings, which have decreased with the pandemic, to the required level.

Oral Candida carriage and prevalence of Candida species among Maras powder users and non-users.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to investigate Candida carriage and species in Maras powder users and non-users. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study included 100 volunteering men in 12 cafés in the city of Kahramanmaras, Turkey. A questionnaire composed of questions about socio-demographic features and Maras powder use was filled in by the participants. Culture specimens were obtained from bilateral buccal mucosa and dorsum of the tongue with a sterile cotton-tipped swap. The specimens were inoculated in Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA). RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 48.0 ± 12.5 years (min = 20, max = 70). Fifty-four percent of the Maras powder users and 22% of the non-users were Candida carriers. The difference between the groups was significant (P = 0.001). The most frequently isolated species was Candida albicans at a rate of 44% in the Maras powder users and at a rate of 18% in the non-users. Other frequent species were Candida glabrata at a rate of 6% in the Maras powder users and 2% in the control group and Candida tropicalis at a rate of 4% in the Maras powder users and 2% in the nonusers. CONCLUSION: We found that a significantly high rate of the Maras powder users was Candida carriers. It should be kept in mind that opportunistic infections may be caused by Candida species in Maras powder users especially with immunosuppressive conditions since Candida species are likely to lead to such infections in cases of immunosuppressive diseases.