The impact of COVID-19 infection on hemodialysis patients vs kidney transplant patients.

AIM: AS in the whole world, there has been a decrease in the number of both cadaveric and living-donor kidney transplants in our country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed at comparing the data of patients who previously underwent a kidney transplant in our clinic and patients on hemodialysis treatment and were diagnosed with COVID-19 during their follow-ups to find answer to the question "Should we postpone kidney transplants during the pandemic or perform transplants as soon as possible?". MATERIAL AND METHOD: Among those diagnosed with COVID-19 during follow-ups between March 2020 and March 2021 and treated on an inpatient or outpatient basis, the data of patients who previously underwent a kidney transplant in Baskent University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Transplantation, Konya Practice and Research Hospital and hemodialysis patients followed up by the Nephrology Clinic were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: In our study, intensive care stay (Group 1:48.8%, Group 2: 40.4%, P=.34), intubation requirement (Group 1: 35%, Group 2: 34.6%, P=.96) and mortality (Group 1: 36.3%, Group 2: 34%, P=.84) rate was higher in the hemodialysis group, although no statistically significant difference was found. CONCLUSION: All this literature information and our study suggests that mortality rates were statistically similar or lower for transplant group. So it is unnecessary to delay kidney transplantation in patients with appropriate indications. KEY WORDS: COVID-19, Hemodialysis, Kidney transplantation, Mortality.

Clinical and pathological differences of breast cancer in younger and elderly patients.

AIM: It is known that breast cancers seen in younger and elderly patients have a worse prognosis than the disease seen in middle age. This study aimed at revealing the clinical and pathological differences of the disease and investigating the factors that may have an effect on survival and disease-free survival in very young and elderly female patients who were treated and followed up for breast cancer in our clinics. PATIENTS AND METHOD: The data of female patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer in our clinics between January 2000 and January 2021 were analyzed. Patients aged 35 years and below were assigned to younger group, while those aged 65 years and over were assigned to the elderly group. Clinical and pathological data of groups were analyzed. RESULTS: The results of this study demonstrated no difference in mortality rates and overall survival compared to younger patients, despite the comorbidities and short life expectancy of elderly patients. Moreover, younger patients were found to have a larger tumor size at diagnosis, a higher recurrence rate, and shorter disease-free survival compared to elderly patients. Furthermore, young age was associated with an increased risk of recurrence. CONCLUSION: The data of our study reveals that breast cancer seen in younger patients has a worse prognosis than in elderly patients. There is a need for large-scale randomized controlled studies to reveal all the underlying causes and to develop more effective treatment strategies in order to avoid the poor prognosis of young age-onset breast cancers. KEY WORDS: Breast cancer, Disease-free survival, Elderly patients, Overall survival, Prognosis, Younger patients.

Neuroendocrine Tumour of the Gallbladder Diagnosed after Cholecystectomy.

Gallbladder cancer is a rare but aggressive malignancy. Neuroendocrine tumour of the gallbladder make up 2-3% of all the gallbladder tumour. A 67-year female patient underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy because of symptomatic cholelithiasis and the histopathology revealed a neuroendocrine tumour of the gallbladder, stage pT2a. The patient's imaging study for metastasis workup were normal. A radical cholecystectomy procedure was planned as the tumour stage was pT2a. Postoperative chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy were recommended. The patient, who had comorbidities, was refused both surgery and other treatment alternatives. The patient's one-year clinical, laboratory, and radiological follow-up did not reveal any findings of recurrence or metastasis. There is no standardised staging system for neuroendocrine tumours of the gallbladder since the number of such cases is quite limited. Guidelines are also insufficient. Multi-centred and large studies are needed in order to develop standardisation in treatment, prognosis, and factors affecting survival. Key Words: Cholecystectomy, Neuroendocrine Tumour, Gallbladder.

The role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in predicting disease progression and emergency surgery indication in benign intestinal obstructions.

BACKGROUND: The physiological response of the immune system to various stress factors results in an increase in neutrophil count and a decrease in lymphocyte count. In the light of this information, some studies have suggested using the ratio of these two parameters as an infection marker. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) derived from complete blood count, a very cost-effective and rapidly measurable parameter, in predicting the urgency of the surgical indication and disease progression in intestinal obstructions secondary to benign causes. METHODS: The data of patients who were admitted with the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction secondary to benign causes and underwent surgical intervention between January 2010 and January 2021 in Baskent University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of General Surgery, Konya Practice and Research Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The data of 109 patients who met the study criteria and were included in the study were statistically analyzed. The correlation of admission NLR with factors indicating the severity of the disease such as intraoperatively detected ischemia, perforation, resection requirement, post-operative morbidity and mortality, and length of hospital stay was examined. Moreover, the diagnostic value of the NLR was compared with that of other infection markers (such as C-reactive protein [CRP] and leukocyte). RESULTS: It was observed that the high NLR during admission to the hospital due to benign intestinal obstruction causes significantly increased the risk of ischemia, resection requirement, post-operative complications, and mortality during surgery (p<0.05). Furthermore, increased NLR was found to be associated with prolonged hospitalization. In correlation analysis, consistent with the literature, a positive correlation was found between NLR and hospitalization time (p=0.03), CRP value (p<0.001), ischemia (p<0.001), perforation (p=0.007), presence of post-operative complications (p=0.009), and mortality (p=0.002). CONCLUSION: Our results show that the NLR has a very important role in predicting the course of the disease and surgical indication in benign intestinal obstructions.

Factors Affecting Recurrence of Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate factors that may have an effect on recurrence by retrospectively analysing the data of patients who were followed up and treated for idiopathic granulomatous mastitis in this clinic. STUDY DESIGN: Analytic study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of General Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Baskent University, Konya and Adana Practice and Research Hospitals between January 2010 and January 2021. METHODOLOGY: The data of patients who were histopathologically diagnosed with granulomatous mastitis were retrospectively analysed. The patients included in the study were divided into two groups: Recurrence (Group 1) and non-recurrence (Group 2). Patients with underlying etiological factors that may cause granulomatous inflammation such as infection, trauma, tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, and autoimmune disease were excluded from the study. The effects of other parameters (involvement area, follow-up duration, the time from the onset of complaints to diagnosis, side of involvement, breastfeeding, oral contraceptive use, redness, ulceration and/or discharge, preoperative histopathological diagnosis, diagnosis by any of the preoperative imaging techniques, preferred treatment method) on recurrence, were statistically analysed. RESULTS: Furthermore, the analysis results showed no significant difference between the groups with and without recurrence with regard to any of the other variables such as follow-up period, size of the involvement area, presenting complaints, breast-feeding, preferred treatment alternative (steroid, steroid + surgery, surgery), and preferred surgical technique (p>0.05). The time from the onset of complaints to diagnosis was significantly longer in the recurrence group (p=0.001). In addition, the frequency of oral contraceptive use was statistically significantly higher in the recurrence group (Odds ratio=7.6, p=0.044). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that early diagnosis could prevent recurrence in patients with idiopathic granulomatous mastitis. Prospective randomised controlled studies are needed to support this thought. Key Words: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis, Malignancy, Oral contraceptive, Steroid.

Course of sepsis in rats with thyroid dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE: Numerous studies show the relationship between sepsis and thyroid hormones. Virtually all these studies investigate changes in post-sepsis thyroid hormones and the relationship between these changes and the progression of the disease. Our aim in this study was to investigate the progression of sepsis in rats with thyroid dysfunction. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study involved four groups, each containing seven female Wistar albino rats: Group 1: Sham, Group 2: Control (Sepsis), Group 3: Hyperthyroidism-Sepsis, and Group 4: Hypothyroidism-Sepsis. Group 1 only received laparotomy. Group 2 only had sepsis. Sepsis was induced in Group 3 and Group 4 following formation of hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, respectively. After 24 hours, relaparotomy and thoracotomy were performed, and tissue and blood samples were drawn. RESULTS: Dysfunctions seen in the liver, lungs, and kidneys during sepsis and other findings of sepsis were milder in the hyperthyroidism group in comparison to both the control and hypothyroidism groups. CONCLUSION: The results of Simon's grade, histopathological organ damage, and laboratory parameters revealed that the progression of sepsis was milder in the hyperthyroid group than in the hypothyroid and euthyroid groups. The progression in the hypothyroid group was the most severe. Therefore, the results of the study raise the question of whether immediate treatment in cases of hypothyroidism and slow return of thyroid function to normal levels in cases of hyperthyroidism are adequate treatment approaches in patients who may develop sepsis or septic shock." To determine the answer to this question, more detailed studies are required with a higher number of subjects.