Evaluating the McMahon score for predicting mortality in earthquake-induced rhabdomyolysis: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: In natural disasters like earthquakes, building collapses can trap individuals, causing crush syndrome and rhabdomyolysis. This life-threatening condition often leads to acute kidney injury. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of the McMahon score in predicting mortality due to rhabdomyolysis in patients affected by the earthquake. METHODS: This is a retrospective observational study. In this study, the clinical and laboratory data of patients who presented to the emergency department due to the earthquake were analyzed. The McMahon score was calculated by evaluating factors such as creatine kinase, serum creatinine levels, age, and gender. RESULTS: The study included 151 patients, of whom 74 (49.0%) were male and 77 (51.0%) were female. In the univariate model, significant (P < .05) effectiveness was observed in differentiating between patients with and without mortality for McMahon score and the risk of acute kidney injury. At a McMahon score cutoff of 6, significant effectiveness was also observed, with an area under the curve of 0.723. At this cutoff value, the sensitivity was 80.0% and the specificity was 64.5%. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the McMahon score in emergency medicine and disaster management plays a crucial role in rapid decision-making processes due to its effectiveness in predicting mortality.

The effect of body mass index on trauma severity and prognosis in trauma patients.

BACKGROUND: As in the rest of the world, the prevalence of obesity in Turkey has been increasing in recent years and has become a major public health issue. Although many trials have been conducted to study the effects of obesity on internal diseases, there are few studies investigating the effects of obesity on prognosis of trauma patients. The present study analyzed the effects of body mass index (BMI) on trauma severity and prognosis in trauma patients. METHODS: This study was prospectively conducted with trauma patients older than 15 years of age who presented at the Dicle University Faculty of Medicine emergency medicine department trauma unit between June 1, 2013 and May 31, 2014. Patients were grouped into high-energy trauma and low-energy trauma groups based on trauma severity. In addition, 4 groups were made according to BMI value (kg/m2). Group I was defined as BMI <25 (normal weight). Group II patients had BMI of 25-29.9 (overweight). Group III had BMI of 30-34.9 (obese), and Group IV was made up of patients with BMI ≥35 (morbidly obese). RESULTS: Comparison of whole patient population for inter-group differences showed significant differences between rate of head injury, thoracic injury, extremity injury, multitrauma, clinic admission rate, and mortality rate (p<0.001). No significant difference was observed between groups in abdominal injury rate (p=0.347). CONCLUSION: Clinic admission rate, length of intensive care unit stay, mortality rate, multitrauma rate, and injury severity score increased in proportion to greater BMI.

Is montelukast as effective as N-acetylcysteine in hepatic injury due to acetaminophen intoxication in rats?

This study aims to investigate the acute protective effect of montelukast sodium in hepatic injury secondary to acetaminophen (APAP) intoxication. This study used 60 rats. The rats were grouped into 6 groups. The control group was administered oral distilled water 10 ml/kg, the APAP group oral APAP 1 g/kg, the montelukast sodium (MK) group oral MK 30 mg/kg, the acetaminophen+N-acetylcysteine (APAP+NAC) group oral APAP 1 g/kg, followed by a single dose of intraperitoneal NAC 1.5 g/kg three hours later, the acetaminophen+montelukast sodium (APAP+MK) group oral APAP 1 g/kg, followed by oral MK 30 mg/kg 3 h later, the acetaminophen+N-acetylcysteine+montelukast sodium (APAP+NAC+MK) group oral APAP 1 g/kg, followed by a single intraperitoneal NAC 1.5 g/kg plus oral MK 30 mg/kg 3 h later. Blood and liver tissue samples were taken 24h after drug administration. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and total bilirubin were studied from the blood samples. Liver tissue samples were used for histopathological examination. Compared with the control group, serum AST and ALT activities were higher in the APAP and APAP+NAC groups. APAP+NAC, APAP+MK, and APAP+NAC+MK groups had reduced serum ALT and AST activities than the group administered APAP alone. APAP+MK and APAP+NAC+MK groups had a lower serum ALP activity than the control group. Histopathologically, there was a difference between the group administered APAP alone and the APAP+MK and APAP+NAC+MK groups. MK is as protective as NAC in liver tissue in APAP intoxication in rats.

Malnutrition in Community-Dwelling Elderly in Turkey: A Multicenter, Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of malnutrition and explore the somatic, psychological, functional, and social or lifestyle characteristics linked to malnutrition in elderly people at a hospital in Turkey. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study included 1030 patients older than 65 years of age who were seen at the internal medicine and geriatrics outpatient clinics of the study centers in Istanbul, Ankara, Duzce, Corum, Mardin, Malatya, and Diyarbakir provinces between January and December 2014. All patients underwent Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) tests via one-on-one interview method. The demographic properties of the patients were also recorded during this interview. RESULTS: Among 1030 patients included in this study, 196 (19%) had malnutrition and 300 (29.1%) had malnutrition risk. The malnutrition group and the other groups were significantly different with respect to mean GDS score, income status, educational status, the number of children, functional status (ADL, IADL), the number of patients with depression, and the number of comorbid disorders. According to the results of the logistic regression analysis, age (OR=95% CI: 1.007-1.056; p=0.012), BMI (OR=95% CI: 0.702-0.796; p<0.001), educational status (OR=95% CI: 0.359-0.897; p=0.015), comorbidity (OR=95% CI: 2.296-5.448; p<0.001), and depression score (OR=95% CI: 1.104-3.051; p=0.02) were independently associated with malnutrition. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that age, depression, BMI, comorbidity, and the educational status were independently associated with malnutrition in an elderly population.

Factors affecting mortality in patients with organophosphate poisoning.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between clinical and demographic characteristics and mortality in patients with organophosphate poisoning. METHODS: The retrospective study was conducted at Dicle University,Diyarbakir,Turkey, and comprised data of patients who presented with organophosphate poisoning between April 2004 and April 2013. The records were assessed in two groups, with Group 1 having data related to recovery, and Group 2 having data related to mortality. SPSS 16 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Of the 296 patients, 219(74%) were women. Mortality was the outcome in 41(13.9%) cases. In Group 2, mean age, marital status, rural origin, presence of psychiatric disease, being illiterate, presence of nicotinic symptoms, and late admission were significantly higher than Group 1 (p<0.05 each). Logistic regression analysis indicated bradycardia as the most prominent independent predictor of mortality (p<0.001). Other independent predictors were age, glucose level, lactate dehydrogenase, coma and acidosis (p<0.05 each). CONCLUSIONS: Independent predictors of mortality in patients with organophosphate poisoning as bradycardia, age, glucose, lactate dehydrogenase level and acidosis.

Lycium barbarum extract provides effective protection against paracetamol-induced acute hepatotoxicity in rats.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of Lycium barbarum (LB) extract against paracetamol-induced acute oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity in rats. The subjects were divided into 6 groups of 8 rats each. The rats in the LB group were administered a dose of 100 mg/kg LB extract dissolved in saline via the intraperitoneal route for 7 days. Subsequently, after last dose of LB, PCT was given in a single dose of 1 g/kg diluted in saline via the oral route. Twenty-four hours later, blood samples were drawn from all of the subjects for serum Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Total antioxidant status (TAS) and Total oxidant status (TOS) tests, and liver tissue samples were obtained for histopathological evaluation. The mean TAS level of the group that was subjected to PCT intoxication was significantly lower than those of the other groups. Additionally, the mean TOS, Oxidative stress index (OSI), ALT and AST values were significantly higher in this group. Though the mean TAS level in the PCT + LB group was significantly higher than that of the PCT group, the TOS, OSI, ALT, and AST levels were significantly lower. When the PCT + LB group and the PCT only group were compared in terms of liver damage during the histopathological evaluation, a statistically significant difference was observed in Grade I and Grade III damage (P=0.013 and P=0.038, respectively). We conclude that Lycium barbarum extract leads to a significant improvement in PCT-induced acute hepatotoxicity in terms of the histopathological results, serum oxidative stress parameters, and serum liver function marker enzymes.

The protective effect of goji berry extract in ischemic reperfusion in testis torsion.

This study investigated whether goji berry extract (GBE), a known antioxidant, reduces ischemic reperfusion injury when administered to rats exposed to experimental testis torsion. A total of 32 Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomized into 4 groups, including the control (sham), goji, torsion, and torsion-goji groups. The treatment groups received intraperitoneal GBE prior to torsion. The left testes of the animals were subjected to torsion via 5 hours of ischemia and 6 hours of reperfusion. TAC (total antioxidant capacity), TOS (total oxidant status) and OSI (oxidative stress index) levels were calculated. Approximately 5-µm-thick sections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) and examined under a light microscope. Statistical analyses were performed with the SPSS 15 software package. The mean serum TAC level was significantly increased in Groups 2 and 4 compared with Groups 1 and 3 in biochemical analyses (for both P < 0.001). The mean serum TOS level was significantly increased in Group 3 compared with Groups 1, 2, and 4 (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, and P = 0.003, respectively). Comparison of the groups with regard to histopathological examination revealed that Group 4 exhibited a significantly higher rate of hemorrhage and congestion compared with Groups 1 and 2 (P = 0.038). The groups did not differ significantly with respect to degeneration. Ischemic reperfusion injury associated with testis torsion was reduced by the antioxidant effect of GBE. Further experimental and clinical studies are needed to confirm the agent's efficacy for this indication.

Fire disaster caused by LPG tanker explosion at Lice in Diyarbakir (Turkey): July 21, 2014.

A disaster can be defined as a situation where the affected society cannot overcome its own resources. Our aim was to present the case of a fire disaster caused by a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker-based explosion on the Diyarbakir-Bingöl road in Lice to determine the various kinds of challenges and patient groups that an emergency department faces and to discuss more effective interventions for similar disasters. This is a retrospective cross-sectional study. To find out the factors that affected mortality, we investigated the patient conditions presented at the time of admission. Among 69 patients included in the study, 62 were male (89.9%) and seven were female (10.1%). The average age of patients was 32.10±14.01 years, and the burn percentage was 51.1±32.2. One patient died during the first response, and a total of 34 patients (49.3%) died during the patient follow-up. Factors statistically related to mortality were determined to be inclusion in the severe burn group, presence of inhalation injuries, use of central venous catheter on patients, application of fasciotomy, presence of a tracheostomy opening, use of endotracheal intubation and sedoanalgesia, and transfer to centers outside the city (p-values <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, 0.001, and 0.003, respectively). In conclusion, although fire disasters caused by LPG tanker explosions are rare, the frequency of such disasters will increase with the increase in LPG use. The factors affecting mortality should be determined to decrease mortality. We recommend that all personnel members who engage in work related to LPG from production to use, in addition to rescue and first-response personnel, be trained comprehensively and that advanced technological fire equipment be used to prevent such disasters.

How was Felt Van Earthquake by a Neighbor University Hospital?

OBJECTIVES: Natural disasters, which are defined as events causing great damage or loss of life, are events of natural origin unpreventable by human beings that occur in a short period of time and lead to loss of life and property. The aim of the study is to analyze which patient groups and problems at a university hospital after the earthquakes in Van. METHODS: For the purposes of this study, 169 patients who presented to our emergency room following the earthquakes that occurred on the 23rd of October, 2011 and the 9th of November, 2011 in Van and were treated as an outpatient or inpatient were enrolled. Patients were divided into two groups. Patient data including the clinical and demographic characteristics were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 169 patients included in our study, 97 (57.4%) were male and 72 (42.6%) were female. The mean age was 26.95±16.44 years in Group 1 and 39.80±23.08 years in Group 2. In our study, the majority of the patients in Group 1 had orthopedic injuries, while internal problems were more common in Group 2. The need for intensive care was greater among the patients in Group 1 compared to Group 2 (p<0.05). The leading cause of death in Group 1 was multi-systemic trauma in 7 out of the 10 patients (70%) and internal problems in Group 2 with 5 out of 12 patients (41.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Our country is in a geographical location where earthquakes are responsible for great losses of life and property. An efficient disaster relief plan may help to minimize the possible damage of earthquakes.

Demographic Properties of Civilians with Blast Injuries in Southeastern Anatolia Region.

OBJECTIVES: The present study conducted demographic analysis of blast injuries, with the authors aiming to guide the determination of groups and regions at risk, helping hospitals take preventive measures and providing information for accurate triage, rapid intervention, multidisciplinary approach, and lowering workforce losses. METHODS: This study retrospectively examined the demographic properties of civilians who presented to the Emergency Department of Dicle University after being injured in explosions of various origins between January 2005 and September 2013 in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. RESULTS: Of the study population, 85.50% were male and 14.50% were female. The explosive responsible for injury was a mine in 20.51% of the cases, a bomb in 29.06%, a squib in 14.53%, dynamite in 7.69%, and some other explosive in the remaining 28.31%. Of those injured, 35.90% were students, 21.36% were farmers, 11.10% were shepherds or drivers, and 31.62% were from other occupational groups. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, injuries resulting from explosions are associated with higher morbidity and mortality rates, making it necessary to increase the number of trauma centers and emergency action teams in that region, as well as demining the region and educating the native population about explosives.

A Case of Uncorrected Tetralogy of Fallot Undiagnosed Until Adulthood and Presenting With Polycythemia.

Congenital heart defects with right-to-left shunt are one of the hypoxia-related causes of acquired secondary polycythemia (SP). Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) is the most common congenital cyanotic heart disease in children. Cases of uncorrected ToF in adult ages are rare. This paper reports a woman detected with elevated hemoglobin level during routine tests performed for infertility therapy and subsequently diagnosed SP with related ToF.