The acromegaly treatment satisfaction questionnaire (Acro-TSQ): turkish adaptation, validity, and reliability study.

PURPOSE: The patient-reported outcome becomes important to evaluate the situation perceived by the patients and to develop new strategies. This study aims to adapt the Acromegaly Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (Acro-TSQ), which was specially developed for patients with acromegaly, into Turkish by conducting a validity and reliability study. METHODS: After the translation and back-translation process, Acro-TSQ was filled in by face-to-face interviews with 136 patients diagnosed with acromegaly and currently receiving somatostatin analogue injection therapy. Internal consistency, content validity, construct validity, and reliability of the scale were determined. RESULTS: Acro-TSQ had a six-factor structure and explained 77.2% of the total variance in the variable. The Cronbach alpha value calculated for internal reliability showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.870). Factor loads of all items were found to be between 0.567 and 0.958. As a result of EFA analysis, one item fell into a different factor in the Turkish version of the Acro-TSQ, different from its original form. CFA analysis shows that acceptable fit values are obtained for fit indices. CONCLUSION: The Acro-TSQ, a patient-reported outcome tool, shows good internal consistency, and good reliability, suggesting it is an appropriate assessment tool for patients with acromegaly in the Turkish population.

Assessment the effect of diabetes education on self-care behaviors and glycemic control in the Turkey Nursing Diabetes Education Evaluating Project (TURNUDEP): a multi-center study.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes education in Turkey is provided by diabetes nurse educators in almost all healthcare organizations. However, the education is not standardized in terms of learning content, duration, and methods. This multi-center study was performed to assess the self-care behaviors and glycemic control following education provided to the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus by diabetes nurse educators. METHODS: This was a descriptive and cross-sectional study and included 1535 patients admitted to 28 public hospitals for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The education was assessed by using a Patient Identification Form and Self-care Scale. RESULTS: The proportion of individuals who received diabetes education within the last year was 78.5%, with 46.7% of them having received it once. Of the patients, 84.8% reported that they received diabetes education individually. It was found that the proportion of individuals who received education about oral antidiabetics (78.5%) and glucose testing at home (78.5%) was higher than the proportion of individuals who received education about exercise (58.8%) and foot care (61.6%). The status of diabetes education, education intervals, and the correlation of the education method with self-care and glycemic control was evaluated. Self-care and glycemic control levels were better among the patients who received diabetes education thrice or more and in patients who received education both individually and in a group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Approximately three-quarters of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus received education by diabetes nurse educators in Turkey. Diabetes education is positively correlated with self-care and glycemic control levels among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Efforts for generalization and standardized education for all diabetes patients are necessary.

Comparison between somatostatin analog injections.

OBJECTIVE: Long-acting depot formulations of somatostatin analogs, i.e., octreotide and lanreotide, are the first-line medical therapies for patients with acromegaly to whom surgery/radiotherapy cannot be performed or who have inadequate response. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the short-term local and systemic adverse reactions developed after the somatostatin analogs injections in the patients with acromegaly, in order to compare the side effects of somatostatin analogs injections. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with acromegaly who were referred to our endocrinology clinic for monthly somatostatin analogs injections were questionnaired. Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale was used to evaluate the injection-site pain at the time of injection. The existence of leg pain, nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain following the previous injection was also investigated during the next injection. RESULTS: A total of 49 patients were included in the study. The statistical difference could not be shown between the injection-site pain, anorexia, and leg pain frequencies of the groups, while the frequency of gastrointestinal disturbances, i.e., diarrhea and abdominal pain, was significantly lower in the octreotide group (p<0.001 and p=0.015, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first prospective study that compared the severity of the injection-site pain by using a scoring scale, following the long-acting somatostatin analogs injections. We have shown that there was no significant association of the injection-site pain severity with the somatostatin analogs regimen nor the dose differences within each somatostatin analogs treatment.

COVID-19, Anxiety, and Hopelessness: Quality of Life Among Healthcare Workers in Turkey.

The aim of the study is to investigate the effects of intense anxiety and hopelessness experienced by healthcare workers during the pandemic on their quality of life. This cross-sectional, online questionnaire-based study was conducted between August 31, 2020 and October 31, 2020, with 729 healthcare workers in Turkey. The study showed that hopelessness, the weekly working time, fatigue, and the workload of healthcare workers negatively affected their quality of life, those who found the pandemic measures inadequate had a lower quality of life and higher hopelessness levels, and those who needed knowledge on various issues to improve their skills had lower quality of life and higher levels of anxiety and hopelessness. Increasing the measures to make healthcare workers feel competent and ready during the COVID-19 pandemic and meet their information needs to improve their skills will reduce their anxiety and hopelessness and improve their quality of life. Identifying the factors affecting anxiety, hopelessness, and quality of life will help achieve sustainable success in the delivery of health services and promote employee health and safety.

Awareness of influenza and pneumococcal vaccines in diabetic patients.

PURPOSE: In our study, it was aimed to evaluate the awareness of diabetic patients about vaccination status and vaccines. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2019 and February 2019. A survey questioning the level of knowledge about and vaccination status for influenza and pneumonia vaccines was applied by face-to-face interviews with patients with diabetes mellitus who admitted to the diabetes outpatient clinic. All results were evaluated with SPSS-20.0. RESULTS: A total of 202 patients [66 male (32.7%) and 136 female (67.3%) patients; with a mean age of 57.7 ± 11.3 years and mean duration of diabetes 10.7 ± 7.9 years] were recruited in the study. Majority of the patients (92.6%) were type 2 DM patients. 59.4% of the patients had never been vaccinated. The rate of those who had pneumonia vaccine was very low, only 14.7%. The vast majority of the patients had knowledge about vaccines and their most common source of information was nurses. 53% of patients believed that diabetic patients should be vaccinated regularly. 16.8% of the patients were reluctant to have the recommended vaccine. The factor with greatest impact on this was that they did not consider the vaccine necessary. 52.5% of the patients recommended to be vaccinated had the recommended vaccine. 26.4% of the patients who were not enthusiastic about the recommended vaccine had pneumococcal vaccine after being informed about the vaccine. CONCLUSION: It was observed that the information given about vaccines positively affected the vaccination rate. The main barrier to vaccination was the lack of information about the need for influenza vaccination. Designing strategies and training programs for healthcare professionals and patients should be the main goal to improve vaccination coverage and vaccination rates.

Comparison between somatostatin analog injections

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: Long-acting depot formulations of somatostatin analogs, i.e., octreotide and lanreotide, are the first-line medical therapies for patients with acromegaly to whom surgery/radiotherapy cannot be performed or who have inadequate response. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the short-term local and systemic adverse reactions developed after the somatostatin analogs injections in the patients with acromegaly, in order to compare the side effects of somatostatin analogs injections. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with acromegaly who were referred to our endocrinology clinic for monthly somatostatin analogs injections were questionnaired. Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale was used to evaluate the injection-site pain at the time of injection. The existence of leg pain, nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain following the previous injection was also investigated during the next injection. RESULTS: A total of 49 patients were included in the study. The statistical difference could not be shown between the injection-site pain, anorexia, and leg pain frequencies of the groups, while the frequency of gastrointestinal disturbances, i.e., diarrhea and abdominal pain, was significantly lower in the octreotide group (p<0.001 and p=0.015, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first prospective study that compared the severity of the injection-site pain by using a scoring scale, following the long-acting somatostatin analogs injections. We have shown that there was no significant association of the injection-site pain severity with the somatostatin analogs regimen nor the dose differences within each somatostatin analogs treatment.