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Objective: This study aimed to determine the depression, anxiety, and stress levels of healthcare workers (HCWs) working actively in different health services during the pandemic. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Ankara at the Provincial Health Directorate Numune Campus between January and April 2022. The depression, anxiety, and stress levels of HCWs working actively in different health services during the pandemic were evaluated using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21). Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were performed to analyze the data. Results: The study included 381 healthcare workers, 272 (71.4%) of whom were female. The mean age was 40.0±9.9 (21-63) years, and 44.9% (n=171) of the HCWs had a COVID-19 infection at some point. While 28.6% of HCWs needed psychological support before the pandemic, the rate increased to 36.2% during the pandemic (p<0.001). DASS-21 results showed that the frequency of depression was 31.0%, anxiety 47.2%, and stress 22.8% among participants during the pandemic. Conclusion: One out of three HCWs reported experiencing mental health problems. It is essential to improve the working conditions of HCWs to help them cope with the effects of the pandemic on their mental health and to provide psychosocial support.
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OBJECTIVES: Turkey is one of the countries that has the most cases of CCHF in recent years among the endemic countries. The disease also poses an important health threat with high mortality rate. The aim of the study was to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors of CCHF in adults aged ≥20 years in Tokat in the endemic region, Turkey. METHODS: In this population-based cross-sectional study, a total of 85 Family Medicine Units (FMUs), from over 170 in Tokat, were randomly selected using 50% sampling. The sample size was determined among the subjects aged ≥20 who registered with the FMUs, due to gender, age group, and the urban/rural population size of Tokat using the stratified cluster sampling method. Subjects were invited to the FMUs. A questionnaire was performed face to face. The blood samples were taken, and anti-CCHFV IgG antibodies were measured with ELISA method. RESULTS: 1272 (54.9%) out of 2319 participants were female, and the mean age was 47.3 ± 15.3. Anti-CCHFV IgG seropositivity was 5.6% (n = 130). Seropositivity rates in terms of adjusted odds ratios (AOR) were higher 2.53 times (95% CI: 1.57-4.08; p=0.001) in males; 4.05 (95% CI: 2.14-7.65; p < 0.001) in age group ≥65; 0.33 (95% CI: 0.14-0.76; p < 0.001) in graduates of high school and above; 0.71 (95%CI: 0.33-1.52; p < 0.001) in ones with good income; 1.84 (95%CI: 1.18-2.86; p < 0.001) in farmers; 1.64 (95% CI: 1.04-2.27; p < 0.001) in people dealing with animal husbandry; and 1.02 (95% CI: 1.03-2.29; p < 0.001) in those with history of tick contact. CONCLUSIONS: CCHF seroprevalence is still a common public health problem in Tokat, Turkey. Male gender, advanced age group, low-educated, low-income, farmers, animal husbandry, and history of tick contact were found to be risk factors for CCHF. The importance of this kind of community-based studies to identify the seroprevalence in regional and national level increases even more.
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OBJECTIVE: Chronic otitis media is an inflammatory disease of the middle ear. The airflow in the nasal passage affects the development of mastoid air cells through the eustachian tube.Nasal and paranasal pathologies and their anatomical variations cause chronic sinonasal inflammation and affect the middle ear mucosa. This study aims to reveal whether the nasal and paranasal sinus variations in pediatric patients are a factor in developing chronic otitis media. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty patients, with unilateral chronic otitis media, who were admitted to the otorhinolaryngology clinic between May 2015 and July 2019, were included in this retrospective study. The control group (Group 2) consisted of a total of 51 patients. None of the patients in Group 2 had otorrhea history and no signs of chronic otitis in their otoscopic examination, middle ear pathologies. The patient's anatomical variations of the nasal cavity and sinuses were evaluated with CT by a radiologist Results: Nasal septum deviation was found to be 53% in children with chronic otitis media. It was found 31.4% in the control group. Since the P value was found to be .04, this rate was considered as significant. Inferior concha hypertrophy was found to be 17.6% in the control group and 38.8% in the group with chronic otitis media, and this rate was considered significant since the P value was .035 Conclusion: We detected that septum deviation and inferior concha hypertrophy increased chronic otitis media formation in children. All these studies show that cases causing nasal obstruction, such as septum deviation, have a negative effect on middle ear pressure and increase the rate of ear diseases.
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PURPOSE: We aimed to determine the effect of a cartilage shoe graft placed between the foot of the TORP and the stapes footplate on hearing improvement and long-term displacement rates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who underwent TORP ossiculoplasty were divided into two groups. The TORP-alone group consisted of 32 patients who underwent TORP placement without cartilage shoe graft and served as the control group. The study group consisted of 56 patients who underwent placement of cartilage shoe graft together with TORP. Pure-tone audiometry was administered to all patients before and 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery. Indications for surgery, surgical technique used, postoperative complications, and air and bone conduction thresholds at 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz were recorded for all patients. RESULTS: No significant difference in postoperative air-bone gaps was observed between the groups. The number of patients with air-bone gaps less than 20 dB was 14 (25%) in the study group and 8 (25%) in the control group. There was no significant difference in changes in air-bone gaps between the groups. Dislocation of the prosthesis was observed in 3 patients in the study group (5.3%) and 4 in the control group (12.5%). There was less dislocation of the prosthesis in the study group, but the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Placement of a cartilage graft between the footplate of the stapes and the foot of the prosthesis may have positive effects on long-term hearing improvement and rates of prosthesis displacement. Further research with larger patient numbers is needed to identify the advantages of shoe graft.