Evaluation of adverse events following immunization reported during national immunization programs (Between 2017-2019 in Ankara Province).

Vaccination services are important in primary health-care service. The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) began in 1981 in Turkey. Vaccines are generally safe products; although rare, undesirable effects may be observed after vaccination. In order to increase vaccination rates, vaccine acceptability and service quality; the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and performing necessary interventions are indispensable parts of vaccination programs. This study aimed to evaluate Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) cases during 2017-2019 in Ankara. A total of ~1.7 million doses of vaccine were administered, and only 71 adverse events following immunization (AEFI) were reported (0.41 cases/million doses of risk). AEFI forms were examined, and of these 71 cases, 17 (24%) were hospitalized and 54 (76%) were followed-up.

[The Relationship of Interleukin-18 and Interleukin-6 Levels with Cognitive Functions in Bipolar Disorder]. / Bipolar Bozuklukta Interlökin-18 ve Interlökin-6 Sitokin Seviyelerinin Bilissel Islevler ile Iliskisi.

OBJECTIVE: Impairment in immune functions is proposed as a key factor in the cognitive decline in bipolar disorder (BD) however there is scarcity of research on the impact of inflammation on cognitive functions. Our aim is to compare IL-18 and IL-6 levels in BD patients and controls and to study the relationship between IL-18 and IL-6 levels and cognitive impairment METHOD: Thirty-six euthymic BD-I patients and 38 age, sex and educational level matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. All participants were evaluated with neurocognitive tests. The plasma IL-6 and IL-18 levels of both groups were measured with ELISA kits. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between IL-6 and IL-18 levels of patient and healthy control groups. In the patient group, IL-18 level was positively correlated with completed categories score wheras there was a negative correlation with perseverative response and perseverative errors. Moreover IL-18 level was positively correlated with immediate recall, delayed recall and learning scores while there was a negative correlation with stroop interference scores. No correlation was found between IL-6 level and neuropsychological test scores in the patient group. CONCLUSION: This is the first study that investigates the relation of IL-18 with cognitive functions. Possible detrimental or protective effects of IL-18 in BD is not yet clear, however the positive association of IL-18 level and neuropsychological test scores might indicate a neuroprotective role of IL-18 in the euthymic period of BD which is the closest state to physiological condition.

Are the last grade medical students aware of the danger of synthetic cannabinoids?

Synthetic cannabinoids are drugs which are increasingly used by especially adolescents and young people. In recent years hospital admissions even concluding with deaths have been observed. Therefore, the awareness of medical students, who will be in challenge with this new drug abuse, is an important issue. The aim of this study is to figure out the awareness of the last grade medical students and its correlates. This is a questionnaire based descriptive study with the participation of 148 students at Karadeniz Technical University Medical Faculty, Turkey. An awareness score was produced to measure awareness (cronbach alpha = 0.67). The 17.6% (26/148) of students who reported not knowing what synthetic cannabinoids were and hearing the name for the first time in this study. The 16.4% of students assumed that synthetic cannabinoid use was legal, and 16.2% assumed that synthetic cannabinoids are not drugs. The internet (including social media) (48.6%) and pharmacology lectures (40.5%) were identified as the most stated sources of information. The students who have synthetic cannabinoid user friends and social media account have significantly higher awareness scores (p < 0.05 for both). Last grade medical students have a lack of awareness towards synthetic cannabinoids which is an increasing threat that they have to challenge.