Prognosis estimation under the light of metabolic tumor parameters on initial FDG-PET/CT in patients with primary extranodal lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas arising from the tissues other than primary lymphatic organs are named primary extranodal lymphoma. Most of the studies evaluated metabolic tumor parameters in different organs and histopathologic variants of this disease generally for treatment response. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of metabolic tumor parameters derived from initial FDG-PET/CT in patients with a medley of primary extranodal lymphoma in this study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: There were 67 patients with primary extranodal lymphoma for whom FDG-PET/CT was requested for primary staging. Quantitative PET/CT parameters: maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), average standardized uptake value (SUVmean), metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were used to estimate disease-free survival and overall survival. RESULTS: SUVmean, MTV and TLG were found statistically significant after multivariate analysis. SUVmean remained significant after ROC curve analysis. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated as 88% and 64%, respectively, when the cut-off value of SUVmean was chosen as 5.15. After the investigation of primary presentation sites and histo-pathological variants according to recurrence, there is no difference amongst the variants. Primary site of extranodal lymphomas however, is statistically important (p = 0.014). Testis and central nervous system lymphomas have higher recurrence rate (62.5%, 73%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: High SUVmean, MTV and TLG values obtained from primary staging FDG-PET/CT are potential risk factors for both disease-free survival and overall survival in primary extranodal lymphoma. SUVmean is the most significant one amongst them for estimating recurrence/metastasis.

Military Medical Students' Awareness and Practice Concerning Occupational Health and Safety.

This study aimed to investigate the awareness and practices of military medical students concerning occupational health and safety. In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire composed of 20 open- and closed-ended questions was administered to medical students of the Gulhane Military Medical Faculty (n = 754). The response rate of the questionnaire was 82.4% (n = 622/754). The mean age of the participants was 21.5 ± 1.84 years, and the majority of participants were male (94.1%). A substantial number of participants (41.1%) described their level of awareness and practice as "low/very low," although 95.0% and 76.7% of them had never acquired any occupational disease or had any work accidents, respectively. In total, 28.1% of all students had at least one vaccination, and 5th- and 6th-year students were 92 times and 63 times more likely to have been vaccinated than 1st-year students, respectively (odds ratio = 92.66, 95% confidence interval = 26.70-321.59; odds ratio = 63.01, 95% confidence interval = 17.96-221.01). The knowledge and practice level of medical students concerning occupational health and safety appeared to be increasing by the grades of medical faculty, however students expressed themselves as insufficient about their knowledge and practice level.

Ophthalmic pathologies in female subjects with bilateralcongenital sensorineural hearing loss.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The high prevalence of ophthalmologic pathologies in hearing-disabled subjects necessitates early screening of other sensory deficits, especially visual function. The aim of this study is to determine the frequency and clinical characteristics of ophthalmic pathologies in patients with congenital bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive study is a prospective analysis of 78 young female SNHL subjects who were examined at a tertiary care university hospital with a detailed ophthalmic examination, including electroretinography (ERG) and visual field tests as needed. RESULTS: The mean age was 19.00 ± 1.69 years (range: 15 to 24 years). A total of 39 cases (50%) had at least one ocular pathology. Refractive errors were the leading problem, found in 35 patients (44.9%). Anterior segment examination revealed heterochromia iridis or Waardenburg syndrome in 2 cases (2.56%). Dilated fundus examination revealed retinal pathologies in 15 cases (19.23%), including retinitis pigmentosa or Usher's syndrome in 8 cases (10.25%). Most of the Usher's syndrome cases (87.5%) had consanguinity. CONCLUSION: Screening for congenital SNHL in the early years of life and routine yearly follow-ups are essential for maximizing the rehabilitation of this disabled group. The high rate of visually debilitating syndromic ocular pathologies associated with high frequency of consanguinity doubles the importance.