Relationship of anxiety and burnout with extrasystoles in critical care nurses in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between levels of anxiety and burnout and prevalence of atrial extrasystoles (AESs) and ventricular extrasystoles (VESs) among critical care nurses. METHODS: The sample of study included 51 nurses who worked in the intensive care units of a university hospital located in western Turkey. Beck's Anxiety Inventory and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were used in the study. RESULTS: The mean emotional exhaustion score of the nurses was 14.68±6.10, the mean personal accomplishment score was 19.19±7.08, the mean depersonalization score was 5.31±3.84 and the mean anxiety score was 12.37±11.12. The rates of VESs and AESs detected in the critical care nurses were 21.6% and 35.3%, respectively. No relationship was found between levels of anxiety and burnout and the prevalence of AESs and VESs among the critical care nurses. A positive correlation was found between personal accomplishment scores and numbers of VESs (r= 0.693, p=0.001) and AESs (r= 0.700, p= 0.001). CONCLUSION: In the present study, there were low mean scores of burnout and anxiety among nurses working in intensive care units. No relationship was found between levels of anxiety and burnout and the prevalence of AESs and VESs among nurses who work in intensive care units. It was found that the people feeling more personal accomplishment have more VES or AES. The prevalence of AESs and VESs among the critical care nurses suffering from burnout and anxiety may be studied in the future studies.

Comparative Efficacy of Red Beetroot Extract and Ozonated Olive Oil on Wound Healing in Rats.

OBJECTIVE: To compare and assess the effect of red beetroot extract and ozonated olive oil on wound healing in rats. STUDY DESIGN: Experimental study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Experimental Animal Research Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Aydin Adnan Menderes University, from June to July 2021. METHODOLOGY: Twenty-one, female Wistar albino rats were divided into 3 groups; red beetroot extract group (RBG, n=7), ozonated olive oil group (OOG, n=7), and physiological saline group (CG). Three round wound areas of similar shapes were produced on the back areas. Skin incisions with a diameter of 15 mm were made in rats with a scalpel under anaesthesia protocol. Beetroot extract was applied to RBG, ozonated olive oil to OOG, and saline to CG, once a day for 21 days. Tissue samples were taken from the wounds on the 3rd, 10th, and 21st day of the study, and a histopathological examination (Hematoxylin eosin staining) was performed for haemorrhage, congestion, necrosis, inflammation and fibrosis levels. Wound healing was also determined macroscopically by photography on same days. Serum oxidant (TOS, µmol H2O2 equivalents/L), antioxidant status (TAS, mmol trolox equivalents/L), serum total thiol (µmol/L), serum native thiol (µmol/L) and paraoxonase (PON, U/L) were determined from blood samples on the 21st day. RESULTS: Lower inflammation and higher blood antioxidant levels were determined in the RGB and OOG groups compared to the CG. A better wound healing on histology was observed in the OOG group compared to RGB. CONCLUSION: Red beetroot extract and ozonated olive oil enhanced wound healing in female rats. Ozonated olive oil had more effective wound-healing effect than beetroot extract. KEY WORDS: Wound healing, Ozonated olive oil, Red beetroot extract, Antioxidant effect.

Evaluation of Cognitive Functions of Individuals Older Than 65 With Diagnosis of Diabetes.

This study was conducted in order to examine the level of cognitive function of individuals ≥65 years of age with diabetes. The cross-sectional descriptive design was used. The research was carried out in the diabetes polyclinic of a university hospital between June 2016 and January 2018. The study sample consisted of 91 patients. Data were collected with the scale of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The average score of the patients in the MoCA Scale was found to be 19.61 ± 1.70 (min: 15, max: 26). Diabetes is a risk factor for cognitive dysfunction for individuals above 65 years of age. Health professionals regularly monitor the cognitive functions of diabetic patients and use the MoCA scale in these follow-up and plan training and counseling initiatives according to their needs.

Relationships between social support and social image concerns in Turkish women with breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer types in women and is amongst the most devastating and stressful events in the life of women. The external appearance of breast cancer patients usually changes due to the surgical and/or medical therapies used. An association may be found between social support perception and social appearance anxiety in patients with breast cancer in the period after mastectomy. Therefore, this study investigated the social appearance anxiety and social support status in women with breast cancer in our country. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in breast cancer patients undergoing treatment or follow-up in Medical Oncology and General Surgery departments. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 51.13 ± 8.48 years (range, 24-74 years) with nearly half of the patients (40.6%) aged 40-50 years. Of the patients, 39.1% had stage 3 breast cancer. The mean score on Cancer Patient's Social Support Scale (CPSSS) was 134.85 ± 9.35, and there was a significant difference in CPSSS total scores between the age groups, educational levels, self-reported income levels and stage of disease (p<0.05). The mean Social Image Anxiety Scale (SIAS) score was found to be 34.30 ± 9.35 (min:16, max:66) in women participating in this study. The CPSSS and SIAS scores of the participants were inversely correlated, and the SIAS score was found to decrease with the increasing CPSSS score but with no statistically significant difference (r=-0.110, p=0.217). CONCLUSIONS: Social appearance anxiety is higher in the patients with poor social support.