Anatolian Clinic Journal of Medical Science / Anadolu Kliniği Tıp Bilimleri Dergisi

137-142

Authors: Suleyman Bademler, Murat Sari

Aim: Cancer treatment is of special importance during pregnancy, concerning the health of both mother and baby. Treatment of pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC) has become even more important today because women tend to delay pregnancy to later ages and because of women who desire to conceive while under treatment for breast cancer. This retrospective study is aimed at investigating the clinical, radiological and histopathological characteristics and PABC treatment outcomes of patients who had long-term follow-up. Materials and Methods: Sixteen women diagnosed with PABC were included in this study. We evaluated the clinicopathological characteristics, gestational history, and survival outcomes of the patients who had been treated and followed up for breast cancer during pregnancy and the first postnatal year at Istanbul University Institute of Oncology in 2010–2017. Results: The median patient age was 32 (21–41) years. The median gestational week of diagnosis in pregnant patients was 26 (11–35) weeks while the mean time elapsed after delivery until diagnosis in postpartum patients was 9.3 (±3.6) months. The median follow-up time was 47.5 (5–99) months. The mean disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated because the median DFS and OS could not be computed. The mean OS and DFS values were 87.8±7.3 and 77.6±8.5 months, respectively. Discussion and Conclusion: Breast cancer in pregnancy is a special health condition that should be treated and followed up by a multidisciplinary team. Primary surgical intervention should not be delayed. While chemotherapy could be administered safely in the first and second trimesters, radiotherapy and targeted and endocrine treatments should be postponed until after delivery. Reporting and long-term follow-up of cases of pregnancy and cancer concurrence is essential for increasing the relevant knowledge.

147-150

Authors: Elif Ertan, Mustafa Doğan, Anar Alızada

Aim: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the results of conjunctivolimbal autograft surgery in patients with primary and recurrent pterygium.  Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent conjunctivolimbal autograft surgery for primary and recurrent pterygium at Ophthalmology Department of Afyon Kocatepe University Hospital between January 2012 and December 2016 were evaluated retrospectively. Results: A total of 130 patients were included. The pterygium was recurrent in 19 eyes of 18 patients while primary in 131 eyes of 112 patients. Of the patients operated, 64 were male and 66 female. The mean patient age was 62.60±1.16 (25–89) years. During the postoperative follow-up, suture-related inflammation was observed in 5 eyes (3.3%), dellen in 1 eye (0.66%) and pterygium recurrence in 6 eyes (3.9%). No other complication was observed. Discussion and Conclusion: Conjunctivolimbal autograft transplantation is an effective and safe method with low recurrence rates in treatment of primary and recurrent pterygium.

157-162

Authors: Adem Akkuş, Emel Çalışkan, Özge Kılınçel, Görkem Dülger

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial activity of extracts from the Istranca oak (Quercus hartwissiana Steven) against bacterial and fungal pathogens. Materials and Methods: Extraction of the Istranca oak was carried out with ethanol, formaldehyde, acetone, ethyl acetate, and methanol solvents. After injecting 50 μl of these extracts into sterile discs, the discs were dried in a sterile environment for 24 hours in order for the results not to be affected by the solvents present in the extracts. Antimicrobial activity against the species Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella spp., methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus spp., Candida albicans, Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis was investigated by disc diffusion method. Results: It was observed that the extract prepared with ethanol showed the widest zone diameter against Enterococcus spp. (8mm) and S. epidermidis (8mm), the extracts with formaldehyde and ethyl acetate against E. coli (16mm, 28mm), the extract with acetone against Enterococcus spp. (21mm), and the extract with methanol against methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (28mm). For the yeasts, the extract prepared with ethanol showed the widest zone diameter against C. glabrata (12mm), the extract with formaldehyde against C. albicans (28mm) and C. tropicalis (28mm), and the extracts prepared with acetone, ethyl acetate, and methanol against C. albicans (19mm, 30mm, 22mm). Discussion and Conclusion: It was determined that the extract prepared with ethyl acetate showed wider zone diameter against the strains studied, compared to extracts prepared with the other solvents. Given that the widest zone diameters were observed against the strains E. coli, S. aureus and C. albicans, we think that it is important to conduct in vivo antimicrobial studies on the inhibitory effects of the Istranca oak indigenous to our country.

173-176

Authors: Abdulhalim Şenyiğit

Aim: This study aims to compare type 2 diabetic patients with coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetic patients with nephropathy in terms of common carotid artery intima–media thickness. Materials and Methods: The study included type 2 diabetics with coronary artery disease (n=36) and type 2 diabetics without coronary artery disease but with complicating nephropathy (n=31). The right and left common carotid arteries were evaluated in terms of intima–media thickness by using B-mode ultrasonography. Other traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease were also evaluated. Results: Both right and left common carotid artery intima–media thicknesses were found to be significantly greater for the diabetics with concomitant coronary artery disease than for the diabetics with concomitant nephropathy only (0.99 mm vs 0.82 mm for the right and 1.07 mm vs. 0.92 mm for the left common carotid artery; p<0.05 for both). Other atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk factors (LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, diabetic age) were similar for both groups (p>0.05 for all). Discussion and Conclusion: Presence of coronary artery disease is an important indicator for concomitant cerebrovascular disease in type 2 diabetics.

183-185

Authors: Talya Akata Akıncıoğlu, Ülkü Küçük, Sümeyye Ekmekçi, Samir Abdullazade, Coşkun Yıldız

A 52-year-old female patient presented to our hospital with abdominal pain and fatigue. Endoscopy revealed a polypoid lesion in the stomach and gastric biopsy atypical cells in the lamina propria. The cells showed positive staining for melan-A and HMB-45 and negative staining for cytokeratin 7 and cytokeratin 20. The case was labelled as “consistent with malign melanoma (MM).” We reached the pathology report of the enucleation that the patient underwent two years ago, after which she was diagnosed with stage-pT1a “MM with epithelioid features,” localized in the right bulbus oculi. Systemic scanning also revealed metastatic masses in the liver. The possibility of MM that can mimic other pathologies clinically, endoscopically, and histopatholgically should always be considered in cases where the primary pathology is unknown.

189-194

Authors: H. Volkan Kara, Ezel Ersen, Mehlika Iscan, İsmail Sarbay, Merve Ekinci, Akif Turna

Pulmonary aspergilloma is one of the clinical conditions with high mortality and morbidity in immunosuppressed patients. Surgical resection has been the leading treatment option; however, surgical treatment involves some risk of local and systemic dissemination and there are also patients who are functionally inappropriate to be treated surgically. In this paper, we present two patients with bilateral PA who underwent surgical and antifungal treatment. Antifungal therapy with voriconazole that was successful for both of our patients might be a promising approach to a group of PA patients who are not appropriate for surgery.