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In mild cases, it is difficult to diagnose pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI). There is no gold standard method for the diagnosis of PEI. A reliable method is needed for preliminary diagnosis of PEI. The PEI-TEST was applied to the patients with nonspecific gastrointestinal complaints. Serum amylase, lipase, serum trypsinogen, and fecal elastase 1 (FE-1) were analyzed from each patient. According to the PEI-TEST, PEI was present in 42 (47.7%) and PEI was not present in 46 (52.3%) patients. No significant difference was observed between the 2 groups with regard to age, gender and amylase, lipase, serum trypsinogen, and FE-1. When an FE-1 value of <200 µg/dL was considered as indicating PEI, the sensitivity and specificity of the test were found to be 47.4% and 52.2%, respectively. Although it is promising that PEI-TEST is a validated test in our country and suitable for our society, it is not suitable for pediatric patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: marine algae; marine flora; Mediterranean Sea; Turkey EN marine algae marine flora Mediterranean Sea Turkey 231 241 11 08/09/22 20220801 NES 220801 1 Introduction Turkey is washed by four seas of different oceanographic character (i.e., sea surface salinities in the Black Sea, the Marmara Sea, and on the coasts of the Aegean and the Levantine are 14-18, 20-24, and 35-38, respectively, and the corresponding temperatures are 8-11 °C, 10-12 °C, and 13-18 °C). Marine algae, marine flora, Mediterranean Sea, Turkey Taxonomy and distribution of Fucales (Phaeophyta) members on Aegean and Mediterranean coasts of Turkey. Graph: Figure 3: (a) Total taxa of marine macroalgae and (b) the relative contribution of different orders on the Aegean and the Levantine coasts of Turkey. The purpose of this paper is to present a current review of benthic marine algal species reported from the Aegean and Levantine coasts of Turkey, and also to report the occurrence of the marine red alga I Palisada maris-rubri i for the first time from the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. [Extracted from the article]

Aim: Chronic abdominal pain (CAP) in childhood is common and in the majority functional. While CAP is one of the complaints of coeliac disease (CD), whether CAP as a sole complaint is indicative of CD is unclear. Our aim was to evaluate the relationship between CAP and CD.Methods: The study was conducted on 1047 children (61.1% female, mean age 9.6 ± 4.1 years) with CAP. Patients were evaluated according to the Rome III criteria. Patients with alarm symptoms and conditions known to be associated with CD were excluded. Patients were screened for CD using a rapid tissue transglutaminase (tTG) test; positive cases were tested by tTG ELISA, and duodenal biopsies were obtained if tTG was above the normal limit.Results: Functional dyspepsia (FD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional abdominal pain (FAP) were diagnosed in 384 (36.7%), 274 (26.2%) and 389 (37.2%) patients, respectively. In 13 patients, the tTG rapid test was positive; 10 were also positive for tTG by ELISA and histopathological evaluations diagnosed CD in all 10 patients. The overall prevalence of CD was 0.95% (2.2%, 0.5% and 0.5% in patients with IBS, FD and FAP, respectively). The prevalence of CD in patients with IBS was higher than expected but with borderline statistical significance (P = 0.053).Conclusions: CD is found as common in children with FD and FAP as in the general population. CD was more commonly diagnosed in IBS patients with borderline statistical significance. We suggest that particular attention be paid to children with IBS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the most important problems for general surgeons is to decide what kind of operation should be applied to patients with intraabdominal infection, especially with concomitant abdominal hypertension. Lately, closing techniques by using prosthetic meshes in patients with abdominal sepsis and hypertension to retain abdominal tension and control sepsis became very popular. With this study, we aimed to present our experiences about the technique "Bogota Bag" method that is used as open abdomen or transient closing methods. Methods: Data of 40 patients who had been treated with Bogota Bag technique in Selçuk University Meram Medicine Faculty, General Surgery Clinic between March 2000 and December 2009 for intraabdominal infection (secondary peritonitis) were examined retrospectively. Results: 24 of the cases were male (60%) and 1 6 of them were female (40%). Mean ages were 51 .25 (43-71) for men and 60.66 (51-68) for women. The reasons for intraabdominal infection were late disseminated peritonitis after gastrointestinal perforation at 12 cases and postoperative peritonitis for 28 cases. Conclusion: Lots of surgical methods may be used together and consecutively for the control of intraabdominal infections at patients with secondy peritonitis causing intraabdominal sepsis. Considering that the intraabdominal pressure will increase when the abdomen is closed, the technique Bogota Bag which is a temporary closing method may be a good alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The EEI-c Index was tested to assess the impact in Turkish marine waters. • Pressures by using MA-LUSI index was tested along the Turkish coastline. • A negative linear relationship was found between MA-LUSI and EEI-c. • This study supports the use of the EEI-c index in Turkish coastal waters. Marine macrophytes (macroalgae and angiosperms) were defined as one of the biological quality elements to assess the ecological quality status of transitional and coastal waters by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC). In the present study, the Ecological Evaluation Index (EEI-c) was tested to assess the anthropogenic impact by using marine benthic macrophytes (macroalgae and angiosperms) and pressures by using MA-LUSI in the Turkish marine waters. Macrophyte samples were collected from 56 stations on the coasts of Turkey (at 17 Black Sea, 15 Marmara Sea, 13 Aegean Sea and 11 Mediterranean coastal water bodies) in the summer period between 2014 and 2016. In total, 209 marine macrophytes (macroalgae and angiosperms) taxa were found in all stations. The study revealed high ecological status class for 15 sites, good for 21 sites, moderate for 6 sites, poor for 10 sites, and bad for 4 sites. The MA-LUSI index was tested from the Corine land cover map which affects 1.5 km buffer zone around the sampling sites. The relationship between the pressure index MA-LUSI and EEI-c eqr (eqr: ecological quality ratio) was also tested, and a negative linear relationship was found between MA-LUSI and EEI-c eqr in the Turkish sites. The present study supports the use of the EEI-c index for ecological quality state classification in a wide area of Turkish coastal waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most appearing mesenchymal tumor of the gastrointestinal system. In this study, we are aiming to share the most up to date knowledge about diagnosis and treatment of these tumors by transferring our clinical experience about GISTs., Methods: The 151 patients who were operated between 2006-2020 and whose pathological examination was reported as GIST were analyzed retrospectively. Demographic, clinical, and pathological features and treatment methods of patients were evaluated., Results: Seeventy-six of the patients were women and 75 of them were men whose age averages were 66.1 (31-86). The most common location was the stomach (55.6%), followed by the small intestine, retroperitoneal, large intestine, rectum, esophagus, and another organ. With surgical intervention, 139 of them had been cured. Twelve of cases were accepted as inoperable. The diameter of tumors in our cases were between 0.4 cm and 35 cm. Determined mitotic activity was ≤ 5 in 71 patients and 5 < in 80 patients. In 8 of 12 unresectable cases, it has been seen that partial remission after the treatment of 12-month tyrosine kinase inhibitors, C-KIT, was positive in 96.7% of our cases. CD34 and Ki-67 was analyzed in patients. CD34 was found positive in 98 (64.9%) of them, Ki-67 was positive in 82 (54.3%) patients. Patients had been observed for 40 months., Conclusion: Despite GISTs are not appearing frequently, nowadays they have started to be seen more frequently than before with the growing present-day diagnostic methods. The ideal treatment is performing radical resection without leaving any tumor cells behind. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors have an important place in unresectable cases.

Background/aims: A liver transplant is the preferred treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease, as it usually results in longterm survival. However, due to the use of chronic immunosuppressive therapy, which is necessary to prevent rejection, de novo cancer is a major risk after transplantation. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of post-transplant malignancies in children after liver transplantations., Materials and Methods: The study group consisted of 206 liver transplant recipients, with no history of cancer, including hepatocellular carcinoma, in two liver transplantation centers in Turkey between 1997 and 2015. Data were obtained from patient's data chart., Results: In the study group, de novo cancer was diagnosed in 13 of the 206 patients. Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) occurred in seven (53.8%) patients and other malignancies in six of the 13 patients. The types of PTLD were as follows: B-cell origin (n=2), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-related (n=2), T-cell origin (n=1), and Hodgkin's lymphoma (n=2). EBV DNA was isolated from seven patients, three of whom developed PTLD. The others developed Kaposi's sarcomas, Burkitt's lymphomas, cutaneous large-cell lymphomas, Hodgkin's lymphomas, and liver sarcomas., Conclusion: After transplantation, immunosuppressive treatment is unavoidable, increasing the risk of malignancies. However, a close follow-up and periodic screening can reduce cancer-related mortality and morbidity.

The aim of the study was to analyze the accuracy of (i) HLA-DQ typing and anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies immunoglobulin A (tTG-IgA) serology and (ii) a "simple scoring system" (SSS) for the diagnosis of celiac disease (CD). The study included 91 patients with positive tTG-IgA, who had been tested for HLA-DQ. Patients were divided into 3 groups: typical CD, atypical CD, and non-CD. The sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV), positive (PLR) and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) and accuracy of the test combining genotyping and tTG-IgA positivity and the simple scoring system for the diagnosis of CD were evaluated. The combination of genotyping and strong tTG-IgA positivity had a sensitivity of 93.5%, specificity of 61.5%, PPV of 93.5%, NPV of 61.5%, PLR of 2.4, NLR of 0.1 and accuracy of 89% for "CD." SSS had a higher specificity (84.6%), higher PPV (97.3%), higher NPV (68.7%), higher PLR and higher accuracy (92.3%). The combination of genotyping and strong tTG-IgA positivity missed two patients with typical CD (4%) and three patients with atypical CD (10.7%). Two cases with malabsorptive symptoms (33.3%) and three patients without malabsorptive symptoms (42.8%) would have been misdiagnosed as CD if these tests were used. Intestinal biopsy is still mandatory for diagnosis of CD in Turkish children.