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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has had adverse effects in every field. One of the affected areas is organ supply and transplantation. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the pandemic period on the number of kidney transplants in 2019 and 2020 in countries with a population of 40 million and above. Material and Methods: We evaluated kidney transplants from living and deceased donors reported between 2019 and 2020 from the Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation (GODT). We obtained the number of kidney transplants in countries with a population of 40 million and over before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The total number of kidney transplants performed in 2019 and 2020 of countries with a population of 40 million or more, which sent data to the GODT database, were respectively: Sudan 313 and 139, Algeria 270 and 91, Argentina 1,675 and 854, Spain 3,423 and 2,702, Colombia 947 and 526, Republic of Korea 2,293 and 2,280, Italy 2,139 and 1,907, France 3,643 and 2,595, UK 3,649 and 2,567, Thailand 679 and 712, Germany 2,132 and 1,909, Iran 2,101 and 1,240, Turkey 3,863 and 2,498, Philippines 300 and 132, Ethiopia 35 and 8, Japan 1,913 and 1,697, Mexico 2,976 and 913, Russian Federation 1,473 and 1,124, Bangladesh 205 and 155, Nigeria 164 and 165, Pakistan 1,306 and 129, Brazil 6,298 and 4,830, United States 24,273 and 23,644, India 9,751 and 5,486, China 12,124 and 11,037. Conclusions: Compared to 2019, deceased and living kidney transplants increased only in Thailand in 2020, while kidney transplants in other countries have decreased. Countries where deceased kidney transplants increased in 2020, were Thailand, Korea, and the United States. Total kidney transplants in Turkey decreased by 35.4% in 2020 compared to 2019.

The 2020 data of the Turkish Society of Nephrology reveals that the number of patients receiving hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis treatment in Turkey is 63,945.1 According to the 2020 registered data of the Transplantation Dialysis Monitoring System (TDIS), the number of patients waiting for solid organs is 23,923. The number of organs used was 1,059 out of 1,391 brain death cases declared in 2020.2 While solid organ transplantation could be performed in 4.42% of the patients enrolled in TDIS, 95.58% could not. Insufficient organ supply in our country adversely affects patients waiting for organs. Our study aimed to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the distribution of brain deaths declared in our country by years.

Bu çalışmada, hastanemizde 01.01.2015-31.12.2017 tarihleri arasında beyin ölümü tanısı konan 48 olgunun kayıtları retrospektif incelenerek, beyin ölümü tanısı konan olguların demografik ve klinik özellikleri ile organ bağış oranları araştırıldı. Olgular ortalama 39.88±20.57 (1-84) yaşında olup, en sık iskemik veya hemorajik inme (%52.1) ve travma (%27.1) sonrası beyin ölümü gelişmişti. Yoğun bakım yatış ile beyin ölümü tanısı arasında geçen süre 35.15±33.58 saatti. Tüm olgulara apne testi yapılmış, 15 olguya (%31.25) ise destekleyici test uygulanmıştı. Yirmi olgunun ailesi (%41.7) organ bağışına olumlu yanıt vermişti. Yaş, cinsiyet, hastane yatış tanısı ve yoğun bakım yatış zamanı ile beyin ölümü saptanması arasında geçen süre aile bağış oranını etkilememişti (sırasıyla p = 0.796, p = 0.461, p = 0.078, p = 0.392). Aile onayı ile organ bağışı izni alınan 20 donörün 3’ünün organları tıbbi nedenlerle kullanılamamış, 17 donörden toplam 31 organ alınarak başka hastalara nakledilmişti. Hastanemizde organ bağış oranının aynı dönemdeki Türkiye ortalamasının (%26.4) üzerinde olduğunu, hastanın demografik verilerinin ve tanı için geçen sürenin bağış oranında etkili olmadığını saptadık.

“Transplantasyon’16” Kongre’sinde poster bildiri olarak sunulmuştur (13-15 Ekim 2016, Konya). Bu çalışmada Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi’nde değerlendirilen ve karaciğer nakli yapılan hastalardaki latent tüberküloz sıklığını ve tedavi durumlarını incelemeyi amaçladık. Son 2 yıl içerisinde karaciğer nakli amacıyla başvuran 16’sı kadın 60 hasta çalışmaya alındı. Yaş ortalaması 53,8 idi. Olguların değerlendirmesinde 39 olguda tüberkülin cilt testi (TCT) 5 mm ve üzerinde pozitif olarak değerlendirildi. Olguların 25’inde karaciğer nakli gerçekleşmişti. Bütün olgular Göğüs Hastalıkları Anabilim Dalı tarafından değerlendirilerek TCT pozitif olan olgulara izoniyazid profilaksisi önerildi. Tedavi önerilen olguların sadece 3 tanesinin ilacını kullandığı saptandı. Latent tüberküloz tedavisi başlanılması önerilen olguların sadece %8’inin tedavi aldığını saptadık. Latent tüberküloz tedavisi karaciğer nakli olan hastalarda TCT pozitifliği saptanması durumunda rehberler tarafından kuvvetle önerilmektedir. Olgularımızda bu çalışmayı yaparak uyum oranının çok düşük olduğunu saptadık. Düzenli takiplere gelen bu hastaların profilaksi tedavisini kullanmaları yönünde değerlendirilmesi gerekmektedir. We aimed to investigate the incidence and treatment status of latent tuberculosis in patients who underwent liver transplantation at Bursa Uludag University School of Medicine. Sixty patients (16 female) who were admitted for liver transplantation in the last 2 years were included in the study. The mean age was 53.8 years. Tuberculin skin test (TST) in 39 cases was found to be positive or greater than 5 mm. Liver transplantation was performed in 25 patients. All cases were evaluated by the Department of Chest Diseases and isoniazid prophylaxis was recommended to the patients who were positive for TST. It was determined that only 3 of the patients were treated with medication. We found that only 8% of the patients recommended to receive latent tuberculosis treatment. Latent tuberculosis treatment is strongly recommended by the guidelines in the presence of TST positivity in patients with liver transplantation. In this study, we found that the compliance rate was very low. Prophylaxis treatment should be considered in these patients who attend regular follow-up.

Objective: We aimed to compare the efficacies of ice, lidocaine- prilocaine mixture cream and the classical method in reduction of the pain observed during intravenous cannulation, which is the most frequently performed procedure in emergency departments and to define the most effective method. Material and Methods: One hundred-twenty patients who applied to the emergency department of Uludag University Faculty of Medicine were included in this presented study. Cannulations were performed after one minute application of ice package in the ice group. Patients who applied to emergency only for blood transfusion were chosen for the lidocaine-prilocaine group and their cannulations were performed at the 60 th minute of cream mixture application. Finally, no applications before cannulation were used for the control group. All cannulations were performed from antecubital region and 18 G cannula were used. Visual analog scale (VAS) and patient satisfaction were scored. Results: VAS scores for ice, lidocaine-prilocaine and control groups are 2.8±1.7, 4.1±1.8, 4.4±1.9, respectively. VAS score in the ice group was significantly lower than both lidocaine- prilocaine and control groups. In addition, there was no statistically significant difference between lidocaine- prilocaine and control groups. Conclusion: Ice application method before intravenous cannulation, in addition to its advantages such as being inexpensive, easy to obtain and apply, is more effective than lidocaine- prilocaine cream. (JAEM 2013; 12: 27-9)