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Sleep problems may have negative effects on work–life balance, overall health, and safety. We aimed to investigate the association between sleep disorders and absenteeism and delay to work (being late or tardy) among the working adult population. The study was conducted by using data from a large survey of working adults who participated in the Turkish Adult Population Epidemiology of Sleep Study (TAPES) managed by Turkish Sleep Medicine Society (TSMS). Secondary analyses was employed to examine absenteeism and delay to work and their associations with sleep problems, including sleepiness by Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), parasomnias, sleep apnea (by Berlin Questionnaire), sleep quality (by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and restless leg. History of any absenteeism and delay to work was observed in 276 (18%) and 443 (29%) out of 1,533 working adults, respectively. In the multivariate analyses, absenteeism was associated with younger age, female gender and poor sleep quality, while delay to work was associated with younger age, poor sleep quality, parasomnia, and sleepiness. In the presence of absenteeism and delay to work, sleep disorders including sleepiness, poor sleep quality, and parasomnia should be considered. Such evaluation may improve worker well-being and provide some additional benefits in terms of increasing productivity and lowering work-related costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the time which elapsed from the clinical diagnosis of brain death (BD) until the confirmation report on organ donation rates in a general intensive care unit of a training hospital in Izmir. Materials and Methods: The characteristics of cases diagnosed as brain death in the intensive care unit of a training hospital between 01.01.2007 and 31.12.2008 were evaluated retrospectively. Demographic and clinical features, the time which elapsed from the clinical diagnosis until confirmation report, rates of acceptance and decline, factors affecting these decisions[sic] and the characteristics of patients' relatives were recorded. Cases whose relatives accepted and refused organ donation were compared according to these variables. Results: From the 1759 patients followed up in the ICU during the study period, 48 were diagnosed as brain death. Median age was 48 (33-62) years. The etiologies of BD diagnosis were medical causes in 29 cases and traumatic causes in 19 cases (13 due to traffic accidents). Twenty nine patients (60%) were referred to the ICU from the emergency room, 11 patients (23%) from another center and 8 (17%) from within our hospital. Forty-two patients (88%) needed inotropic or vasopressor agents. Acceptance rate of organ donation was 69% in 33 cases. The median time to confirmation reporting from clinical diagnosis was 6 (5-16) hours in patients whose relatives accepted donation and 22 (60-90) hours in those whose relatives refused donation (p=0.03). The median time from reporting to harvesting was 5(3-7) hours. Median 4(3-5) organs were harvested and used for transplantation. The effect of the organ transplant coordinator was predominant in 64% of relatives who agreed to donate. The main cause of refusal was religious factors in 87%. Conclusion: The awareness of intensive care workers of potential donors, maximum effort spent to shorten the time up to reporting after clinical diagnosis and requests to the family made by a trained and experienced organ transplant coordinator may increase the low donation rates in our country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Non-thyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS) is considered to be associated with adverse outcomes in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. In this study, we evaluated the association between NTIS and prolonged weaning in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients admitted to the ICU., Materials and Methods: In total, 125 patients with COPD admitted to our ICU who underwent invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) were enrolled. We collected each patient's baseline characteristics including Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, body mass index (BMI), and thyroid hormones 24 h after ICU admission. The presence of pulmonary infection was also recorded. The primary outcome was prolonged weaning, defined as patients who failed at least three weaning attempts or required > 7 days of weaning after the first spontaneous breathing trial., Results: Of the 127 patients studied, 64 had normal thyroid function tests and 61 had NTIS. Patients with NTIS had significantly higher APACHE II scores, prolonged weaning, and pulmonary infection. Patients with NTIS had a higher risk for prolonged weaning (odds ratio, OR = 3.21; 95% CI = 1.31-7.83).The presence of pulmonary infection was also an independent risk factors for prolonged weaning., Conclusions: NTIS may be an independent predictor for prolonged weaning in intubated COPD patients.