It is considered that this semi-quantitative method may have added value in early diagnosis, appropriate treatment decisions and follow-up when taken into account together with risk factors associated with pulmonary damage in RA.

IntroductionApproxiamately 70-80% of patients receiving chemotherapy experience nausea and/or vomiting. However, emesis, nausea and vomiting significantly affect patients quality of life and can lead to poor compliance with further treatment. They can also cause metabolic imbalances, nutrient depletion, anorexia, decline of the patient's performance status and even withdrawal from curative anticancer treatment. There are several factors affecting the severity and incidence of emesis and vomiting, including type of chemotherapy, dosage, schedule and even individual patient variability (1-3).Vomiting is triggered by impulses to the vomiting center from the chemoreceptor trigger zone, pharynx, gastrointestinal tract and cerebral kortex. The principal neuroreceptors involved in emetic response are dopamine and the seratonin receptors. The others are, corticosteroid, histamine, cannabinoid, acetylcholine and neurokinin-1 (NK-1) receptors. Antiemetics can block different neuronal pathways and exert their effects at different points during emesis course (4).Aprepitant (AP) is a selective NK-1 receptor blocker that blocks the binding of substance -P at the NK-1 receptor in the central nervous system. It differs from the other antiemetics by augmenting the antiemetic activity of the 5-HT3-receptor anatagonists and dexamethasone to inhibit both acute and delayed cisplatin-induced emesis. However, most of the studies, including two phase III studies evaluated the efficieny of aprepitant by self-diary reports and reported only the incidence and severity of emesis. It is also commonly claimed that the nausea and vomiting accompanying cytotoxic chemotherapy have a negative impact on quality of life but there is little empirical data demonstrating that the failure to control postchemotherapy emesis affects aspects of quality of life other than directly related physical symptoms (5, 6). ABSTRACTObjective: Functional Living Index Emesis (FLIE) is developed to evaluate the relationship between emesis and it's effects on patient's daily life and is far more relevant to detect the effectiveness of antiemetic treatment compared with self-diary reports. In this study, the efficacy of oral neurokinin-1 antagonist aprepitant on the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and quality of life is evaluated with FLIE.Study Design: Cross sectional study. Material and Methods:Sixty patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) receiving a chemotherapy regimen consisting of Cisplatin and Docetaxel were evaluated. The patients were prospectively randomized to two groups before the first cycle of chemotherapy. Patients in Group A (31 patients) received 3 daily doses of aprepitant along with oral ondansetron and dexamethasone. The patients in group B (29 patients) received only ondansetron and dexamathasone. The efficacy of both regimens was evaluated by a modified Turkish version of FLIE scale consisting of 18 questions. Results:The number of patients with complete response was 31 in the whole group. Of these 18 patients (58%...

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Background Coexistence of dilating venous diseases in different vascular territories has raised the idea that they have similar vascular wall abnormality in their evolutionary process. Accordingly, we aimed to evaluate venous leg symptoms in patients with hemorrhoidal disease (HD) by means of VEINES-Sym questionnaire. Materials and methods The study involved 249 consecutive patients who underwent colonoscopy and met the inclusion criteria. Presence and grading of HD were made according to Goligher’s classification. All patients were examined for the existing of varicose vein and classified in respect of CEAP classification. All participants were requested to answer the VEINES-Sym questionnaire. Results There was not statistically significant differences between the patients without HD (grade 0 or I) and with HD (Grade II or III) in respect to clinical characteristics except female predominance in hemorrhoid group (p = 0.07). Scores of heavy legs, swelling, burning sensation, restless leg, throbbing, tingling, and total VEINES score were significantly lower (ie: worse) in hemorrhoid group. Logistic regression analysis revealed that female gender and total VEINES score were independently associated with HD (OR: 2.03, 95% CI: 1.17-3.52, p = 0.01; OR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.92-0.99, p = 0.02, respectively). Among all venous leg symptoms, severity of heavy legs, night cramps, swelling and aching were significantly correlated with the grades of HD. Conclusion We have shown significant association between the HD and venous leg symptoms reflected by total VEINES score and significant correlation between the HD grade and venous leg symptoms severity including heavy legs, swelling, night cramps and aching legs.