Background: One of the most important factors in breast cancer (BC) mortality is treatment delay. The primary goal of this survey was to identify factors affecting the total delay time (TDT) in Turkish BC patients. Methods: A total of 1031 patients with BC were surveyed using a uniform questionnaire. The time between discovering the first symptom and signing up for the first medical visit (patient delay time; PDT) and the time between the first medical visit and the start of therapy (system delay time; SDT) were modelled separately with multilevel regression. Results: The mean PDT, SDT and TDT were 4.8, 10.5 and 13.8 weeks, respectively. In all, 42% of the patients had a TDT >12 weeks. Longer PDT was significantly correlated with disregarding symptoms and having age of between 30 and 39 years. Shorter PDT was characteristic of patients who: had stronger self-examination habits, received more support from family and friends and had at least secondary education. Predictors of longer SDT included disregard of symptoms, distrust in success of therapy and medical system and having PDT in excess of 4 weeks. Shorter SDT was linked to the age of >60 years. Patients who were diagnosed during a periodic check-up or opportunistic mammography displayed shorter SDT compared with those who had symptomatic BC and their first medical examination was by a surgeon. Conclusion: TDT in Turkey is long and remains a major problem. Delays can be reduced by increasing BC awareness, implementing organized population-based screening programmes and founding cancer centres.

Of 306 cases of typhoid enteric perforation, 267 were reviewed retrospectively to determine prognostic indices and therapeutic options influencing outcome. The morbidity and mortality rates were 55.4 and 28.5 percent respectively, and the median duration of hospitalization was 18 days. On the basis of these findings, a prospective series of 39 patients was studied. In the preoperative period, aggressive resuscitation and antibiotic therapy with a combination of chloramphenicol, ampicillin/sulbactam and ornidazole were administered. All patients were given total parenteral nutrition to provide adequate metabolic support in the postoperative period. The morbidity and mortality rates decreased to 25 and 10 percent respectively, and the median hospitalization time was 12 days. The results of this study suggest that aggressive resuscitation and a combined antibiotic regimen in the preoperative period, selected operative procedure and metabolic support decrease the morbidity and mortality of typhoid enteric perforation.

CRP levels increase with the severity of bacterial translocation in acute intestinal obstruction but do not permit discrimination between simple and strangulated intestinal obstruction.

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Background: A hyaluronic acid/carboxymethylcellulose (HA/CMC) membrane is an effective measure to prevent polypropylene mesh induced adhesions. We hypothesized that taurolidine 2% solution might be a cost-effective alternative to decrease adhesion formation. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four rats were randomized into three groups: mesh alone (group 1), mesh + taurolidine 2% (group 2), and mesh + HA/CMC (group 3). Polypropylene mesh (4 cm²) was used to repair surgically induced anterior abdominal wall defects. Taurolidine 2%or a HA/CMC membrane was used as an antiadhesive measure. The animals were sacrificed 6 weeks after the operation, and adhesions to the prosthetic material were evaluated with digital image analysis. Results: Group 1 (mesh alone) had the highest adhesion ratio (58.5 ± 4.8%) compared with groups 2 and 3 (p < 0.05). The differences between groups 2 (mesh + taurolidine 2%; adhesion ratio 42.9 ± 1.6%) and 3 (mesh + HA/CMC; adhesion ratio 40.3 ± 3.0%) were not significant (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The animals of both treatment groups (2 and 3) had lower adhesion ratios compared with the controls (group 1). In particular, the HA/CMC membrane did not present with a superior antiadhesive effect compared with taurolidine. Therefore, taurolidine is a cost-effective alternative to HA/CMC membranes when a polypropylene mesh is used in direct contact with the abdominal viscera.