Introduction Many studies determine different risk factors for sexual dysfunction (SD) in women, but little is known about the influence of socioeconomic and cultural factors, medical and psychological features on female SD frequency in patients under renal replacement therapy (RRT). Aim This study aimed to compare the relationship between medical, psychological, sociocultural-economic factors, and SD frequency in patients on RRT with the diagnosis of end-stage renal disease. Method The 115 RRT patients (hemodialysis [HD] 39, peritoneal dialysis [PD] 43, kidney transplant [KT] 33) and 103 healthy premenopausal female volunteers (control) without any known health problems were included in the study. Main Outcome Measures The questionnaire forms containing sociodemographic data, the hospital anxiety depression scale, and Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale were completely filled by subjects who were included in the study. Results There was no significant difference about mean age, dialysis duration, and body mass index between the groups. While there were significant differences among participants training period and employment conditions, socioeconomic status scores were similar. Significant differences were found in marriage type, marital duration, husband’s age, training period and working time per week, spending time with each other, weekly sexual intercourse frequency, the number of children, mothers’ and fathers’ education. RRT groups were more depressed than control, but no significant differences were observed among the RRT groups. PD and HD groups were more anxious than the KT and control groups. It was identified that SD rates were higher in KT and dialysis patients compared with the control. SD rates were significantly high in the HD group. Multivariate analysis showed that marital duration and being an HD patient are independent SD risk factors for RRT population. Conclusion Successful KT may improve SD. Differences in sociocultural, economic, medical, and psychological factors among individuals with SD should be taken into consideration in their treatment management.

The impact of inflammatory markers such as systemic immune-inflammation (SII) index and systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) on myelofibrosis (MF) prognosis was evaluated for the first time in this study. Data from 60 patients diagnosed with MF between March 2011 and September 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. In addition to disease-related markers, the impact of SII and SIRI on prognosis was evaluated. In our study, the overall median survival (OS) was 64 months. OS was significantly shorter in patients older than 65 years, with high ferritin and lymphocyte levels, transfusion dependence at diagnosis, platelet count below 100 × 109/L, Hb level below 8 g/dl, and high risk according to the dynamic international prognostic scoring system (DIPSS)-Plus score. When these variables were included in the multivariate Cox regression model, it was found that being older than 65 years, having a high ferritin value, being at high risk according to the DIPSS-plus score and Hb values below 8 increased the risk of death. Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and SII index were lower in patients with a fatal outcome. No statistically significant relationship was found between SIRI and mortality. The findings of this study showed that low PLR and high ferritin were associated with poor prognosis in MF. Elevated SII and SIRI, evaluated for the first time in patients with myelofibrosis, did not predict prognosis. Since non-inflammatory variables play a role in the pathogenesis of MF, bone marrow indicators and systemic inflammation indicators derived from hematologic parameters may not be accurate.

Background and Objective: Perianal pathologies are the most common cause of perianal infections in patients with hematological malignancies. Perianal infection diagnosis in this group of patients is difficult, thus careful anorectal examination is necessary, with imaging modalities. The literature revealed a knowledge gap on the approach of anal pathologies in patients with neutropenia during diagnosis or chemotherapy. This study aimed to examine our institutional data of perianal complications and investigate the relationship among the white blood cell-neutrophil count, perianal lesion, and the type of treatment in patients with hematologic malignancies during the neutropenic period. Methods: Patients with a hematologic malignancy, hospitalized for cytotoxic chemotherapy, complicated by perianal pathology, and documented by at least one imaging method were included in the study. Results: A total of 42 patients were included in the study. The comparison between the groups revealed no statistical significance between the anal abscess formation and the neutrophil count and previous perianal pathology. A statistical significance in favor of acute myeloid leukemia was found between patient diagnosis and anal abscess development. An inverse relationship was found between the number of white blood cells at hospitalization and having an anal pathology operation. It was observed that patients with high white blood cell count were less operated on due to anal pathology. Conclusions: In conclusion, this article has shown that white blood cell count at the time of hospitalization in patients with hematological malignancy, can affect the operation status of patients due to anal pathologies that may occur in the neutropenic period.

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Background: Dapsone is a second-line therapy for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). It is cost-effective, with a response rate comparable to other drugs used as second-line therapy, such as azathioprine, danazol, cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine, vincristine, rituximab, and eltrombopag. Material and Methods: This retrospective study analyzed ten adult patients who presented to our hematology division outpatient clinic between March 2013 and July 2021, was diagnosed with chronic/refractory ITP, did not respond to first-line therapy, and used dapsone. Results: Eight (80%) patients were female, and 2 (20%) were male. The median age was 50 (range, 24-64) years. The mean pre-treatment platelet value was 12.8x109/L (range: 4-22.1x109/L). The median duration of symptoms before dapsone treatment was 60 (6-360) months. The median number of treatments received before dapsone was 4 (range: 3-6). All patients were routinely treated with oral dapsone 50 mg for two weeks, followed by 100 mg. The median time to treatment response was 39 (range: 14-90) days. The response rate was 60% (complete response 40%, partial response 20%). Asymptomatic anemia was observed as a side effect in only one patient. Conclusions: Based on these results, it can be speculated that dapsone is an effective, inexpensive, and well tolerated treatment option. Considering the economic status of developing countries, it seems very attractive to use dapsone as the second-line therapy for chronic/refractory ITP. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in Turkey on the use of dapsone for chronic/refractory ITP.