Browsing by Author "Akarirmak, Ü"

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    Gastrointestinal side effect profile due to the use of alendronate in the treatment of osteoporosis
    Aki, S; Eskiyurt, N; Akarirmak, Ü; Tüzün, F; Eryavuz, M; Alper, S; Arpacioglu, O; Atalay, F; Kavuncu, V; Kokino, S; Kuru, O; Nas, K; Özerbil, Ö; Savas, G; Sendur, ÖF; Soy, D; Akyüz, G
    The aim of our study was to evaluate the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract side effect profile in 759 female patients that had taken alendronate (10 mg/day), for at least 6 months, for the treatment of osteoporosis, in relation to the safety of alendronate and the compliance of patients to its absorption rules. This study was a multicentered retrospective, clinical, non-placebo controlled, study of 759 female subjects carried out at 26 centres in 6 different regions of Turkey. The mean age of our patients was 62.6 +/- 8.6, with 51.2% in the age range 60 to 69 years. 158 patients (20.8%) were considered to have upper GI tract complaints with nausea as the most often encountered symptom. Of the subjects with upper GI tract complaints, 20% reported discontinued drug use, and 30% reported the requirement of an additional drug in order to abolish their complaints. Approximately 537 (71%) of the patients stated they had been given written information about the administration of the drug, and at least 93 patients (12%) and 73 patients (18.4%) acknowledged non compliance with the safety and absorption rules, respectively. In our study, no significant difference was found between the adherence to the safety measures and upper GI tract complaints (p>0.05), but that upper GI tract complaints were higher in patients taking additional medication to alendronate (p<0.05).
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    Prevalence of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Spondyloarthritis in Turkey: A Nationwide Study
    Tuncer, T; Gilgil, E; Kaçar, C; Kurtais, Y; Kutlay, S; Bütün, B; Yalçin, P; Akarirmak, Ü; Altan, L; Ardiç, F; Ardiçoglu, Ö; Altay, Z; Cantürk, F; Cerrahoglu, L; Çevik, R; Demir, H; Durmaz, B; Dursun, N; Duruöz, T; Erdogan, C; Evcik, D; Gürsoy, S; Hizmetli, S; Kaptanoglu, E; Kayhan, Ö; Kirnap, M; Kokino, S; Kozanoglu, E; Kuran, B; Nas, K; Öncel, S; Sindel, D; Orkun, S; Sarpel, T; Savas, S; Sendur, OF; Senel, K; Ugurlu, H; Uzunca, K; Tekeoglu, I; Guillemin, F
    Objectives: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthritis (SpA) in Turkey using the same telephone questionnaire developed for screening RA and SpA in France and used in Serbia and Lithuania. Material and methods: The study was performed in two steps. In step I, the French questionnaire was translated into Turkish and validated through a group of 200 patients (80 males, 120 females; mean age 44.0 +/- 13.1 years; range, 19 to 75 years) followed up at the rheumatology departments of University Hospitals in Antalya and Ankara. In step II, the validated Turkish questionnaire was administered face-to-face to randomly selected 4,012 subjects (1,670 males, 2,342 females; mean age 41.5 +/- 16.8 years; range, 16 to 97 years) by trained general practitioners across the country, in 25 provinces for case detection. The subjects who were suspected of having RA or SpA in accordance with the questionnaire were invited to the nearest university hospital for rheumatologic examination in order to confirm the diagnosis. Results: In step II, a total of 25 subjects (2 males, 23 females) were diagnosed as RA. The standardized RA prevalence for the general population of Turkey was calculated as 0.56% (95% confidence interval [CI]; 0.33-0.79), 0.10% (95% CI; -0.05-0.25) for males and 0.89% (95% CI; 0.51-1.27) for females. A total of 18 subjects (3 males, 15 females) were diagnosed as SpA. The standardized SpA prevalence for the general population of Turkey was 0.46% (95% CI; 0.25-0.67), 0.17% (95% CI; -0.03-0.37) for males and 0.65% (95% CI; 0.32-0.98) for females. The prevalence of RA was highest in the Northern region (2.00%) and the prevalence of SpA was highest in the Central region (1.49%). Conclusion: The prevalences of RA and SpA in Turkey are close to each other and there are significant inter-regional variations in prevalences of both RA and SpA.