Browsing by Author "Kokino, S"

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    Lumbosacral transitional vertebral articulation
    Pekindil, G; Sarikaya, A; Pekindil, Y; Gültekin, A; Kokino, S
    It has been suggested that low back pain (LBP) may arise from lumbosacral transitional vertebral articulation (LSTVA) itself. It is known that bone scintigraphy is a valuable tool for the recognition of pain arising from bone and articular diseases. Therefore we aimed to show planar and SPELT bone scintigraphic findings of LSTVA and compare them with the LBP and X-ray findings. Twenty-eight patients (aged 20-63 years) in whom LSTVA had been identified radiographically were evaluated with planar bone scintigraphy, utilizing Tc-99m methylene diphosphonate; and single photon emission computed tomography (SPELT) bone scintigraphy. Eighteen patients had LBP whereas 10 had not. There were 25 type IIA, one type IIB and two type IIIA LSTV articulation. On planar images, normal or non-focal minimally increased uptake superimposed on the upper sacroiliac joint was seen in patients without degenerative changes regardless of LBP whereas SPELT showed non-focal mild increased uptake on the area medial to the upper sacroiliac joint. Planar scans showed normal to non-focal mild, and mild-to-moderately increased uptake whereas SPELT demonstrated focal mild-to-moderately and markedly increased uptake in patients with degenerative changes without LBP and with LBP, respectively. The X-ray results showed an association of LBP degenerative changes, and the SPELT results showed a focal, markedly increased, uptake. We conclude that this focal, markedly increased, uptake may show the metabolically active degenerative changes of LSTV articulation and may help to reveal the pain arising from LSTVA. Therefore we propose that bone scintigraphy may be considered for the evaluation of patients with LBP thought to arise from LSTV articulation. ((C) 2004 Lippincott Williams Wilkins).
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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.