Browsing by Author "Kurtais, Y"

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    2017 update of the Turkish League Against Rheumatism (TLAR) evidence-based recommendations for the management of knee osteoarthritis
    Tuncer, T; Cay, FH; Altan, L; Gurer, G; Kacar, C; Ozcakir, S; Atik, S; Ayhan, F; Durmaz, B; Eskiyurt, N; Genc, H; GokceKutsal, Y; Gunaydin, R; Hepguler, S; Hizmetli, S; Kaya, T; Kurtais, Y; Saridogan, M; Sindel, D; Sutbeyaz, S; Sendur, OF; Ugurlu, H; Unlu, Z
    In a Turkish League Against Rheumatism (TLAR) project, evidence-based recommendations for the management of knee osteoarthritis (OA) was developed for the first time in our country in 2012 (TLAR-2012). In accordance with developing medical knowledge and scientific evidence, recommendations were updated. The committee was composed of 22 physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists (4 have rheumatology subspeciality also) and an orthopaedic surgeon. Systematic literature search were applied on Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane and Turkish Medical Index for the dates between January the 1st 2012 and January the 29th of 2015. The articles were assessed for quality and classified according to hierarchy for the level of evidence, and the selected ones sent to committee members electronically. They were asked to develop new recommendations. In the meeting in 2015, the format of the recommendations was decided to be patient-based and considering the grade and the severity of the disease. By the discussion of the each item under the light of new evidences, the final recommendations were developed. Each item was voted electronically on a 10-cm visual analogue scale (VAS) and the strength of recommendation (SoR) was calculated. In the light of evidences, totally 11 titles of recommendations were developed; the first 7 were applicable to each patient in every stages of the disease, remaining were for defined specific clinical situations. The mean SoR value of the recommendations was between 7.44 and 9.93. TLAR-2012 recommendations were updated in a new format. We think that, present recommendations will be beneficial for the physicians who manage, as well as the patients who suffer from the disease.
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    Evidence-Based Recommendations for the Management of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Consensus Report of the Turkish League Against Rheumatism
    Tuncer, T; Çay, HF; Kaçar, C; Altan, L; Atik, OS; Aydin, AT; Ayhan, FF; Yanik, BÇ; Durmaz, B; Eskiyurt, N; Genç, H; Kutsal, YG; Günaydin, R; Hepgüler, S; Hizmetli, S; Kaya, T; Kurtais, Y; Ölmez, N; Saridogan, M; Sindel, D; Tur, BS; Sütbeyaz, S; Sendur, ÖF; Ugurlu, H; Ünlü, Z
    Objectives: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common disease which causes pain, disability and great socioeconomic burden as a result. Turkish League Against Rheumatism (TLAR) initiated a project to prepare national, evidence-based recommendations for the management of knee osteoarthritis supported by expert-opinion in order to assist the physicians who are interested in knee OA in their daily clinical practice. Materials and methods: The expert committee was composed of 25 academicians, 23 of whom were physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) specialists (three also had rheumatology subspeciality) and two were orthopedic surgeons. At the first meeting, the previous guidelines were discussed, and 2008 Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) recommendations were decided to be taken as the fundamental template for national recommendations. Databases of the Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane, and Turkish Medical Index were used to search the literature, and this was carried out for the period between 2009-2010 for international publications since studies up to 2009 were present in the 2010 OARSI update. No limit was applied for searching of national publications. The selected relevant publications were graded according to evidence level and quality, and were sent to the members who were then asked to suggest propositions according to their experiences, knowledge, and review of the literature. After amalgamation and editing of new proposals, Delphi rounds were started. After five Delphi rounds, the propositions on which the members were in consensus, were discussed with regard to evidence and the strength of recommendation was determined by measuring on visual analog scale (VAS) for each proposal at the final meeting. Results: Nineteen propositions (one for general principles, nine for non-pharmacologic treatments, seven for pharmacologic treatments, and two for surgical treatments) were accepted as the TLAR Evidence-Based Recommendations for the Management of Knee OA in consensus as a result of Delphi rounds. Conclusion: Evidence-based recommendations for the management of knee OA were developed by TLAR for the first time in our country. The recommendations should be updated regularly according to new evidence and insights. It is expected that physicians who are interested in knee OA will benefit greatly from this report in their daily clinical practice.
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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.