Three patients discharged from palliative care unit with home-care ventilator

Palliative care is a type of care which helps patients and their relatives to cope with life threatening physical, psychological and emotional problems they face with in the terminal term conditions. Palliative care refers to the type of treatment that abates the symptoms and provides relief without medical cure. In this research, we aim at presenting three patients who are monitored with home-care ventilators in palliative care unit in our hospital.

Infraclavicular block and anesthesia management in two cases with Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare autosomal hereditary connective tissue disease. In live birth, the incidence ratio is reported as approximately 1:20,000 (1). Extremely fragile bones, other organ and body system disorders are prominent in such cases. There are few studies in the literature related to anesthesia for patients with OI. These reports are often written to emphasize the risk of iatrogenic trauma, coagulopathy risk and malignant hyperthermia (2). Peripheral blocks are some of the safest methods among anesthesia methods. Therefore, in cases of risky general anesthesia, it is a proper method of anesthesia. With the use of ultrasound (US) in peripheral blocks, the drug doses have been decreased, and it has become possible to make blocks by displaying the vascular structures (3). Although, in literature general and epidural anesthesia applications on patients with OI have been reported, peripheral block usage is very rare. In this article, we aimed to present infraclavicular block experiment, a method which we prefer due to its convenience and safety, in a case with osteogenesis imperfecta.

Two multiple sclerosis patients presented with dysphagia who underwent percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in palliative care center

Interaction between cardiovascular disease and periodontal health

Classification and current treatment options of endo-perio lesions

English Language Teaching within the New Educational Policy of Turkey: Views of Stakeholders

Teaching English to young learners has gained speed in the past twenty years. Many countries in Europe are offering English at the primary level as advised by the EU. The efforts to lower the age for foreign language learning have echoed in countries in Asia as well. Turkey as one of these countries has changed its educational policy in 2012 and launched the new English Language Teaching Program for grades 2-8 in 2013. Along with many changes, the new system offers EFL in the second grade. The present study not only aims to investigate the views of prospective ELT teachers towards this change, but also to compare their views with those of trainers, and English teachers who were investigated in the earlier phases of the study. The results indicate that although all three groups of participants favor an earlier start in foreign language education, there are significant differences between groups in terms of the appropriate starting time and teaching methodologies used. Teachers were indecisive as they favored both the first and second tiers to introduce a foreign language. The results have implications for policy makers, teachers, teacher trainers, and prospective teachers.

A Study on Using Serious Games in Teaching German as a Foreign Language

The interest in Digital Game-Based Language Learning (DGBLL) has increased considerably in recent years although being a relatively new approach. Despite the interest that DGBLL took, the studies in the context of German as a Foreign Language (FL) are quite limited. Moreover, DGBLL in the Turkish context is not prevalent. Due to this gap in the literature, a research project was launched at a big state university in Turkey in 2014 to explore the potentials and limitations of DGBLL. The study focuses specifically on serious games for FL teaching and learning. The aim of the project, in addition to the promotion of linguistic skills of the learners, is to contribute to the development of professional qualifications of the future FL teachers. The present research aims to report on the pilot study of the project. A one group pre-test post-test research design was used in the study. Quantitative data was collected via two opinion questionnaires implemented at the beginning and at the end of the process as well as a receptive vocabulary test. Qualitative data was collected via semi-structuted interviews and game diaries that participants kept. Two serious games for German was selected and used with traditional dictation, transcription and reading comprehension activities. The results of an 11-week gaming activity indicated significant differences between pre- and post-tests in vocabulary. Additionaly, age was found to be an important factor that affects participants’ attitudes towards serious games. The results indicate that the participants found game activities useful for the development of other language skills.

Effect of disease severity on upper extremity muscle strength, exercise capacity, and activities of daily living in individuals with pulmonary arterial hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease. Although muscle strength, exercise capacity, quality of life, and activities of daily living of patients with PAH are affected, it is not known how they are affected by disease severity. The purpose of the present study was to investigate effects of disease severity on upper extremity muscle strength, exercise capacity, and performance of activities of daily living in patients with PAH.

Subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients with severe aortic stenosis: A speckle tracking echocardiography study

In patients with aortic stenosis (AS), the left ventricular (LV) geometry changes due to the increased LV afterload. However, subclinical myocardial dysfunction can develop despite a normal LV ejection fraction (EF). This study was an investigation of subclinical LV systolic dysfunction in patients with severe AS with a normal LV EF using a strain imaging method, speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE), and an evaluation of its correlation with novel indices to assess the severity of AS.

Predictors of neurologically favorable survival among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A tertiary referral hospital experience

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