Browsing by Author "Mihciokur, Sare"

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Emergency Department Visits After Kidney, Liver, and Heart Transplantation in a Hospital of a University Turkey: A Retrospective Study
(2019) Mihciokur, Sare; Dogan, Gulser; Kocalar, Gulsun; Erdal, Rengin; Haberal, Mehmet; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7660-8790; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9107-482X; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7329-7576; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3462-7632; 30777572; AAK-1753-2021; ABA-4246-2021; AAK-2334-2021; AAJ-8097-2021
Objectives: In our country, there are few publications evaluating emergency department visits among kidney, liver, and heart transplant recipients. Here, we examined emergency department visits of transplant recipients after initial hospital discharge following organ transplant performed in a medical faculty hospital in Ankara, Turkey. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed hospital records of 1144 transplant recipients (700 kidney, 332 liver, and 112 heart) who underwent living-donor and deceased-donor organ transplant procedures in a university hospital between 2007 and 2017 and were admitted to the emergency department during the same period. Results: The study population (1144 organ transplants) consisted of kidney (61.2%), liver (29.0%), and heart (9.8%) transplant recipients. Among them, 67.9% of kidney transplant recipients and 62.0% of liver transplant recipients were male, whereas 65.2% of heart transplant recipients were female. Average ages were 32.8 +/- 15.5, 24.26 +/- 21.6, and 29.9 +/- 18.7 years, respectively. Among all groups, 41.4% visited the emergency department within 2 years after transplant. Median time to emergency department visit for kidney, liver, and heart transplant recipients was 4.7 months, 3.5 months, and 11.5 months, respectively. Emergency department admissions were due to complaints of abdominal/pelvic pain, fever, nausea/vomiting, hypertension, and nonspecific chest pain. Among all groups, the main diagnoses were most commonly classified by fluid and electrolyte disorders, abnormal results of renal function, urinary tract infections, and acute respiratory infections. One-third of patients were hospitalized. Conclusions: Nearly one-quarter of kidney transplant recipients, one-fifth of liver transplant recipients, and one-tenth of heart transplant recipients visited the emergency department within 30 days of transplantation. Considering that one-third were rehospitalized, the recipients could be targeted for better transitions of care and for earlier or more frequent outpatient follow-up and also be informed about what symptoms are not normal and in which situations they should seek emergency care.
The unmet need for safe abortion in Turkey: a role for medical abortion and training of medical students
(2015) Mihciokur, Sare; Akin, Ayse; Dogan, Bahar Guciz; Ozvaris, Sevkat Bahar; 25702066
Abortion has been legal and safe in Turkey since 1983, but the unmet need for safe abortion services remains high. Many medical practitioners believe that the introduction of medical abortion would address this. However, since 2012 there has been political opposition to the provision of abortion services. The government has been threatening to restrict the law, and following an administrative change in booking of appointments, some hospital clinics that provided family planning and abortion services had to stop providing abortions. Thus, the availability of safe abortion depends not only on permissive legislation but also political support and the ability of health professionals to provide it. We conducted a study among university medical school students in three provinces on their knowledge of abortion and abortion methods, to try to understand their future practice intentions. Pre-tested, structured, self-administered questionnaires were answered by 209 final-year medical students. The students' level of knowledge of abortion and abortion methods was very low. More than three-quarters had heard of surgical abortion, but only 56% mentioned medical abortion. Although nearly 90% supported making abortion services available in Turkey, their willingness to provide surgical abortion (16%) or medical abortion (15%) was low, due to lack of knowledge. Abortion care, including medical abortion, needs to be included in the medical school curriculum in order to safeguard this women's health service. (C) 2015 Reproductive Health Matters