Kezban Özmen Süner

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. DESIGN Case series. SETTING School of Medicine, Düzce University, Turkey. PATIENTS Twenty-one consecutive primary open-angle glaucoma patients (12 females and 9 males) who attended the out-patient clinic of the Department of Ophthalmology between July 2007 and February 2008 were included in this study. All patients underwent polysomnographic examination. RESULTS The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome was 33.3% in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma; the severity of the condition was mild in 14.3% and moderate in 19.0% of the subjects. The age (P=0.047) and neck circumference (P=0.024) in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome were significantly greater than those without the syndrome. Triceps skinfold thickness in glaucomatous obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome patients reached near significance versus those without the syndrome (P=0.078). Snoring was observed in all glaucoma cases with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. The intra-ocular pressure of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome was significantly lower than those without obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (P=0.006 and P=0.035 for the right and left eyes, respectively). There was no significant difference in the cup/disc ratio and visual acuity, except visual field defect, between primary open-angle glaucoma patients with and without obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. CONCLUSIONS Although it does not provide evidence for a cause-effect relationship, high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma in this study suggests the need to explore the long-term results of coincidence, relationship, and cross-interaction of these two common disorders.

The Evaluation of Family Physicians’ Knowledge on the Use of Inhalation Devices

INTRODUCTION Inhalation of drug plays an important role in the management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). Therapeutic drug directly reaches the lungs through inhalation therapy. Thus, compared to systemic treatment, inhalation therapy provides more rapid and more efficient treatment at lower doses and causes less systemic side-effects (1). Despite this, asthma and COPD attacks can occur in many patients, and a complete control cannot be obtained. Some of the important reasons for this situation are inconsistencies and errors in the usage of inhalers (2-4). Various usage techniques are available for inhalation treatment and new devices are continuously developed. In the studies evaluating whether different inhaler devices are used properly by patients, the rates of correct usage was found to be low (5, 6). Hacıevliyagil et al. (7) conducted a study with patients who had previously used metered-dose inhaler (MDI), turbuhaler, and discus devices; they found that patients could not effectively use these three devices. None of the three inhaler devices were observed to be superior in terms of treatment. This shows that the correct usage of inhaler device is more efficient than the type of the device in treatment. The most effective way of preventing incorrect usage is to provide adequate education on how to use the inhaler devices. Moreover, controlling the patients’ usage of inhaler devices at certain intervals will reduce the rate of incorrect usage. Asthma and COPD, which are important in public health because of their high morbidity and mortality rates, are also frequently encountered by family physicians in their daily practices (8). Therefore, family physicians in primary health care facilities where asthma and COPD patients visit frequently are allocated significant responsibilities. This study was planned for evaluating the knowledge of family physicians on the usage of inhaler devices and for creating awareness on the issue during evaluation. Received Date: 15.01.2015 Accepted Date: 30.04.2015 Available Online Date: 04.06.2015

Relationship between Respiratory Tract Complaints, Functional Status, and Smoking in Hairdressers, Auto Painters, and Carpenters

Background and Aim. It was observed that occupation and smoking increased each others effects on the development of airway diseases. We aimed to search the relationship between respiratory symptoms, smoking, and occupation. Materials and Methods. 225 employees in Düzce, Turkey, were applied a survey questioning respiratory complaints, pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and cotinine measurements in urine. Results. Cough (26.7%), phlegm (30.7%), and chest tightness (21.3%) were encountered more in carpenters compared to other groups and phlegm was statistically higher at significant level compared to other groups. The complaints of cough (30.4%), phlegm (27.4%), and chest tightness (21.5%) were significantly higher in individuals whose cotinine level was above 500 ng/mL and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio, maximum midexpiratory flow rate (MMFR) values were significantly lower. Dyspnea complaint of auto painters whose cotinine level was below 500 ng/mL was significantly higher and also expected MMFR% value of this group was significantly lower compared to other groups. While age had independent effect on respiratory function tests, type of the job was found to be independently effective on MMFR. Conclusion. Smoking increases respiratory complaints of employees. In auto painters, the occupation causes airway disease regardless of smoking.