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M C Savas

Publications and source records attributed to M C Savas.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Fascioliasis: a report of five cases presenting with common bile duct obstruction.

Fascioliasis is a zoonotic infection caused by Fasciola hepatica. It is rarely seen with icterus caused by obstruction of the common bile duct. We report five patients with obstructive jaundice due to Fasciola hepatica, who were diagnosed and managed with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). All cases were admitted to hospital with complaints of icterus and pain in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen; their biochemical values were interpreted as obstructive jaundice. Ultrasound and computer tomography (CT) revealed biliary dilatation in the common bile duct, but did not help to clarify the differential diagnosis. ERCP showed the presence of Fasciola hepatica in the common bile duct. After removing the flukes, the symptoms disappeared and the biochemical values returned to normal. Biliary fascioliasis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of obstructive jaundice. This report confirms the diagnostic and therapeutic role of ERCP in patients with obstructive jaundice caused by biliary fascioliasis.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Frequency of hepatitis G virus and transfusion-transmitted virus infection in type II diabetes mellitus.

The hepatitis G virus (HGV) and transfusion-transmitted virus (TTV) are recently defined hepatitis viruses that the pathogenic roles in liver diseases are still not clear. It has been well known that some hepatitis virus, such as hepatitis C, might have an affinity to pancreatic islet cells. To investigate the relationship between the newly defined hepatitis viruses and diabetes mellitus (DM), we studied the prevalence of TTV and HGV in a type 2 diabetic patient population. Serum samples of 60 patients with DM and 45 healthy volunteers as control were taken. HGV RNA and TTV DNA was investigated by polymerase chain reaction. HGV was detected in none of diabetic patients (0%) and only one in control group (2.2%). However, TTV DNA was detected in 16 patients with DM (26%) and in five controls (11%). TTV was more prevalent in diabetic patients, but the difference between groups was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). These results revealed that TTV is more common in diabetic patients than in controls. At present, we don't know if this result is only a coincidence or a sign of potential association between TTV and DM. Further studies are certainly needed to elucidate a potential relationship.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Doxycycline-induced pill esophagitis.

Pill-induced esophagitis is a complication seen in patients who use certain medications such as tetracycline and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In this short report, we described five cases of doxycycline-induced esophagitis with endoscopic images. All of the patients were young or middle-aged women. Dysphagia or odynophagia with retrosternal pain were the main presenting symptoms in all cases. The observed injuries were at the middle third of esophagus with a normal surrounding mucosa. All patients had a history of swallowing the capsule with a small amount of water or in a recumbent position. Two patients with dysphagia were managed by intravenous fluid support and parenteral acid suppression. The symptoms were improved in 2-7 days after the ceasing of the drug and control endoscopies were completely normal in all cases after 3-4 weeks of admission. The drug-induced esophagitis is not rare with certain drugs and should be suspected in all patients presenting with chest pain and dysphagia. Physicians must warn the patients to take the pills and capsules with enough liquid and in the upright position.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2004

The influence of delay on perforation in childhood appendicitis. A retrospective analysis of 58 cases.

OBJECTIVE: Appendicitis is the most common non-traumatic surgical abdominal disorder in children aged 2-years or older. It is generally believed that delay in diagnosis and surgery of acute appendicitis is associated with a more advanced stage of disease and a higher morbidity. The aim of this retrospective study was to document the clinical features of acute appendicitis (AA), and to describe the factors associated with appendiceal perforation (AP) among children. METHODS: This study included 58 patients who underwent emergency appendectomy during the period January 1998 through to December 2002, Suleyman Demirel University Hospital, Isparta, Turkey. They were proven to have AA by operative findings and pathology reports, and were further included in this study. RESULTS: The preadmission delay which is mostly due to parents and post admission delay which is due to physicians other than pediatric surgeons were found as highly associative factors for AP. Perforation is unlikely in AA patients in the first 48-hours of the abdominal pain. CONCLUSION: Associated symptoms of the abdominal pain may cause delay to diagnosis. The children who have abdominal pain and associated symptoms should be consulted with a pediatric surgeon.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed2002

Prevalence of hepatitis G virus (HGV) infection in patients with chronic liver disease.

Hepatitis G virus (HGV) may cause acute and chronic infection in humans but its role in liver injury and chronic hepatitis is unclear. In this study, the prevalence of HGV was investigated in patients with chronic liver diseases in an endemic area of hepatitis B and C virus. Sixty patients with chronic liver diseases, 11 with hepatitis B virus, 44 with hepatitis C virus and 5 patients with hepatitis of unknown etiology and 60 healthy blood donors as the control were included in the study. HGV RNA was investigated by the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. HGV RNA was detected in none of the patients with chronic liver diseases (0%) and only one patient (1.6%) in the control group. There was no difference between the groups. This observation indicated that the prevalence of HGV is very low in patients with chronic liver diseases and healthy people in our geographical area. The role of this novel virus in the pathogenesis of chronic liver injury seems insignificant.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Elevated serum CA 125 concentration in patients with tuberculous peritonitis: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVES: High serum cancer antigen (CA) 125 levels have been shown to be present in patients with ovarian carcinoma, nongynecological cancers, and some benign diseases and have been used as a useful marker for monitoring patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. Although tuberculous peritonitis with elevated serum CA 125 levels is an important diagnostic problem because it may lead to misdiagnosis as ovarian carcinoma and unnecessary laparatomies, the levels of CA 125 in patients with tuberculous peritonitis has not been studied in detail. METHODS: Serum CA 125 levels in 11 consecutive patients (2 males, 9 females) with tuberculous peritonitis admitted to Hacettepe University and 20 healthy adult controls (7 males, 13 females) were studied. RESULTS: Serum CA 125 levels were found to be elevated in all patients with tuberculous peritonitis. The mean level in the study group was 316.6 IU/ml, whereas the level was 13.8 IU/ml in the control group (p < 0.0001). Serum CA 125 normalization showed a very close correlation with the response to antituberculous therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Tuberculous peritonitis must be considered in a differential diagnosis of patients with elevated serum CA 125 concentration. Correct diagnosis may prevent unnecessary laparatomies performed under the assumption of ovarian carcinoma, because it is cured completely by antituberculous therapy. Serum CA 125 level might be used as an effective marker in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with tuberculous peritonitis.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Serum tumor markers in chronic liver disease.

Tumor markers have been used for the evaluation of various malignancies though the existence of false positive results in some benign diseases is known. In this study, several established markers including carcinoembryonic antigen, alpha fetoprotein, beta human chorionic gonadotropin, ferritin, CA 19-9 and CA 125 were measured in 60 patients with chronic active hepatitis, 70 patients with cirrhosis and 40 normal subjects in order to evaluate the rate of false elevation of tumor markers in chronic liver disease. Prostate specific antigen and prostatic acid phosphatase levels were also measured in male patients and controls. Serum alpha fetoprotein levels were found elevated in 20% of patients with cirrhosis. The serum CA 19-9 level showed significant elevation in chronic active hepatitis (32%) and cirrhosis (44%). Increase in CA 125 concentration was also remarkable in chronic active hepatitis (23%) and especially in cirrhosis (74%). These results indicate that it is necessary to consider the presence of high false positivity rate of CA 19-9 and CA 125 during clinical interpretation of tumor markers in patients with chronic liver disease.

Adolescent↗