Ersin Nazlıcan

Bio: Ersin Nazlıcan is an academic researcher from Çukurova University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Medicine & Cancer. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 36 publications receiving 163 citations.

Etiological and demographical characteristics of acute adult poisoning in Adana, Turkey

Abstract: The objective of this study is to define the etiological and demographical characteristics of the patients applying to the emergency department in Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University because of poisoning. This retrospective study was carried out by examining the records of 491 people who applied to the main emergency department in Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University, with the complaint of poisoning between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2004. It was determined that the reason why 491 of 20 817 persons (2.4%) applied during this term was because of poisoning: 159 (32.4%) of such patients were male and 332 of them (67.6%) were female. It was found that the average age of men was 27.1 ± 10.5 years and that of women was 24.4 ± 9.5 years (P = 0.005); 427 of poisoning cases (87.0%) happened intentionally as suicide attempts and 64 of them (13.0%) were accidental. The rate of suicide-purposed poisoning was higher in women and the rate of unintentional poisoning was higher in men (P ± 0.001). The drug...

Cervical Cancer Screening in an Early Diagnosis and Screening Center in Mersin, Turkey.

Abstract: Cancer is a major public health problem due to the jeavy disease burden, fatality and tendency for increased incidence. Of all cancer types, cervical cancer is reported to be the fourth most common cancer in women, and the seventh overall, with an estimated 528,000 new cases worldwide in 2012. It features a long preclinical phase with slowly progressing precancerous lesions such as CIN 2 and 3 and adenocarcinoma in situ. Therefore, screening programs such as with Pap smear tests may play an important role in cervical cancer prevention. The purpose of this study was to present results of a Pap smear screening survey for cervical cancer targeting women living in an urban area in the province of Mersin, located in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. This community- based descriptive study included women living at Akdeniz county of Mersin province. A total of 1,032 screened women between 30 and 65 ages within the routine screening programme constituted the study population. The mean age of the participants was 43.8 ± 8.6 (min. 30, max. 65) years. The percentage of the participants who had previously undergone smears was 40.6%. Epithelial cell changes were found in 26 (2.5%) participants, with ASC-US in 18 (1.7%), ASC-H in 2 (0.2%), LSIL in 5 (0.5%) and HSIL in 1 (0.1%). The most common clinical presentation together with epithelial changes was abnormal vaginal discharge. Taking into account the presence of women who had never undergone Pap test; it should be offered at primary level of health care in the form of a community-based service to achieve reduced morbidity and mortality rates.

Assessment of rational use of drugs and self-medication in Turkey: A pilot study from Elazıg and its suburbs.

Abstract: The concepts of "essential drugs" and "national drug policy" described by the World Health Assembly in 1975 were the first steps taken towards the rational use of drugs (RUD). According to WHO, more than half of all medicines worldwide are prescribed, dispensed or sold inappropriately and half of the patients fail to take them appropriately. The aim of this study has been to evaluate the habits of patients related to RUD with a specific aim to investigate the factors associated with self-medication. This descriptive survey study was carried out in Elazig, located at the Southeastern region of Turkey. A Rational Usage of Drug Questionnaire", querying the socio-demographic characteristics, health status, knowledge and manners of people with respect to rational drug use and insensible consumption of over the counter (OTC) drugs was applied to a total of 3521 patients during 19.09.2014 to 26.09.2014.The number of females and males were almost equal and the majority were in the range of 25-45 years of age. It was found that 58.9% of patients were practising some form of self-medication, 29.4% of the patients were reported using antibiotics without prescriptionand55.5% of them discontinued antibiotherapy. Self-medication was found to be more common among males, more educated patients and less frequent among patients under 18 years and over 65 years of age and patients with a chronic disease. Patient awareness about RUD is inadequate in Turkey as in many countries. Considering the high rates of haphazard use of drugs, drug usage without prescription, i.e. OTC drugs, should be discouraged. It is possible to take significant steps towards increasing awareness in terms of RUD with the cooperation of physicians, health organizations, educational institutions, non-governmental organizations and media. Might then be possible to achieve the expected benefits of the drugs.

Cervical cancer screening in Turkey: a community-based experience after 60 years of pap smear usage.

Abstract: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in females in the World with around 500,000 new cases occurring annually, but the first in the developing countries with a high mortality if not diagnosed early. Papanicolau (Pap) smear is a cheap, easy-to-apply and widely accepted test which has been long used to detect cervical cancer at very early stages. However, despite being available for nearly 60 years, the test can hardly be considered to have become successfully applied in many communities. We aimed in this study to present the results of a screening survey for cervical cancer which targeted a women population aged between 35 and 40 living in a semi-rural area in the province of Hatay, located in the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey, with specific aims of increasing early diagnosis, education and raising population awareness about cancers. This community-based descriptive study covered 512 women between 35 and 40 years of age living at Armutlu with a mean age of 37.6±1.7. Gynecologic examinations revealed cervical erosion in 8 (1.6%), vaginitis in 193 (37.7%) and normal findings in 311 (60.7%); pathological evaluation reports of the smears were negative in 290 (56.6%), inflammation in 218 (42.6%) and ASC-US in 4 (0.8%), according to the 2001 Bethesda classification. It can be concluded that Pap smear test - proven to be a very valuable test at the clinical level- should also be widely used at the community level to detect cervical cancer at very early stages to reduce both the mortality and morbidity among healthy people. The need for continuous community-based cervical cancer screening programs is strongly suggested.

Knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of women regarding breast and cervical cancer in Malatya, Turkey

Abstract: The aim of this study is to gather information about the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of women regarding breast and cervical cancer, to increase the knowledge level of the relevant age group and to begin including the relevant age group in screening programs. This cross-sectional study is composed of 6910 women aged 30-69 years in Malatya, Turkey. The study aimed to reach 1782 women with a survey, and all of them were reached. The questionnaire form was completed with face-to-face interview. For statistical analysis, data were evaluated as number and percentage distributions. The average age of the women was 45.6±11.4. Nearly half of the women (46.4%) did not know that scans for early detection of breast and cervical cancers were free. Only 22.2% of women knew that breast cancer could be diagnosed early by mammography. 72.7% had never received a mammogram. One third (31.6%) of women did not know it was possible to recognize cervical cancer early, and two thirds (64.5%) of women had not received a Pap smear test. It has been determined that Turkish women do not have adequate knowledge about cancer diagnosis, early cancer diagnosis, and screening.