The aim of this study was to examine the level of knowledge, attitudes and preventive practices regarding mpox among health science students. This cross-sectional study was conducted among a group of students from four schools of a university in İstanbul, Türkiye. All students were invited to participate voluntarily, and the final sample represented convenience sampling based on classroom attendance. A total of 1,466 students participated with a participation rate of 31%. Data were collected between September 20 and October 15, 2024, using a paper-based self-administered questionnaire that was distributed and retrieved in person during class sessions. The questionnaire included questions to describe demographic characteristics and to measure the level of knowledge. Attitudes and practices were evaluated by measuring the agreement level on a 5-point Likert scale of various statements. Group differences were assessed using chi-square tests for categorical variables and t-tests or ANOVA for continuous variables. Health science students had limited knowledge about mpox, with a mean score of 10.09 out of 22 (45.9%) correct responses. Just over half of participants (51.0%) reported agreement with favorable attitude items, while only 19.3% reported agreement with preventive practice items. Social media was the most frequently reported source of information (56.3%), followed by TV channels (35.8%). Most students (74.9%) expressed hesitancy toward vaccination, and 60.5% of hesitant respondents cited fear of side effects as their main concern. Our study highlights gaps in mpox knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices among university health sciences students. Low willingness to receive a mpox vaccine was the most prominent finding, and many students reported concerns about side effects as their main reason for reluctance. Reliance on social media for information was also common, underscoring the need for targeted educational campaigns that address vaccine safety and promote accurate information dissemination.

Amaç: Bu çalışmada COVID-19 sebebiyle ev izolasyonundaki kişilerin semptomlarını takip etmek ve dolayısıyla hastalık dönemini hastane dışında geçiren kişilerin klinik seyri hakkında bilgi sahibi olmak amaçlandı. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Bir sağlık kuruluşu personelinden 27 Mart 2020- 27 Şubat 2021 tarihleri arasında ev izolasyonunda olan, COVID-19 hastası toplam 501 kişi ile bir araştırmacının her gün telefonla görüştüğü çalışma, longitudinal olarak planlandı. Kişilere Sağlık Bakanlığının COVID-19 Rehberi ve literatür doğrultusunda hazırlanan anket soruları yöneltildi. Bezmialem Vakıf Üniversitesi Girişimsel Olmayan Klinik Araştırmalar Etik Kurulu’ndan izin alındı. Verilerin değerlendirilmesinde Ki-kare, Mann-Whitney U, Spearman’s korelasyon testleri kullanılmış, anlamlılık sınırı olarak 0,05 kabul edilmiştir. Bulgular: Çalışmadaki kişilerin (501) %65,7’si kadın, yaş ortalamaları 34,9 ± 9,1 yıldır. 501 kişiden 201’i (%40,1) temas yerini bildiğini söylemiştir. 107 kişi (%53,2) kurum içi, 94 kişi (%46,8) kurum dışı olarak bildirmiştir. İzolasyon sürecinde hastaneye yatışın sigara kullanımı veya kronik hastalık varlığı ile farklılık göstermediği (sırasıyla p=0,101 ve 0,361), ileri yaş ve erkek cinsiyet ile istatistiksel olarak arttığı bulunmuştur (sırasıyla p<0,001 ve <0,001). Semptom görülen kişilerin (n=497) ilk semptomu genelde kas-iskelet sistemi ağrısı (%37,2), takip boyunca en sık görülen semptom ise öksürük (%59,4) olmuştur. Sonuç: Çalışma, yüz yüze iletişimin azaltılmasının gerektiği salgın veya yüz yüze iletişimin kurulamayabileceği afet durumlarında, telefon gibi bir teknolojiden yararlanarak sağlık hizmetlerinin devamlılığının sağlanabileceğini gösteren bir tele-sağlık uygulaması olarak kabul edilebilir. Bu uygulamaların geliştirilmesine yönelik çalışmalar ile COVID-19 pandemisinin dezavantajları avantaja dönüştürülebilir.

Health Promoting Lifestyle of Older Adults Living in Public Nursing Homes: A Cross-Sectional Study from İstanbul, Türkiye - Hamidiye Medical Journal

Background: The aim of this study is to examine the level of knowledge, attitudes and preventive practices regarding Mpox among health science students. Methods: This cross-sectional study is conducted among a group of students from four schools of a university in İstanbul, Türkiye. All students are invited to participate in the study voluntarily and without using any sampling method. A total of 1,466 students participated with a participation rate of 31%. Data is collected in person by using a self-administered structured questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions to describe demographic characteristics and to measure the level of knowledge. Attitudes and practices are evaluated by measuring the agreement level on a 5-point Likert scale of various statements. Results: Health science students have a level of knowledge slightly under half about Mpox with the mean number of correct responses of 10.09±4.22 among 22 statements. More than half (51.7%) of the participants stated positive attitudes towards the disease and only 22.9% expressed engagement in preventive practices. Social media is the primary source of information for Mpox, and it is followed by TV channels. Vaccination for Mpox is a concern, with fear of side effects being the most frequently cited reason for reluctance. Conclusion: Our study highlights the gaps in Mpox knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices among a group of university health sciences students. Low level of vaccination willingness and high proportion of social media use as an information source are the most prominent findings of the study. Willingness to vaccination is less common, primarily due to concerns about side effects.

Introduction: Occult appendiceal tumors may present as acute appendicitis, hindering preoperative recognition. Existing clinical and imaging criteria remain nonspecific. This study aimed to identify practical preoperative predictors by integrating hematologic indices with CT morphometry in a matched case–control design. Methods: In this retrospective matched case–control study, 2,599 adult appendectomy cases (2020–2024) were screened. Sixty-two had histologically confirmed neoplasms; after excluding incomplete records, 40 malignant cases were matched 1:4 by age and sex with 160 benign controls. Preoperative lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) and CT-measured appendix diameter were analyzed using conditional logistic regression. Results: After matching (SMD < 0.01), malignant cases showed higher LMR (3.41 ± 1.89 vs. 2.51 ± 1.31, p = 0.001) and larger diameter (12.6 ± 4.1 mm vs. 10.8 ± 2.7 mm, p = 0.001). LMR > 3.8 increased malignancy risk 3.77-fold, diameter > 14 mm increased it 4.9-fold, and both combined raised risk nearly 18-fold (AUC = 0.74; Hosmer–Lemeshow p = 0.09). Conclusions: Elevated LMR and enlarged appendix diameter independently predict occult appendiceal neoplasms. Patients exceeding both thresholds may benefit from intraoperative frozen-section or extended resection. Multicenter validation is warranted.