Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and behavior of medical students about the COVID-19 and the effect of the outbreak on the students' anxiety levels.Methods: The cross-sectional study was carried out between 07-14 April, with the online questionnaire forms applied to the medical students. A questionnaire forms were sent to one of every two students in the faculty using the systematic sampling method. A total of 530 volunteers were included in the study. The data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire of the socio-demographic characteristics, opinions about the epidemic, knowledge, and attitude of medical students regarding COVID-19. Anxiety levels of the participants were measured with the State-Trait anxiety inventory.Results: A total of 530 medical students had a mean score of knowledge and attitude of 7.83±1.27 and 45.18±5.12, respectively. Participants demonstrated good knowledge and a positive attitude towards COVID-19. Clinical period students had a higher level of knowledge (p<0.001) and positive attitude (p=0.025) compared to preclinical students. While the knowledge score was higher in men (p = 0.033), the attitude score was higher in women (p <0.001). There was a negative correlation between attitude scores and state (p=0.003) and trait anxiety scores (p<0.001).Conclusion: Medical students had sufficient knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19. Anxiety caused by the outbreak may have negative effects on the positive attitudes of the participants.

Background: Insufficient organ donation is one of the most significant current problems in medical care. The students of the faculty of medicine could be the strongest supporters of organ donation and transplantation, and may play an important role in increasing organ donation. This study aimed to determine the relevant educational needs of the medical students by evaluating their knowledge and opinions about organ donation and transplantation, according to their grade levels. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 395 (83.6%) students in the first, third, and sixth grades of the faculty of medicine. A questionnaire consisting of 42 questions was used to measure their opinions and knowledge about organ transplantation. Results: Among the students who responded, 6.8% (n = 27) had donated their organs and 81.4% of the donors had donation cards, while 73.4% (n = 290) were considering organ donation. The percentages of women and students at the grade six level considering organ donation were significantly higher (P < .05). The study revealed that 38.7% of the students did not have enough knowledge about organ donation, 47.8% stated that they had some knowledge and 61.8% of the students did not know the principles of brain death. The students of all grades reported that most of the information about organ donation and transplantation was obtained from their family and friends. Conclusion: As medical students progress through the grade levels, their perceptions and knowledge of organ donation and transplantation also increase positively. Courses on organ donation and transplantation can be added to the curriculum from the very first year of medical education.

Background/Aims: The present study aimed to determine the changes in the epidemiology of hepatitis in recent years in an adult Turkish population. Materials and Methods: Overall, 852 patients with acute viral hepatitis from 17 centers were included in this study. Their sociodemographic characteristics, clinical courses, treatments, and laboratory findings were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The most commonly found microorganisms were the hepatitis B virus (55.2%) and hepatitis A virus (37.6%), and the types of acute viral hepatitis differed significantly according to the age group (p≤0.001). The most frequently reported symptom was fatigue (73.7%), and the most common complications were cholecystitis (0.4%) and fulminant hepatitis (0.4%). The median hospital stay was 9 days (range 1-373). In total, 40.8% patients with acute hepatitis B virus developed immunity. Conclusion: In Turkey, there are significantly large adolescent and adult populations susceptible to acute viral hepatitis. Therefore, larger vaccination programs covering these age groups should be implemented. Cite this article as: Karacaer Z, Tosun S, Batırel A, et al. Changes in acute viral hepatitis epidemiology in the Turkish adult population: A multicenter study. Turk J Gastroenterol 2018; 29: 177-82.

Background: The aim of this study is to determine predictive parameters that can be used in the differential diagnosis of Crimean–Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) and other diseases with similar clin...

To evaluate the frequency of abdominal computed tomography (CT) findings in patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and interrogate the relationship between abdominal CT findings and patient demographic features, clinical findings, and laboratory test results as well as the CT atherosclerosis score in the abdominal aorta. This study was designed as a multicenter retrospective study. The abdominal CT findings of 1.181 patients with positive abdominal symptoms from 26 tertiary medical centers with a positive polymerase chain-reaction test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 were reviewed. The frequency of ischemic and non-ischemic CT findings as well as the association between CT findings, clinical features, and abdominal aortic calcific atherosclerosis score (AA-CAS) were recorded. Ischemic and non-ischemic abdominal CT findings were detected in 240 (20.3%) and 328 (27.7%) patients, respectively. In 147 patients (12.4%), intra-abdominal malignancy was present. The most frequent ischemic abdominal CT findings were bowel wall thickening (n = 120; 10.2%) and perivascular infiltration (n = 40; 3.4%). As for non-ischemic findings, colitis (n = 91; 7.7%) and small bowel inflammation (n = 73; 6.2%) constituted the most frequent disease processes. The duration of hospital stay was found to be higher in patients with abdominal CT findings than in patients without any positive findings (13.8 ± 13 vs. 10.4 ± 12.8 days, P < 0.001). The frequency of abdominal CT findings was significantly higher in patients who did not survive the infection than in patients who were discharged after recovery (41.7% vs. 27.4%, P < 0.001). Increased AA-CAS was found to be associated with a higher risk of ischemic conditions in abdominal CT examinations. Abdominal symptoms in patients with COVID-19 are usually associated with positive CT findings. The presence of ischemic findings on CT correlates with poor COVID-19 outcomes. A high AA-CAS is associated with abdominal ischemic findings in patients with COVID-19.

Background: Hopelessness, which includes both the characteristics of depression and anxiety, is thought to be triggered by environmental stress. In case of hopelessness, emotional disorders, despair and inability to solve problems arise. This study was conducted to determine the level of hopelessness of the final year students in medical school and to determine whether there is a difference in the levels of hopelessness according to gender and age variables.Methods: A total of 124 medical faculty last year students, 60 of them (48.4%) male, were included in this study. Using the Beck's Hopelessness Scale Score, the hopelessness levels of the students and the three major aspects of hopelessness, i.e. feelings and expectations about the future, loss of motivation and hopes about the future were evaluated.Results: The mean Beck's Hopelessness Scale Score of the students was 6.29 . 30.6% of the students had no hopelessness, 48.4% had mild hopelessness, 13.7% had moderate hopelessness and 7.3% had severe hopelessness. No statistically significant difference was found between gender and age groups. For the students who preferred medical school to serve humanity, the mean Beck's Hopelessness Scale Score were significantly lower than those who did not prefer for this purpose; Beck's Hopelessness Scale Score means were found to be significantly higher for those who preferred to earn more money. While the majority of the students (89%) did not have any professional future concerns, it was found that the Beck's Hopelessness Scale Score mean was significantly higher in students who were concerned about not being able to earn enough in the future.Conclusion: It was found that the students' feelings and expectations about the future were not negative, the loss of motivation was not significant and the hopes about the future were quite high.