Background/aims: To evaluate the potential protective effects of Ankaferd blood stopper (ABS) in an experimental obstructive jaundice (OJ) model. Materials and methods: The study included 26 female rats, which were divided into 3 groups. The sham group, consisting of 10 rats, (group 1) only received solely laparotomy. In the control group, consisting of 8 rats, (group 2), ligation was applied to the biliary tract and no treatment was implemented. In the treatment group, consisting of 8 rats, (group 3), following ligation of biliary tract, 0.5 mL/day ABS was given for 10 days. Liver tissue and blood samples were taken for histopathological and biochemical examination. Results : Compared to group 2, group 3 had higher aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total oxidant status (TOS) malondialdehyde (MDA), fluorescent oxidant products (FOP), and lower expression of albumin and total antioxidant status (TAS) (P < 0.05). In histopathological analysis, the mean scores of all histopathological parameters (fibrosis, portal inflammation, confluent necrosis, interphase activity, bile duct proliferation) have statistical significance between group 2 and group 3 (P < 005). Conclusions: ABS has promising results in the treatment of experimental OJ because of its antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties. It may be used in clinical practice after more extensive studies about the effects of ABS on OJ.

Aim: Acute pancreatitis is a common disease that can be fatal at advanced stages. Therefore, early evaluation of the prognosis of acute pancreatitis is important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of monocyte distribution width in defining the prognosis of acute pancreatitis. Materials and Methods: The study included patients hospitalized with the diagnosis of acute biliary pancreatitis between December 2019 and October 2020. The cases were evaluated in 2 groups as mild pancreatitis and non-mild pancreatitis. The groups were compared in terms of age, white blood cell, neutrophil count, C-reactive protein, length of hospital stay, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, Monocyte Distribution Width, amylase, Aspartate Aminotransferase, albumin, and lactate dehydrogenase. Results: A statistically significant difference was determined between the mild pancreatitis group (n:59) and non-mild pancreatitis group (n:48) in terms of white blood cell, neutrophil count, C-reactive protein, Monocyte Distribution Width and length of hospital stay (p <0.05). When the cut-off value for Monocyte Distribution Width was taken as 703.00, sensitivity was 50.94% and specificity was 61.11.8%. Conclusion: The Monocyte Distribution Width value is a parameter that can be used to differentiate mild pancreatitis from non-mild pancreatitis. More extensive studies are needed for a clearer evaluation.

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is clinically accepted as a marker of systemic inflammatory response. In breast cancer patients, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio can be used as an important prognostic indicator of survival. In routine laboratory tests, the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio can also be examined in addition to neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. Although the effects on breast cancer survival of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, which is accepted as the twin of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, are not as widely accepted as those of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet activation is known to be a feature of cancer. Here, we present the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio of a patient with locally advanced cancer of the left breast who underwent a simple mastectomy that reduced the tumor load. Following surgical therapy, a remarkable regression was observed in the local recurrence area of the right mastectomy site; at the same time, the patient's neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and PLR values significantly decreased.

Background/aim: To investigate possible protective effects of Ankaferd Blood Stopper (R) (ABS) in an experimental liver ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) model. Materials and methods: The study was carried out on 30 female rats separated into 3 groups as sham, control (IRI), and treatment (IRI + ABS) groups. In the IRI + ABS group, 0.5 mL/day ABS was given for 7 days before surgery. In the IRI and IRI + ABS groups, the hepatic pedicle was clamped for 30 min to apply ischemia. Then, after opening the clamp, 90-min reperfusion of the liver was provided. Blood and liver tissue samples were taken for biochemical and histopathological analyses. Results: Compared to the sham group, the IRI group had significantly higher levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total oxidant status (TOS), malondialdehyde (MDA), fluorescent oxidant products (FOP) and lower expression of albumin and total antioxidant status (TAS) (P < 0.05). Compared to the IRI group, the IRI+ABS group showed lower expression of AST, ALT, TOS, MDA and FOP and higher expression of albumin and TAS (P < 0.05). In the histopathological analysis, congestion scores were statistically significantly lower in the IRI + ABS group than in the IRI group. Conclusions: ABS has a strong hepatoprotective effect due to its antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects and could therefore be used as a potential therapeutic agent for IRI.

Objective: To investigate the predictive effect of preoperative inflammatory factors on overall survival (OS) in patients diagnosed with gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC). Study Design: Observational study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of General Surgery, Ankara Training and Research Hospital, between January 2011 and October 2020. Methodology: A retrospective examination of 207 patients was made from the demographic, preoperative, and postoperative clinical pathology records of patients diagnosed with GAC. Demographic data, pathological tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging, preoperative inflammatory factors including neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and aspartate transaminase (AST)-alanine aminotransaminase (ALT) ratio, red cell distribution width (RDW), and hypoalbuminemia were statistically analysed in respect of the effect on OS. Results: Overall survival was determined to be significantly shorter in patients with age >65 years (p = 0.001), advanced TNM stage (p 4.7 cm (p = 0.007), AST-ALT ratio >1.21 (p = 0.017), and hypoalbuminemia (65 years (p = 0.002) and TNM stage 1B (p = 0.004) and 2A (p = 0.039) were determined as independent predictors of survival. The values of NLR, PLR, and RDW were not statistically significant between the groups with and without mortality (p=0.066, p=0.283, p=0.501, respectively). Conclusion: Inflammation-based factors including AST-ALT ratio and albumin can help assess prognosis in patients with gastric cancer in standard clinical preoperative tests.