INTRODUCTION: Gastric cancer remains a global health issue with high mortality rates. Early diagnosis can significantly affect disease progression; however, current diagnostic methods are often invasive and costly. In recent years, the diagnostic potential of hematological parameters that reflect systemic inflammation has gained attention. This study aimed to evaluate the role of hemogram markers such as RDW, NLR, and MLR in the diagnosis of gastric cancer and intestinal metaplasia.
METHODS: A total of 155 patients with a diagnosis of gastric cancer, 200 individuals with biop-sy-proven intestinal metaplasia, and 353 healthy controls were retrospectively analyzed. Groups were com-pared in terms of age, sex, and complete blood count parameters. ROC analysis was performed to evaluate diagnostic performance and determine cut-off values.
RESULTS: The mean age was significantly higher in the gastric cancer group (p<0.001). Leukocyte count, neu-trophils, RDW, NLR, PLR, and MLR were significantly elevated, while hemoglobin and absolute lymphocyte counts were lower (p<0.001). RDW demonstrated the highest area under the curve (AUC) in distinguishing gastric cancer patients from healthy individuals (AUC: 0.948, p<0.001). In the comparison between intestinal metaplasia and healthy controls, RDW also had the highest AUC value (0.752, p<0.001), whereas the diag-nostic sensitivity of other hematological parameters was found to be low.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Among hematological parameters, RDW, NLR, and MLR may serve as useful auxiliary biomark-ers in the diagnosis of gastric cancer. While RDW holds diagnostic significance in identifying intestinal metaplasia, other parameters had limited value. Given their accessibility and low cost, these parameters may hold a valuable place in clinical practice.

INTRODUCTION: Acute appendicitis is among the most common causes of acute abdomen. While diagnosis is generally straightforward, it may be challenging to differentiate from other conditions, particularly in preg-nant women and the elderly. Currently, several scoring systems have been developed to aid in diagnosis. This study aims to evaluate the significance of these scoring systems in diagnosing appendicitis and as-sessing the severity of inflammation.
METHODS: A total of 210 patients hospitalized between 01/01/2016 and 01/06/2019 at the General Surgery Clinic of the Republic of Türkiye S.B.U Van Training and Research Hospital for acute appen-dicitis were examined retrospectively. Appendectomy was performed following ultrasonography for patients evaluated using the Alvarado and Ohmann scoring systems, and these scores were compared with intra-operative severity scores. The predictive value of the Alvarado and Ohmann scoring systems in diagnosing acute appendicitis was analysed.
RESULTS: A moderate positive correlation was identified between the Alvarado and Ohmann scores (r=0.508; p<0.001). The Alvarado score demonstrated a statistically significant accuracy in predicting acute appen-dicitis diagnosis based on histopathological findings (p=0.027), whereas the Ohmann score did not show statistical significance (p=0.807). Although both scores correlated weakly with intraoperative inflamma-tion grading, a significant association was found between the Alvarado scoring system and intraoperative severity grading (r=0.30; p=0.002). No significant correlation was observed between the Ohmann score and intraoperative severity grading (r=0.09; p=0.384).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The Alvarado scoring system proved valuable in predicting appendicitis, while the Ohmann scoring system was more useful in suggesting the exclusion of appendicitis.

INTRODUCTION: The most feared complication of sleeve gastrectomy is the development of leakage from the gastrectomy line. The aim of this study is to determine the range of gastric wall thickness in the fundus, corpus and antrum and to provide ideas that may help minimize complications that may occur after laparo-scopic sleeve gastrectomy.
METHODS: 101 consecutive patients who underwent sleeve gastrectomy surgery for obesity and severe obesity between 2017 and 2018 in this study were analyzed. Sleeve gastrectomy specimens were fixed in 10% formol solution. Sections were taken from the antrum, corpus and fundus and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Measurements were made between the serosa and mucosa pili at five different points of each preparation. Results from these five different sites were averaged and recorded.
RESULTS: Our study was conducted on a total of 101 cases, 79 (78.2%) women and 22 (21.8%) men. Mean age is 38.79±10.34 (61-19) years. Body mass index (BMI) ranged between 36.4kg/m2 and 64.9kg/m2 with a mean of 46.07±5.55kg/m2. While 76 (75.2%) of the patients had a BMI level below 50kg/m2, 25 (24.8%) had a BMI level of 50kg/m2 and above. Gastric wall thicknesses of 101 patients who underwent sleeve gastrec-tomy were measured at antrum, corpus and fundus localizations and classified according to gender, age, and BMI. As a result of the statistical analysis, results obtained between the groups according to gastric wall measurements were not statistically significant (p>0.05). In our study, no statistical differences were found between gastric wall thickness and age, gender, and BMI.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Accurate determination of stomach wall thickness will help prevent complications that may result in death.

INTRODUCTION: This study investigates the effectiveness of intragastric balloon placement (IGBP) and intragastric botulinum toxin-A injection (IGBTI) on weight-loss parameters in overweight and obese patients.
METHODS: The study included 165 overweight and obese patients (matched for age and gender) treated with IGBTI (n=123) or IGBP (n=42). The patients’ anthropometric data, such as total weight loss (TWL) and body mass index loss (BMIL), were evaluated and compared retrospectively in the first, third, sixth, and twelfth months after the intervention.
RESULTS: Mean age, TWL, and BMIL values at all follow-up points in patients with IGBP were significantly higher than in patients with IGBTI (p<0.001). Similarly, the BMIL of patients who underwent IGBP at the end of the first, third, sixth, and twelfth months was significantly higher than the BMIL of patients who underwent IGBTI (2.54±0.20 vs. 1.80±0.13, p=0.002; 3.8±0.24 vs. 2.41±0.18, p<0.001; 4.19±0.45 vs. 2.38± 0.21, p<0.001; 4.19± 0.45 vs. 1.27±0.21, p<0.001; respectively). At the end of twelve months, 97 (68%) patients with IGBTI lost weight, while weight loss was observed in 35 (81.5%) patients with IGBP.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Significant decreases in weight and BMI were observed in patients after both IGBP and IGBTI. Based on TWL and BMIL values, we conclude that IGBP is superior to IGBTI.

INTRODUCTION: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized as a cluster of metabolic disorders, with key components including dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, low-grade inflammation, and hypertension. Interleukins (ILs) are crucial cytokines secreted by the immune system, playing a significant role in inflammation and immune regulation. IL-37, a member of the IL-1 family (IL-1F7), is an anti-inflammatory cytokine. However, research investigating the role of IL-37 in the pathogenesis of MetS remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate plasma IL-6 and IL-37 levels in patients with MetS.
METHODS: A total of 80 participants (33 males, 47 females) were included in the study. Venous blood samples obtained from individuals diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) (Group II, n=40) and healthy volunteers (Group I, n=40) were used for the analysis of plasma lipids, IL-6, and IL-37 levels. Among the MetS group, 20 patients underwent laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy (SG) due to obesity. The total cholesterol, HbA1c, IL-6, and IL-37 levels in plasma samples collected before (Pre-SG) and after (Post-SG) the operation were compared. Plasma IL-6 and IL-37 levels were measured using a commercially available solid-phase competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
RESULTS: Plasma IL-37 levels were significantly lower in Group II compared to Group I, whereas IL-6 levels were significantly higher (IL-6: Group I: 0.82±0.41; Group II: 2.06±0.5; p<0.001; IL-37: Group I: 1.47±0.51; Group II: 0.67±0.27; p<0.001). Preoperative IL-37 levels were lower compared to postoperative levels following SG, while IL-6 levels exhibited the opposite trend.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: IL-37 may serve as a promising therapeutic target for preventing and slowing the progression of MetS. However, larger-scale, multidisciplinary studies with additional parameters are necessary to further validate these findings.