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It remains important to investigate the changing and impact of routine blood values (RBVs) in order to predict mortality and follow an appropriate treatment in COVID-19 patients. In the study, the importance of RBVs in the mortality of patients with COVID-19 was investigated. The changes in the biochemical, hematological, and immunological parameters of patients who recovered (n = 4364) and died (n = 233) from COVID-19 over time and their relationship with the mortality of the disease were evaluated retrospectively. Odds ratios of the parameters affecting one-month mortality were calculated by running multiple-logistic-regression analysis. The cut off values and diagnostic efficiencies of the parameters that posed a risk for mortality were obtained via receiver operating curve analysis. It was determined that the C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer, procalcitonin, erythrocyte-sedimentation-rate (ESR), troponin values were at abnormal levels until death occurred in the patients who died. In addition, the procalcitonin levels were consistently high in patients who died. The patients who died generally had a sustained increase in their leukocyte and neutrophil levels and biochemical variables, and an ongoing decrease in lymphopenia and eosinopenia levels. Although significant changes were observed in liver function tests, cardiac troponin, hemogram values, kidney function tests and parameters related to inflammation in deceased patients, high ESR, international-normalized-ratio (INR), prothrombin-time (PT), CRP, D-dimer, ferritin and red-cell-distribution width (RDW) values, respectively, were the most effective predictive mortality risk biomarkers of COVID-19. In addition, neutrophilia, leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, erythrocytopenia were other risk predictors of mortality. Indicators was found in this study can be successfully used to predict mortality from COVID-19.

This study evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of heparin and methylprednisolone in the treatment of ischaemic reperfusion (IR) injury of the testis. Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated equally into three groups of eight animals each. The left testes were rotated 720° for 2 h in the rats in the torsion-detorsion group. Rats in the treatment groups underwent the same surgical procedure as the torsion-detorsion group but were also given methylprednisolone (group II) or heparin (group III) by an intraperitoneal route 30 min prior to detorsion. Left orchiectomy was performed in all rats from each experimental animal at 2 h after detorsion, and the tissue was harvested for the measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl (PC) and nitric oxide (NO) and the endogenous antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase. Additional tissue was evaluated using histopathological and immunohistochemical changes. PC and MDA levels were significantly reduced in the treated groups compared to the control group. There was no statistically significant difference in NO level or SOD, GSH-Px and catalase activity among the treatment groups. Histopathological and immunohistochemical findings supported biochemical changes. It is concluded that pre-treatment with methylprednisolone or heparin protects the testis in ischaemic reperfusion injury caused by testicular torsion-detorsion.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, the clinical relevance of the levels of serum endocan and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] was investigated in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). Endocan or the endothelial cell-specific molecule 1 is a soluble proteoglycan secreted by vascular endothelial cells. It plays a significant role in immunity, inflammation, and endothelial function. METHODS: A total of 39 patients with AKI (19 females, 20 males) and 38 healthy individuals (18 females, 20 males) were included in the study. The levels of serum endocan, vitamin D, and other biochemical parameters were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: In the AKI group, the values of serum creatinine, endocan, parathormone, phosphorus, and uric acid were found to be higher, and the total protein, albumin, and calcium levels were lower compared to the control group. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of the serum vitamin D, magnesium, alkaline phosphatase, and gamma-glutamyl transferase. CONCLUSION: In patients with AKI, an increased endocan level is a significant marker of inflammation and endothelial injury. In addition, these patients experience vitamin D deficiency.

SummaryBackground: Due to the lack of diagnostic efficiency of serum creatinine in acute kidney injury (AKI), there is a pressing need to develop novel diagnostic markers. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated myo-inositol oxygenase (MIOX), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and cystatin C in terms of their applicability in the diagnosis of AKI. Methods: We enrolled a total of 39 AKI patients and 38 healthy controls in the study. We compared the levels of serum MIOX, NGAL and cystatin C between the two groups. Results: We found that the concentrations of serum creatinine, blood-urea nitrogen, MIOX and cystatin C were higher in the AKI group. According to the receiver operating characteristic analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) values were 0.694 (95% CI 0.579-0.794) for MIOX and 0.976 (95% CI; 0.912-0.997) for cystatin C. For MIOX, when the cut-off concentration was set to 77.3 pg/mL, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were found to be 53.8% (95% CI; 37.2-69.9) and 81.5 (95% CI; 65.7-92.3), respectively. For cystatin C, at the cut-off value of 14 mg/L, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 94.8% (95% CI; 82.7-99.4) and 94.7 % (95% CI 82.3-99.4), respectively. Conclusions: The measurement of serum MIOX and cystatin C levels is valuable for the diagnosis of AKI. Further research is needed for the evaluation of the potential use of MIOX as a kidney-specific enzyme in the early diagnosis of AKI.

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<p><strong>Objective:</strong> Gestational diabetes mellitus is a common disorder of carbohydrate metabolism, with onset or first recognition during pregnancy, resulting in hyperglycemia of variable severity. Insulin resistance and chronic subclinical inflammation are the underlying mechanisms of the disease. Soluble interleukin-2 receptor, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio are the markers of inflammatory disease processes such as type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus, hepatitis, and neoplasms.</p><p><strong>Study Design:</strong> In our study, we measured complete blood count, serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor, serum glucose in blood samples from 52 women with gestational diabetes mellitus and 50 pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance. Pregnant women which were tested for oral glucose tolerance test (75 gr load) between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy were selected for the study. Gestational diabetes mellitus was defined according to the criteria provided by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. </p><p><strong>Results:</strong> In terms of age, gestational diabetes mellitus patients (mean±SD; 31±6 years) were older than controls (mean±SD; 25±5.3 years). Mean platelet volume values were lower in gestational diabetes mellitus patients (mean±SD; 10.3±1.4 fL) as compared to normal glucose tolerance group (mean±SD; 10.8±1fL). No statistically significant differences in serum glucose concentration, white blood cell count, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, hemoglobin concentration, platelet count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio value, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio value, and serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor concentration were found.<br /><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> This study did not reveal an increase in the inflammatory markers, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor, in gestational diabetes mellitus. The mean platelet volume values were observed to be lower in gestational diabetes mellitus patients.</p>