Aim Systemic inflammation has a crucial role in the pathogenesis and mortality of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Multi-inflammatory index (MII) is a novel index related with systemic inflammation. In this study, we investigated the relationship between MII and in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of COVID-19 patients followed-up in the ICU of our institution between 01.04.2020 and 01.10.2021. Patients were classified into two groups according to mortality status as survivors and non-survivors. Various inflammatory parameters of the groups were compared and their efficacy in predicting mortality was investigated. Results Out of 348 study patients, 86 cases (24.7%) were in the survived group and 262 cases (75.3%) were in the dead group. The median age of the mortal group was significantly higher than that of the survived group (65.5 vs 76, P < .001). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that among all the included inflammatory parameters, MII showed the best efficacy for predicting mortality (OR: 0.999; 95% CI: 0.9991-0.9998; P = .003). Conclusion MII, a new combination of Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and C-reactive protein (CRP), is a simple and practical biomarker that can help us in the prediction of mortality in COVID-19 patients followed-up in the ICU.

OBJECTIVE:The polymerase chain reaction test, used in the diagnosis of COVID-19, can be positive with delay, and thorax tomography is used for the diagnosis of the disease. We aimed to compare the relation between thorax tomography findings, PCR test results, and neutrophil lymphocyte ratio; platelet lymphocyte ratio and mean platelet volume neutrophil lymphocyte ratio; platelet lymphocyte ratio and mean platelet volume in COVID-19 patients.METHODS: COVID-19 patients were divided into three groups, according to baseline laboratory and thorax tomography findings: Group A: thorax tomography finding positive -polymerase chain reaction test positive; Group B: thorax tomography finding negative -polymerase chain reaction test positive; and Group C: thorax tomography finding positive -polymerase chain reaction test negative.Neutrophil lymphocyte ratio, platelet lymphocyte ratio, and mean platelet volume values were compared between these three groups.RESULTS: Group C neutrophil lymphocyte ratio level and polymerase chain reaction level were statistically higher than that of group B (p<0.001 in both). Mean platelet volume was not statistically significant between groups (p>0.005 for all). A positive correlation was detected between neutrophil lymphocyte ratio and C-reactive protein (r=0.421, p<0.001). Similarly, positive correlation was found with polymerase chain reaction and C-reactive protein (r=0.243, p=0.001). CONCLUSION:The thorax tomography finding can be detected earlier in the disease before the polymerase chain reaction test.The sensitivity of the polymerase chain reaction test varies according to the tester, the way of performing it, and the quality of the test. Therefore, especially in patients with polymerase chain reaction negative and thorax tomography findings, neutrophil lymphocyte ratio and platelet lymphocyte ratio levels should be evaluated, and patients should be followed up upon suspicion of COVID-19 diagnosis.

Objectives: Studies showing the role of systemic inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are increasing. Particularly, importance of mean platelet volume (MPV) and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for acute exacerbation of COPD has been reported. The use of MPV/lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and MPV/platelet ratio(MPR) in acute exacerbation of COPD patients was investigated in our study, considering that MPV alone may be a more valuable marker of inflammation. Methods: Between March 2017 and March 2018, COPD patients who applied to Abant Izzet Baysal University School of Medicine, Chest Diseases outpatient clinic were examined. Results were retrospectively scanned from patient files after institutional approval. Sixty-four (60.4%) stable COPD and 42 (39.6%) acute exacerbation COPD patients were included in the study. Results: Seventy-one (67%) of patients were male and 35 (33%) were female. NLR was 2.26 (0.93-6.48) in stable patients and 4 (1.18-36) in acute attack patients (p < 0.001); PLR was 137.44 (66.9-436.6) in patients with stable disease and 162.8 (85-1056.6) in patients with attack (p = 0.068). MLR was 5 (2.92-25) in acute attack patients and 4 (1.89-8.67) in stable patients; this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.003). MPV was found to be 7 (5.5-9.1) fL in patients with stable disease and 8 (5-13.4) fL in acute patients. This difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). MPR was found to be statistically significantly higher in acute patients than in patients with stable disease (p = 0.04). WBC, neutrophil and CRP were found to be statistically significantly higher in acute patients than in stable patients (p < 0.05). There was a statistically significant correlation between WBC and NLR (r = 0.269, p = 0.005) and between CRP and NLR (r = 0.379, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Hemogram parameters from routine laboratory tests in COPD patients are cheap and easily accessible. It is important to detect the presence of subclinical inflammation in the stable phase, as well as to identify patients at risk of exacerbation. Prospective studies are needed to demonstrate correlations with inflammatory markers.

Couple of pneumonia cases were reported in a short period in Wuhan, China. The cases were revealed to be associated with a different coronavirus type was named SARS-CoV-2 and the disease was identified as Covid-19. It is known that the disease occurs in all age groups. We aimed to evaluate the differences in clinical and laboratory features between adult and pediatric patients. Method: The study is a retrospective cross-sectional study and consists of 206 patients with a definitive diagnosis of Covid-19 confirmed by a positive real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for SARS-CoV-2. They hospitalized in health institutions connected to City Health Administrative of Bolu, Turkey between 11.03.2020 and 19.04.2020. The number of the pediatric patients (0-17 age group) was 106, that of the adult patients (18 and above age group) was 100. Data concerning the patients consisted of age, symptoms, laboratory parameters such as hemogram, biochemistry, coagulation. Results:The mean values of platelet (PLT), platocrit (PCT), percentage of monocytes (MONO %) and MONO in the "0-17" age group were found to be significantly higher than the mean values in the "18 and above" age group. The hemoglobin (HGB) mean value of the "0-17" age group was significantly lower than that of the "18 and above" age group. The mean C -reactive protein (CRP) value of the "0-17" age group (4.55; min: 1.20 -max: 11.80) was significantly lower than that of the "18 and above" age group (5.35; min 1.25max: 19.77) with no statistically significance. In pediatric group, the most common symptoms were other symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting and joint pain whereas the adult patients had fever and cough often with statistically significant. Conclusion: Clinical findings and laboratory abnormalities in Covid-19 are less common in children. Although it seems that Covid-19 is less symptomatic in children, they are also affected by the disease. Performing RT-PCR test based on the contact history of the children may help to minimize morbidity with an early diagnosis. Multicenter studies with more numbers of patients should be performed.

Objective. The aim of the present study was to objectively and subjectively evaluate the effects of adding rhinophototherapy to intranasal beclomethasone dipropionate to treat nasal congestion in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. Method. Seventy-five seasonal allergic rhinitis patients were randomly divided into two groups. Patients in Group 1 received intranasal beclomethasone dipropionate for two weeks and patients in Group 2 had rhinophototherapy added to the same medical therapy as Group 1. The effectiveness of treatments was evaluated with the Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ), Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation scale (NOSE) questionnaires and active anterior rhinomanometry. Results. After treatment, significant improvement was observed in Group 2 vs Group 1 in terms of RQLQ (p = 0.011) and NOSE (p = 0.001) scores. In Group 2, significant differences were observed between before and after treatment for inspiratory total nasal resistance (p = 0.004). However, no significant differences vs. baseline were observed in Group 1. Conclusion.Our study shows that adding intranasal phototherapy with a combination of UVA, UVB and visible light therapy to nasal beclomethasone dipropionate treatment objectively improves nasal patency in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis.

Aim: To explore the prognostic value of certain complete blood count parameters and ratios in COVID-19 patients with the definitive diagnosis.Methods: We compared certain parameters of the complete blood count test, which are related to inflammation, between the inpatient/outpatient and the survivor/non-survivor groups to determine whether they have a prognostic role. Analyzes were performed in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Parametric data were expressed as arithmetic mean±standard deviation, and nonparametric data were expressed as median (Q1-Q3). The relationship in categorical variables was examined with Chi-Square. Receiver Operative Characteristics (ROC) analysis determined cut-off values for mortality. P

ÖzetGİRİŞ ve AMAÇ: Mediastinal benign lenfadenopatinin en sık nedenleri sarkoidoz ve tüberküloz lenfadenit hastalıklarıdır. Çalışmamızda, TB lenfadenitin ayırıcı tanısında yeni yöntemlerden birisi olan QuantiFERON-TB Gold (in tube) (QFT-GIT) testinin değerini araştırmayı amaçladık. YÖNTEM ve GEREÇLER: Toraks BT'de transvers çapı 10 mm ve üzerinde olan mediastinal lenf nodlarının etiyolojisinin araştırılması amacıyla kliniklerimize yönlendirilerek 36'sı sarkoidoz ve 37'si TB lenfadenit tanısı konulan toplam 73 hastanın prospektif olarak yaş, cinsiyet, eşlik eden ek hastalık, tüberküloz temas öyküsü, semptomları, BCG skar sayısı, TCT sonuçları ve QFT-GIT testi sonuçları kaydedildi. BULGULAR: Sarkoidoz hastalarının yaş ortalamaları 42,2±17,2 idi. Olguların 19'u kadın (%52.8), 17'si erkekti (% 47,2). Ortalama takip süreleri 14,6±12,3 ay idi (3 -36 ay). Sarkoidoz ile TB lenfadenit ayırıcı tanısında halen kullanılmakta olan TCT nin, TB lenfadenit tanısında duyarlılığı %62, özgüllüğü %75; QFT-GIT testinin duyarlılığı %92, özgüllüğü %83 olarak hesaplandı. Sarkoidozda QFT-GIT testi ve TCT sonuçları arasında anlamlı korelasyon bulunmazken [p=0,618]; TB lenfadenit için anlamlı korelasyon saptandı [p=0,028]. TARTIŞMA ve SONUÇ: Ülkemizde olduğu gibi rutin BCG aşılamasının ve TCT sonucuna göre yeniden aşılanmaların uygulandığı topluluklarda, tüberküloz enfeksiyonun ayırıcı tanısında BCG den etkilenmeyen QFT-GIT testinin TCT ile birlikte kullanılması önerilebilir. Ayrıca sistemik steroid tedavisi alması planlanan hastalarda INH proflaksisi başlanması için tek başına TCT'den ziyade QFT-GIT testi pozitifliğinin gözönüne alınması uygun olabilir. Abstract INTRODUCTION:There is one of the new methods in the differential diagnosis QuantiFERON-TB Gold (in tube) (QFT-GIT), in which the most common cause of sarcoidosis and tuberculosis lymphadenitis of benign mediastinal lymphadenopathy, we aimed to investigate the value of the test for TB lymphadenitis. METHODS: Chest CT transverse diameter of 10 mm and directed to our clinic to investigate the etiology of mediastinal lymph nodes above sarcoidosis was diagnosed in 36 patients with TB lymphadenitis was diagnosed in 37 patients, including 73 patients age, sex, comorbid disease, the tuberculosis contact history, symptoms, number of BCG scar, TST and QFT-GIT results were recorded test results. RESULTS: The mean age of patients with sarcoidosis 42.2± 17.2) were female (52.8%), 17 were male (47.2%). Average follow-up time was 14.6 ± 12.3 months. (3-36 months). With sarcoidosis, which is still being used in the differential diagnosis of TB lymphadenitis, TCT's sensitivity in diagnosis of TB lymphadenitis was 62%, specificity 75%; QFT-GIT sensitivity of the test was 92%, specificity of 83% was calculated. Sarcoidosis QFT-GIT and TST test results of there were no significant correlation between [p = 0.618]; Significant correlation was found for TB lymphadenitis [p = 0.028]. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: As our country and communities of routine BCG vaccination should be vaccinated again applied a...

Aim: This study aimed to sonographically examine the fraction of thickening in the respiratory muscles during the acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to determine its relationship with the clinical severity of the exacerbation.Methods: This prospective study looked at 159 people over the age of 50 who were diagnosed with COPD using the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria and were admitted to the hospital because they were having an acute COPD flare-up. Ultrasonography was used to measure how thick the parasternal intercostals, pectoralis major, and diaphragm muscles were in each patient.Results: Of the patients, 63 had mild, 63 had moderate, and 33 had severe exacerbations. Parasternal intercostal and pectoralis major muscle thickening fractions were significantly higher in moderate and severe exacerbations compared to mild exacerbations, while the diaphragm muscle thickening fraction was significantly lower (p