We aimed to examine independent predictive factors for the severity and survival of COVID‐19 disease, from routine blood parameters, especially the blood urea nitrogen (BUN)/creatinine (Cr) ratio. A total of 139 patients with COVID‐19 were investigated at Siirt State Hospital. According to the disease severity, the patients were categorized as three groups (moderate: 85, severe: 54, and critical: 20). Then, patients were divided into two groups: nonsevere (moderate) and severe (severe and critical). Demographic, clinical data, and routine blood parameters were analyzed. In multivariate model adjusted for potential confounders BUN/Cr ratio (odds ratio [OR] = 1.70; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20‐2.40;
P
= .002) and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (OR = 2.21; 95% CI: 1.20‐4.30;
P
< .001) were independent predictive factors for disease severity. In multivariate Cox proportional hazard model BUN/Cr ratio (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.02; 95% CI: 1.01‐1.05;
P
= .030), and NLR (HR = 1.17; 95% CI: 1.06‐1.30;
P
= .020) were independent predictors for survival of COVID‐19 disease. The optimal thresholds of the BUN/Cr ratio at 33.5 and 51.7 had the superior possibility for severe disease and mortality, area under the curve (AUC) were 0.98 and 0.95, respectively. The optimal thresholds of NLR at 3.27 and 5.72 had a superior possibility for severe disease and mortality, AUC were 0.87 and 0.85, respectively. BUN/Cr and NLR are independent predictors for COVID‐19 patient severity and survival. Routine evaluation of BUN/Cr and NLR can help identify high‐risk cases with COVID‐19.
In late 2019, a pneumonia epidemic began in Wuhan, China's Hubei Province, with a primarily unknown cause, which is now known to have spread significantly worldwide. 1 The virus that caused the disease was initially named the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and later the World Health Organization described this disease as coronavirus disease-2019 This disease usually affects individuals between the ages of 30 and 79 years. About half of those with COVID-19 have mild or indeterminate symptoms. Significant symptoms in symptomatic patients include fatigue, fever, cough, muscle pain and shortness of breath. 2,3 Sometimes, more critical conditions, such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multi-organ failure can be observed.Patients with these severe conditions often have comorbid diseases, especially hypertension (HT), diabetes mellitus (DM) and heart diseases. 3 Neutrophilia and lymphopenia are the most common laboratory parameters. Abnormal liver function test findings at different rates have also been reported. Serum procalcitonin levels are generally at normal levels, while mild increases in C-reactive protein levels can be seen. Moreover, D-dimer levels are high in 30% of patients. 4,5 Coronaviruses are enveloped RNA viruses that consist of a single chain and have a positive polarity. Therefore, they do not have RNA-dependent RNA polymerase enzymes, but this enzyme code
We examined the effects of preoperative hormonal values on varicocelectomy success. A total of 136 patients who underwent varicocelectomy for infertility in our clinic were analysed retrospectively. Improvement in semen quality was defined as >50% increase in post‐operative total motile sperm count (TMSC) in those with preoperative TMSC >5 million and at least 100% increase in those with <5 million. The patients were divided into two groups as benefiting from the treatment (Group A) and no benefits (Group B). The best cut‐off value for follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) and the luteinising hormone/testosterone ratio (LTR) that can predict varicocelectomy success were 7.01 and 0.016 with an area under the curve of 0.844 and 0.856 respectively. The highest sensitivities and specificities of FSH and LTR were 0.845 and 0.788 and 0.821 and 0.846 respectively. Binary logistic regression analysis showed FSH (odds ratio [OR]: 3.7; p < .001) and LTR (OR: 5.2; p < .001) as independent predictive factors in predicting varicocelectomy success. Our study demonstrated that low FSH (7.01 IU/L) and LTR (<.016) can be a useful preoperative predictive tool to help identify men who benefit most from varicocelectomy in infertile patients with varicocele.
Objective: To discuss the patient diagnosed with COVID-19 disease while receiving intravesical induction bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) treatment for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, its management in the light of the literature. Patient and methods: A 52-year-old male patient, who received intravesical BCG treatment for high-grade pT1 papillary urothelial carcinoma, presented 12 h after taking the fourth dose of induction therapy 38.2° fever and chills. The patient’s reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction test was positive, and Thorax CT imaging showed a few ground-glass pneumonic infiltrations in bilateral lung bases consistent with COVID-19 disease. Results: Although international urology associations have current recommendations regarding the pandemic process, only one study has made specific recommendations regarding the patient group diagnosed with COVID-19 while receiving intravesical BCG treatment. According to this recommendation, we interrupted our patient’s BCG treatment for 3 weeks and then completed the treatment for 6 weeks. A maintenance treatment not exceeding 1 year was planned. Conclusion: This group of patients’ recommendation is to delay BCG therapy for at least 3 weeks after initial symptoms to allow for complete recovery. Although the administration schedule varies, maintenance therapy is recommended for no more than 1 year.
Penile prosthesis implantation (PPI) is the final stage treatment in erectile dysfunction (ED). In this study, we planned to investigate the effect of PPI application on sexual functionality in the patients and their partners. After taking permission and consent for the study, from 20 male patients who were applied penile prosthesis due to ED between March 2013 and June 2018 and their partners, the couples were included in the study. Patients and partners filled in Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX) form before PPI. After starting to use prosthesis, 20 patients and 19 partners were asked to fill in modified EDITS and ASEX form in the follow‐ups in the sixth month. Average age was 54.35 years for the patients and 43.84 for the partners. Although post‐PPI sexual satisfaction ratio was detected higher in female partners compared with the male patients, this difference was not statistically significant (p = .71). A significant recovery was also observed in total scale score, physiological stimulation, orgasm capacity and satisfaction scores in both groups after PPI. Penile prosthesis implantation is an operation providing high satisfaction for both the partner and the patient and is still one of the best options of ED.
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