OBJECTIVES:Pleural effusion is a common diagnostic and clinical problem. The differential diagnosis of pleural effusion may be difficult and may require several procedures, including invasive ones. Certain studies have investigated biochemical parameters to facilitate the diagnosis of exudative pleural effusion; however, it remains a challenging problem in clinical practice. We aimed to investigate the potential role of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, which can be easily obtained by determining the cell count of the pleural fluid, in the differential diagnosis of exudative pleural effusion.METHODS:Records from patients who underwent thoracentesis and pleural fluid analysis between May 1, 2013, and March 1, 2015, were obtained from the electronic database of our hospital. The patients who met the inclusion criteria were divided into five groups according to their diagnosis: malignant pleural effusion, para-malignant pleural effusion, para-pneumonic effusion, tuberculosis-related effusion or other. The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio value was calculated by dividing the absolute neutrophil count by the absolute lymphocyte count. The patient groups were compared according to the given parameter.RESULTS:A total of 465 patients who met the inclusion criteria among 1616 patients with exudative pleural effusion were included in the study. The mean neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio value was significantly lower in tuberculosis-related pleural effusion compared to malignant, para-pneumonic and para-malignant effusions (p=0.001, p=0.001, p=0.012, respectively). The areas under the curve for tuberculosis pleurisy compared to malignant, para-pneumonic and para-malignant effusions were 0.38, 0.36, and 0.37, respectively. Lower cut-off values had higher sensitivity but lower specificity for tuberculosis pleurisy, while higher cut-off values had higher specificity but lower sensitivity for this condition.CONCLUSION:The pleural fluid neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, which is an inexpensive, reproducible, and easily calculated hematological parameter, may facilitate the differential diagnosis of pleural effusion.

Objective: Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction in acute pulmonary embolism (APE) has been associated with increased mortality and morbidity. The aim of the present study was to assess the timing and magnitude of regional RV functions using speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) and their relationship to early hospital mortality in patients with APE. Methods: One hundred forty-two patients were prospectively studied at the onset of an acute episode and after a median follow-up period of 30 days. Their clinical and laboratory characteristics were recorded. For all patients, conventional two-dimensional echocardiography and STE were performed within 24 h after the diagnosis of APE. Results: Twenty-eight (19.7%) patients died during the hospitalization follow-up. Patients who died during hospitalization were older and had higher high sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels, and a higher percentage of patients had simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Indexes. In STE analyses, they had lower RV free wall peak longitudinal systolic strain (PLSS) and higher RV peak systolic strain dispersion indexes. The time to PLSS difference between RV free wall and LV lateral was longer in patients who died during hospitalization than in those who survived, and this was an independent predictor of early hospital mortality with 85.7% sensitivity and 75.0% specificity in patients with APE. Conclusion: APE was associated with RV electromechanical delay and dispersion. Electromechanical delay index might be useful to predict early hospital mortality in patients with APE.

Purpose Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction is a common condition that is related to increased adverse outcomes in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE). Our aim was to assess timing and magnitude of regional RV function using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) and to evaluate their relationship to long‐term mortality in patients after APE. Methods In total, 147 patients were enrolled at the onset of an APE episode and followed for 12 ± 1.1 months. For all patients, the clinical, laboratory, and echocardiography examinations were performed at the diagnosis of APE and at the end of the 1‐year follow‐up. Results Of the 147 patients, 44 (29.9%) died during the 1‐year follow‐up after APE. The patients who died had lower RV free wall peak longitudinal systolic strains (PLSS) and left ventricular (LV) PLSS and higher RV peak systolic strain dispersion (PSSD) index which means the electromechanical dispersion when compared with the survivors. The difference in time to PLSS between the RV free wall and LV lateral wall (RVF–LVL) which means the electromechanical delay was longer in patients who died than in those who survived during follow‐up, and this difference was an independent predictor of mortality at 1 year of follow‐up after APE, with 86.4% sensitivity and 81.7% specificity. At the end of 1‐year follow‐up, the RV free wall PLSS and the LV global PLSS increased, whereas the RV PSSD index and the difference in time to PLSS between the RVF and LVL decreased. Conclusions Acute pulmonary embolism was associated with RV dysfunction and RV electromechanical delay and dispersion. These parameters improved at the end of 1‐year follow‐up. The electromechanical delay index might be a useful predictor of mortality in patients after APE.

ÖZETKOAH'lı hastalarda malnütrisyon riski hastaların yarı-sında mevcuttur. Bu durumun başlıca nedenleri; KOAH'ta hipermetabolizma ve solunum yüküne bağlı artan enerji gereksiniminin solunum güçlüğü nedeniyle bozulan beslenme ile karşılanamamasıdır (2). KOAH'ta malnütrisyon, solunum fonksiyonlarından bağımsız olarak, protein sentezinde azalmaya yol açarak vücut yağ ve kas kütlesinde azalmaya ve buna bağlı olarak solunum kaslarında fonksiyon bozukluğu yaratarak egzersiz kapasitesini sınırlar (3). KOAH'lı hastalarda kilo kaybının surveyi olumsuz etkilediği ve bu hastalarda mortalitenin arttığı uzun yıllardır bilinmektedir.Bu çalışmada; stabil KOAH olgularının mevcut beslenme durumlarını belirleyerek dispne algısı, vücut kompozisyonu, egzersiz kapasitesi, atak sayısı ve hastane yatışları ile olan ilişkisini araştırmayı amaçladık. MATERYAL ve METOD

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