No abstract

Aim: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an extremely mortal condition. Only a few prognostic biomarkers have been described for MPM. Our study looked into the association between patient survival and the Systemic Immune Inflammation Index (SII). Material and Method: A total of 158 patients who were admitted to our hospital between January 2013 and December 2022, and had a histopathologically confirmed diagnosis of MPM were included in the study. Before treatment, hematological parameters and SII were determined. A Spearman's correlation analysis was performed to analyze the correlation of mean survival with hematological parameters. Results: The study involved 158 patients in all. 70 patients had a history of smoking, the median age was 63 years, the mean survival time was 15.3 months, and 57.6% of the participants were men. The epithelioid type (84.2%) was the most prevalent histological subtype, and 29 patients had stage 4 illnesses. Of the participants, 84% had received chemotherapy, and 22% had received radiotherapy before. Among the 39 patients who had surgery, 5 had an extrapleural pneumonectomy. SII mean±sd was (1427.2±1207.3). The patients with stage 4 disease had significantly shorter survival (p=0.001). The patients who had surgery survived significantly longer (p=0.01). Hemoglobin (Hb) (r:0.21, p:0.01) and Hematocrit (Hct) (r:0.18, p:0.03) values showed weak positive correlations with mean survival. It was evident that mean survival got shorter as SII (r:-0.17, p:0.04) and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (r:-0.19, p:0.02) values got higher. On the other hand, there was a strong positive association between mean survival and the lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR) (r:0.21, p:0.01). When the parameters that had statistically significant differences among the groups were taken as control variables and the statistical analysis was re-performed, it was found that Hgb and Hct values as well as NLR and LMR ratios lost their significant correlations with survival. However, the SII ratio was still negatively correlated with survival (r:-0.16, p:0.04). Conclusion: Pretreatment SII is a noninvasive and easy-to-calculate biomarker that predicts the prognosis of MPM. It is negatively correlated with mean survival regardless of the tumor stage and surgical management.

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Romatoid artrit (RA) simetrik, poliartiküler eklem tutulumu olan sistemik bir hastalıktır. RA'lı hastalarda plevral efüzyon genellikle hastalık başladıktan bir kaç yıl sonra ortaya çıkar ve sıklıkla hastalık alevlenmesi olarak kabul edilir. RA akciğer tutulumu olarak; plevral efüzyon, plörit, hava yolu hastalığı, romatoid nodül ve intertisyel akciğer hastalığı görülür. Plevral sıvı aseptik eksuda karakterindedir ve sıvıda düşük pH, düşük glukoz ve yüksek laktat dehidrogenaz (LDH) değerleri görülür. Tanı genellikle diğer plevral sıvı nedenlerinin dışlanması sonucu konulur. Bu çalışmada, 6 ay önce RA tanısı konan ve düzensiz tedavi alan 52 yaşındaki hasta, düzensiz RA tedavisi alan hastalarda plevral sıvı gelişebileceğini vurgulamak amacıyla sunulmuştur. Hastada daha önce tanı konulmamış kronik obstruktif akciğer hastalığı (KOAH) mevcuttu ve hastanın KOAH tedavisi de düzenlendi. Düzensiz RA tedavisi alan olgularda RA'ya bağlı olarak plevral efüzyon gelişebileceği unutulmamalıdır.

Objective: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is one of the most prominent predictive symptoms in the early detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19), it may be the first symptom or accompany other symptoms. The predictive value of OD is unknown in terms of the overall prognosis of COVID-19. We aimed to investigate the relationship between OD and the clinical-radiological severity of the disease. Material and Method: Data of 208 COVID-19 patients (105 inpatients and 103 outpatients) who had positive Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests between December 1, 2020, and January 15, 2021, were collected retrospectively. Presence of OD, symptoms on admission other than OD, days of hospital stay, peripheral blood analysis values, COVID-19 disease severity [World Health Organization (WHO) 2020 “Clinical management of COVID-19”] and radiologic classifications [Radiological Society of North America Expert Consensus Statement on Reporting (RSNA) Chest CT Findings Related to COVID-19] were retrospectively collected. Results: Analysis of 208 patients revealed that there were 105 (50.48%) inpatients and 103 (49.52%) outpatients. Among 102 patients who had OD, 68 were outpatients and 34 were inpatients. It was determined that the patients with OD were mostly followed up on an outpatient basis, and they did not need hospitalization (p

Pseudomonas putida rarely results in infection, primarily in patients undergoing invasive procedures or immunocompromised hosts. We aimed to investigate the characteristics of Pseudomonas putida infections. This is a retrospectively designed cross-sectional observational study. We retrospectively scanned the data from our hospital for the 10 years before February 15, 2022. The patients with Pseudomonas putida growth in the microbiological cultures and with antibiotic susceptibility tests were included in the study. We recorded culture isolates types, age, gender, comorbidities, immunosuppressive factors, symptoms, invasive medical procedures, length of hospital stay, and radiological findings. The mean age of the patients was 66.2 ± 14.5 years, and the male patients predominated (76.3%, n = 58/76). There was growth in bronchial lavage in 33 patients, sputum in 28, pleural effusion fluid in 12, and tracheal aspirate in 3 patients. The rate of antibiotic-resistant strains was 56.6% (n = 43). All strains were sensitive to colistin (100%), and carbapenem, amikacin, and gentamicin sensitivity rates were high. We observed that the risk of antibiotic resistance increased 4.29 times in the patients in the intensive care unit (Cl:1.27–14.47, P = .01). The patients with Diabetes Mellitus had a higher risk (OR 4.33, Cl:1.11–16.77, P = .03), and in cancer cases, the risk was 3.31 times higher (Cl:1.06–10.32, P = .03). The risk of Pseudomonas putida infection should be considered, particularly in patients with comorbid disorders causing immunosuppression, including Diabetes Mellitus and Cancer.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies do not have scientifically proven benefits, are preferred instead of medical therapies, or are used together with them. We investigated the prevalence of CAM use in a serious disorder with a short life expectancy, lung cancer (LC). Material and Methods: This study was planned as a cross-sectional study, and patients diagnosed with LC who applied to our clinic between 2017 and 2018 were invited to the study. 101 patients who accepted the invitation to study and whose consents were obtained were included in the study. Results: The mean age of the patients was 64.25±8.17 (42-82) years, majority of them were male patients (90%), and the prevalence of CAM therapy use was 62.2% (n=56/90). Herbal products were most frequently preferred. It was determined that the patients who were recommended a diet by their doctor used alternative therapies at a lower rate than the patients who have any recommendation (p=0.040). Conclusion:It is important to give a special nutrition program to the patient with LC and to ask the patients whether they use CAM therapies.

Objective: This study was planned to investigate the effect of 25-OH-Vitamin D (Vit D) deficiency on clinical and radiological findings of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in geriatric patients hospitalized due to COVID-19. Material and Method: Seventy-five patients who were treated for COVID-19 were reviewed retrospectively, and grouped in relation with their ages [(1) 65-74, (2) 75-84, (3) >84 years] and the severity of Vit D deficiency [(1) severe deficiency: 30 ng/mL]. The complaints on admission, comorbidities, intensive care unit (ICU) need, length of hospital stay, laboratory data, and mortality of the ones who had and did not have Vit D replacement (n=18/75) were recorded. The patients were analyzed for COVID-19 severity using radiological and clinical markers. Results: Moderate Vit D deficiency (10-20 ng/mL) was frequently detected. When the disease severity and Vit D levels were analyzed, it was found that the disease was more severe (46.6%) in the Vit D 30 ng/ml group, but there was no statistically significant difference among the groups. Low or high Vit D levels did not show any significant correlations with the severity of pneumonia or the thorax CT findings. The intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate was significantly lower in those who had Vit D replacement (p