Stabil KOAH'lı hastalarda sistemik inflamasyon ve metabolik sendrom Giriş: Kronik obstrüktif akciğer hastalığı (KOAH) sistemik inflamasyonla ilişkili gibi görünen ekstrapulmoner etkilere sahiptir. Genel popülasyonda sistemik inflamasyonun önemli belirleyicilerinden biri olan metabolik sendromla KOAH arasındaki ilişki henüz netleşmemiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı; farklı evrelerdeki stabil KOAH'lı hastalarda ve yaş, cinsiyet açısından eşleştirilmiş kontrol grubunda metabolik sendrom frekansını ve sistemik inflamasyon belirteci olan C-reaktif protein (CRP) düzeylerini değerlendirmektir. Hastalar ve Metod: Çalışmaya 91 stabil KOAH'lı hasta ve 42 kontrol birey alındı. KOAH ağırlığı GOLD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) kriterlerine göre belirlendi. Metabolik sendrom tanısında ATP III (The National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III) kriterleri kullanıldı. Hasta ve kontrol grubunda alınan venöz kan örneğinde CRP düzeyleri ölçüldü. Bulgular: Metabolik sendrom frekansı hasta grubunda, özellikle GOLD I, II'de, kontrol grubundan daha yüksek bulundu (p= 0.004). Metabolik sendromun abdominal obezite, hipertansiyon ve hiperglisemi komponentlerinin frekansı hasta grubunda daha yüksek bulundu (p< 0.0001). Artmış CRP düzeyleri kontrol grubunda ve hasta grubun tüm evrelerinde, metabolik sendrom olanlarda, olmayanlara göre daha yüksek orandaydı (p= 0.047, p= 0.217, p< 0.001, p= 0.05, p= 0.467). Sonuç: Bu çalışma metabolik sendrom frekansının stabil KOAH'lı hastalarda, kontrol grubundan ve Türk popülasyonundan daha yüksek olduğunu göstermiştir. Abdominal obezite, hipertansiyon ve hiperglisemi hasta grubunda anlamlı derecede daha sıktı. Sistemik inflamasyon metabolik sendromu olan KOAH'lı hastalarda olmayanlara göre daha yoğundu.

Objective: Pneumonia is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, especially in the elderly. The use of clinical risk scores to determine prognosis is complex and therefore leads to errors in clinical practice. Pneumonia can cause increases in the levels of cardiac biomarkers such as N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). The prognostic role of the NT-proBNP level in community acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic role of the NT-proBNP level in patients with CAP, as well as its correlation with clinical risk scores. Methods: Consecutive inpatients with CAP were enrolled in the study. At hospital admission, venous blood samples were collected for the evaluation of NT-proBNP levels. The Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) and the Confusion, Urea, Respiratory rate, Blood pressure, and age ≥ 65 years (CURB-65) score were calculated. The primary outcome of interest was all-cause mortality within the first 30 days after hospital admission, and a secondary outcome was ICU admission. Results: The NT-proBNP level was one of the best predictors of 30-day mortality, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.735 (95% CI: 0.642-0.828; p < 0.001), as was the PSI, which had an AUC of 0.739 (95% CI: 0.634-0.843; p < 0.001), whereas the CURB-65 had an AUC of only 0.659 (95% CI: 0.556-0.763; p = 0.006). The NT-proBNP cut-off level found to be the best predictor of ICU admission and 30-day mortality was 1,434.5 pg/mL. Conclusions: The NT-proBNP level appears to be a good predictor of ICU admission and 30-day mortality among inpatients with CAP, with a predictive value for mortality comparable to that of the PSI and better than that of the CURB-65 score.

Interleukin 8 (IL-8) is used to evaluate the severity of inflammation in the airways. The aim of this study was to evaluate patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for the presence of upper respiratory tract involvement by questioning patients regarding nasal symptoms and by measuring levels of IL-8 in nasal lavage material. A total of 47 COPD patients and 23 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Pulmonary function tests were performed for all participants who were asked to complete a Sinonasal Outcome Test-20 (SNOT-20) questionnaire on the same day, as a measure of quality of life. Median IL-8 level in nasal lavage specimens of COPD patients with stable disease was higher than that of healthy controls. An increase in cigarette pack-years was significantly associated with an increase in nasal IL-8 levels. Similarly, IL-8 levels correlated positively with stage of COPD. A significant link between number of visits to the emergency department and stage of disease was observed. Patients with COPD had a significantly higher mean SNOT-20 severity score compared to healthy controls. Proper management of sinonasal disease may help to decrease the number of COPD attacks and consequently improve quality of life.

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<b><i>Background:</i></b> Influenza can cause severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), which occurs as local outbreaks or seasonal epidemics with high intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mortality rates. Mortality is mainly due to SARI. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of patients admitted to ICU due to influenza-related SARI in 2017–2018 flu season in Turkey. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A retrospective multicenter study was conducted in 13 ICUs with a total of 216 beds from 6 cities in Turkey. All adult patients (over 18 years) admitted to the ICUs in 2017–2018 flu season (between September 1, 2017, and April 30, 2018) because of SARI and with a positive nasopharyngeal swab for influenza were included in the study. <b><i>Results:</i></b> A total of 123 cases were included in the study. The mean age of patients was 64.5 ± 17.5 years, and 66 (53.7%) patients were older than 65 years. The ICU mortality was 33.9%, and hospital mortality was 35.6%. Invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), acute kidney injury (AKI), hematologic malignancy, and &#x3e;65 years of age were the factors affecting mortality in influenza. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> SARI due to influenza carries a high mortality rate, and IMV, AKI, presence of hematologic malignancy, and older age are independent risk factors for mortality.