No abstract

Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID‐19) is a pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). Mutations of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are becoming increasingly common in various diseases. This study aims to investigate mutations in the cytochrome‐b (CYB) and adenosine triphosphatase‐6 (ATPase‐6) genes of mtDNA in COVID‐19 patients. The association between mtDNA mutations and clinical outcomes is investigated here. In the present study, mutations of the mtDNA genes CYB and ATPase‐6 were investigated in COVID‐19 (+) ( n = 65) and COVID‐19 (−) patients ( n = 65). First, we isolated DNA from the blood samples. After the PCR analyses, the mutations were defined using Sanger DNA sequencing. The age, creatinine, ferritin, and CRP levels of the COVID 19 (+) patients were higher than those of the COVID‐19 (−) patients ( p = 0.0036, p = 0.0383, p = 0.0305, p < 0.0001, respectively). We also found 16 different mutations in the CYB gene and 14 different mutations in the ATPase‐6 gene. The incidences of CYB gene mutations A15326G, T15454C, and C15452A were higher in COVID‐19 (+) patients than COVID‐19 (−) patients; p < 0.0001: OR (95% CI): 4.966 (2.215−10.89), p = 0.0226, and p = 0.0226, respectively. In contrast, the incidences of A8860G and G9055A ATPase‐6 gene mutations were higher in COVID‐19 (+) patients than COVID‐19 (−) patients; p < 0.0001: OR (95%CI): 5.333 (2.359−12.16) and p = 0.0121 respectively. Yet, no significant relationship was found between mtDNA mutations and patients' age and biochemical parameters ( p > 0.05). The results showed that the frequency of mtDNA mutations in COVID‐19 patients is quite high and it is important to investigate the association of these mutations with other genetic mechanisms in larger patient populations.

Objectives/Hypothesis: The aims of this study were to evaluate the diagnostic test features of bedside ultrasonography in pediatric patients with nasal trauma and to investigate whether it is a preferable alternative method to conventional radiography (CR).Study Design: Cross-sectional prospective study.Methods: This prospective study was conducted from March 1, 2019, through November 1, 2019. Thirty-one patients under the age of 18 years who had nasal trauma were consecutively included. CR and ultrasonographic imaging tests were investigated in patients with clinical indications for nasal bone fracture. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of ultrasonography and CR were calculated with respect to detecting nasal fractures according to the gold standard method.Results: Participants were between 3 and 16 years old and the median age was 8 (5-13) years. Nasal bone fracture was clinically detected in 18 patients. While 13 of these fractures were detected with ultrasonography, only 11 were also detected with CR. The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasonography and CR in detecting nasal fractures were 72.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 46.5-90.3) and 76.9% (95% CI: 46.2-95.0) for ultrasonography and 61.1% (95% CI: 35.8-82.7) and 69.2% (95% CI: 38.6-90.9) for CR.Conclusions: According to the results of this study, ultrasonography may be used with confidence as a first imaging method in the investigation of nasal fractures, particularly with consideration for avoiding the effects of radiation as much as possible. Our findings point to the next step of conducting trials with a greater number of patients in order to define the diagnostic test features of ultrasonography in pediatric patients.

Objective: There is no study in the literature investigating ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) values and thiol disulfide homeostasis (TDH) parameters in acute urticaria patients. This study aimed assessment of TDH parameters and IMA in acute urticaria patients.Methods: The study included a total of 68 cases, with 35 acute urticaria patients and 33 healthy volunteers. Patients who presented to Ordu University Hospital and were diagnosed with acute urticaria between January 2019 and June 2019 and healthy individuals as the control group were included in the study. Serum albumin, IMA, native thiol, total thiol, and disulfide thiol levels were measured, and the results were compared between the groups.Results: IMA values of 0.93±0.09 in the study group were significantly high compared to 0.8±0.10 in the control group (p&lt;0.01). Native thiol (SH) level was 353.66±87.5 in the study group, 393.62±47.7 in the control group (p:0.022), and total thiol (TSH) level was 385.46±86.6 in the study group and 433.53±56.06 in the control group (p:0.008). In the patient group there was a significant negative correlation between SH levels and IMA levels (r=-0.626, p&lt;0.001).Conclusion: In acute urticaria, IMA increases while SH and TSH levels reduce. However, TDH does not change. The lack of change in the balance may be explained by acute urticaria being an acute event and not being a chronic inflammatory process.

Objective: Objective: In this study, we aimed to determine the roles of neutrophil, MPV, and NLR, in the diagnosis of ACS and the differentiation of ACS subtypes (ST-elevation myocardial infarction and non-ST elevation myocardial infarction), in patients presented to the emergency department with chest pain and were diagnosed with ACS (acute coronary syndrome). Methods: This study was designed as a single-center, cross-sectional, and retrospective. 402 patients who were applied to University Hospital Emergency Department between January 2020 and November 2020; and registered to hospital automation system with chest pain; and underwent further examinations and treatments were included in the study. Ethical approval was obtained from the Local Clinical Research Ethics Committee before the study. Patients who were hospitalized after further examination, who received medical treatment, and did not undergo PCI (Percutaneous coronary intervention) were accepted as NSTMI (n = 202). Patients who were hospitalized after further examination and underwent PCI were accepted as STMI (n = 200). Results: 36.3% of the patients were female (n = 146) and 63.7% (n = 256) were male. The mean age of the cases was detected to be 61.46 ± 14.06. The number of hospitalized ACS patients for NSTMI suspicion and received medical treatment was 202. The number of patients who underwent PCI and accepted as STMI was 200.Mean neutrophils, MPV, NLR, and Troponin values were also significantly higher than those who are not hospitalized (p <0.001). The mean WBC, Neutrophil, NLR, and Troponin values of the patients underwent PCI were also significantly higher than those without PCI (p <0.001). Conclusions: We believe that NLR is a diagnostic valuable that can be used as a biomarker in diagnosing ACS and determining the PCI.