Search

Objective: COVID-19 continues to pose a public health threat globally. This study evaluated the risk factors of hospitalized patients associated with hospital mortality for COVID-19 and symptoms on days 14, 28, and 6th-month. Methods: The study included 133 adults hospitalized due to COVID-19 between April 1, 2020 and June 30, 2020. Patient files were retrospectively reviewed. The demographic characteristics of the patients were evaluated by dividing them into two groups according to the clinical severity of COVID-19. (group 1: mild+moderate, group 2: severe+critical). Risk factors associated with mortality were revealed. Symptoms on day 14 and day 28 were questioned in person or by phone if patients were discharged and symptoms at 6 months were questioned by phone. Results: Comparison of laboratory findings between the groups showed that patients in group 2 had lower serum lymphocyte count and higher levels of C-reactive protein, ferritin, D-dimer, procalcitonin, and troponin T at admission and during follow-up (p<0.05). Oxygen saturation at hospital admission and lymphocyte count on day 7 of hospitalization were found to be risk factors associated with mortality. The most common symptom at admission and on day 14 was a cough, while fatigue was most common on day 28 and month 6. At 6 months, 32 patients (28.8%) were symptom-free, 13 patients (11.7%) had sleep disorders, and 12 patients (10.8%) had an anxiety disorder. Five patients (4.5%) reported having dermatological complaints. Conclusions: Periodic monitoring of laboratory parameters is important for predicting disease course, and oxygen saturation and serum ferritin levels at admission are important predictors of mortality. Patients should be followed for respiratory complications and sequelae as well as extrapulmonary involvement and complications. After a 6-month follow-up period, most patients have continued to have non-life-threatening symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The population is aging, and older adults comprise most patients in the intensive care units. Colistin (COL) has been re-introduced to treat increasingly common resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections. Our study aims to investigate the factors affecting COL nephrotoxicity in a general population and geriatric age group. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 170 patients, a total of 116 (68.2%) of whom were in the geriatric group (age ≥65). Acute renal failure was evaluated using the RIFLE score. Factors associated with COL nephrotoxicity were described firstly in a general population and then in the geriatric group patients. Results: Advanced age [Odds ratio (OR): 1.043; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.018-1.068; p=0.001] and initial serum creatinine level (OR: 23.122; 95% CI: 3.123-171.217; p=0.002) were found to be the independent risk factors associated with nephrotoxicity. In the evaluation of the geriatric population based on nephrotoxicity, the initial serum urea and creatinine levels, and overall mortality rates were found to be statistically significantly higher in the group with nephrotoxicity (p<0.05). Initial serum creatinine level (OR: 22.48; 95% CI: 2.835-178.426; p=0.003) and concomitant nephrotoxic agent use (OR: 2.516; 95% CI: 1.275-4.963; p=0.008) were independent risk factors associated with nephrotoxicity in geriatric patients. Conclusion: Advanced age was found to be a risk factor for COL nephrotoxicity. Closed observation should be done especially in the geriatric patients who have initial serum creatinine levels close to the upper limit, concomitant use of the nephrotoxic drugs should be avoided, and if possible, evaluation should be made in terms of non-COL treatment options in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study was carried out to determine the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination status and tuberculin skin test (TST) responses in health care workers and to compare the results with the results of healthy individuals who had TST screening in Tuberculosis Dispensary. Methods: Demographic characteristics of the two groups were analysed by survey form. The TST results and BCG scar counts on the left shoulder of the participants were obtained from Infection Control Committee and Tuberculosis Dispensary records and evaluated retrospectively. After data were recorded in IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows. Version 22.0 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) statistical program, descriptive statistics were used for demographic variables, Shapiro-Wilk test was used for normality test, Mann-Whitney U test was used for continuous variables and Pearson x2 test were used for the other categorical variables. Results: A total of 294 cases were included in the study. Number of scars ranged from one to four in each group, and the BCG vaccination rate was 98.6% in health care workers and 87.1% in control group (p<0.05). The TST induration diameters of the healthcare workers ranged from 0 to 22 mm, and the results of 32 (21.8%) employees were found to be positive. In the control group, the induration diameters were between 0-18 mm, and 12 (8.2%) were found to be positive. Differences between groups in terms of both mean diameters of induration and the TST positivity were statistically significant (p<0.05). The TST-positive health care workers were evaluated for tuberculosis (TB) and TB was not detected in any of them. Conclusions: Health care workers are in the risk group for TB. For this reason, employee health units of each hospital should implement TST and tuberculosis screening programs in a planned way. We determined that health care workers had high TST induration diameters, but none of them had active TB. This may be explained by repeated BCG vaccinations and exposure to mycobacteria other than Mycobacterium tuberculosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease which causes a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations seen endemically in Turkey like in many parts of the world. Septic arthritis can rarely be the only clinical presentation. For diagnosis, microbiological examination of synovial fluid is necessary. In this case report we aimed to present a case of brucellar septic monoarthritis of the knee of which the culture and tube agglutination were both positive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Klimik Journal / Klimik Dergisi is the property of DOC Design & Informatics Co. Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)