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Copyright of Turkish Journal of Intensive Care is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI 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.)

Introduction: This study aims to evaluate the radiological findings of pregnant women with COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods: A total of 192 pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19 by performing real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction test (RT-PCR) were studied retrospectively. Chest X-rays and thoracic CT findings were defined by dividing patients into three groups according to the time of diagnosis: <12 weeks of gestation (first trimester, n=15), 12-24 weeks of gestation (second trimester, n=33), and >24 weeks of gestation (third trimester, n=144). Only 98 patients who underwent chest X-ray and computed tomography (CT) were included in the study. Data including affected lung side, number of involved lobes, number of lesions, lesion density/opacity, and parenchymal infection pattern were evaluated. Results: Twenty-five patients were asymptomatic at the time of admission, and the most common symptom was dry cough in 103 patients. The median D-dimer level was the lowest in the first trimester group (<12 weeks) and the highest in the third trimester group (>24 weeks). The mean white blood cell count was significantly higher in the third trimester group (>24 weeks) than in the first trimester group (<12 weeks) (p=0.036). Ninety-eight patients underwent radiological imaging studies. Findings suggestive of COVID-19 pneumonia were found in 59 (65%) out of 90 patients by means of chest radiography and in 21 (87.5%) out of 24 patients by performing thorax tomography. The most common findings were bilateral and multilobar lung involvement, patchy involvement, and ground-glass opacities (GGOs). Discussion and Conclusion: This study's results show that pregnant women with COVID-19 have similar radiological findings to non-pregnant COVID-19 patients, and the most common findings are bilateral and multilobar involvement. Furthermore, pregnant patients can be admitted with lower GGO (lesion in ground glass density) rates and higher consolidation rates compared to the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Surgery & Medicine (JOSAM) is the property of Journal of Surgery & Medicine 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.)

Copyright of Journal of Surgery & Medicine (JOSAM) is the property of Journal of Surgery & Medicine 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.)

Aim: In this study, we aimed to compare osteoprotegerin (OPG) levels in patients with and without polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and to investigate the correlation between OPG levels and cardiovascular risk factors. Methods: A total of 49 patients with PCOS and 31 age- and body mass index-matched healthy controls were included in the study. Blood samples were collected and hormonal and metabolic parameters and OPG levels were analyzed. The carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) was measured for each patient and control through ultrasonography. Results: The low-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol levels were higher and the Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Index (HOMA-IR) values were higher in patients with PCOS (p=0.002, p=0.037, and p=0.028, respectively). The OPG levels were 4.29 pmol/L and 4.07 pmol/L in the patient and control groups, respectively, indicating no significant difference between the groups. The CIMT was 0.57 in both groups. Conclusion: Our study results suggest that OPG levels appear to be similar in patients with PCOS and healthy controls. Although OPG has been associated with endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerosis and coronary calcification in previous studies, currently not a useful marker for cardiovascular risk analysis in this patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy complication caused by typically limited proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of extra-trophoblast cells. Decorin (DCN) is a decidua-derived transforming growth factor (TGF)-binding proteoglycan which exerts multiple physiological functions such as collagen fibrillogenesis, myogenesis, angiostasis, and restraining placental invasiveness by adversely regulate proliferation, migration, and invasiveness of human extravillous trophoblast cells. Preeclampsia is mainly classified as early- and late-onset PE according to the timing of the disease onset. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the DCN levels in early-onset PE (EOPE, < 34 weeks) and late-onset severe PE (LOPE, ≥ 34 weeks) and uncomplicated pregnancies. Material and methods: In this case-control study, serum samples were obtained from 21 pregnant women with EOPE and 29 pregnant women with LOPE, as well as from 38 healthy controls (n = 12 early-onset controls and n = 26 late-onset controls) with uncomplicated pregnancies. Results: The mean DCN level was statistically significantly higher in the early-onset PE controls than late-onset PE controls (p = 0.040). Although the mean DCN level was higher in the early-onset PE controls than EOPE and LOPE groups, it did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.119 and p = 0.117, respectively). Conclusions: Although DCN has been thought to play a role in the pathophysiology of PE, our study results show that DCN is not a useful predictive marker of EOPE and LOPE. Further large-scale studies are needed to draw a definitive conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ectopic pregnancy is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality, accounting for 1 to 2% of all pregnancies. With the introduction of recent developments in diagnostic tools, the success rate of medical treatment has increased. The treatment is considered successful, if there is a 15% decline in serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels between Days 4 and 7 of follow up in patients receiving single-dose methotrexate (MTX) treatment. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether the change in hCG levels between Days 0 and 4 is useful in predicting treatment success in patients receiving single-dose MTX protocol.A total of 93 patients who were diagnosed with ectopic pregnancy in our clinic between September 2016 and September 2018 and treated with MTX were retrospectively analyzed. Changes in hCG levels between Days 0/1-4 and 4-7 were calculated.The overall success rate of single-dose MTX treatment was found to be 71.6%. A total of 50 patients of the success group had decreased hCG levels on Day 4, while only 18 patients of the success group had increased hCG levels on Day 4. Using the cut -off value for hCG change between Days 1 and 4, a decrease of 16.1% in hCG levels was found to be the strongest predictor of treatment success. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of this cut-off value were 89.7%, 64%, and 87.1%, respectively. In conclusion, early changes in hCG levels may be useful in the follow-up of the treatment success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) is constantly secreted during menstrual cycles and may offer several advantages over traditional biomarkers of ovarian reserve. Objective: To assess the relationship of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) values, which are used to evaluate ovary reserves, with oocyte and embryo quality and with ART outcomes in patients undergoing intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was performed using 50 women undergoing ICSI in IVF center of Zeynep Kamil Women's and Children's Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey. All patients received the long protocol. Follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, estradiol, and AMH levels were measured and antral follicle counts were obtained on the 3rd day of menstruation. A cut-off value based on the number of oocytes was determined for AMH, and women were evaluated after being divided into two groups as bad responders and good responders, according to their AMH levels. Results: Twelve (27.3%) women were in bad responders group and 32 (72.7%) women were in good responders group. AMH measurements were statistically significantly different between the two groups (p<0.01). Based on this significance, the researchers used ROC analysis to estimate a cut-off point for AMH. The researchers detected the good responders with an AMH level 1.90 or above, with 87.50% sensitivity, 66.67% specificity, 87.50% positive prediction, and 66.67% negative prediction (AUC=0.777, p<0.01). Conclusion: Basal AMH levels can be used as an indicator to determine the ovarian response in women undergoing ICSI. AMH can be used to predict the number of mature oocytes that can be collected during treatment and the number of oocytes that can be fertilized. However, AMH is not a valuable tool to evaluate oocyte quality, the development of high-quality embryos, or pregnancy conception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]