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Purpose: To evaluate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in conjunctival secretions of COVID-19 patients.Material and Methods: In this retrospective study, the records were examined of patients who were treated in the hospital with the diagnosis of COVID-19 between March-May 2020 and were referred to the eye clinic due to ocular symptoms. Conjunctival swabs from both confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases during hospitalization were analyzed.Results: A total of 35 patients (22 suspected, 13 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19) were referred to the eye clinic. Conjunctival swab samples from 3 patients yielded positive PCR results. These three patients were being treated in the intensive care unit, and all were suspected COVID-19 patients.Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 may be detected in patients with suspected COVID-19. Even with conjunctivitis findings, SARS-CoV-2 may not be detected in most conjunctiva swab samples of COVID-19 patients.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate our patient’s treatment responses to three-month immunotherapy for allergic rhinitis with or without asthma, and to investigate the factors affecting treatment Material and Methods: A total of 53 patients receiving subcutaneous immunotherapy for allergic rhinitis with or without asthma were included in the study. All patients were positive for mite skin prick test. Asthma was present as a concomitant disease in 28(52.8%) patients. Patients with and without asthma were classified in two groups as “Allergic rhinitis + Asthma+” and “Allergic rhinitis+ Asthma-“. The values of pulmonary function tests of all patients, and in rhinitis with asthma patients, the Asthma Control Test scores before and after three months of treatment were recorded. Results: In “Allergic rhinitis + Asthma+” and “Allergic rhinitis + Asthma-“groups, male/female ratio was 7/21 and 10/15, mean age was 33±9 and 32±9 years. No statistically significant differences were present between the pre-treatment and 3-month-treatment values of pulmonary function test. The difference between the pre-treatment and 3-month treatment asthma control test scores was strongly significant. Conclusion: In allergic rhinitis, which is quite commonly associated with asthma, the control of asthma is also provided with the treatment of allergic rhinitis. By using pulmonary function test in allergic rhinitis and asthma control test in asthma, we showed that the effectiveness of allergen specific immunotherapy started in 3 months which was earlier from current literature.

Background Primary immunodeficiencies are a heterogeneous group of genetic diseases caused by one or more abnormalities in the immune system. Although pulmonary complications are common in patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases, these complications contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality. Aim The aim of our study was to evaluate the distribution of the features of pulmonary radiological involvement and demographic findings in this patient group. Materials and methods The files of patients who were treated and followed up with the diagnosis of primary immunodeficiency between 2014 and 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. Demographic data, symptoms, additional diseases, and computed tomography findings of the patients were recorded. Results The mean age of 32 cases was 37.34±13.54 (20-69) and the age of diagnosis was 28.90±15.75 (1-62). Twenty of the cases were male and 10 were female. The most common symptom was diarrhea with 53.1% and cough with 34.4%. The most common radiological finding is bronchiectasis in 75% of cases. Twenty-one (65.6%) of the cases had recurrent pneumonia before diagnosis and no pneumonia was observed after intravenous ımmunoglobulin replacement therapy. Three of the cases (9.4%) died during the follow-up. Conclusions Primary immunodeficiency should be considered in patients with bronchiectasis and a history of recurrent pneumonia, and further investigations should be performed. Early diagnosis of patients with primary immunodeficiency is very important for the early detection and treatment of malignancy and the interstitial lung disease that may develop.

© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.Objective: Vaccination is the most efficient way to control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but vaccination rates remain below the target level in most countries. This multicenter study aimed to evaluate the vaccination status of hospitalized patients and compare two different booster vaccine protocols. Setting: Inoculation in Turkey began in mid-January 2021. Sinovac was the only available vaccine until April 2021, when BioNTech was added. At the beginning of July 2021, the government offered a third booster dose to healthcare workers and people aged > 50 years who had received the two doses of Sinovac. Of the participants who received a booster, most chose BioNTech as the third dose. Methods: We collected data from 25 hospitals in 16 cities. Patients hospitalized between August 1 and 10, 2021, were included and categorized into eight groups according to their vaccination status. Results: We identified 1401 patients, of which 529 (37.7%) were admitted to intensive care units. Nearly half (47.8%) of the patients were not vaccinated, and those with two doses of Sinovac formed the second largest group (32.9%). Hospitalizations were lower in the group which received 2 doses of Sinovac and a booster dose of BioNTech than in the group which received 3 doses of Sinovac. Conclusion: Effective vaccinations decreased COVID-19-related hospitalizations. The efficacy after two doses of Sinovac may decrease over time; however, it may be enhanced by adding a booster dose. Moreover, unvaccinated patients may be persuaded to undergo vaccination.

Objective: to evaluate long-term effects of COVID-19, and to determine the risk factors in long-COVID in a cohort of the Turkish Thoracic Society (TTS)-TURCOVID multicenter registry.Methods: thirteen centers participated with 831 patients; 504 patients were enrolled after exclusions. The study was designed in three-steps: (1) Phone questionnaire; (2) retrospective evaluation of the medical records; (3) face-to-face visit. Results: in the first step, 93.5% of the patients were hospitalized; 61.7% had a history of pneumonia at the time of diagnosis. A total of 27.1% reported clinical symptoms at the end of the first year. Dyspnea (17.00%), fatigue (6.30%), and weakness (5.00%) were the most prevalent long-term symptoms. The incidence of long-term symptoms was increased by 2.91 fold (95% CI 1.04-8.13, P=0.041) in the presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and by 1.84 fold (95% CI 1.10-3.10, P=0.021) in the presence of pneumonia at initial diagnosis, 3.92 fold (95% Cl 2.29-6.72, P=0.001) of dyspnea and 1.69 fold (95% Cl 1.02-2.80, P=0.040) fatigue persists in the early-post-treatment period and 2.88 fold (95% Cl 1.52- 5.46, P=0.001) in the presence of emergency service admission in the post COVID period. In step 2, retrospective analysis of 231 patients revealed that 1.4% of the chest X-rays had not significantly improved at the end of the first year, while computed tomography (CT) scan detected fibrosis in 3.4%. In step 3, 138 (27.4%) patients admitted to face-to-face visit at the end of first year; at least one symptom persisted in 49.27% patients. The most common symptoms were dyspnea (27.60%), psychiatric symptoms (18.10%), and fatigue (17.40%). Thorax CT revealed fibrosis in 2.4% patients. Conclusions: COVID-19 symptoms can last for extended lengths of time, and severity of the disease as well as the presence of comorbidities might contribute to increased risk. Long-term clinical issues should be regularly evaluated after COVID-19., NA

WOS: 000366030500001, PubMed ID: 26622176, Objective: To determine distribution of COPD assessment categories and physicians' adherence to Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) 2013 strategy in Turkish COPD patients. Methods: A total of 1,610 COPD patients (mean [standard deviation] age: 62.6 [9.9] years, 85.7% were males) were included in this multicenter, non-interventional, cross-sectional study. Patients were categorized via GOLD 2013 strategy document. Consistency between reported and re-classified GOLD categories, and measures used for symptom evaluation and exacerbation was analyzed. Results: Overall, 41.1% of patients were assigned to GOLD A, while 13.2% were assigned to GOLD C categories. Long-acting beta-2 agonist + long-acting muscarinic antagonist + inhaled corticosteroid regimen was the most common treatment (62.0%). Over-treatment was noted in > 70% of GOLD A, B, and C patients. A high consistency between measures of symptom evaluation (Kappa coefficient = 0.993, P < 0.0001) and a low-moderate consistency between exacerbation risk measures (Kappa coefficient = 0.237, P < 0.0001) were noted. Conclusion: Our findings revealed GOLD A as the most prevalent category in Turkish cohort of COPD patients. Group assignment was altered depending on the chosen measure for symptom and risk assessment. Physician non-adherence to treatment recommendations in GOLD 2013 document leading to over-treatment in patients assigned to GOLD A, B, and C categories was also detected., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Turkey, The study is funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Turkey. We thank Cagla Ayhan, MD and Prof Sule Oktay, MD, PhD from KAPPA Consultancy Training Research Ltd, Istanbul who provided editorial support and Mehmet Berktas, MD, MICR from KAPPA Consultancy Training Research Ltd, Istanbul who performed statistical analysis funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Turkey.

Background and Aim: Smoking in pregnancy is a preventable risk factor affecting morbidity and mortality.A multicentre cross-sectional study was planned by “Turkish Thoracic Society Women and Lung Health As a task force group ”. The aim of the study is to determine the attitudes of pregnant women and their surroundings to electronic cigarettes, which have become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Methods: The study was conducted in 11 provinces and 15 centers in Turkey, between September 2017 and December 2017. A Questionnaires were conducted with face-to-face interviews to gynecology outpatients who agreed to participate in the study. There were a total of 60 questions regarding education, socioeconomic status and parents9 habits of smoking cigarettes and electronic cigarettes. Results: A total of 1123 pregnant women with a mean age of 27 ± 5.6 were enrolled. 48% of them were were primary school graduates, 7% were not illiterate, and 56% were housewives. 10% of the pregnant women were active smokers. The most important factor in smoking cessation was the thought it could be harmful to the baby. Nevertheless, 30% of them thought electronic cigarette was not harmful to the baby. The rate of smoking electronic cigarettes among pregnant women was 3%.25% of pregnant women thought that cigarette smoking was more harmful, and the 45% were not aware of the harms and addictive effects of electronic cigarettes. Conclusions: regnant women seem to need more information about electronic cigarettes lately, as if they were harmless. Educational sessions, planned together with the obstetricians and chest physcians would make a significant contribution to maternal and child health.