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OBJECTIVE: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that is the third leading cause of death in the world is one of the main economic burden. The cost is primarily due to COPD exacerbations and hospitalizations. We aimed to determine the factors associated with increasing costs in severe COPD exacerbation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: It was a multicenter and prospective observational recording study. 294 patients who severe COPD exacerbation were included in the study. An amount of more than 429.58 euros was accepted as increasing costs (IC). Factors associated with IC were determined by regression analysis. RESULTS: Mean age was 69.90 ± 9.79/years (minimum: 40 maximum: 95), mean costs were 594.9 ± 70.9 euros. About 83.7% of the patients were male, 24.1% (71) were active smokers, and 81% (238) had at least 1 comorbidity. Factors associated with IC in the regression analysis were delay of discharge (due to prolonged consultation), antibiotic use longer than 7 days, need to enteral/parenteral feeding, application of pulmonary rehabilitation (physiotherapy) at hospitalization, and refusal to be discharged. CONCLUSION: The increasing costs in severe COPD exacerbation depends not only treatment but also the patient's social status and hospital-related factors. We think that the cost of severe COPD exacerbation can be reduced by interventions on interchangeable factors such as patient's social status and hospital-related factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Most exacerbations are mild to moderate, and antibiotic treatment for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is recommended for patients with severe exacerbations or severe underlying chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Therefore, we aimed to investigate the patient factors that are associated with the prescription of antibiotics for inappropriate indication in AECOPD. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study was an observational cross-sectional study conducted in an outpatient clinic. The patients diagnosed with AECOPD and prescribed an antibiotic by a pulmonary physician were enrolled in the study. These prescriptions were documented by the pharmacist who asked the patient about the three cardinal symptoms. Appropriate and inappropriate prescription groups were defined by the types of exacerbations, as defined by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) COPD report. RESULTS: There were 138 patients, predominantly male (83%), with a mean age of 64 (±9) years. A total of 64% of the prescriptions were appropriate; however, there were 50 (36%) patients with inappropriate antibiotic prescription according to the mentioned criteria. When we compared the patient factors between the appropriate and inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions, there was no statistically significant difference in terms of age, Forced expiratory volume in first second % (FEV1%) predicted, FEV1 ml, forced vital capacity (FVC) ml, FEV1/ FVC, and amount (packs/year) of smoking (p>0.05 for all parameters). FVC% was statistically significantly lower in the appropriate antibiotic prescription group compared with that in the inappropriate antibiotic prescription group (p=0.049). CONCLUSION: This study shows that most pulmonary physicians have a tendency to prescribe antibiotics for AECOPD according to the defined GOLD criteria. However, some of the physicians also prefer to prescribe antibiotics self-directedly, irrespective of the GOLD criteria. A physician-based questionnaire can be completed for future studies to define the underlying reasons for antibiotic prescription demands for cases of mild AECOPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: Neuroendocrine tumors of the lungs are a clearly different group of tumors with definite ultrastructural, immunohistochemical, and molecular features. We reported and analyzed the incidence, clinicopathological features, surgery rates, responses to first-line therapy, and survival outcomes of this rare condition according to our lung cancer patient database. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively collected the data of 62 patients who were histopathologically diagnosed with large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of lung (LCNEC) between January 2010 and January 2016. RESULTS: The patients were predominantly (95%) men (male:female=59:3) with their average age being 60.3±8.6 years. Diagnosis was made by the fine-needle aspiration biopsy (NAB) in 7 patients, bronchoscopic transbronchial biopsy in 13, and surgery in 42. Nearly 43.5% of the patients presented with the tumor in the right upper lobe. Additionally, tumors of 46.8% patients could be observed in peripheral locations. Sixteen patients presented with stage 1, 17 with stage 2, 15 with stage 3, and 14 with stage 4. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 29 months (SE: 12.2) (95% CI, 5.2-52.8 months). Progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly better in patients with low N, M0, early stage, p63 positive, and TTF-1 positive across the entire cohort. Overall survival (OS) was significantly better in patients with comparatively lower N, M0, low stage, and peripheral location. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated a single-center experience with clinicopathologic factors and survival outcomes of LCNEC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: There is limited number of studies conducted on the use of capnography for CO2 monitorization in sleep laboratories. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the correlation between the CO2 value measured by transcutaneous carbon dioxide (tcCO2) monitorization and partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) levels measured with arterial blood gas analysis in patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and Sleep-related hypoventilation/hypoxemic syndromes (SRHHS). Materials and Methods: Patients with bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) treatment indication who were diagnosed with OSAS and SRHHS via polysomnography (PSG), were prospectively included in the study. Four arterial blood gas analyses were conducted from all participants (preand post-PSG, before and after manual bi-level positive airway pressure titration) in order to find PaCO2 levels against tcCO2 monitorization. Results: Totally 30 patients with sleep-related respiratory disease (SRRD), consisting of 18 patients with OSAS and COPD, and 12 patients with OSAS and obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS), were included in the study. A correlation was detected between average tcCO2 level and average PaCO2 level in night PSG (r=0.600; p<0.0001). Similarly, we found a correlation between average tcCO2 level and average PaCO2 level in BiPAP titration night measurements as well (r=0.812; p=0.001). Finally, a correlation was detected between the average PaCO2 value obtained from four blood gas samples measured in both nights and the average tcCO2 value taken from two capnographies (r=0.783; p<0.001). Conclusion: Comparing tcCO2 and PaCO2 values, it was determined that the average CO2 values measured by capnography correlated with the average of simultaneous arterial CO2 values measured before and after BiPAP titration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Tuberculosis is still a major health problem in developing countries. The definite diagnose is culture for tubercule bacilli, but it takes time, so workers try to find new methods. It has been shown that the activity of serum adenosine deaminase (sADA) increases in patients with tuberculosis. In our study, we investigated the sADA levels, before and during treatment with the clinical, radiological, and laboratory parameters to determine whether it is a helpful parameter for diagnosis, also we researched whether sADA levels can be used for monitoring. Material and Method: 72 lung tuberculosis patients and 20 healthy individuals were examined between January 2007- June 2008. The patients' first, intermediary, and final sADA activities were measured with their clinical, radiological, and laboratory assessments. The initial levels of patients were compared with the control group and the first, intermediary and final sADA levels were compared to each other. Results: First sADA activities of patients were higher than the healthy group (p=0.000). An obvious decrease was observed during and after the treatment comparing to initial levels. The final sADA activities were still higher and the difference was significant (p=0.000). Conclusion: Although the definite diagnosis for pulmonary tuberculosis is culture of bacilli, we consider high sADA levels can be a helpful parameter for diagnosis, can be used in monitoring and response to the antituberculoterapy. We expect comprehensive studies with more extensive cases about this subject will contribute to the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]