ABSTRACT
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.
ABSTRACT
AIM:To report a male patient with Pickwickian syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea(OSA) who presented with pseudotumor cerebri and visual loss. METHODS:Case report.RESULES:A 54-year-old obese man with a three-month history of bilateral visual deterioration was evaluated. His visual acuity was 20/200 in OD and 20/400 in OS. Color vision was impaired only in the left eye. Funduscopy revealed bilateral disc edema and peripapillary hemorrhages together with macular exudates in OS. Physical examination and laboratory investigations were consistent with OSA and Pickwickian syndrome. Lumbar puncture demonstrated an opening pressure of 350mm H2O and computed brain scan was normal. The diagnosis was pseudotumor cerebri in association with OSA and Pickwickian syndrome. Fundus findings and visual acuity improved with phlebotomy, blood pressure regulation, weight reduction and bi-level positive airway pressure therapy. CONCLUSION:OSA and Pickwickian syndrome should be kept in mind when facing a patient with pseudotumor cerebri.