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SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the ratios of lactate/albumin, procalcitonin/albumin, and blood urea nitrogen/albumin to predict 14- and 28-day mortality in uroseptic patients. Urosepsis is a disease with high mortality, and early diagnosis and treatment are important. METHODS: Patients with urosepsis who were admitted to the intensive care unit between January 2021 and September 2022, had a follow-up of at least 28 days, and met the inclusion criteria were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS: The mean age was 70.23 (15.66) years and 84 (53.85%) were males. The number of non-survivors were 75 (48%) in the 14-day mortality group and 97 (62.1%) in the 28-day mortality group. Based on the 14-day mortality data, the blood urea nitrogen/albumin ratio was higher in non-survivors vs. survivors (median, 15.88 vs. 9.62), and the lactate/albumin ratio was higher (median, 0.96 vs. 0.52, p<0.01, all). Based on the 28-day mortality data, the blood urea nitrogen/albumin ratio was higher in non-survivors vs. survivors (median, 14.78 vs. 8.46), and the lactate/albumin ratio was higher (median, 0.90 vs. 0.50, p<0.01, all). CONCLUSION: It is very difficult to determine the prognosis of patients admitted to the emergency department with the diagnosis of urosepsis. The lactate/albumin ratio and the blood urea nitrogen/albumin ratio can be used as early prognostic markers for both 14-day and 28-day mortality until more reliable markers are identified.
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Abstract Background and aim Brucellosis is an infectious, contagious and zoonotic disease that occurs worldwide. The family members of an index case of brucellosis may be especially susceptible, due to sharing the same source of infection and similar risk factors for brucellosis. In this study, we propose to screen pediatric and adult family members of brucellosis index cases for detecting additional unrecognized infected family members. Materials and methods 114 family members of 41 pediatric patients with brucellosis were evaluated. All family members completed a brief questionnaire and were tested by a standard tube agglutination test (STA). Results The majority of family members (n = 96, 84.2%) were children. Among the 114 family members, 42 (36.8%) were seropositive, and 15 (35.7%) were symptomatic. The majority of the symptomatic seropositive family members (n = 12, 80%) had STA titers (≥1:640) higher than asymptomatic seropositive family members (n = 9, 33%; p = 0.004). Conclusion The routine screening of both pediatric and adult family members of index cases is a priority in endemic areas. Using this screening approach, unrecognized family members who are seropositive for brucellosis will be identified earlier and be able to receive prompt treatment.