Has the pandemic changed the test quality of the pulmonary function test laboratory?

Introduction: Pulmonary function tests are used in the evaluation of the respiratory system. Maneuvers during spirometry can create aerosols and spread viruses such as SARS-CoV-2. Measures due to the pandemic can negatively affect both the number and the quality of the spirometry tests. There are no comparative studies on this subject. Materials and Methods: The tests conducted in the spirometry laboratory between November 2019 and November 2021 were evaluated. Result: Four hundred forty patients were included in the study. 50.5% of the patients were male and the mean age was 61.8 ± 16.5 years. The age, gender, height, and weight of the patients were similar. 75.2% (331) of the tests were evaluated as successful. The most common errors in tests were early termination (84.1%), uncooperative patients (29%), and poor effort (22.4%). The types of errors were not different between the two periods. The median number of tests performed for each patient was six. The total number of spirometry tests performed were 262 and 178 for 2019 and 2021 (p= 0.011), but test success remained unchanged over the years (p= 0.513). There was no significant difference between the three operators and the test success (p= 0.909), which was similar for both periods. However, the number of tests performed until the successful maneuver varied significantly (p= 0.009), and fewer maneuvers were required before the pandemic. Conclusions: According to this study, the measures taken during the pandemic did not affect the quality of spirometry, but they did lead to more tests being done up until the successful maneuver was performed.

Anxiety and depression levels of healthcare workers during Covid-19 pandemic.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19), which causes a pandemic in the world, has started to appear in turkey since march 2020. Healthcare workers are at the top of the groups most at risk for covid-19 infection, which can have a negative impact on psychological state. Objectives: It was aimed to evaluate anxiety and depression levels among healthcare workers. Methods: this cross-sectional study performed via an online survey in april 2020. Participants answered questions about sociodemographic features, personal views and experiences about covid-19 and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (hads). Results: A total of 300 healthcare workers,193 men and 107 women, participated in the survey. According to hads, 44.6% of participants scored above anxiety and 68.2% scored above depression cut-off points. Being younger than 50 and taking care of covid-19 patients in hospitals were independently associated with anxiety risk. Female gender, young age (less than 50) and having comorbidity were independent risk factors for depression. Conclusion: Healthcare workers were at high risk of anxiety and depression during covid-19 outbreak. For this reason, psychological support should be given, especially to the group with high risk.

Post-COVID syndrome: pulmonary complications

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected millions of people worlwide and caused a pandemic that is still ongoing. The virus can cause a disease named as COVID-19, which is composed of multi systemic manifestations with a pulmonary system predominance. As the time passes, we are dealing more and more with a wide variety of effects and complications of the disease in survivors as far as with concerns about the clinical outcome and the timeline of symptoms in different patients. Since the lungs are the most involved organs and the post-COVID prolonged and persistent effects are mainly related to the pulmonary system, it is crucial to define and predict the outcome and to determine the individuals that can progress to fibrosis and loss of function of lungs. This review summarizes the current literature regarding the pulmonary complications in post-COVID syndrome and the management of these conditions.

Influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2 in adult: 'Similarities and differences'.

INTRODUCTION: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), causing a global pandemic starting from December 2019, showed a course that resulted in serious mortality in the world. In order to understand SARSCoV-2 better, here we aimed to compare the similar and different characteristics of Influenza viruses occurring in the same season with SARS-CoV-2. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 144 patients (31 patients with COVID-19, 62 patients with H1N1 influenza, and 51 patients with influenza B) were included in the study. Demographic findings, chronic diseases, laboratory values, chest x-ray, and chest CT findings of the patients were evaluated retrospectively. RESULT: Median age of the COVID-19 patients and rate of male patients were higher than other patient groups (55 years; p< 0.001) (61% male; p< 0.001). The most common chronic medical conditions were hypertension and diabetes. Platelet numbers and alanine aminotransferase values were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients. Radiologically, bilateral (74.2%) and nonspecific distribution (58.1%), ground-glass opacities with consolidation (51.6%), patchy image (25.8%), ground-glass opacities with interstitial changes (22.6%) and halo sign (22.6%) were quite evident than other groups in COVID-19 patients (p< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that due to the higher PLT values observed in COVID-19 patients, initiation of anticoagulant therapy should be considered in the early stage and routine follow-up with d-dimer and fibrinogen should be applied for suspected patients. Moreover, attention should be paid in terms of possible liver toxicity of the drugs to be used in treatment due the higher ALT values observed in COVID-19 patients. Since we did not detect SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses concurrently in the same patient, it may be helpful to focus on only one virus in a patient with symptoms, and radiographic differences can be used to differentiate COVID-19 from influenza.

Characteristics of hospitalised COVID-19 patients and parameters associated with severe pneumonia.

BACKGROUND: After the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was reported in China in December 2019, it caused a global pandemic, including Turkey. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of hospitalised COVID-19 patients and assess the parameters related to severe pneumonia. METHODS: Included in the study were hospitalised COVID-19 patients with positive naso-oropharyngeal swabs. Patients' demographics, admission symptoms, laboratory and radiological findings were recorded retrospectively. RESULTS: Of 1013 patients, 583 were males (57.6%) and 430 were females (42.4%), with a mean age of 53.7 ± 17.9. More than half of the patients had at least one comorbidities, the most common of which were hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Cough (59.8%), fatigue (49.5%) and fever (41.2%) were the most common presenting symptoms. Of the hospitalised COVID-19 patients, 84.9% had pneumonia and 83.5% had typical radiological COVID-19 appearances (94.5%: ground-glass areas). The most common laboratory findings were high C-reactive protein (CRP) (73.6%) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (46.2%) levels, as well as lymphopenia (30.1%). Severe pneumonia was present in 28.1% of COVID-19 patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that advanced age, hypotension, anaemia and elevated CRP and LDH serum levels were independent risk factors for the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia (P = .011, .006, .017, .003 and .001, respectively). CONCLUSION: This study, as one of the first multicentre studies about characteristics of COVID-19 in Turkey, may guide about disease-related parameters and severity of pneumonia. Age, blood pressure, complete blood count and routine biochemical tests (including CRP and LDH) would appear to be important parameters for the evaluation of the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia.

Relationship between chest computed tomography findings and clinical conditions of coronavirus disease (COVID-19): A multicentre experience.

AIMS: This study aimed to investigate the clinical and chest computed tomography (CT) features associated with clinical parameters for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the capital of Turkey, Ankara. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Epidemiological, clinical features, laboratory findings and radiological characteristics of 1563 hospitalised patients with COVID-19 in Ankara were collected, reviewed and analysed in this study. The risk factors associated with disease severity were investigated. RESULTS: Non-severe (1214; 77.7%) and severe cases (349; 22.3%) were enrolled in the study. Compared with the non-severe group, the severe group were significantly older and had more comorbidities (ie, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease). Smoking was more common in the severe group. Severe patients had higher respiratory rates and higher incidences of cough and dyspnoea compared with non-severe patients. Compared with the non-severe patients, the severe patients had increased C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and CRP/albumin ratio and decreased albumin. The occurrence rates of consolidation, subpleural sparing, crazy-paving pattern, cavity, halo sign, reversed halo sign, air bronchogram, pleural thickening, micronodule, subpleural curvilinear line and multilobar and bilateral involvement in the CT finding of the severe patients were significantly higher than those of the non-severe patients. CONCLUSIONS: Many factors are related to the severity of COVID-19, which can help clinicians judge the severity of the patient and evaluate the prognosis. This cohort study revealed that male sex, age (≥55 years), patients with any comorbidities, especially those with cardiovascular disease, dyspnoea, increased CRP, D-dimer and NLR, and decreased lymphocyte count and CT findings of consolidation and multilobar involvement were predictors of severe COVID-19.

Tobacco and COVID-19

Tobacco and its products are the well-known causes of premature deaths associated with cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as they constitute a significant risk factor that increases the tendency to respiratory system infection and other systemic infections. Active tobacco use and passive smoking increase the risk of infection. Both increase peribronchial and alveolar inflammation and fibrosis and mucosal permeability, cause inadequate mucociliary cleaning, damage to the respiratory tract epithelium resulting in fibrosis, and they adversely affect cellular and humoral immunity. Smoking has been known to increase the risk for viral infections and influenza. Similar data have been approved found for coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Smoking is reported to be associated with the frequency of the disease and its severity of the clinical course. Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 penetrates the cell using the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors. Such receptor proteins had been shown to increase in smoker individuals. Also, smoking facilitates penetration of the virus into the cell. The frequency of smoking and the rates of admission to intensive care, mechanical ventilation, and mortality have been also found to be higher was higher in severe cases. The risk for disease progression was found to be 14-fold higher in smokers. Further, the World Health Organization emphasized similar negative effects of hookah and new tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. It is vital to underline the adverse effects of tobacco and tobacco products and to raise awareness among the public and to make efforts to smoking on every opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public awareness campaigns during the pandemic must always accompanied by the methods and strategies to avoid active and passive smoking.

Incidence and Immunologic Analysis of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Hemodialysis Patients:A Single-Center Experience.

OBJECTIVES: COVID-19 is a great threat to the modern world and significant threat to immunocompromised patients, including patients with chronic renal failure. We evaluated COVID-19 incidence among our hemodialysis patients and investigated the most probable immune mechanisms against COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Baskent University has 21 dialysis centers across Turkey, with 2420 patients on hemodialysis and 30 on peritoneal dialysis. Among these, we retrospectively evaluated 602 patients (257 female/345 male) with chronic renal failure receiving hemodialysis as renal replacement therapy; 7 patients (1.1%) were infected with SARS-CoV-2. We retrospectively collected patient demographic characteristics, clinical data, and immunological factors affecting the clinical course of the disease. We divided patients into groups and included 2 control groups (individuals with normal renal functions): group I included COVID-19-positive patients with normal renal function, group II included COVID-19-positive hemodialysis patients, group III included COVID-19-negative hemodialysis patients, and group IV included COVID-19-negative patients with normal renal function. Lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood and typing of human leukocyte antigens were analyzed in all groups, with killer cell immunoglobulin like receptor genes analyzed only in COVID-19-positive patients and healthy controls. RESULTS: No deaths occurred among the 7 COVID-19-positive hemodialysis patients. Group I patients were significantly older than patients in groups II and III (P = .039, P = .030, respectively) but not significantly different from group IV (P = .060). Absolute counts of natural killer cells in healthy controls were higherthan in other groups (but not significantly). ActivatedT cells were significantly increased in both COVID-19-positive groups versus COVID-19-negative groups. Groups showed significant differences in C and DQ loci with respect to distribution of alleles in both HLA classes. CONCLUSIONS: Although immunocompromised patients are at greater risk for COVID-19, we found lower COVID-19 incidence in our hemodialysis patients, which should be further investigated in in vitro and molecular studies.

Radiological approaches to COVID-19 pneumonia

COVID-19 pneumonia has high mortality rates. The symptoms are undiagnostic, the results of viral nucleic acid detection method (PCR) can delay, so that chest computerized tomography is often key diagnostic test in patients with possible COVID-19 pneumonia. In this review, we discussed the main radiological findings of this infection.