First known COVID-19 case and contact tracing efforts in Istanbul, Turkey

Background/aim: COVID-19 has now become a global pandemic. Understanding the routes of transmission is vital in the mitigation and suppression of the disease. Istanbul has become one of the disease's epicenters. This study aims to describe the first COVID-19 case and contact tracing efforts around it in Istanbul. Materials and methods: The descriptive study was conducted in Istanbul, Turkey. The first COVID-19 cases and those associated with them were investigated with contact tracing, and primary and secondary cases were described. Results: The source case was an individual who returned to Turkey from international travel at the beginning of March and tested PCR (­). The index case is the brother of the source case and is considered the first PCR (+) case diagnosed in Istanbul. Contact tracing revealed 23 PCR (+) cases, 14 of which resulted in hospitalization and three deaths. Conclusions: This study described cases of the first COVID-19 cluster in Istanbul. Moreover, contact tracing was used in this first cluster. This contributed to contact tracing algorithms in Turkey.

Evaluation of patients with COVID-19 and the United Kingdom mutations in a training and research hospital in Istanbul.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the patient clinics by studying Variant of Concern (VOC) Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) on conventional PCR-positive samples in a training and research hospital COVID test center in Istanbul. METHODS: The study is a descriptive type and VOC PCR from all samples (from a total of 1300 samples) which detected positive by conventional PCR in a training and research hospital COVID test center between February 2 and 9, 2021. The United Kingdom mutation (VOC 202012/01, B.1.1.7) has been studied. Clinics parameters of the patients were evaluated from Public Health Management System (HSYS) records. The statistical significance was taken as p<0.05 in the analysis. RESULTS: Within the scope of the research, 1300 PCR-positive COVID-19 patients were evaluated. VOC mutation was positive in 26.1% of all patients (339 persons), and 5.8% of patients (75 persons) were hospitalized. While 3.2% (11 persons) of those with VOC positivity were hospitalized, 6.7% (64 persons) of VOC negatives were hospitalized (p=0.020). About 18.2% of hospitalized VOC positives (two persons) and 23.4% of VOC negatives (15 persons) are in intensive care. CONCLUSION: When VOC mutation was examined in all admitted and hospitalized patients, it was detected that VOC mutation was less frequent in hospitalized patients. No relationship between hospitalization and intensive care stay and VOC mutation was detected. It is recommended to determine with studies the contagiousness of patients with VOC mutations.

ICU admission rates in Istanbul following the addition of favipiravir to the national COVID-19 treatment protocol.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to understand the observational relationship between adoption of favipiravir into the national COVID-19 treatment protocol and intensive care unit (ICU) admission rates in Istanbul due to COVID-19. METHODS: Data were harvested from the "Public Health Management System-HSYS," which collate centrally the records of all known cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases, numbers admitted to ICU, and number undergoing intubation were compared between 2 time periods: 11th of March, the date on which the first case in Turkey was confirmed, to 30th of March; and March 30, to 10th of April, 5 days after Favipiravir was introduced into the treatment algorithm when, the records were examined. RESULTS: The percentage of patients requiring ICU admission diminished from 24% to 12%, whilst the percentage intubated fell from 77% to 66%. These differences were both statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The addition of favipiravir to the national COVID-19 treatment protocol may explain this rapid decrease in the rate of ICU admissions and intubation.

Clinical approach to patients admitted to the emergency room due to acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic and percutaneous cholecystostomy experience.

BACKGROUND: Acute cholecystitis (AC), a common complication of gallstones, is responsible for a significant part of emergency applications, and cholecystectomy is the only definitive treatment method for AC. Early cholecystectomy has many reported advantages. Operation-related morbidity and mortality have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, our aim is to present our general clinical approach to patients who were diagnosed with AC during the pandemic and our percutaneous cholecystostomy experience during this period. METHODS: This study included 72 patients who were presented to our hospital's emergency room between March 11 and May 31, 2020, with AC. Patients were divided into three groups based on their treatment: outpatients (Group 1), inpatients (Group 2) and patients undergoing percutaneous cholecystostomy (Group 3). These three groups were compared by their demographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: There were 36 (50%) patients in Group 1, 25 (34.7%) patients in Group 2, and 11 (15.3%) patients in Group 3. The demographic characteristics of the patients were similar. The CRP and WBC levels of the patients in Group 3 were significantly higher compared to the other groups. Moreover, the wall of the gallbladder was thicker and the size of the gallbladder was larger in Group 3. Patients had percutaneous cholecystostomy at the median of 3.5 days and the length of hospital stay was longer compared to Group 2 (3.9 days versus 9.2 days, p=0.00). The rate of re-hospitalization after discharge was similar in Group 2 and Group 3, but none of the patients in Group 1 required hospitalization. None of 72 patients developed an emergency condition requiring surgery, and there was no death. CONCLUSION: Although many publications emphasize that laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) can be performed with low morbidity at the first admission in acute cholecystitis, it is a clinical condition that can be delayed in the COVID-19 pandemic and other similar emergencies. Thus, percutaneous cholecystostomy should be effectively employed, and its indications should be extended if necessary (e.g., younger patients, patients with lower CCI or ASA). This approach may enable us to protect both patients and healthcare professionals that perform the operation from the risk of COVID-19.