Comparison of first admission hemogram parameters and chest computed tomography findings of pediatric COVID-19 patients Blood parameters of pediatric COVID-19 patients

Aim: We use computed tomography, which is one of the frequently used imaging tests, both as a disease diagnosis method and to follow the clinical course in COVID-19 patients. This also means radiation exposure. Radiation exposure, especially in pediatric patients, can cause life-threatening diseases. Is there a blood parameter that will reduce this undesirable event and allow estimation of computed tomography findings? Are hemogram analysis, one of the most commonly used blood tests, and tomography findings of the disease related? We designed this study based on the questions. Material(s) and Method(s): Among the patients under the age of 18 who applied to the emergency department, those with a positive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and chest CT and hemogram were included in the study. Chest CT findings were classified according to the CO-RADS classification. We compared the CO-RADS classification with hemogram parameters and the ratios of these parameters. Result(s): Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) rates were found to be significantly lower as imaging findings became more severe (<0.05). The ratio of MedianPlatelet Volume and Platelet (MPV/Plt) was found to be significantly higher as the imaging findings worsened (p<0.05). When the relationship between laboratory parameters according to imaging groups in our study was evaluated, there was a moderate negative correlation between lymphocyte and platelet levels and imaging findings (p<0.05). A moderate positive correlation with the monocyte level was found (p<0.05). Discussion(s): For the CO-RADS classification, it can be said that the patient was established to classify possible COVID-19 patients only according to chest CT. There is no study in the literature on the classification of pediatric patients with RT-PCR positive definite COVID-19 according to chest CT scans and the comparison of laboratory findings of patients with this classification. The combination of laboratory parameters and CO-RADS classification will guide clinicians in pediatric COVID-19 patient management.Copyright © 2022, Derman Medical Publishing. All rights reserved.

Post-Pandemic Futures: Balancing Technological Optimism with Sociocultural Fairness

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the geopolitical and sociocultural global systems. Despite massive setbacks, technological advancement has been a driving socio-economic force during the pandemic. In this study, we examine the future prospects associated with politico-cultural, socio-communal and techno-economic trends through a review of both scholarly literature and news sources. We aim to contribute to the current debates by offering a conceptual analysis that identifies the techno-economic trends as moving in ameliorative directions while the socio-political-cultural trends are moving in harmful directions, in terms of social justice and equitable development. The positive effects of technology over the lives of workers and consumers have become tangible particularly in the fields of communications and biotechnology, yet technological developments also enable large scale dissemination of misinformation and generate isolation and inequity. Public policymakers and private entities must boost their efforts for accelerating the positive changes that technologies can bring forth, and curbing their negative effects, in order to alleviate poverty and reduce inequity-worsening tendencies unleashed by the pandemic.

Coexistence of Carbon Monoxide Intoxication and COVID-19

This case report aimed to report two patients admitted to the emergency department with a preliminary diagnosis of carbon monoxide intoxication and was diagnosed with COVID-19 during their follow-up. A 73-year-old female patient presented with weakness and shortness of breath complaints to the emergency department. Carboxyhemoglobin (COhgb) reached 36.2 %. Atypical pneumonic infiltration with peripheral and central patchy consolidations in the zones in hemothorax images from computerized tomography. The patient was tested positive for COVID-19 after a PCR test. The COhgb values of the patient reached 16 % after 3 h. Then, it dropped to 3.0 % after 8 h. A 77-year-old male patient presented with shortness of breath and nausea complaints to the emergency department. COhgb (carboxyhemoglobin) reached 30%. Emphysematous changes in the lung parenchyma and increased peribronchial densities in the lobes were shown in computed tomography. The patient was tested positive for COVID-19 after a PCR test. The COhgb values of the patient reached 13 after 3 h. It dropped to 2.4 after 8 h. Carbon monoxide intoxication is a significant public health problem with a high probability of death. Detailed studies and meta-analyses are needed to affect the prognosis of COVID-19 disease.

Comparison of first admission hemogram parameters and chest computed tomography findings of pediatric COVID-19 patients

Aim : We use computed tomography, which is one of the frequently used imaging tests, both as a disease diagnosis method and to follow the clinical course in COVID-19 patients. This also means radiation exposure. Radiation exposure, especially in pediatric patients, can cause life-threatening diseases. Is there a blood parameter that will reduce this undesirable event and allow estimation of computed tomography findings? Are hemogram analysis, one of the most commonly used blood tests, and tomography findings of the disease related? We designed this study based on the questions. Material and Methods: Among the patients under the age of 18 who applied to the emergency department, those with a positive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and chest CT and hemogram were included in the study. Chest CT findings were classified according to the CO-RADS classification. We compared the CO-RADS classification with hemogram parameters and the ratios of these parameters. Results: Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) rates were found to be significantly lower as imaging findings became more severe (<0.05). The ratio of MedianPlatelet Volume and Platelet (MPV/Plt) was found to be significantly higher as the imaging findings worsened (p<0.05). When the relationship between laboratory parameters according to imaging groups in our study was evaluated, there was a moderate negative correlation between lymphocyte and platelet levels and imaging findings (p<0.05). A moderate positive correlation with the monocyte level was found (p<0.05). Discussion: For the CO-RADS classification, it can be said that the patient was established to classify possible COVID-19 patients only according to chest CT. There is no study in the literature on the classification of pediatric patients with RT-PCR positive definite COVID-19 according to chest CT scans and the comparison of laboratory findings of patients with this classification. The combination of laboratory parameters and CO-RADS classification will guide clinicians in pediatric COVID-19 patient management.

Stress and adaptation to the illness of women with cardiovascular system illness in Covid-19 Pandemia

Introduction: The purpose was to determine the perceived stress and adaptation levels of women with chronic cardiovascular system illness and the factors associated with these conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: The study was descriptive and cross-sectional. Simple random sampling was used in sample selection. The data of the study were collected by Personal Information Form, Perceived Stress Scale and Adaptation to Chronic Illness Scale. Results: In this study;participants 46% stated that the pandemic affected the disease process, 41.6% felt that their lives were threatened during the pandemic, 87.6% paid attention to social isolation, and 68.1% received the support they wanted from healthcare professionals. The total means score in the Adaptation to Chronic Illness Scale was 86.91 ± 10.61. The Perceived Stress Scale mean score was 24.39 ± 7.36. Conclusion: As the level of adaptation to the illness increased, the level of stress decreased.

Duzce COVID 19 PCR tests are worked how, where and under which conditions? (Pandemi deneyimleri.) [Turkish]

Shortly after the first cases were reported in late 2019 in Wuhan Province of China, SARS CoV 2 spread all over the world and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 12, 2020. In Turkey the first case was in March 10, 2020 and March 25, 2020 in Duzce. Duzce University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Microbiology, PCR laboratory was declared to be "T.C. Ministry of Health Duzce authorized Covid 19 PCR laboratory " in 28.03.2020. Samples are sent to our laboratory from all provincial and district hospitals, private hospitals and public health institutions in Duzce. This is the only Covid 19 center in our city and it works for 7 days a week. In our laboratory, Covid 19 antibody tests are carried out with card tests and ELISA methods. A total of 8500 COVID 19 PCR tests and 2200 anti Covid19 ELISA total antibody tests were studied in our laboratory within three months. Although covid 19 patients are not followed in our hospital, pandemic process continues in our laboratory. In addition, all PCR studies and IFA studies of the hospital are carried out in this laboratory.