Granulomatous Mediastinitis: A Rare Cause of Pulmonary Hypertension.

A rare case of a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who developed secondary anthracofibrosis to biomass exposure, fibrosing mediastinitis due to anthracotic enlarged lymph nodes in the mediastinum, and pulmonary hypertension because of compres- sion of the lymph nodes on the pulmonary arteries is presented. This is a case report of a 71-year-old female patient who has been followed up with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for 10 years, has no history of smoking, and has been exposed to biomass for many years. The patient, who had been hospitalized in various centers for the last 3 years due to progressive shortness of breath and dry cough, applied to us with dry cough and dyspnea complaints. On echocardiography, systolic pulmonary arterial pressure was found to be 59 mmHg. For the etiology of pulmonary hypertension, dual-energy thoracic computed tomography was performed with the suspicion of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. No filling defect compatible with thromboembolism was detected. In right heart catheterization, mean pulmonary artery pressure was 27 mmHg, pulmonary capillary tip pressure was 7 mmHg, and pulmonary vascular resistance was 3.71 woods units. Endobronchial ultrasound was applied to the patient with the preliminary diagnoses of lymphoma, anthracosis, fibrosing mediastinitis, and infection. Widespread anthracosis was observed in all lobes and segments macroscopically. The lymph node in the subcarinal area was interpreted as anthracotic lymph node. Anthracosis is defined as black pigmentation involving the mucosal, and submucosal layers of the tracheobronchial tree and the lung parenchyma. If anthracosis is associated with luminal obliteration and/or mucosal proliferation causing obstruction, it is considered anthracofibrosis. In this case, we saw that secondary anthracofibrosis, fibrosing mediastinitis due to anthracotic enlarged lymph nodes in the mediastinum, and pulmonary hypertension may develop because of compression of the lymph nodes on the pulmonary arteries, and we wanted to draw attention to it was a rare case.

Real-world patient-level cost-effectiveness analysis of omalizumab in patients with severe allergic asthma treated in four major medical centers in Turkey.

AIMS: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of standard-of-care treatment (SoC) to SoC in combination with omalizumab (OML + Soc) in patients with severe asthma using real-world prospective clinical data from four major medical centers in Turkey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between February 2018 and November 2019, a total of 206 patients with severe asthma, including 126 of whom were in the OML + SoC group and 80 in the SoC group, were followed for 12 months to evaluate their asthma status and quality of life. Cost data for this patient-level economic evaluation were sourced from the MEDULA database of the hospitals and expressed in Turkish Lira (₺). Efficacy data were obtained by means of Turkish versions of the Asthma Control Test for asthma status, the 5-level EQ-5D-5L version (EQ-5D-5L), and the Asthma Quality of Life Scale for quality of life. A Markov model with 2-week cycles was specified, comparing costs and treatment effects of SoC vs. OML + SoC over a lifetime from the Turkish payer perspective. RESULTS: Per-patient costs were ₺23,607.08 in the SoC arm and ₺425,329.81 in the OML + Soc arm, for a difference of ₺401,722.74. Life years (LY) and quality-adjusted life years (QALY) were 13.60 and 10.08, respectively, in the SoC group; and 21.26 and 13.35, respectively, in the OML + SoC group, for differences of 7.66 LYs and 3.27 QALYs. This yielded an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of an additional ₺52,427.04 to gain 1 LY and an incremental cost-utility ratio of an incremental ₺122,675.57 to gain 1 QALY; the latter being below the ₺156,948 willingness-to-pay threshold for Turkey referenced by WHO. One-way and multivariate sensitivity analyses confirmed the base-case results. CONCLUSION: Whereas most economic evaluations are based on aggregate data, this independent cost-effectiveness analysis using prospective real-world patient-level data suggests that omalizumab in combination with standard of care is cost-effective for severe asthma from the Turkish public payer perspective.

What is the context? Severe asthma, a subset of difficult-to-treat asthma, refers to asthma that cannot be controlled despite adherence to optimized maximal therapy and treatment of contributing factors, or asthma that worsens when high-dose therapy is reduced.Omalizumab is the first biologic therapy approved for the treatment of allergic asthma. Its main role is to prevent the release of various inflammation factors that cause severe asthma episodes.Cost-effectiveness analysis is an economic method of determining how much more a new and better treatment costs relative to the current treatment in terms of how many life years (LY) and how many quality-adjusted life years (QALY) are gained with the new treatment. Cost-effectiveness results tell us how much more money is needed over the cost of the current treatment to achieve one additional LY, regardless of the quality of life, or one additional LY with good quality of life.No cost-effectiveness data obtained from actual clinical patient data are available for Turkey. What is new? Our study found that the addition of omalizumab to the current standard of care for severe asthma increases costs but also increases life years and quality-adjusted life years. The additional cost was less than what the World Health Organization assumes is reasonable for Turkey.This study used actual clinical patient data and noted that asthma patients in the omalizumab group used fewer health services, had a better clinical course, had a better quality of life, and lived longer with their disease under control.What is the impact? In severe asthmatic patients, adding omalizumab to standard-of-care, while more costly, yields better outcomes and is therefore cost-effective.The cost-effectiveness estimates fall within the margins of being cost-responsible. The Turkish public payer should strongly consider making omalizumab available to all eligible patients. This will enable working-age patients to work, and contribute to their families, while also strengthening the Turkish economy.

The predictors of COVID-19 mortality in a nationwide cohort of Turkish patients.

The COVID-19-related death rate varies between countries and is affected by various risk factors. This multicenter registry study was designed to evaluate the mortality rate and the related risk factors in Turkey. We retrospectively evaluated 1500 adults with COVID-19 from 26 centers who were hospitalized between March 11 and July 31, 2020. In the study group, 1041 and 459 cases were diagnosed as definite and highly probable cases, respectively. There were 993 PCR-positive cases (66.2%). Among all cases, 1144 (76.3%) were diagnosed with non-severe pneumonia, whereas 212 (14.1%) had severe pneumonia. Death occurred in 67 patients, corresponding to a mortality rate of 4.5% (95% CI:3.5-5.6). The univariate analysis demonstrated that various factors, including male sex, age ≥65 years and the presence of dyspnea or confusion, malignity, chronic obstructive lung disease, interstitial lung disease, immunosuppressive conditions, severe pneumonia, multiorgan dysfunction, and sepsis, were positively associated with mortality. Favipiravir, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin were not associated with survival. Following multivariate analysis, male sex, severe pneumonia, multiorgan dysfunction, malignancy, sepsis and interstitial lung diseases were found to be independent risk factors for mortality. Among the biomarkers, procalcitonin levels on the 3rd-5th days of admission showed the strongest associations with mortality (OR: 6.18; 1.6-23.93). This study demonstrated that the mortality rate in hospitalized patients in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic was a serious threat and that those patients with male sex, severe pneumonia, multiorgan dysfunction, malignancy, sepsis and interstitial lung diseases were at increased risk of mortality; therefore, such patients should be closely monitored.

Is the Perioperative Period No Longer a Problem for Adult Asthmatics under Control?-OPERA Study.

OBJECTIVES: Asthma is a global problem and chronic condition that persists through patient's entire life, during which the possibility of a surgical procedure is common. An accurate clinical and functional evaluation of respiratory functions and asthma control is needed in patients undergoing surgical procedures and requiring general anesthesia. The aim of this study was to disclose any possible relation between postoperative complications and some pre- and postoperative factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective cross-sectional study, randomly selected 111 asthmatic patients who presented to 10 different tertiary centers were included. The patients were evaluated at three different periods; any day between 1-7 days before surgery, and postoperative third and seventh to tenth days. RESULTS: Among the patients included in the study, 86 (77.5%) were women and mean age was 52.2±13.8 years. General anesthesia was the most common anesthesia type (89.2%), and 33.3% of patients had had a thoracoabdominal surgery. There was a statistically significant difference between pre- and postoperative third-day values, including ACT scores (22.2±3.16 and 21.59±3.84, respectively; p<0.001); forced expiratory volume during the first second (84.92±19.12 and 78.26±18.47, respectively; p<0.001); peak flow rate (79.51±21.12 and 70.01±19.72, respectively; p<0.001); and SaO2 (96.95±1.82 and 95.8±3.32, respectively; p<0.001). Bronchospasm and pain were the most common complications during the postoperative period. CONCLUSION: Controlled asthma under treatment steps 1-2-3 does not cause any serious postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs). Therefore, achieving an optimal control level of asthma during the preoperative period must be considered the "gold standard" to reduce the risk of PPCs in asthmatic patients.

[Post-COVID-19 pulmonary sequla: longterm follow up and management]. / COVID-19 sonrasi akciger sekelleri: uzun dönem takip ve tedavi.

Though it has been 8 months since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, number of cases and deaths are still seriously increasing. We still don't have enough evidence about the prognosis of patients who had COVID-19 pneumonia. In long term follow up we wonder if they will have rapid FVC decline, widespread fibrosis in computed tomography, loss in quality of life or increased mortality that we experience in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, chronic hypersensitivity pneumonia or autoimmune interstitial lung diseases. However, in elderly patients less severe dysfunction or non-progressive-fibrosis can cause morbidity and mortality. Therefore, if we consider millions of people who are affected by COVID-19, even a rare complication can cause serious health problem in social scale. Because of the importance of this issue randomized controlled trials should be rapidly planned on post-COVID fibrosis, COVID associated thrombosis, risk factors, prevention and treatment (1). In this review, the frequency, clinical importance, prevention and treatment of possible long-term sequels of COVID-19 pneumonia (pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary embolism and pulmonary hypertension) will be discussed.

Adherence to COPD treatment in Turkey and Saudi Arabia: results of the ADCARE study.

BACKGROUND: COPD affects millions of people worldwide. Poor treatment adherence contributes to increased symptom severity, morbidity and mortality. This study was designed to investigate adherence to COPD treatment in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. METHODS: An observational, cross-sectional study in adult COPD patients in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Through physician-led interviews, data were collected on sociodemographics and disease history, including the impact of COPD on health status using the COPD Assessment Test (CAT); quality of life, using the EuroQol Five-Dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D); and anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Treatment adherence was measured using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8). Multivariate logistic regression analysis examined the predictors of non-adherence and the impact of adherence on symptom severity. RESULTS: Four hundred and five COPD patients participated: 199 in Turkey and 206 in Saudi Arabia. Overall, 49.2% reported low adherence (MMAS-8 <6). Of those, 74.7% reported high disease impact (CAT >15) compared to 58.4% reporting medium/high adherence (p=0.0008). Patients with low adherence reported a lower mean 3-level EQ-5D utility value (0.54±0.35) compared to those with medium/high adherence (0.64±0.30; p<0.0001). Depression with HADS score 8-10 or >10 was associated with lower adherence (OR 2.50 [95% CI: 1.43-4.39] and 2.43 [95% CI: 1.39-4.25], respectively; p=0.0008). Being a high school/college graduate was associated with better adherence compared with no high school (OR 0.57 [95% CI: 0.33-0.98] and 0.38 [95% CI: 0.15-1.00], respectively; p=0.0310). After adjusting for age, gender, and country, a significant association between treatment adherence (MMAS-8 score ≥6) and lower disease impact (CAT ≤15) was observed (OR 0.56 [95% CI: 0.33-0.95]; p=0.0314). CONCLUSION: Adherence to COPD treatment is poor in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Non-adherence to treatment is associated with higher disease impact and reduced quality of life. Depression, age, and level of education were independent determinants of adherence.

Turkish Thoracic Society asthma management and prevention guideline: key points.

Asthma still has high morbidity and cost despite all advances in pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment. Although asthma can be controlled with proper diagnosis and treatment, the low rates of control in our country and in the world can not be attributed to the variable course of the disease and patients' psycho-social behaviours for chronic disease. In this context, Turkish Thoracic Society (TTS) has decided to update Asthma Diagnosis and Management Guide latest published in 2000. National data were collected, compiled and prepared by authors, and final form given by the TTS Asthma and Allergy Study Group, after presenting to consultant individuals and institutions. In June 2009, the National Asthma Management and Prevention Guideline were published in Turkish. In this paper, we aimed to present the national guide in English with its basics and individual differences.

Could nephrotoxicity due to colistin be ameliorated with the use of N-acetylcysteine?

PURPOSE: The protective effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on nephrotoxicity due to contrast nephropathy and reperfusion-induced ischemia has been reported in experimental models. However, its efficacy on colistin-induced nephrotoxicity has not been elucidated yet. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the nephrotoxic effect of colistin and to investigate the possible protective effect of NAC on colistin-induced nephrotoxicity. The secondary aim was to research the systemic effects of nephrotoxicity-induced oxidative stress on the lung. METHODS: Eighteen female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned and were given (a) 1 ml/kg sterile saline, (b) 300,000 IU/kg/day colistin, and (c) 300,000 IU/kg/day colistin and 150 mg/kg NAC for six consecutive days. RESULTS: Plasma blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, urinary creatinine, urinary protein, plasma TNF-alpha levels, renal tissue superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) activity and immunocytochemical findings were evaluated. Colistin exerted nephrotoxicity and achieved a significant increase in plasma BUN and creatinine levels and renal tissue SOD levels. NAC exhibited no significant effect on biochemical parameters but reduced renal tissue SOD level and reversed immunocytochemical staining of inducible nitric oxide synthase (i-NOS) and neurotrophin-3. Increased oxidative stress in the lung tissue of the rats treated with colistin has also been documented. Additionally, NAC significantly reduced the immunostaining of endothelial NOS (e-NOS) and i-NOS in the lung tissue. CONCLUSIONS: Colistin-induced renal toxicity may be attributable to oxidative damage. The combined treatment of colistin plus NAC seems to have a beneficial role in restoration of the oxidant injury which may be related to its antioxidant effect.

Is there any link between oxidative stress and lung involvement due to inflammatory bowel disease: an experimental study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Lung involvement due to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is frequent, however the pathogenic mechanism is still debatable. Although the evidence of inflammation in colonic and lung tissue has been documented, the possible effect of oxidative stress in lung tissue has not been evaluated to date. We sought to assess the effects of oxidant/antioxidants on lung tissue in a model of experimental colitis. METHODOLOGY: Colitis was induced with intra-colonic administration of 4% acetic acid. Control group received isotonic saline. Serum and lung tissue markers of oxidative stress were explored. RESULTS: Serum total oxidant status was significantly higher in the colitis group than the controls while total antioxidant status was similar. The determinants of oxidants including lipid peroxidation assay and myeloperoxidase activity were significantly higher in the lung tissue of the colitis group whereas the indicators of antioxidant capacity determined as superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione and glutathione peroxidase were decreased (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that oxidative stress is not restricted to the bowel and the lung is a main target of oxidant overload. Pulmonary injury caused by increased oxidant stress may be the underlying reason of pulmonary involvement due to IBD.

Value of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FE NO) for the diagnosis of pulmonary involvement due to inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary involvement due to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is frequent when evaluating a patient with IBD and pulmonary involvement remains complicated. Most of the patients are asymptomatic and the methods used are mostly invasive or expensive procedures. The aim of this prospective study is to evaluate the value of the fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FE(NO)) level for the diagnosis of pulmonary involvement due to IBD and to investigate any correlation between FE(NO) level and disease activity. METHODS: Thirty-three nonsmoker patients with IBD (25 ulcerative colitis [UC] and 8 Crohn's Disease [CD]) who were free of corticosteroid treatment and 25 healthy subjects as a control group were enrolled in this study. All patients with IBD were investigated for pulmonary involvement with medical history, physical examination, chest roentgenogram, oxygen saturation, blood eosinophil levels, pulmonary function tests (PFTs), high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), and FE(NO) level. RESULTS: Pulmonary involvement was established in 15 patients (45.5%) with IBD. The FE(NO) level was higher in patients with pulmonary involvement than without pulmonary involvement and healthy controls independent from the pulmonary symptoms, eosinophil count, duration of disease, activity of disease, and surgery history (FE(NO): 32 +/- 20; 24 +/- 8; 14 +/- 8 ppb, respectively) (P < 0.05). In addition, diffusion capacity (DLCO) was found to be significantly lower in patients with CD compared with UC (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that an increased FE(NO) level may be used for identifying patients with IBD who need further pulmonary evaluation.

The role of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 polymorphism, factor-V-Leiden, and prothrombin-20210 mutations in pulmonary thromboembolism.

Polymorphism in plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 gene is suggested to be associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 gene polymorphism and its coexistence with factor-V-Leiden and prothrombin-20210 mutations in pulmonary thromboembolism. The authors investigated plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 4G/5G polymorphism, factor-V-Leiden, and prothrombin-20210 mutations in 143 pulmonary thromboembolism patients and 181 controls. Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 4G/4G, 4G/5G, and 5G/5G gene polymorphisms and prothrombin-20210 mutations were not different between cases and controls. Factor-V-Leiden mutation was present in 21.0% and 7.7% of the cases and controls, respectively, P = .001. Neither different plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 genotypes and 4G allele nor coexistence of the allele with factor-V-Leiden or prothrombin-20210 was associated with the risk of recurrence. As a result, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 gene polymorphism or its concomitant presence with mentioned mutations was not found to be associated with increased risk for pulmonary thromboembolism or recurrent disease in this study.

What can predict the exacerbation severity in asthma?

There are many well-defined risk factors for fatal asthma exacerbation; however, few data exist about the link between the severity of asthma and severity of exacerbation. The aim of this study was to determine if there is any patient and disease-related factor that predicts the severity of asthma exacerbation. The retrospective data of asthmatic patients followed up in our clinic were analyzed. Asthmatic patients who had at least one exacerbation were included. Patient and disease characteristics, comorbidities, and compliance were evaluated. We analyzed 335 asthma exacerbations of 189 asthmatic patients. Eighteen patients had intermittent asthma, 115 patients had mild persistent asthma, 45 patients had moderate persistent asthma, and 11 patients had severe persistent asthma. Of the 189 asthmatic patients 8.1% of the exacerbations were mild, 52.5% were moderate, and 39.4% were severe. There was a significant correlation between the severity of asthma and severity of exacerbation (r = 0.32; p < 0.001). When elderly (> or =60 years old) and younger (<60 years old) asthmatic patients were compared, elderly asthmatic patients had severe asthma exacerbation significantly at a higher rate than younger asthmatic patients (severe asthma exacerbation rates are 67.3 and 33.9% in elderly patients and younger asthmatic patients, respectively; p < 0.001). A significant correlation was found between the severity of exacerbation and age (r = 0.25; p < 0.001). Among the other patient and disease-related factors, asthma severity and older age were the only significant factors that contributed to the severity of exacerbation. These data show that older age as a patient-related factor and worse asthma severity as a disease-related factor could contribute to exacerbation severity in asthmatic patients.

The impact of bronchiectasis in clinical presentation of asthma.

BACKGROUND: Though asthma and bronchiectasis are two different diseases, their coexistence has been shown in many patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical features of asthmatics with bronchiectasis compared with pure asthmatics. METHODS: We evaluated 1680 asthmatics followed-up in our clinic. Fifty-one asthmatics had the diagnosis of bronchiectasis. These patients were compared with fifty-one age and gender matched asthmatics without bronchiectasis. RESULTS: The prevalence of bronchiectasis among the asthmatics was 3%. Asthma diagnosis was made at the age of 33.2 +/- 16.8 years for asthmatics with bronchiectasis and 39.5 +/- 16.2 years for pure asthmatics (P = 0.05). Asthmatics with bronchiectasis mostly had severe persistent asthma (49.0%), while pure asthmatics mostly had mild persistent and intermittent asthma (69.4%). History of hospitalization due to severe asthma exacerbation and presence of chronic respiratory failure was significantly higher in bronchiectatic group. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that bronchiectasis can contribute to severe and difficult to control asthma with pulmonary complications like chronic respiratory failure.

Differences in clinical presentation of pulmonary embolism in older vs younger patients.

BACKGROUND: In order to better define the clinical characterization of pulmonary embolism (PE) in the elderly, the clinical and laboratory findings were compared in older (> or = 65 years old) and younger (< 65 years old) patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study group comprised 149 patients (58 older and 91 younger) who received a final diagnosis of PE and were retrospectively evaluated. The severity of PE was assessed by calculating the pulmonary vascular obstruction scores (PVOs) scintigraphically: PVOs > or = 50% was defined as severe disease. Dyspnea was the most frequent symptom in both groups. Chest pain and hemoptysis were less frequent in older patients (48.3% vs 79.1%, p = 0.001; 6.9% vs 20.9%, p = 0.021, respectively) whereas syncope occurred more often in the older group (27.6% vs 9.9%, p = 0.005). PVOs > or = 50% occurred in 55.1% of older and 32.9% of younger patients (odds ratio: 1.67, 95%confidence interval: 1.118-2.507, p = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: The clinical presentation of PE can be subtle or atypical in elderly patients and hence they may have more severe disease. Therefore, a high clinical suspicion is required in order to prevent delays in diagnostic work-up and initiation of appropriate treatment.

Fever in pulmonary embolism.

This study was planned to investigate the characteristics of clinical and laboratory findings of patients with fever diagnosed as pulmonary embolism (PE) in comparison with PE patients without fever and patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Thirty-nine PE patients with fever without other identifiable causes (18 received antibiotics and 21 did not receive antibiotics) (study groups) were included in the study. 22 patients with PE without fever and 21 patients diagnosed with CAP were retrospectively selected as control groups. Daily peak body temperature, risk factors for PE, symptoms, and physical and laboratory findings at admission were recorded. Patients with CAP demonstrated higher body temperature than PE patients with fever (38.5+/-0.6 versus 37.8+/-0.6 degrees C, P=0.0001). Fever patterns were similar between the three groups of patients who had fever. The leukocyte count and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were slightly higher in the group of PE with fever versus PE without fever (11,465.6+/-4229.4/mm, 51.1+/-34.7/mm/h versus 10,777.3+/-4927.6/mm, 35.2+/-30.1/mm/h, respectively) (P>0.05). The group of CAP showed significantly highest values of leukocyte count and ESR (15,490.5+/-5606.3/mm, 69.1+/-35.9/mm per h, respectively) (P<0.05). This study suggested that fever might accompany with PE. The presence of slight leukocytosis and increased ESR may not securely differentiate PE patients with fever from patients with CAP.

Is tissue-plasminogen activator gene polymorphism a risk factor for venous thromboembolism in every population?

BACKGROUND: Tissue-plasminogen activator is a key protein of fibrinolytic system. In recent years the relation between t-PA, its genetic polymorphisms and arterial or venous thrombosis were investigated in different populations. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of t-PA gene polymorphism in Turkish venous thromboembolism (VTE) patients. METHODS: A case-control study was performed. We investigated the t-PA insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in 93 VTE patients and 146 controls without VTE. Recurrent cases and documented risk factors for PTE were recorded. RESULTS: Cases and controls did not differ with respect to the different t-PA genotypes. The prevalence of I allele was 44.1%, 44.5% in cases and controls respectively (OR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.78-1.24, p > 0.05). Different t-PA genotypes had no effect on recurrent disease. No gender difference was observed with respect to the different t-PA genotypes. There was no significant difference for genotype frequency between PTE patients with documented risk factors and unprovoked cases. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion there was no association between t-PA genotype and VTE in this group of Turkish population. It was also found that genotype frequencies for t-PA in both VTE and control subjects seems different from those reported from western part of the world. ABBREVIATED ABSTRACT: The aim of this study is to investigate the role of t-PA gene polymorphism in Turkish VTE patients. We investigated 93 VTE patients and 146 controls without VTE. Cases and controls did not differ with respect to the different t-PA genotypes. The prevalence of I allele was 44.1%, 44.5% in cases and controls respectively (OR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.78-1.24, p > 0.05). Different t-PA genotypes had no effect on recurrent disease. No gender difference was observed with respect to the different t-PA genotypes. There was no significant difference for genotype frequency between PTE patients with documented risk factors and unprovoked cases. In conclusion there was no association between t-PA genotype and VTE in this group of Turkish population. It was also found that genotype frequencies for t-PA in both VTE and control subjects seems different from those reported from western part of the world.

Is the fall in platelet count associated with intensive care unit acquired pneumonia?

PRINCIPLES: Intensive Care Unit Acquired Pneumonia is the most frequent infection among patients receiving mechanical ventilation and has an important impact on patient mortality. Thrombocytopenia is one of the most common laboratory abnormalities in Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between platelet count and Intensive Care Unit Acquired Pneumonia (ICUAP). METHODS: Medical records of 41 mechanically-ventilated pulmonary ICU patients having at least one ICUAP were reviewed. The date of first ICUAP, etiologic pathogens, platelet count at admission, the nadir value within seven days before and after the date of ICUAP, development of thrombocytopenia (platelet <100 x 10(3)/mm(3)), acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II scores on admission, medications and events that can effect platelet count and other laboratory values were noted. RESULTS: The meantime for the first ICUAP was 13 +/- 10.3 days after ICU admission. The nadir platelet count associated with ICUAP (ICUAPplatelet count) was seen on 12.1 +/- 11.3th day after ICU admission; with a significant fall (30% fall) when compared to admission platelet count (platelet counts are 157.2 +/- 87.4 x 10(3)/mm(3), 224.1 +/- 106.3 x 10(3)/mm(3) respectively, p <0.001). Fifteen of the 41 patients had an episode of thrombocytopenia during their ICU stay and these patients had a higher mortality rate than nonthrombocytopenics (mortality rates are 80% and 50% respectively, p = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Besides the proven role of thrombocytopenia in prognosis in ICU, the significant fall in platelet count can be an early warning parameter and possible diagnostic hint for severe infections in ICU such as ICUAP.

Airway inflammation in premenstrual asthma.

Premenstrual asthma (PMA) is a clinical picture with worsening of asthmatic symptoms and pulmonary functions in the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. The aim of this study was to evaluate the inflammatory changes in asthmatic women who complain of PMA. Forty asthmatic women attending our outpatient clinic were questioned about worsening of their asthma before menstruation. Eleven women (aged 17-40) who complained of PMA participated in the study. Subjects were asked to record peak expiratory flow rates, symptom scores, and beta-agonist use daily. After the first menses on the seventh day of their cycle, and before the onset of the next menstruation, on the 26+/-3rd day of the cycle, patients were evaluated with pulmonary function tests, methacholine challenge test, and fractionated exhaled nitric oxide (FE(NO)) levels. Eosinophils in peripheral blood and induced sputum were also evaluated. When comparing the two groups of results, the significant changes were in FENO levels, day-time symptom scores, and eosinophils in induced sputum (29.25 ppb/9.16 ppb p < 0.05, 1/0.45 p = 0.05, %6.63/%4.09 p < 0.01, respectively, before and after menstruation). These results show that PMA is not only a clinical picture with a decrease in airway calibre that can be related to the regulation of 2 receptors, but also a complex state with worsening of airway inflammation.