Leucocyte volume, conductivity, and scatter at presentation in COVID-19 patients.

Background: In COVID-19 patients, besides changes in leucocyte count, morphological abnormalities of circulating blood cells have been reported. Aim: This study aims to investigate the relationship between the morphological and functional properties of leucocytes and the severity of the disease in COVID-19 patients. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from COVID-19 patients (n = 130) at the time of admission. The patients were stratified according to the comorbidity, age, LDH, lymhocyte count score as mild, moderate, and severe. Complete blood count and the cell population data were analyzed by the Volume, conductivity, scatter (VCS) technology on Beckman Coulter LH-780 hematology analyzer. Kruskal-Wal'lis test was used to assess the differences between the groups with subsequent Bonferroni correction. Results: Neutrophil count was increased, and lymphocyte count was decreased in severe patients compared to mild patients. The increase in the percent of neutrophils and the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in the severe patient group was significant in comparison to both the moderate and the mild group. The dispersion of the neutrophil volume and conductivity showed significant changes depending on the severity of the disease. The lymphocyte volume, lymphocyte-volume-SD and lymphocyte-conductivity as well as the monocyte-volume and monocyte-volume-SD were significantly increased in severe patients in comparison to mild patients. The increase of lymphocyte and monocyte volume in severe patients was also significant in comparison to moderate patients. Conclusions: COVID-19 infection leads to important changes in cell population data of leucocytes. The volumetric changes in lymphocytes and monocytes are related to the severity of the disease.

What is the risk of pyelonephritis due to desmopressin in rats with cystitis?

The risk of pyelonephritis in children with asymptomatic cystitis or bacteriuria, using desmopressin for primary nonpoliuric nocturnal enuresis, is not known. The aim of this study was to study whether there is a risk of pyelonephritis in rats with cystitis using desmopressin. Wistar rats (n = 28) were divided into four groups of cystitis (groups I-IV). DDAVP (2 microg daily) and saline (0.5 ml daily) were injected intramuscularly for 7 days in groups II and IV and groups I and III, respectively. The urinalysis, urine culture, and 24-h urinary volume (UV(24)) were assessed for all rats on days 1, 3, 5, and 7. In groups III and IV these studies were also performed on days 14, 21, and 28. Serum creatinine was determined on day 7 in all rats and on day 28 in groups III and IV. Groups I and II and groups III and IV were killed at the end of days 7 and 28, respectively. Kidneys and urinary bladders were graded subjectively for inflammation and fibrosis. Inflammation and fibrosis scores in kidney and bladder tissues were not different between DDAVP or saline-injected rats in cystitis groups at weeks 1 and 4. No fibrosis was found in any of the urinary bladders on histological examination. Ascendant pyelonephritis was detected in each of the four rats in DDAVP-administered and saline-administered cystitis groups. The histopathologic scores of the renal tissue with pyelonephritis showed no correlation with the daily urine volume, the positive test results for urine leukocyte esterase with dipstick test, the urine culture results for E. coli based on colony-forming unit per milliliter, or serum creatinine levels in cystitis groups. It was found that the administration of DDAVP to cystitis groups did not increase the risk of ascendant pyelonephritis.