Objective This study aimed to determine the predictability of platelet mass index (PMI) for short-term mortality in patients with COVID 19. Material and methods This retrospective, observational, cohort study included corrected COVID-19 patients. Demographics, clinical characteristics, biochemical and hematological parameters and the data of all-cause mortality within 30 days after admission were noted. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and odds ratio were performed to determine the discriminative ability of the scores. Results Of the 1564 patients, with mean of age of 44 ± 16 years included in the study. A total of 57 (3.6%) patients died within 30 days of emergency department presentation. There was a statistically significant difference between the survivor and non-survivor groups in terms of the platelet count, mean platelet volume (MPV) and PMI. According to the best Youden’s index, the cut-off value for the platelet count was determined as 146 (sensitivity: 91.8%, specificity: 87.2%), and the area under curve (AUC) value was 0.593 (95% confidence interval 56.7-61.9). According to the best Youden’s index, the cut-off value for the MPV was determined as 11 (sensitivity: 24.6%, specificity: 91%), and the AUC value was 0.579 (95% confidence interval 55.2-60.5). According to the best Youden’s index, the cut-off value for the PMI was determined as 1513 (sensitivity: 28.1%, specificity: 87.2%), and the AUC value was 0.555 (95% confidence interval 52.8-58.2). Conclusion Platelet count, MPV and PMI were not predictor of 30-day mortality in patients with confirmed COVID-19 in emergency department.

Introduction and aim. Acute cholecystitis is one of the most common hepatobiliary emergencies. We aimed to investigate the role of the initial hematological inflammatory index and systemic immuno-inflammation index in predicting short-term mortality in patients with acute cholecystitis. Material and methods. This study with a retrospective observational design was conducted at the emergency department of a tertiary teaching hospital. Patients admitted to our clinic between June 15, 2021, and March 15, 2022, according to the Tokyo criteria were included in the sample. The hematological inflammatory index and systemic immuno-inflammation index were calculated using the hematological test results of the patients evaluated at the emergency department. Survivor and non-survivor groups were formed according to all-cause 30-day mortality. The differences between survivor and non-survivor groups were investigated. Results. A total of 194 patients were included in the final analysis. The median age of the study population was 59 (25th–75th percentiles: 46.75–72) years. The rate of all cause-short-term mortality was 7.7. There were significant differences between the survivor and non-survivor groups in terms of the neutrophil count and the systemic immuno-inflammation index (p=0.007, 0.034, respectively; Mann-Whitney U test). No significant difference was found in the remaining laboratory parameters (lymphocyte count, platelet count, and hematological inflammatory index) (p=0.220, 0.489, 0.367 respectively; Mann-Whitney U test). Conclusion. The systemic immuno-inflammation index was determined to be significantly higher in the non-survivor group than in the survivor group among the patients with acute cholecystitis. However, there was no significant difference between these two groups in relation to the hematological inflammatory index.

Health literacy evaluates a person’s ability to read the information and tables about health, to use the proper gadgets related to personal and family health, to calculate the right timing and dosage of prescribed drugs, to participate in research, and to comment about health-related and environmental policies. The concept of health literacy, which was first used by Scott K. Simonds in 1974, is used in international literature more and more every day (1). The term has been rarely used for 25 years, but after this period, it has started to be used intensively in America and Europe and it has been the subject of many studies ever since (1). The low level of health literacy is a public health problem worldwide. Especially the populations who are below average in socioeconomic status are more prone to having low health literacy (1). Sometimes emergency department patients and their relatives have to make quick and important decisions about their suddenly developed or newly diagnosed health problems. Health literacy affects the patient-physician relationship, the perception of the newly developed health situation, and the decision to be taken with regards to this situation. According to the current literature, it is highly recommended to increase health literacy in order to prevent negative outcomes, to increase compliance with physician’s recommendations and to decrease subsequent visits to the emergency department (2). Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), was identified for the first time on December 31, 2019 as an airborne disease and declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020 (3). During the pandemic, governments took different approaches in order to prevent the spread of the disease. Posters, TV programs and advertisements about the disease, its transmission, and prevention methods such as maintenance of good hygiene practices and information about disinfection were broadcasted. The public was informed through social media and the internet. Both private and public companies had to organize training programs for their employees about the virus. The use of masks and adherence to social distancing have been made compulsory by governments, especially in closed areas (4). Emergency services and emergency triage rooms have been restricted worldwide to ensure the isolation and management of COVID-19 patients during the pandemics. While the total number of visits to the emergency department has decreased in this period, the number of patients who were admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 infection related symptoms has increased (5). As the authors, we think that the educational activities of governmental and private institutions in the pandemic process will have a positive impact on health literacy, globally. We contemplate, that the positive effect on health literacy will improve patient-physician relationships as well as the patients’ compliance to treatment and furthermore will decrease the number of emergency department visits, especially for departments with particularly high numbers of patients. We believe that the exact effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on health literacy and patient management in crowded emergency services will be demonstrated through research that is to be carried out after the pandemic.