Background: With the increase in pediatric obesity, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is rising worldwide. Early identification of children with obesity who are prone to developing MetS is important. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the value of the Systemic Immune–Inflammation Index (SII) and the Systemic Inflammatory Response Index (SIRI) in predicting MetS in obese children and adolescents. Methods: This prospective single-center cross-sectional study involved 99 children and adolescents with obesity. The patients were assigned to two groups, MetS+ (n = 42) and MetS- (n = 57), based on the presence of MetS. Complete blood count results from the first visit were evaluated. Results: The white blood cell (WBC), platelet, and neutrophil counts were higher in the MetS+ group (P = 0.003, P = 0.022, and P < 0.001, respectively), while no significant difference was observed in lymphocyte (P = 0.865) and monocyte counts (P = 0.488) between the two groups. When inflammatory parameters were compared, SII (P < 0.001), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) (P = 0.024), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (P = 0.002), and SIRI (P = 0.012) were significantly elevated in the MetS+ group compared to the MetS- group. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that SII and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were statistically significant risk factors for the presence of MetS (P = 0.003, P = 0.012, respectively). Additionally, a significant positive correlation was found between SII and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (P = 0.024), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (P = 0.019), and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (P = 0.048), as well as between SIRI and HDL-C (P = 0.044) and FPG (P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis of the SII and SIRI ability to predict MetS in adolescents and children with obesity showed that the SII was more discriminative than the SIRI, with a specificity of 0.82, sensitivity of 0.57, and an area under the curve of 0.708. Conclusions: The SII and SIRI can be used for the early diagnosis of MetS in pediatric obesity patients.

Aim: COVID-19 is one of the most consequential pandemic in world history. Chronic diseases, which are risk factors that increase the case fatality rates, have been the leading cause of death all over the world. This study was aimed at detecting coexisting chronic diseases in patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of COVID-19. Material and method: The study was carried out with data from 229 patients in an intensive care unit, from June 1st through June 30th. 2020. The inclusion criteria of the study was as follows: (1) having a COVID-19 diagnosis confirmed by PCR test; (2) being hospitalized in the relevant intensive care unit within the dates of the study; and (3) having their data accessible through the hospital automation system. Through literature; chronic diseases of the patients and their effects on the COVID-19 process were evaluated. Statistical analyzes were performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0 (IBM Corp.; Armonk, NY, USA). Results: The average age of the patients studied were 61.4 years. While the average symptom duration was 8.2 days; total hospitalization period was 13.1 days. The average length of stay of patients (n = 75) who were sent to intensive care unit was 10.1. The most common chronic disease among patients was hypertension with 47.2%. This was followed by diabetes mellitus (32.8%) and heart disease (27.5%), respectively. In the population studied, cough (59.4%), fever (58.5%) and shortness of breath (45.9%) were found to be the most common symptoms. Leukopenia, impairments in liver and muscle enzymes, abnormal C-reactive protein, ferritin and d-dimer levels were the important biochemical tests. Conclusion: Particular attention should be paid to the elderly COVID-19 patients with chronic diseases, especially DM, HT and cancer.

Amaç : Bu çalışmanın amacı, çeşitli sebeplerle yatağa tam ya da yarı bağımlı evde bakım alan hastalara bakım veren yakınlarının yaşadığı güçlükleri anlamak ve sorunlarına katkıda bulunmaktır. Materyal ve Metot : Çalışma, Mayıs-Haziran 2017 tarihlerinde, Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi İstanbul Bağcılar Sağlık Uygulama ve Araştırma Hastanesi’ne bağlı evde sağlık hizmeti biriminden faydalanan 195 bakım veren hasta yakını ile yapılmıştır. Veriler sosyo-demografik özelliklerin sorgulandığı araştırıcı tarafından düzenlenen bir anket formu ve Zarit Bakıcı Yükü Ölçeği kullanılarak elde edilmiştir. Araştırmanın yapılabilmesi için 2017/580 No’lu Etik Kurul yazılı izni alınmış; veriler SPSS 21.0 paket programıyla analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular : Çalışmada hastaların tanıları sıklık sırasına göre nörolojik hastalıklar, hipertansiyon ve diyabet mellitus şeklinde belirlenmiştir. Bakım verenlerin çoğunluğunun kadın, evli oldukları, daha çok hastaların kız çocuklarının bakım verdikleri belirlenmiştir. Bakım veren aile bireylerin bakım verme yükü puan ortalaması 38,48±12,68 bulunmuştur. Bu değerler bakım veren aile bireylerin bakım yükünün düşük-orta derecede olduğunu göstermektedir. Sonuç : Yakınları tarafından kendi evlerinde bakım verilmesi, evde bakım hastalarının fiziksel ve psikolojik olarak kendilerini daha iyi hissetmelerini sağlamaktadır. Ancak, bakım verenlerin fiziksel, psikososyal ve maddi açıdan yaşam kalitelerinin etkilenme düzeyinin bilinmesi, bakım verenin yükünü etkileyen faktörlerin ortaya konulması ve bu doğrultuda önlemlerin alınması hastanın da azami faydası yönünde olacaktır.