This study aimed to investigate the seropositivity of CoronaVac-SinoVac vaccination in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) risk factors and comorbidities. Immunoglobulin (IgG) antibody responses were examined on the 21st day after the second dose of CoronaVac-SinoVac 6 μg vaccine on the 28th day. SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody levels were measured by using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method in vaccinated health care workers (n=134) (Group I), vaccinated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (+) who had coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) disease (n=21) (Group II), and unvaccinated PCR (+) (n=28) (Group III) participants. Subgroups were formed in Group I according to the presence of COVID-19 risk factors and comorbidities (diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and asthma/allergy) and demographic data. Seropositivity rates were 95.5, 100, and 89.3% for Groups I, II, and III, respectively. IgG antibody levels were found significantly higher in the group between the ages of 20-30 in group I compared to those aged 31-50 and over 50 (both p<0.01). It was found significantly higher in normal-weight individuals than in the overweight and obese group (both p<0.01). IgG antibody levels were found significantly lower in people with cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus compared with those who did not (p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively). There was a negative correlation between IgG antibody response values and body mass index and age in Group I (r= -0.336, p<0.001 and r= -0.307, p<0.001, respectively). IgG antibody values decrease with age and with increasing body mass index. The presence of comorbidities (i.e., diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease) decreased COVID-19 IgG antibody values.

Objectives As a result of developed generalized inflammation, the main prognostic factor determining morbidity and mortality in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients is acute respiratory distress syndrome. The purpose of our study was to define (1) the laboratory tests that will contribute to the diagnosis and follow-up of COVID-19 patients, (2) the differences between the laboratory-confirmed (LC), unconfirmed (LUC), and control (C) groups, and (3) the variation between groups of acute-phase reactants and biomarkers that can be used as an indicator of disease severity and inflammation.Materials and Methods A total of 102 patients undergoing treatment with COVID-19 interim guidelines were evaluated. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test was positive in 56 (LC), classified as mild or severe, and negative in 46 (LUC) patients. In addition, 30 healthy subjects (C) with negative RT-PCR tests were also evaluated.All statistical analyses were performed with the SPSS 22.0 program and the p-values for significant findings were less than 0.05. Parametric/nonparametric distribution was determined by performing the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test for all groups. Student's t-test was used for variables with parametric distribution and the Mann–Whitney U-test for variables with the nonparametric distribution. A cut-off level for biomarkers was determined using the ROC (receiver operator characteristic) curve.Results In the LC group, platelet, platecrit, mean platelet volume, platelet diameter width, white blood cell, lymphocyte, eosinophil, neutrophil, immature granulocyte, immature lymphocyte, immature monocyte, large immune cell, and atypical lymphocyte counts among the complete blood count parameters of mature and immature cell counts showed a significant difference according to the C and LUC groups. C-reactive protein, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, and C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) indices were significantly elevated in LC patients and were significantly higher in patients classified as severe compared to mild. When CAR optimal cutoff was determined as 0.475, area under the curve was 0.934, sensitivity was 90.91%, specificity was 86.21%, positive predictive value was 92.59%, and negative predictive value was 83.33%. The diagnostic accuracy for CAR was 89.29%.Conclusion The CAR index with the highest diagnostic value and the highest predictability could be the most useful biomarker in the diagnosis and evaluation of disease severity in COVID-19 patients.

There are some side effects of isotretinoin in many organs. However, a study investigating the effects of isotretinoin on the human ovarian reserve has not been reported previously. The study was conducted to investigate possible effects of isotretinoin on ovarian reserve. Serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels were measured at the beginning and at the end of isotretinoin treatment in 22 patients with acne and in 22 women without. The mean AMH level before treatment was 5.77 ng/mL in the study group and 3.79 ng/mL in the control group (p = 0.008). Following treatment, the mean AMH level was 4.69 ng/mL in the study group. This mean AMH level after treatment was statistically lower than the AMH level before treatment (p = 0.012). There was no significant difference between the mean AMH level at the end of treatment and that of the control group (p = 0.20). The high level of pre-treatment AMH levels could be an evidence of hyperandrogenism in women with acne, even if they are not identified as having polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or hyperandrogenism. Decrease in AMH levels following exposure to isotretinoin may suggest that it has a detrimental effect on the ovaries.

Amaç: Son yıllarda inflamasyon göstergesi olarak değerlendirilen C-reaktif proteinin (CRP)/ortalama trombosit hacmi (OTH) oranı ve beyaz küre sayısı (BKS)/ortalama trombosit hacmi (OTH) oranının toplum kökenli pnömonili (TKP) çocuklarda tanı ve hastalık şiddeti ile ilişkisini araştırmaktır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışma TKP tanısı alan 3 ay ile 18 yaş arasında 60 hasta ve 30 sağlıklı çocuktan oluşturuldu. Hasta ve kontrol grubunda CRP, BKS, OTH, nötrofil/lenfosit oranı (NLO) değerleri ile birlikte CRP/OTH ve BKS/OTH değerleri incelendi. Bulgular: Hasta ve kontrol grubu arasında OTH düzeyleri açısından anlamlı fark saptanmazken, CRP/OTH, BKS/OTH, NLO ve plateletkrit düzeyleri hasta grubunda anlamlı olarak yüksek bulundu. Ciddi pnömonili hasta grubunda (n=27) BKS, NLO, BKS/OTH, CRP/OTH ve CRP düzeyleri hafif-ılımlı pnömonili gruba (n=33) göre anlamlı olarak yüksek saptandı. CRP/OTH ve BKS/OTH oranlarının hastalık belirtilerinin süresiyle arasında pozitif korelasyon gösterildi. Receiver Operating Characteric (ROC) analizinde CRP (Eğri altındaki alan (EAA)=0.801), BKS (EAA=0.761) ve BKS/OTH (EAA=0.731) düzeylerinin TKP’nin tanısında yeterliliği anlamlı bulundu. Ciddi TKP’li hastaların ayrımında ise CRP/OTH (EAA=0.733) ve CRP (EAA=0.708) düzeyleri anlamlı bulundu. Sonuç: CRP/OTH ve BKS/OTH oranları TKP tanısının değerlendirilmesinde ve CRP/OTH oranı hastalık aktivitesinin belirlenmesinde iyi bir belirteç olabileceğini göstermektedir.