While the number of coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) cases is increasing day by day, there is limited information known about the hematological and laboratory findings of the disease. We aimed to investigate whether serum ferritin level predicts mortality is a marker for rapid progression for inpatients. Our study included 56 patients who were died due to COVID‐19 as the study group, and 245 patients who were hospitalized and recovered as the control group. The laboratory data of the patients were evaluated from the first blood tests (pre) taken from the first moment of admission to the hospital and the blood tests taken from before the patient's discharge or exitus (post) were evaluated retrospectively. The mean age of the nonsurvivor group was 62.0 ± 15.7 and the mean age of the control group was 54.34 ± 13.03. Age and length of stay are significantly higher in the nonsurvivor group. When comparing the pre‐ and postvalues of ferritin, according to the two groups separately, there was no significant difference in the control group and a high level of significance was observed in the nonsurvivor group (p < .01). COVID‐19 disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 causes high mortality with widespread inflammation and cytokine storm. Ferritin is a cheap and widespread available marker, ferritin, which can be used for its predictivity of the mortality and hope it would be a useful marker for clinicians for the management of the disease.

Background: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is an aggressive asbestos-related pleural tumor. The incidence is increasing with intensive use of asbestos in developing countries. We need an easily accessible, inexpensive, and reliable method for determining the low survival time prognosis of this tumor. The aim of our study was to investigate the viability of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) as prognostic indicators in MM. Patients and methods: Thirty-six patients with MM, whose histopathologic diagnosis and follow-up were performed by our clinic and whose complete archive data were accessible, were included in this retrospective study. The patients’ histopathologic disease types and stages, complete blood count parameters at diagnosis, and survival were recorded. Results: Eighteen of the patients with MM were male and the remaining 18 of them were female; the average follow-up period was 24.83±3.61 months. The PLR levels of the patients were statistically significant (P<0.05). The NLR and PLR area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values were 0.559 and 0.749, respectively (P=0.631 and P=0.044, respectively). Conclusion: PLR was a significant prognostic indicator of MM at diagnosis on complete blood count parameters; however, NLR was not a significant prognostic indicator. A large number of prospective studies are needed to prove the reliability of the parameters.

Self-expandable metallic stents (SEMS) can be used to treat malignant obstructions and fistulas of the central airways. SEMS can be placed using different methods. Recently, a rigid bronchoscope has been used for stent placement without the need for fluoroscopy. We retrospectively evaluated patients for whom SEMS were placed using a rigid bronchoscope, without employing guidewires or fluoroscopy. We describe the intra- and post-procedural complications of the method. Data collected between January 2014 and July 2015 were retrospectively evaluated by reference to hospital records. The mean patient age was 58.14 ± 8.48 years (44–72 years) and 13 out of the 14 patients were male. Twelve had lung cancer, one a thyroid papillary carcinoma with a bronchomediastinal fistula, and one an esophageal carcinoma with a tracheoesophageal fistula. Covered metallic Y-shaped stents were placed in all patients. Before placement, argon plasma coagulation was performed on two patients, diode laser treatment on four, and de-obstruction on nine. No procedure-related mortality was noted. Only two patients required follow-up in the intensive care unit; they were moved to a regular ward after two days. No patient required stent replacement or repositioning. The most common early complication was mucus plugs. Endobronchial placement of covered self-expandable metallic stents was safe and readily performed in patients with airway obstructions. Neither fluoroscopic nor guidewire guidance was required. Neither patients nor staff were exposed to radiation, and costly guidewire guidance was not necessary. The procedure is cost-effective.

It is important to identify cases of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) who are at risk for tuberculosis (TB) reactivation. We aimed to evaluate the performance of interferon (IFN)-gamma-inducible protein 10 (IP-10) as a marker to detect LTBI in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD). This study comprised 76 consecutive subjects with IRD. Patients with a history of TB or having active TB were excluded. In all patients, IP-10 level was measured and tuberculin skin test (TST) and QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test (QFT-GIT) were performed. Seventy patients with complete test results were analyzed. Twenty-one (30%) QFT-GIT-positive patients were defined as having LTBI. IP-10 yielded 2197 pg/mL cut-off point. At this cut-off point, IP-10 showed 89% specificity with a sensitivity of 91% (AUC: 0.950, 95% CI 0.906–0.994). TST, QFT-GIT, and IP-10 were positive in 77.1%, 30%, and 44.3% of the patients, respectively. Concordance among the results of TST, QFT-GIT, and IP-10 tests was evaluated. Agreement was poor between IP-10 and TST (58.6%, κ = 0.19), whereas it was good between QFT-GIT and IP-10 (84.3%, κ = 0.65). The results of the present study demonstrated that sensitivity and specificity of released IP-10 were as high as those of QFT-GIT in indicating LTBI in IRD patient group.