Malnutrition has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to determine the nutritional status and micronutrient levels of hospitalized patients in an infectious disease clinic and investigate their association with adverse clinical outcomes. The nutritional status of the study participants was assessed using the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS 2002) and micronutrient levels and routine biochemical parameters were tested within the first 24 h of the patient’s admission. The incidence of zinc, selenium, thiamine, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 deficiency were 66.7% (n = 40), 46.6% (n = 29), 39.7% (n = 27), 35.3% (n = 24), 14.1% (n = 9), respectively. Selenium levels were significantly higher in patients with urinary tract infections, but lower in soft tissue infections. Copper levels were significantly higher in patients with soft tissue infections. In the Cox regression models, lower albumin, higher serum lactate dehydrogenase levels and higher NRS-2002 scores were associated with increased death. Thiamine, selenium, zinc and vitamin B6 deficiencies but not chromium deficiencies are common in infectious disease clinics. New associations were found between micronutrient levels and infection type and their adverse clinical outcomes. Hypoalbuminemia and a high NRS-2002 score had the greatest accuracy in predicting death, systemic inflammatory response syndrome and sepsis on admission.
21 April 2020 in TURKISH JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES
Infectious diseases remain as the significant causes of human and animal morbidity and mortality, leading to extensive outbreaks and epidemics. Acute respiratory viral diseases claim over 4 million deaths and cause millions of hospitalizations in developing countries every year. Emerging viruses, especially the RNA viruses, are more pathogenic since most people have no herd immunity. The RNA viruses can adapt to the rapidly changing global and local environment due to the high error rate of their polymerases that replicate their genomes. Currently, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is determined as an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was first identified in 2019 in Wuhan. Herein we discuss emerging and reemerging respiratory viral infections till to SARS-CoV-2.
Protection against Mycobacterium
tuberculosis is based on cell‐mediated immunity, most importantly involving CD4+ and CD8+ T‐cell subsets. The aim of this study was to evaluate CD4+ and CD8+ T‐cell profiles and CD19+ and CD3-CD(16+56)+ populations in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, B‐lymphocytes, and natural killer (NK) cells were evaluated in 75 active (APTB) and 25 inactive (IPTB) pulmonary tuberculosis cases and 20 healthy subjects (HCs). The results were compared at different stages of antituberculosis treatment in the APTB patients and also according to X‐ray findings in the newly diagnosed APTB patients. The percentages of CD4+ T cells were significantly lower (P < .01) and those of CD3-CD(16+56)+ cells were significantly higher (P < .01) in APTB patients than in HCs. CD8+ T cells were significantly decreased (P < .05), and CD3-CD(16+56)+ cells were significantly increased (P < .01), in IPTB patients compared to HCs. The percentages of CD4+, CD8+, CD3-CD19+, and CD3-CD(16+56)+ cells showed no differences at different times of the antituberculosis regimen, and different stages of newly diagnosed APTB patients. APTB patients have a reduced percentage of circulating CD4+ T cells and an increased percentage of NK cells compared with healthy individuals. These cells could play important roles in the immune response to M tuberculosis infection.
3 November 2016 in Health and Quality of Life Outcomes
The aim of this study was to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients in Turkey and to study related factors. This multicenter study was carried out between January 01 and April 15, 2015 in Turkey in 57 centers. Adults were enrolled and studied in three groups. Group 1: Inactive HBsAg carriers, Group 2: CHB patients receiving antiviral therapy, Group 3: CHB patients who were neither receiving antiviral therapy nor were inactive HBsAg carriers. Study data was collected by face-to-face interviews using a standardized questionnaire, Short Form-36 (SF-36) and Hepatitis B Quality of Life (HBQOL). Values equivalent to p < 0.05 in analyses were accepted as statistically significant. Four thousand two hundred fifty-seven patients with CHB were included in the study. Two thousand five hundred fifty-nine (60.1 %) of the patients were males. Groups 1, 2 and 3, consisted of 1529 (35.9 %), 1721 (40.4 %) and 1007 (23.7 %) patients, respectively. The highest value of HRQOL was found in inactive HBsAg carriers. We found that total HBQOL score increased when antiviral treatment was used. However, HRQOL of CHB patients varied according to their socio-demographic properties. Regarding total HBQOL score, a higher significant level of HRQOL was determined in inactive HBV patients when matched controls with the associated factors were provided. The HRQOL score of CHB patients was higher than expected and it can be worsen when the disease becomes active. Use of an antiviral therapy can contribute to increasing HRQOL of patients.
4 December 2014 in Journal of Medical Case Reports
Nicolau syndrome, also known as livedo-like dermatitis or embolia cutis medicamentosa, is a rare complication following the intramuscular or intra-articular injection of various drugs.