In this study, we aimed to evaluate the initial hematological findings analyzed on admission in confirmed COVID-19 patients who were transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU), to predict possible hematological indices. Initial neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR), red cell distribution width to platelet ratio (RPR), mean platelet volume to platelet ratio, and lymphocyte multiplied by platelet count (LYM x PLT), of 695 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were investigated and compared between the mild/moderate and severe groups. The proportion of COVID-19 cases admitted to ICU was 3.9%. The median age of patients admitted to ICU was significantly higher than those who were not; (68.5 (interquartile range (IQR); 21.5) years vs. 41.0 (IQR; 15.7) years; p <0.001). Severe cases had higher NLR (6.6 vs 2.4; P <0.001), and MLR (0.40 vs 0.28; P=0.004) and lower PLR (180.0 vs 129.0; P <0.001) compared to that of mild or moderate patients. Among all of the parameters, the ROC curve of NLR gave us the best ability to distinguish serious patients at an early stage (AUC = 0. 819, 95% confidence interval 0.729?0.910; p<0.001). These data showed that age, initial NLR, PLR, and LYM x PLT were associated with the severity of COVID-19 disease and patients? need for the ICU. Therefore, initial hemogram parameters may be essential to predict the prognosis of COVID-19 patients.

The aim of the study was to investigate the in vivo efficacy of local and systemic antibiotic prophylaxis in the prevention of Staphylococcus (S.) epidermidis graft infection in a rat model and to evaluate the bacterial adherence to frequently used prosthetic graft materials. Graft infections were established in the subcutaneous tissue of 120 male Wistar rats by implantation of Dacron/ePTFE grafts followed by topical inoculation with 2 x 10(7) CFUs of clinical isolate of methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis. Each of the graft series included a control group, one contaminated group that did not receive any antibiotic prophylaxis, two contaminated groups that received systemic prophylaxis with teicoplanin or levofloxacin and two contaminated groups that received teicoplanin-soaked or levofloxacin-soaked grafts. The grafts were removed 7 days after implantation and evaluated by quantitative culture. There was significant bacterial growth inhibition in the groups given systemic or local prophylaxis (P < 0.05). Methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis had greater affinity to Dacron graft when compared with ePTFE graft in the untreated contaminated groups (P < 0.05). The study demonstrated that the usage of systemic or local prophylaxis and preference of ePTFE graft can be useful in reducing the risk of vascular graft infections caused by staphylococcal strains with high levels of resistance.

COVID‐19 is a disease characterized by acute respiratory failure and is a major health problem worldwide. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of CD39 expression in Treg cell subsets in COVID‐19 immunopathogenesis and its relationship to disease severity. One hundred and ninety COVID‐19 patients (juveniles, adults) and 43 volunteers as healthy controls were enrolled in our study. Flow cytometric analysis was performed using a 10‐color monoclonal antibody panel from peripheral blood samples. In adult patients, CD39⁺ Tregs increased with disease severity. In contrast, CD39⁺ Tregs were decreased in juvenile patients in an age‐dependent manner. Overall, our study reveals an interesting profile of CD39‐expressing Tregs in adult and juvenile cases of COVID‐19. Our results provide a better understanding of the possible role of Tregs in the mechanism of immune response in COVID‐19 cases.