Pseudomonas putida rarely results in infection, primarily in patients undergoing invasive procedures or immunocompromised hosts. We aimed to investigate the characteristics of Pseudomonas putida infections. This is a retrospectively designed cross-sectional observational study. We retrospectively scanned the data from our hospital for the 10 years before February 15, 2022. The patients with Pseudomonas putida growth in the microbiological cultures and with antibiotic susceptibility tests were included in the study. We recorded culture isolates types, age, gender, comorbidities, immunosuppressive factors, symptoms, invasive medical procedures, length of hospital stay, and radiological findings. The mean age of the patients was 66.2 ± 14.5 years, and the male patients predominated (76.3%, n = 58/76). There was growth in bronchial lavage in 33 patients, sputum in 28, pleural effusion fluid in 12, and tracheal aspirate in 3 patients. The rate of antibiotic-resistant strains was 56.6% (n = 43). All strains were sensitive to colistin (100%), and carbapenem, amikacin, and gentamicin sensitivity rates were high. We observed that the risk of antibiotic resistance increased 4.29 times in the patients in the intensive care unit (Cl:1.27–14.47, P = .01). The patients with Diabetes Mellitus had a higher risk (OR 4.33, Cl:1.11–16.77, P = .03), and in cancer cases, the risk was 3.31 times higher (Cl:1.06–10.32, P = .03). The risk of Pseudomonas putida infection should be considered, particularly in patients with comorbid disorders causing immunosuppression, including Diabetes Mellitus and Cancer.

Pulmonary actinomycosis, clinically and radiologically, mimics abscess, tuberculosis, and lung malignancy, resulting in misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis. In this study, we analyzed the clinicoradiological features of pulmonary actinomycosis, the presence of any differences between clinical prediagnosis and radiological diagnosis, and whether imaging modalities help distinguish pulmonary actinomycosis from lung cancer. A total of 22 patients who had a histopathological diagnosis of actinomycosis in a tertiary health center participated in this study. Of these, 14 had positron-emission tomography/computed tomography. In all, 81.8% of the patients were males. The diagnostic procedures employed for the diagnosis of actinomycosis were surgery in 54.5% of patients, fiberoptic bronchoscopy in 36.4% of patients, and rigid bronchoscopy in 9.1% of patients. Radiological and clinical prediagnosis showed malignancy in 31.8 and 40.9% of patients, respectively. The mean of the maximum standardized uptake value was 6.33±3.6 on positron-emission tomography/computed tomography. Kappa compliance analysis revealed that clinical and radiological diagnoses were significantly compatible with each other and that radiological pre-diagnoses were not superior to clinical diagnoses (κ=0.701 and p<0.001). Pulmonary actinomycosis shows high metabolic uptake in positron-emission tomography/computed tomography, and this may mislead clinicians for a diagnosis of malignancy. Our results suggest that positron-emission tomography/computed tomography does not help distinguish pulmonary actinomycosis from lung malignancy and does not provide a clear diagnostic benefit to the clinician, so pathological diagnosis is necessary.

Aim: Inflammation is an important mechanism in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with COPD. In this study, we investigated the relationship of disease severity parameters and inflammation with PAP in COPD patients. Material and Methods: A patient group consisting of 80 patients with stable COPD including who were obtaining treatment at the outpatient clinic of Kırıkkale University Faculty of Medicine Department of Pulmonary Medicine were included in the study along with a control group of 46 individuals who were compatible with the patient group in terms of age and gender and did not have any airway obstruction. Spirometry measurements were performed (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, MEF and PEF). Systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) measurements and standard doppler echocardiography were performed at the outpatient clinic of the department of cardiology. Results: CRP was found to be significantly higher in patients with stable COPD compared to the control group. sPAP values of COPD patients were significantly higher than those of the control group. A statistically significant positive relationship was observed between the sPAP value and age (p = 0.006). There was no statistically significant relationship between sPAP and MCIRS score (p = 0.700). A statistically weak negative relationship was observed between sPAP and FVC% (p = 0.053) Conclusion: Development of PAH increases morbidity and mortality. Therefore, patients with advanced stages of COPD should be screened using echocardiography, which is an easy-to-use, fast and repeatable measurement method to check for PAH development.

Objective: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is one of the most prominent predictive symptoms in the early detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19), it may be the first symptom or accompany other symptoms. The predictive value of OD is unknown in terms of the overall prognosis of COVID-19. We aimed to investigate the relationship between OD and the clinical-radiological severity of the disease. Material and Method: Data of 208 COVID-19 patients (105 inpatients and 103 outpatients) who had positive Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests between December 1, 2020, and January 15, 2021, were collected retrospectively. Presence of OD, symptoms on admission other than OD, days of hospital stay, peripheral blood analysis values, COVID-19 disease severity [World Health Organization (WHO) 2020 “Clinical management of COVID-19”] and radiologic classifications [Radiological Society of North America Expert Consensus Statement on Reporting (RSNA) Chest CT Findings Related to COVID-19] were retrospectively collected. Results: Analysis of 208 patients revealed that there were 105 (50.48%) inpatients and 103 (49.52%) outpatients. Among 102 patients who had OD, 68 were outpatients and 34 were inpatients. It was determined that the patients with OD were mostly followed up on an outpatient basis, and they did not need hospitalization (p

TOPIC: Respiratory Care

Background: Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction is common in advanced lung disease due to chronic pressure overload and altered pulmonary vascular mechanics. Lung transplantation (LTx) reduces RV afterload, and pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) may further enhance functional recovery. However, the combined effects of LTx and structured PR on RV myocardial deformation—particularly using speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE)—remain insufficiently characterized. Methods: This single-arm pre–post study included 20 bilateral lung transplant recipients who completed an 8-week, twice-weekly supervised outpatient PR program. Echocardiographic evaluation—including 2D measurements, M-mode, tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), and STE-derived strain parameters—was performed immediately post-discharge (baseline) and after PR. RV global longitudinal strain (RVGLS) and RV free-wall longitudinal strain (RVFWS) served as primary functional outcomes. Results: Improvements were observed in RV myocardial deformation after PR. RVGLS improved from a median of 15.52% to 16.64% (p = 0.004), and RVFWS increased from 15.82% to 17.10% (p = 0.001). RV mid-cavity diameter decreased significantly (p = 0.042), reflecting favorably altered RV geometry. Conventional parameters—including TAPSE, S′ velocity, RVEDA, and FAC—showed no statistically significant changes. These findings indicate that STE parameters are more sensitive than traditional indices for detecting early RV remodeling in the post-transplant period. Conclusions: Lung transplantation combined with a structured PR program was associated with early improvements in RV deformation indices measurable by STE, even when traditional echocardiographic indices remained within normal limits. STE may therefore serve as a sensitive tool for monitoring subclinical RV recovery after LTx and for assessing the additive benefits of PR.