The COVID-19 pandemic has brought countries’ health services into sharp focus. It was drawn to our group’s attention that healthcare workers (HCWs) had a lower mortality rate against higher COVID-19 incidence compared to the general population in Turkey. Since risk of exposure to tuberculosis bacillus among healthcare workers are higher than the population, we aimed to investigate if there is a relationship between BCG and Mycobacterium tuberculosis exposure history with COVID-19 severity in infected HCWs. This study was conducted with 465 infected HCWs from thirty-three hospitals to assess the relationship between COVID-19 severity (according to their hospitalization status and the presence of radiological pneumonia) and BCG and Mycobacterium tuberculosis exposure history. HCWs who required hospital admission had significantly higher rates of chronic diseases, radiological pneumonia, and longer working hours in the clinics. Higher rates of history of contact and care to tuberculosis patients, history of tuberculosis, and BCG vaccine were observed in hospitalized HCWs. HCWs who had radiological pneumonia had a significantly increased ratio of history of care to tuberculosis patients and a higher family history of tuberculosis. The findings from our study suggest that the lower mortality rate despite the more severe disease course seen in infected HCWs might be due to frequent exposure to tuberculosis bacillus and the mortality-reducing effects of the BCG vaccine.

Amaç: Toplumun rol model olarak aldığı sağlık çalışanlarının sigaraya karşı tutum ve davranışları önemlidir. Bu çalışmada hastanemiz çalışanlarında sigara içme sıklığını belirlemek, yaş, cinsiyet, eğitim durumunun sigara içme alışkanlığındaki etkisini araştırmak ve sağlık çalışanlarının nikotin bağımlılık düzeylerini saptamak hedeflendi.Yöntem: Çalışmaya 2017 yılı Kasım-Aralık aylarında Kastamonu Devlet Hastanesi’nde görev yapmakta olan ve çalışmaya gönüllü olarak katılan 326 hastane çalışanı dahil edildi. Tüm katılımcılara eğitimli bir personel tarafından yüz yüze görüşme yöntemiyle 14 soruluk bir anket formu uygulandı. Anket soruları katılımcıların demografik özellikleri ve sigara kullanma durumlarını sorgulayan sorulardan oluşmakta idi. Anket soruları içinde ayrıca altı soruluk Fagerstrom Nikotin Bağımlılık Testi (FNBT) de dahil edildi. Her katılımcının FNBT puanları araştırıcı tarafından değerlendirildi.Bulgular: Çalışmaya ortalama yaşı 33,82±10,47 olan, 107 (%33,86) erkek, 219 (%66,14) kadın katıldı. Çalışmamızda katılımcıların 111’nin (%30,04) halen sigara kullandığı, 215’inin (%65,96) kullanmadığı, 17’sinin (%5,37) ise daha önce kullanıp şu anda kullanmadığı saptandı. Sigara içenlerin yaş ortalaması 36,53±8,88 yıl, sigara içmeyenlerin yaş ortalaması 32,53±10,93 yıl olarak tespit edildi. Sigara içenler içmeyenlere göre istatistiki anlamlı düzeyde daha yaşlıydı (p

A 76-year-old female received a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine (CoronaVac, Sinovac^®, Beijing, China) and subsequently experienced chest discomfort. A computed tomography performed 1 day after vaccination showed multiple infiltrations in both lungs and ground-glass shadows in both lung fields. Her fingertip oxygen saturation was 81% and there was widespread wheezing on physical examination. Based on these findings, the patient was hospitalized with a preliminary diagnosis of drug-induced pneumonitis and acute asthma exacerbation due to a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. During her hospitalization, 40 mg/d systemic steroid, 4 times a day salbutamol nebulized, 2 L/min inhaled oxygen therapy and 400 mg/d moxifloxacin intravenous were administered for 5 days. One month later, the thorax computed tomography scan revealed that the previous findings were almost completely regressed.

World Health Organization has declared coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) as a pandemic. Although there are studies about this novel virus, our knowledge is still limited. There is limited information about its diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. We aimed to investigate the effect of methemoglobin and carboxyhemoglobin levels on the prognosis of COVID-19. In this observational study, patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 during March 1–April 31, 2020 in a secondary-level state hospital in Turkey were included in the study. COVID-19 diagnosis was confirmed with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction method, with nasal, oral or sputum specimens. During the period this study was performed, 3075 patients were tested for COVID-19 and 573 of them were hospitalized. Among the hospitalised patients, 23.2% (133) of them had a positive polymerase chain reaction result for COVID-19. A total of 125 patients, 66 (52.8%) males and 59 (47.2%) females, with an average age of 50.2 ± 19.8 years, were included in the study. The most common findings in chest radiogram were ground-glass areas and consolidations, while one-third of the patients had a normal chest radiogram. Computed thorax tomography was performed for 77.6% (97/125) of the patients. The 24.7% of computed tomographies (24/97) did not reveal any pathological findings, and the most common findings were ground-glass appearance and consolidation. Those who needed intensive care had statistically significantly lower platelet count (P = 0.011) and higher lactate dehydrogenase levels (P < 0.001). No statistically significant difference was found in carboxyhemoglobin (P = 0.395) and methemoglobin (P = 1.000) levels. We found that carboxyhemoglobin and methemoglobin levels had no effect on COVID-19 prognosis, but low platelet level played a role in predicting COVID-19 prognosis. This study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Harran University Faculty of Medicine on May 11, 2020 with approval No. 09.

Objective: To assess differences in the sputum microbiota of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients with either COPD or asthma, specifically focusing on a patient population in Turkey. Methods: This retrospective study included hospitalized patients > 18 years of age with a diagnosis of pneumonia between January of 2021 and January of 2023. Participants were recruited from two hospitals, and three patient groups were considered: CAP patients with asthma, CAP patients with COPD, and CAP patients without COPD or asthma. Results: A total of 246 patients with CAP were included in the study, 184 (74.8%) and 62 (25.2%) being males and females, with a mean age of 66 ± 14 years. Among the participants, 52.9% had COPD, 14.2% had asthma, and 32.9% had CAP but no COPD or asthma. Upon analysis of sputum cultures, positive sputum culture growth was observed in 52.9% of patients. The most commonly isolated microorganisms were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 40), Acinetobacter baumannii (n = 20), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 16), and Moraxella catarrhalis (n = 8). CAP patients with COPD were more likely to have a positive sputum culture (p = 0.038), a history of antibiotic use within the past three months (p = 0.03), utilization of long-term home oxygen therapy (p < 0.001), and use of noninvasive ventilation (p = 0.001) when compared with the other patient groups. Additionally, CAP patients with COPD had a higher CURB-65 score when compared with CAP patients with asthma (p = 0.004). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that CAP patients with COPD tend to have more severe presentations, while CAP patients with asthma show varied microbial profiles, underscoring the need for patient-specific management strategies in CAP.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common progressive interstitial disease of unknown etiology. The course of the disease cannot be predicted with certainty. It is crucial to regularly monitor the disease using multiple assessments to evaluate its progression. Currently, there is no consensus on the exact definition of disease progression. Although nintedanib and pirfenidone can slow down the progression of IPF, the disease can still advance even under anti-fibrotic treatment. The aim of this review is to examine and summarize the current data regarding IPF progression in patients receiving anti-fibrotic treatment, while also highlighting the limitations of the tests used for assessing disease progression