Aim In this study, we aimed to investigate the effectiveness of ozone therapy, which is one of the integrative medicine applications that has been used safely for many years, on the prevalence of mortality in patients receiving COVID‐19 treatment. Methods This was a prospective, controlled study conducted on patients with COVID‐19 who were hospitalized. In this study, 55 patients were included. The patients were divided into two groups as the ozone and control group. Ozone therapy (major autohemotherapy) was applied to 37 patients who were being treated with the appropriate COVID‐19 treatment protocol determined by the infectious diseases committee of our hospital. The ozone treatment protocol consisted of seven sessions (1 session/day) of intravenous ozone administration, applied in a volume of 100 mL and a concentration of 30 μg/mL. Only the conventional COVID‐19 treatment protocol was applied to 18 patients in the control group. Clinical follow‐up was performed until the discharge of the patients from the hospital with successful treatment or until the mortality occurred. Factors affecting mortality were analyzed using univariate regression analysis. Results Intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization was required in six of the 37 patients who were treated with ozone (16.2%), while four of 18 patients in the control group required ICU treatment (22.2%) (p = 0.713). When the mortality rates between the two groups were compared, mortality was lower in the ozone group (p = 0.032). As a result of univariate logistic regression analysis performed to investigate the factors affecting mortality, treatment with ozone therapy was determined as a risk factor for mortality. Patients receiving ozone therapy appear to have a lower mortality risk (OR:0.149, 95%CI 0.026‐0.863, p=0.034). Conclusion In this study, the findings suggested that the administration of ozone therapy along with the conventional medical treatment in patients hospitalized for COVID‐19 could reduce mortality.

To evaluate the efficacy, sensitivity and specificity of chest x-ray as a diagnostic imaging tool in management of thorax traumas. Descriptive study. Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey, between December 2014 and December 2015. Case records of patients admitted to the emergency department with thoracic trauma were retrospectively analysed through the hospital database. Plain postero-anterior chest X-rays and thorax computerised tomography (CT) scans were evaluated seperately by same radiologist. Accurcy of signs of thoracic trama was determined using CT scan as gold standard. Nine of 23 pneumothorax patients were diagnosed by chest X-ray. Sensitivity and specificity of PA chest X-ray in the diagnosis of pneumothorax was 39.1% and 100%, respectively. Positive predictive values of chest X-ray for diagnosis of pneumothorax was 100% and negative predictive value was 97.1%. Twenty-four patients had pleural effusions on CT scans, while only 15 could be diagnosed in chest X-rays. Chest X-rays were 62.5% sensitive and 100% specific with positive and negative predictive values of 100% and 98.1%, respectively. Twenty of 41 rib fractures were diagnosed with X-rays. Chest x rays had a 48.8% sensitivity and 100% specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 100% and 95.6%, respectively. Chest X-ray should not be used as a sole diagnostic imaging tool for exclusion of pneumothorax, hemothorax, and lung contusion. Due to high predictive values of chest X-rays, they can be used for follow-up.

The study aimed to investigate the predictive power of serum corin levels for distinguishing between hypertensive urgency (HU) and hypertensive emergency (HE) in patients with hypertensive crisis (HC) admitted to the emergency department. A total of 120 consecutive consenting adult patients diagnosed with HC and 55 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled. Blood pressure measurements [(systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressure (MAP)] and the evidence of end-organ damage at the first admission were recorded. Patients with HC were classified as patients with HE or HU according to the presence or absence of acute end-organ damage. Serum corin levels were compared between the 2 groups. The mean serum corin level was significantly lower in the HC group than in the control group; it was also lower in the HE group than in the HU group (p<0.001 for all). In the HE group, clinical features associated with end-organ damage included ST-elevation myocardial infarction (n=28, 46.7%), hemorrhagic stroke (n=11, 18.3%), ischemic stroke (n=11, 18.3%), and non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction (n=10, 16.7%). The receiving operator characteristic (ROC) analysis identified a serum corin cutoff value of 45 pg/mL for distinguishing patients with HE from patients with HU with 98.3% sensitivity and 95% specificity. Our findings suggest that serum corin levels play an important role in regulating blood pressure and are involved in the pathogenesis of HC. Low serum corin levels may predict end-organ damage and serve as a guide for diagnostic decision making in patients with HC.