Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is a global health problem. However, the course of this disease in immunosuppressed patients remains unknown. This study aimed to describe the course of COVID‐19 infection and its effects on lung transplant recipients.Methods: This was a single‐center, retrospective, observational study. The recipients with suspicious symptoms and/or a contact history with infected individuals were diagnosed with COVID‐19 by performing a reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) test using samples obtained from the nasopharynx swabs or bronchial lavage. We classified the patients into mild, moderate, and high severity groups according to their clinical conditions. In patients with positive RT‐PCR results, cell cycle inhibitor drugs were withdrawn, while steroids were maintained at the same level as in patients without clinical deterioration.Results: Of the seven recipients diagnosed with COVID‐19 infection, one experienced a re‐infection. Each recipient had at least one comorbidity. Smell disorder (12.5%), cough/dyspnea (37%), and fever/chills/shivering (37%) were the most frequent symptoms. The mean follow‐up time after infection was 108 days. No deaths were recorded due to COVID‐19; however, the pulmonary function test values of two recipients were decreased during subsequent follow‐ups.Conclusion: In our small group of transplant recipients with COVID‐19, there were two cases of pulmonary function deterioration and a case of re‐infection, and no recipient died. It is suggested that steroid therapy should be initiated in the early period in patients with pulmonary opacities.

Benign tracheal stenosis is a common complication in patients followed up in intensive care units. We aimed to analyze the etiology, diagnostic approaches, treatment methods for benign tracheal stenosis, and the predicting factors for complications after tracheal resection for benign stenosis. Forty patients who underwent tracheal resection reconstruction due to benign tracheal stenosis were analyzed retrospectively. Predictive factors for complications were determined by statistical analysis. There were 23 patients (57.5%) in the intubation group, 11 patients (27.5%) in the tracheostomy group, and 6 patients (15%) in the subsequent tracheostomy group. Preoperatively, rigid dilatation was applied to all patients between 2 and 6 sessions (median = 3). Tracheal resections were performed in all patients after rigid dilatations. The mean of the resected segment lengths is 32.1 ± 8.8 mm. There was a statistically significant difference between preoperative bronchoscopic measurements, preoperative tomography measurements, and intraoperative measurements of the stenosis segment (ꭓ2 (2) = 71,500; p < 0.001). The patients' mean follow-up period was 27.4 ± 21.7 months (3-84). Mortality due to tracheal surgery and major anastomotic complications were not observed. The minor anastomotic complication rate was 12.5%, the non-anastomotic complication rate was 17.5%. The effect of resection length and surgical experience were found to be statistically significant risk factors for anastomotic complications. Rigid dilatation does not provide significant palliation in complex stenosis. Bronchoscopic measurements give closer results than CT measurements in the preoperative estimation of resection length. The risk of anastomotic complications increases when the length of the resection increases and when the surgical experience is less.

There is limited literature on patients with a history of COVID-19 pneumonia who underwent anatomical lung resection for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study was aimed to share the early postoperative outcomes in patients who underwent lung resection after COVID-19 pneumonia. We retrospectively evaluated 30 patients who underwent lobectomy with thoracotomy and systematic mediastinal lymph node dissection due to NSCLC in a single center between November 2018 and September 2021. The patients were divided into two groups regarding COVID-19 pneumonia history; the COVID-19 group consisted of 14 patients (46.7%) and the non-COVID-19 group 16 (53.3%) patients. The patients’ age, gender, comorbidity, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) value, tumor type and size, resection type, postoperative air leak duration, total drainage volume, drain removal time, postoperative complications, and length of stay (LOS) were recorded. 9 (30%) patients were female, and 21 (70%) were male. The mean age was 62.1 ± 8.91 years. Our comparison of postoperative air leak duration, total drainage volume, time to drain removal, postoperative complications, and LOS between the COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 groups revealed no statistically significant difference. Anatomical lung resection can be performed safely in NSCLC patients with a history of COVID-19 pneumonia without significant difference in early postoperative morbidity and mortality.

Objectives: In this study, we investigated dynamic thiol-disulfide homeostasis as a new indicator of oxidative stress in lung transplant recipients. In addition, we compared dynamic thiol-disulfide homeostasis parameters according to transplant indication and time after transplant.Materials and methods: This study had a single-center, observational, randomized design. In terms of transplant indications, lung transplant recipients were grouped as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, bronchiectasis, and other indications. To make comparisons based on time after transplant, lung transplant recipients were categorized into the following groups: >6 and <= 24 months, >24 and <= 48 months, >48 and <= 72 months, and >72 months. A fully automated spectrophotometric technique was used to measure dynamic thiol-disulfide homeostasis in fasting blood samples.Results: Our study included 34 lung transplant recipients and 36 healthy volunteers. Native thiol (P = .005) and total thiol levels (P = .06) were lower in lung transplant recipients. Disulfide levels were similar. Disulfide-to-native thiol (P = .027) and disulfide-to-total thiol ratios (P = .027) were significantly higher in lung transplant recipients. Native thiol-to-total thiol ratios were lower in lung transplant recipients (P = .027). When we examined patients according to transplant indication, no statistically significant differences were found in dynamic thiol-disulfide homeostasis parameters, except for total thiol and disulfide levels. We also found no significant differences when we examined dynamic thiol-disulfide homeostasis parameters according to time after transplant.Conclusions: Thiol-related antioxidant activity is significantly reduced after lung transplant, regardless of indication and transplant time. Ensuring oxidative balance in lung transplant recipients with an antioxidant supplement regimen can prevent damage from oxidative stress.