Introduction: Numerous studies suggest that alterations in blood parameters, such as changes in platelet, lymphocyte, hemoglobin, eosinophil, and basophil counts; increased neutrophil counts; and elevated neutrophil/lymphocyte and platelet/lymphocyte ratios, signal COVID-19 infection and predict worse outcomes. Leveraging these insights, our study seeks to create a predictive mortality model by assessing age and crucial laboratory markers. Materials and Methods: Patients were categorized into two groups based on their hospital outcomes: 130 survivors who recovered from their Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay (Group 1) and 74 who died (Group 2). We then developed a predictive mortality model using patients’ age, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), procalcitonin levels, and ferritin lactate (FL) index results. Results: A total of 204 patients were included. Patients in Group 2 had a notably higher mean age compared to those in Group 1 (76 ± 11 vs. 66 ± 15 years) (p < 0.001). Using specific cut-off values, our analysis revealed varying effectiveness in predicting COVID-19 mortality: Those aged over 73 years showed 74% sensitivity and 60% specificity, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.701. Procalcitonin levels above 0.35 ng/mL balanced true-positive and -negative identifications well, achieving an AUC of 0.752. The FL index, with a threshold of 1228 mg/dL, had 68% sensitivity and 65% specificity with an AUC of 0.707. A PLR higher than 212 resulted in 48% sensitivity and 69% specificity, with an AUC of 0.582. An NLR higher than 5.8 resulted in 55% sensitivity and 63% specificity, with an AUC of 0.640, showcasing diverse predictive accuracies across parameters. The statistical analysis evaluated the effects of age (>73), procalcitonin levels (>0.35), FL > 1228, PLR > 212, and NLR > 5.8 on mortality variables using logistic regression. Ages over 73 significantly increased event odds by 2.1 times (p = 0.05), procalcitonin levels above 0.35 nearly quintupled the odds (OR = 5.6, p < 0.001), high FL index levels more than tripled the odds (OR = 3.5, p = 0.003), a PLR > 212 significantly increased event odds by 3.5 (p = 0.030), and an NLR > 5.8 significantly increased event odds by 1.6 (p = 0.043). Conclusions: Our study highlights significant predictors of mortality in COVID-19 ICU patients, including advanced age, elevated procalcitonin, FL index levels, the PLR, and the NLR.

Introduction: Monocyte to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio (MHR) has emerged as a novel marker of endothelial injury, inflammation, and oxidative stress. This study aimed to investigate the effect of MHR on primary nephrotic syndrome (NS) and its relationship with the severity of proteinuria. Methods: This study enrolled 161 patients newly diagnosed with primary NS and 100 healthy individuals. Demographic characteristics of the patients, primary NS diagnosis, basal laboratory parameters, the amount of 24-hour urinary protein excretion, and MHR were recorded. The groups were compared regarding these parameters. Results: MHR was significantly higher in patients with primary NS compared with the healthy group (12.89 ± 4.86 and 9.71 ± 2.30, respectively; p < 0.001). There was no difference between the groups in terms of age and sex. The amount of protein in the 24-hour urine in patients with a diagnosis of primary NS was 6.91 ± 3.73 g/day. The correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between MHR and the amount of proteinuria (r = 0.519, p < 0.001) and creatinine level (r = 0.167, p = 0.034). The multivariate regression analysis found that the severity of proteinuria was independently correlated to MHR (p < 0.001). According to the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the optimal cut-off level for MHR in NS was 10.08 (area under the curve of 0.704, sensitivity of 68%, and a specificity of 62%). Conclusion: Our study is the first to compare the severity of proteinuria and renal functions with MHR in patients with primary NS. We believe that MHR can be used as a biomarker to determine inflammation, endothelial injury, and the level of oxidative stress, and may be useful to predict prognosis in patients with primary NS.

Aim: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a clinical syndrome that can cause disturbances in fluid-electrolyte and acid-base balance, resulting in the accumulation of nitrogen and uremic toxins along with the loss of kidney functions within hours or days. In this study, it was aimed to retrospectively examine patients with acute kidney injury to determine whether there is a relationship between infection parameters and urine volume. Materials and Methods: The study included a total of 144 patients with (n=74) and without infection (n=70) out of 294 patients with AKI who received treatment between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2021 in the nephrology clinic of a tertiary university hospital. Results: The mean age was 66.4±15.7 (range:19-95) in patients with infection and 63.8±15.2 (range:36- 93) in non-infected patients. 51.4% (n=38) of those with infection and 52.9% (n=37) of those without infection were women. There was no difference between the individuals with and without infection in terms of age and gender (p>0.05). Infection was present in 51.4% (n=74) of the patients included in the study. Urinary tract (31.3%) and respiratory tract infections (13.2%) were the most common in those with infection. A moderate negative correlation was observed between admission CRP and discharge creatinine level in patients with infection. There was no correlation between PCT and sedimentation rate, urine volume and admission/discharge creatinine level. Moderate positive correlations were found between admission/discharge PCT and admission/discharge urine volume in patients without infection. In addition, moderate negative correlations were found between admission/discharge sedimentation rate and admission urine volume. Conclusions: No correlation was found between PCT and sediment (incoming/exit) and outflow urine volume in patients with infection.

Giriş ve Amaç: Hepatit B virüs (HBV) enfeksiyonu halen tüm dünyada önde gelen sağlık sorunlarından biridir. Karaciğer, vitamin D’nin metabolizması ve depolanmasında önemli bir organdır. Vitamin D’nin, hücre farklılaşması, çoğalması ve bağışıklık modülasyon inhibisyonu da dâhil olmak üzere çok önemli bir biyolojik etkiye sahip olduğu bilinmektedir. Son zamanlarda, vitamin D düzeylerinin HBV enfeksiyonu gibi viral enfeksiyonlara karşı immün sistem ve konak yanıtını etkileyebileceği düşünülmektedir. Bu çalışmamızda amaç HBV ile enfekte bireyler ve HBV ile enfekte olmayan bireylerde vitamin D düzeyini karşılaştırıp vitamin D düzeyinin HBV replikasyonu ve hastalığın progresyonu ile ilişkisini saptamaktır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışmamız retrospektif olarak gerçekleştirilen tanımlayıcı bir çalışma olarak tasarlanmıştır. Dicle üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Hastanesi Enfeksiyon Hastalıkları ve Klinik Mikrobiyoloji polikliniğine Ocak 2014 - Aralık 2015 tarihleri arasında başvuran HBsAg pozitif ve HBV DNA’sı negatif 29 hasta, HBsAg pozitif ve HBV DNA‘sı 2000-20000 IU/ml olan 30 hasta, HBsAg pozitif ve HBV DNA’sı >20000 IU/ml olan 31 hasta ile HBsAg negatif ve komorbiditesi olmayan; ancak halsizlik, yorgunluk şikâyeti ile polikliniğimize başvurup vitamin-D düzeyleri bakılmış olan 45 hasta kontrol grubu olarak çalışmamızda değerlendirmeye alınmıştır. Hastaların başlangıç, 6. ay ve 12. ay 25 (OH) D düzeyleri incelenmiştir. Bu çalışmada kullanılan kit için üretici firmanın belirlediği 25 (OH) D referans aralıkları; eksik(<10 μg /L), yetersiz(10-30 μg/L) ve yeterli(≥30 μg/L) şeklinde belirtilmiştir.Bulgular: Kronik Hepatit B (KHB)’li hastaların ortalama vitamin D düzeyi 23,37±10,71 µg/l, kontrol grubunun ortalama vitamin D düzeyi 35,54±10,42 µg/l olarak saptanmıştır (p<0,001). Bu durumda KHB’li hastalarda vitamin D düzeyi yetersiz olup kontrol grubuna göre daha düşük saptanmıştır. Kontrol grubunun ise vitamin D düzeyleri normal sınırlarda saptanmıştır. KHB’li hastaların grup içi vitamin D düzeyleri karşılaştırıldığında anlamlı bir fark saptanmamıştır.Bu çalışmada düşük vitamin D düzeyinin yüksek viral yük ile ilişkili olmadığı sonucuna varılmıştır. Sonuç: Çalışmamızda, KHB hastalarında vitamin D düzeyi yetersiz bulunmuştur. Düşük vitamin D düzeyinin yüksek viral yük ile ilişkili olmadığı saptanmış olup detaylı tasarlanmış, prospektif ve kontrollü çalışmalara ihtiyaç vardır. Ayrıca hastalar; vitamin D eksikliği ve yerine koyma tedavisi açısından değerlendirilmelidir.

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is an effective and widely used renal replacement therapy that can be applied long-term in individuals with end-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) [1]. Compared with in-cen...