Nephrotoxicity is the most important adverse effect of colistin therapy. We investigated the frequency of nephrotoxicity, risk factors related to nephrotoxicity, and its relationship with mortality...

Although dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) remains the gold standard for the measurement of bone mineral density (BMD), degenerative spine and spinal instrumentation yields inaccurate results,...

Objective: To identify whether red blood cell distribution width coefficient of variation (RDW-CV) and mean platelet volume (MPV) levels can predict clomiphene citrate resistance (CC-R) in infertile, anovulatory females with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Methods: A total of 89 infertile patients who were admitted to a tertiary center diagnosed with non-obese PCOS were included in this study. The patients were divided into two groups: the first group comprised 53 non-obese patients with PCOS and CC-R, and the second group included 36 non-obese patients with PCOS and CC-S. RDW-CV, RDW-SD, and MPV values, along with routine whole blood count parameters were compared between the groups. Results: RDW-CV values were found to be significantly higher in the patients with CC-R compared to those with CC-S (P < 0.05). The sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive values were found to be 69%, 58.1%, 34.5%, and 12.5%, respectively, at an RDW-CV level of 12.85. The odds ratio was calculated as 3.077 (95% CI 1.245–7.603) in terms of the cut-off point. Conclusion: We think that RDW-CV which is a marker of inflammation is a simple, cheap, and accessible marker for the prediction of CC resistance.

COVID-19 has been a devastating pandemic. There are indications that vitamin A is depleted during infections. Vitamin A is important in development and immune homeostasis. It has been used successfully in measles, RSV and AIDS infections. In this study, we aimed to measure the serum retinol levels in severe COVID-19 patients to assess the importance of vitamin A in the COVID-19 pathogenesis. The serum retinol level was measured in two groups of patients: the COVID-19 group, which consisted of 27 severe COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit with respiratory failure, and the control group, which consisted of 23 patients without COVID-19 symptoms. The mean serum retinol levels were 0.37 mg/L in the COVID-19 group and 0.52 mg/L in the control group. The difference between the serum retinol levels in the two groups was statistically significant. There was no significant difference in retinol levels between different ages and genders within the COVID-19 group. Comorbidity did not affect serum retinol levels. The serum retinol level was significantly lower in patients with severe COVID-19, and this difference was independent of age or underlying comorbidity. Our data show that retinol and retinoic acid signaling might be important in immunopathogenesis of COVID-19.