COVID-19: vaccination vs. hospitalization.

OBJECTIVE: Vaccination is the most efficient way to control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but vaccination rates remain below the target level in most countries. This multicenter study aimed to evaluate the vaccination status of hospitalized patients and compare two different booster vaccine protocols. SETTING: Inoculation in Turkey began in mid-January 2021. Sinovac was the only available vaccine until April 2021, when BioNTech was added. At the beginning of July 2021, the government offered a third booster dose to healthcare workers and people aged > 50 years who had received the two doses of Sinovac. Of the participants who received a booster, most chose BioNTech as the third dose. METHODS: We collected data from 25 hospitals in 16 cities. Patients hospitalized between August 1 and 10, 2021, were included and categorized into eight groups according to their vaccination status. RESULTS: We identified 1401 patients, of which 529 (37.7%) were admitted to intensive care units. Nearly half (47.8%) of the patients were not vaccinated, and those with two doses of Sinovac formed the second largest group (32.9%). Hospitalizations were lower in the group which received 2 doses of Sinovac and a booster dose of BioNTech than in the group which received 3 doses of Sinovac. CONCLUSION: Effective vaccinations decreased COVID-19-related hospitalizations. The efficacy after two doses of Sinovac may decrease over time; however, it may be enhanced by adding a booster dose. Moreover, unvaccinated patients may be persuaded to undergo vaccination.

Survival in progressive systemic sclerosis with pulmonary involvement: a single-center experience in Istanbul, Turkey.

The objective of the current study was to determine survival and factors that affect survival in progressive systemic sclerosis (SSc) with pulmonary involvement. A total of 102 SSc patients with pulmonary involvement, diagnosed between 1994 and 2008, enrolled into the study. Pulmonary involvement was defined based on the presence of interstitial changes on high-resolution CT (HRCT). Demographical, clinical, radiological, and laboratory data of the patients were found from patient records and were used for the evaluation of survival. The mean age of the patients at diagnosis was 50 ± 12 years. In follow-up, 22 (21.5%) patients were deceased. The mean age of the patients at death was 55 ± 12 years. Seventy-eight percent of known causes of mortality were related to pulmonary complications. After any initial systemic manifestation of disease, the mean survival was 447 ± 27 months and 5, 10, 15, and 20 year survival rates were 99, 92, 83, and 72%, respectively. The mean survival after initial pulmonary manifestation was 269 ± 23 months and 5, 10 and 15 year survival rates were 91, 73 and 57%, respectively. Mean survival was 113 ± 5 months, and 5- and 10-year survival rates after the lung involvement detected with HRCT were 85 and 66%, respectively. Pulmonary artery hypertension, disease onset after the age of 40, and honeycombing on HRCT were associated with poor survival. Our data suggest that pulmonary involvement is the most important determinant factor for poor prognosis in patients with SSc. Therefore, echocardiography, pulmonary function tests, and HRCT should be performed in early stages of the disease for early diagnosis of pulmonary artery hypertension and lung involvement before irreversible vascular and interstitial changes exist.

Alveolar proteinosis in Behçet's disease.

A 51-year-old man with Behçet's disease complained of fever, dry cough and dyspnea during exertion. Chest CT showed ground glass opacities with interstitial septal thickening in both lungs. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) revealed amorphous and lipoproteinaceous material that was periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) stain positive. Transbronchial biopsy specimen demonstrated PAS positive alveolar eosinophilic material consistent with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. Serum anti-granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) antibody was negative. Recent studies have reported anti-GMCSF not present in the the serum of patients with secondary pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) but they have not reported so in patients with idiopathic PAP. We report a case of alveolar proteinosis in the setting of Behçet's disease with spontaneous remission.