Six-Minute Walk Test: How to do Guide for Performing a Reliable Test, Interpretation, and Prognostication in Pulmonary Hypertension.

Six-minute walk test (6MWT) is the most widely used exercise capacity measurement worldwide in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). Although cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is the gold standard for the assessment of exercise capacity in cardiovascular diseases; the limited accessibility of the device, the need for experience in interpreting the results, and the difficulties in performing CPET in advanced PH have aroused the interest in the application of easier methods for the measurement of exercise capacity. Since then, accumulated data proved that; 6-minutes walking distance (6MWD) can be used to determine exercise capacity and is highly correlated with maximum oxygen consumption (peak VO2) detected by CPET in patients with heart failure and/or PH. Moreover, 6MWT is very easy and practical to apply in all PH subgroups. This review is focused on the application of a reliable 6MWT and the interpretation of the results in patients with PH.

Turkish Thoracic Society's Statement Report on Electronic Cigarettes and Heated Tobacco Products.

Tobacco addiction, which causes the death of more than 8.5 million people in the world every year, is a preventable global public health problem. There are 1.1 billion adult smokers worldwide and 60% of them desire or intend to quit but unfortunately, the tobacco industry continues to profit at the expense of people's lives by marketing electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products as a smoking cessation method and they continue to poison young people with new threat tobacco products, promising a "smoke-free future" Turkish Thoracic Society is actively involved in the implementation of the National Tobacco Control Program to protect public health and has warned and raised awareness of new threats to the youth, such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. The purpose of this report is to provide information about electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products and to present TTJ's position on the subject.

Primary Antibody Deficiencies With Pulmonary Complications: A Single-Center Experience.

Background Primary immunodeficiencies are a heterogeneous group of genetic diseases caused by one or more abnormalities in the immune system. Although pulmonary complications are common in patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases, these complications contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality. Aim The aim of our study was to evaluate the distribution of the features of pulmonary radiological involvement and demographic findings in this patient group. Materials and methods The files of patients who were treated and followed up with the diagnosis of primary immunodeficiency between 2014 and 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. Demographic data, symptoms, additional diseases, and computed tomography findings of the patients were recorded. Results The mean age of 32 cases was 37.34±13.54 (20-69) and the age of diagnosis was 28.90±15.75 (1-62). Twenty of the cases were male and 10 were female. The most common symptom was diarrhea with 53.1% and cough with 34.4%. The most common radiological finding is bronchiectasis in 75% of cases. Twenty-one (65.6%) of the cases had recurrent pneumonia before diagnosis and no pneumonia was observed after intravenous immunoglobulin replacement therapy. Three of the cases (9.4%) died during the follow-up. Conclusions Primary immunodeficiency should be considered in patients with bronchiectasis and a history of recurrent pneumonia, and further investigations should be performed. Early diagnosis of patients with primary immunodeficiency is very important for the early detection and treatment of malignancy and the interstitial lung disease that may develop.

The predictors of COVID-19 mortality in a nationwide cohort of Turkish patients.

The COVID-19-related death rate varies between countries and is affected by various risk factors. This multicenter registry study was designed to evaluate the mortality rate and the related risk factors in Turkey. We retrospectively evaluated 1500 adults with COVID-19 from 26 centers who were hospitalized between March 11 and July 31, 2020. In the study group, 1041 and 459 cases were diagnosed as definite and highly probable cases, respectively. There were 993 PCR-positive cases (66.2%). Among all cases, 1144 (76.3%) were diagnosed with non-severe pneumonia, whereas 212 (14.1%) had severe pneumonia. Death occurred in 67 patients, corresponding to a mortality rate of 4.5% (95% CI:3.5-5.6). The univariate analysis demonstrated that various factors, including male sex, age ≥65 years and the presence of dyspnea or confusion, malignity, chronic obstructive lung disease, interstitial lung disease, immunosuppressive conditions, severe pneumonia, multiorgan dysfunction, and sepsis, were positively associated with mortality. Favipiravir, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin were not associated with survival. Following multivariate analysis, male sex, severe pneumonia, multiorgan dysfunction, malignancy, sepsis and interstitial lung diseases were found to be independent risk factors for mortality. Among the biomarkers, procalcitonin levels on the 3rd-5th days of admission showed the strongest associations with mortality (OR: 6.18; 1.6-23.93). This study demonstrated that the mortality rate in hospitalized patients in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic was a serious threat and that those patients with male sex, severe pneumonia, multiorgan dysfunction, malignancy, sepsis and interstitial lung diseases were at increased risk of mortality; therefore, such patients should be closely monitored.

Effectiveness of Behavioral and Pharmacological Smoking Cessation Treatment in Patients with Failed Attempt at Quitting with E-cigarettes.

OBJECTIVE: The tobacco industry has introduced electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) as a less harmful substitute to cigarettes and as an aid to smoking cessation. This study aimed to evaluate the success of evidence-based pharmacological treatments and behavioral/cognitive training in patients who failed to quit smoking with e-cigarettes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 109 consecutive patients with failed attempts at smoking cessation by e-cigarettes were admitted. A questionnaire was administered to evaluate the demographic characteristics and smoking habits. Nicotine dependence scores of the smokers were obtained using the Fagerström addiction test. Appropriate pharmacological therapy and behavioral/cognitive training were given to each patient who failed to quit smoking with e-cigarettes. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 35.2±10.4 years, and 89 (81.7%) were men. Education level was high school or university for 92 (84.4%) patients; only 17 (15.6%) graduated from middle school. The mean number of cigarettes smoked per day was 25.8±10.8, and the mean nicotine dependence score was 6.7±1.9. Only 6 (5.5%) individuals quit smoking temporarily after using e-cigarettes, with a mean restarting time of 3.3±2.0 months in all 6 patients. The smoking cessation rate in our study was 43.1% (47 patients) with medical treatment. The remaining individuals were unable to quit smoking with pharmacological treatment, and the mean restarting time for these patients was 10.4±2.2 months. CONCLUSION: It has been shown that the success rate of smoking cessation increases with pharmacological treatment and behavioral/cognitive training in individuals who failed to quit smoking with e-cigarettes.

A case of chronic sarcoidosis presenting with lupus pernio.

Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease of unknown cause. Skin involvement may be specific lesions in which granulomas are detected on biopsy or nonspecific lesions without granulomatous inflammation on biopsy. Lupus pernio (LP) occurs in the form of smooth, bright nodules and plaques on the nose, ear, lips, and cheeks. Although presence of skin involvement is frequent, lupus perio is reported as a rare form of extrapulmonary sarcoidosis. A 57-year-old female patient applied to the dermatology outpatient clinic with a lesion on the nose. We report a case of chronic sarcoidosis presenting with lupus pernio with clinical and radiological improvement.