Effect of dexamethasone therapy in Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Giresun during 2021-2023: an analytical study.

BACKGROUND OBJECTIVES: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a zoonotic disease and significant health concern particularly in endemic regions. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy in dexamethasone treatment on clinical outcomes in CCHF patients. METHODS: We included adult patients diagnosed with CCHF and those whose platelet count dropped to 70,000/mm3 or lower. The efficacy of dexamethasone on clinical outcomes was evaluated. It was a retrospective analytical study. RESULTS: The study included 55 patients. All patients received standard supportive treatment, and none of them received ribavirin therapy. It was observed that 23 (41.8%) of the patients were treated with dexamethasone. No significant differences were observed between patients treated with dexamethasone and those without dexamethasone treatment, regarding factors such as bleeding incidents during hospitalization, the need for blood product transfusions, thrombocyte recovery status, intensive care unit admission, and in-hospital mortality. In-hospital mortality was observed in two patients among all patients (3.6%). INTERPRETATION CONCLUSION: Our study found that dexamethasone treatment did not lead to a significant improvement in clinical outcomes for CCHF patients.

The role of clinical and laboratory finding in the differential diagnosis of Hantavirus and Leptospirosis infections.

BACKGROUND OBJECTIVES: Hantavirus and leptospirosis infections are zoonotic diseases with similar clinical and laboratory findings. The aim of this study is identifying the distinguishing features of these two diseases, for which a definitive diagnosis can take a long time. METHODS: Between September 2021 and June 2023, a total of 45 patients who were admitted to our hospital and were diagnosed with HFRS or leptospirosis were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were compared in terms of demographic data, clinical, and laboratory parameters. The role of these variables in predicting HFRS or leptospirosis was investigated. The two diseases were compared with regard to outcomes. Receiver operating characteristics were employed for the calculation of cut-off values, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for parameters showing significant differences. A statistical significance level of p<0.05 was considered. RESULTS: Fifteen patients diagnosed with HFRS and thirty patients diagnosed with leptospirosis were included in the study. In both groups, hospital admissions were observed with non-specific and similar symptoms. There was no statistically significant difference observed between the two groups in terms of length of hospital stay, blood product transfusion, requirement for hemodialysis, intensive care unit admission, the rate of return to normal renal function and mortality. Elevated ferritin levels were statistically significant in favor of HFRS, while lymphopenia, elevated bilirubin, CRP, and ESR were statistically significant in favor of leptospirosis. INTERPRETATION CONCLUSION: The use of laboratory findings and clinical symptoms can aid in the challenging task of accurately diagnosing and using appropriate treatment for these two diseases.

Can we predict bleeding at admission in Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever?

BACKGROUND: In Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, bleeding has a significant impact on the prognosis of the disease. In our study, we aimed to identify independent risk factors for the development of bleeding in Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever and to contribute to the management of the disease. METHODS: Cases with a definitive diagnosis of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever were divided into two groups: those who developed bleeding and those who did not. Demographic, clinical and laboratory parameters were subjected to logistic regression analysis in terms of risk factors for bleeding development. Cut-off values for numerical variables were determined by receiver operating characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 74 patients diagnosed with CCHF were included in the study. Bleeding occurred in at least one defined focus in 21 patients. In the multivariate logistic regression model, procalcitonin, days from symptom onset to admission, platelet count, and d-dimer were identified as independent risk factors for bleeding development. Procalcitonin had the most significant effect, with an approximately 5.3-fold increase in bleeding risk for each unit increase in its level. For discriminate bleeding, LDH and ferritin exhibited the highest sensitivity, while procalcitonin showed the highest specificity. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the potential use of specific clinical and laboratory variables to predict bleeding development in CCHF patients. Procalcitonin elevation and the time from symptom onset to hospital admission have a significant effect in predicting bleeding.

Gastrointestinal PCR panel results and antibiotic use in acute gastroenteritis cases: How appropriate are we in our usage?

BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine the pathogens detected by the Gastrointestinal (GI) PCR panel in patients with acute gastroenteritis (AGE), the evaluation of antibiotic use in these patients, and the investigation of the role of laboratory parameters in differentiating viral and bacterial etiologies. METHODS: The demographic characteristics, GI PCR panel results, laboratory investigations, antibiotic usage, and appropriateness of antibiotic treatment were investigated in AGE patients. RESULTS: A total of 175 adult patients with AGE and GI PCR panel results were included in the study. The most common pathogens were EPEC (24.6%) and C. difficile (18.3%). Among the 102 patients receiving antibiotic treatment, 34.3% were evaluated as inappropriate antibiotic use. WBC, CRP, procalcitonin, CRP/albumin ratio, and procalcitonin/albumin ratio were found to be significantly higher in cases with bacterial origin. CONCLUSIONS: The utilization of GI PCR panels in AGE patients has revolutionized the field of diagnostics by providing rapid and accurate identification of pathogens. In units without the possibility of GI PCR testing, CRP, procalcitonin, CRP/albumin ratio and procalcitonin/albumin ratio may be useful in the decision of antibiotic treatment.

Diagnostic performance of low-dose chest CT to detect COVID-19: A Turkish population study.

PURPOSE: We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of low-dose chest computed tomography (CT) in patients under investigation for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: This retrospective study included 330 patients suspected of having COVID-19 from March 15 to April 16, 2020. We examined 306 patients upon initial presentation using both CT and real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase-chain-reaction (rRT-PCR). The diagnostic performance of CT was calculated using rRT-PCR as a reference. Clinical and laboratory data, CT characteristics, and lesion distribution were assessed for patients with a confirmed diagnosis via rRT-PCR. RESULTS: A total of 250 patients were finally diagnosed with COVID-19. Clinical and laboratory findings included myalgia or fatigue (76%), fever (64.8%), dry cough (60.8%), elevated levels of C-reactive protein (86.4%), procalcitonin (62%), and D-dimer (58.2%), increased neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (54.8%), and lymphopenia (34%). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of the initial CT scan were 90.4% (95% IC, 86%-93%), 64.2% (95% IC, 50%-76%), 91.8% (95% IC, 88%-94%), and 60% (95% IC, 49%-69%), respectively. The percentage of patients diagnosed on the initial rRT-PCR test was 51.6% (n=129). Most frequent CT characteristics of COVID-19 in the subgroup of rRT-PCR-positive patients were multiple lesion (97.4%, n=220), followed by bilateral involvement (88.5%, n=200), peripheral distribution (74.3%, n=168), ground-glass opacity (GGO) (69.2%, n=157), subpleural curvilinear opacity (41.6%, n=104), and mixed GGOs (27.6%, n=67). CONCLUSION: rRT-PCR may produce initial false negative results. For this reason, typical CT findings for COVID-19 should be known especially by radiologists. We suggest that patients with typical CT findings but negative rRT-PCR results should be isolated, and rRT-PCR should be repeated to avoid misdiagnosis.

Treatment of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever by Favipiravir in a Patient with Novel Coronavirus Co-Infection.

INTRODUCTION: Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a lethal zoonotic disease caused by an RNA virus that is a member of the Nairovirus genus in the Bunyaviridae family from the arbovirus group. CCHF is transmitted by Hyalomma ticks through direct contact with the blood and other bodily fluids of patients or infected animals. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 65-year-old man was admitted to the emergency unit with dry cough, myalgia and fever. He was treated with favipiravir. He had disseminated intravascular coagulopathy with thrombocytopenia in the setting of COVID-19 infection. He tested positive for both COVID-19 and CCHF. By the end of the fifth day of treatment, his laboratory parameters and clinical symptoms had normalized. CONCLUSION: Favipiravir is currently on the market for treating COVID-19 infection worldwide. It has also been used to treat CCHF in laboratory animals. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of CCHF successfully treated with favipiravir, which could be a key drug for treating human CCHF. LEARNING POINTS: Clinicians should be alert for concomitant viral infections such as Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, which share similar clinical and laboratory findings to COVID-19.The effectiveness of favipiravir for viral infections other than influenza and COVID-19, such as Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, should be elucidated.

Quality of life and related factors among chronic hepatitis B-infected patients: a multi-center study, Turkey.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients in Turkey and to study related factors. METHODS: This multicenter study was carried out between January 01 and April 15, 2015 in Turkey in 57 centers. Adults were enrolled and studied in three groups. Group 1: Inactive HBsAg carriers, Group 2: CHB patients receiving antiviral therapy, Group 3: CHB patients who were neither receiving antiviral therapy nor were inactive HBsAg carriers. Study data was collected by face-to-face interviews using a standardized questionnaire, Short Form-36 (SF-36) and Hepatitis B Quality of Life (HBQOL). Values equivalent to p < 0.05 in analyses were accepted as statistically significant. RESULTS: Four thousand two hundred fifty-seven patients with CHB were included in the study. Two thousand five hundred fifty-nine (60.1 %) of the patients were males. Groups 1, 2 and 3, consisted of 1529 (35.9 %), 1721 (40.4 %) and 1007 (23.7 %) patients, respectively. The highest value of HRQOL was found in inactive HBsAg carriers. We found that total HBQOL score increased when antiviral treatment was used. However, HRQOL of CHB patients varied according to their socio-demographic properties. Regarding total HBQOL score, a higher significant level of HRQOL was determined in inactive HBV patients when matched controls with the associated factors were provided. CONCLUSIONS: The HRQOL score of CHB patients was higher than expected and it can be worsen when the disease becomes active. Use of an antiviral therapy can contribute to increasing HRQOL of patients.