The Impact of CoronaVac Vaccination on 28-day Mortality Rate of Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19 in Türkiye.

Background: Vaccines against coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) have been effective in preventing symptomatic diseases, hospitalizations, and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions. However, data regarding the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in reducing mortality among critically ill patients with COVID-19 remains unclear. Aims: To determine the vaccination status and investigate the impact of the COVID-19 vaccine on the 28-day mortality in critically ill patients with COVID-19. Study Design: Multicenter prospective observational clinical study. Methods: This study was conducted in 60 hospitals with ICUs managing critically ill patients with COVID-19. Patients aged ≥ 18 years with confirmed COVID-19 who were admitted to the ICU were included. The present study had two phases. The first phase was designed as a one-day point prevalence study, and demographic and clinical findings were evaluated. In the second phase, the 28-day mortality was evaluated. Results: As of August 11, 2021, 921 patients were enrolled in the study. The mean age of the patients was 65.42 ± 16.74 years, and 48.6% (n = 448) were female. Among the critically ill patients with COVID-19, 52.6% (n = 484) were unvaccinated, 7.7% (n = 71) were incompletely vaccinated, and 39.8% (n = 366) were fully vaccinated. A subgroup analysis of 817 patients who were unvaccinated (n = 484) or who had received two doses of the CoronaVac vaccine (n = 333) was performed. The 28-day mortality rate was 56.8% (n = 275) and 57.4% (n = 191) in the unvaccinated and two-dose CoronaVac groups, respectively. The 28-day mortality was associated with age, hypertension, the number of comorbidities, type of respiratory support, and APACHE II and sequential organ failure assessment scores (p < 0.05). The odds ratio for the 28-day mortality among those who had received two doses of CoronaVac was 0.591 (95% confidence interval: 0.413-0.848) (p = 0.004). Conclusion: Vaccination with at least two doses of CoronaVac within six months significantly decreased mortality in vaccinated patients than in unvaccinated patients.

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.

Clinical Outcomes and Independent Risk Factors for 90-Day Mortality in Critically Ill Patients with Respiratory Failure Infected with SARS-CoV-2: A Multicenter Study in Turkish Intensive Care Units.

BACKGROUND: There are limited data on the long-term outcomes of COVID-19 from different parts of the world. AIMS: To determine risk factors of 90-day mortality in critically ill patients in Turkish intensive care units (ICUs), with respiratory failure. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective, observational cohort. METHODS: Patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and who had been followed up in the ICUs with respiratory failure for more than 24 hours were included in the study. Their demographics, clinical characteristics, laboratory variables, treatment protocols, and survival data were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 421 patients were included. The median age was 67 (IQR: 57-76) years, and 251 patients (59.6%) were men. The 90-day mortality rate was 55.1%. The factors independently associated with 90-day mortality were invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) (HR 4.09 [95% CI: [2.20-7.63], P < .001), lactate level >2 mmol/L (2.78 [1.93-4.01], P < .001), age ≥60 years (2.45 [1.48-4.06)], P < .001), cardiac arrhythmia during ICU stay (2.01 [1.27-3.20], P = .003), vasopressor treatment (1.94 [1.32-2.84], P = .001), positive fluid balance of ≥600 mL/day (1.68 [1.21-2.34], P = .002), PaO2/FiO2 ratio of ≤150 mmHg (1.66 [1.18-2.32], P = .003), and ECOG score ≥1 (1.42 [1.00-2.02], P = .050). CONCLUSION: Long-term mortality was high in critically ill patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in intensive care units in Turkey. Invasive mechanical ventilation, lactate level, age, cardiac arrhythmia, vasopressor therapy, positive fluid balance, severe hypoxemia and ECOG score were the independent risk factors for 90-day mortality.

Factors Affecting Cost of Patients with Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Intensive Care Unit.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to investigate the factors affecting cost in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted between January 2013 and December 2016. A total of 291 sequential patients with severe CAP were included in the study. Patients' demographic and clinical data; the need for invasive mechanical ventilation or non-invasive mechanical ventilation; intensive care severity (ICU) scores, including Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II), Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment, Quick SOFA, pneumonia severity index (PSI); and Confusion, Urea, Respiratory Rate, and Blood Pressure-65 (CURB-65) scores were obtained from medical records and recorded for all cases. RESULTS: The mean age of 291 patients was 68.4±16.8 years, and 61% were female. The median length of ICU stay was 7 days. Forty-six percent of patients had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 42% had hypertension. The mean cost of each hospitalization was US$ 2722 (TL 5578). The highest cost was found in the group of patients aged 50-59 years, and the lowest cost was found in the patients aged <50 years. A statistically significant relationship was found between ICU severity scores and health cost. The cost of patients in PSI class V, APACHE II (>20 points), and CURB-65 score were higher. The presence of COPD, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, hypoalbuminemia, mental state deterioration, in-hospital mortality, severe sepsis, septic shock, mechanical ventilation requirement, and haloperidol and vasopressor usage were associated with higher cost, while the use of florokinolon was associated with lower cost. CONCLUSION: The presence of certain comorbidities and high disease severity in patients with severe CAP hospitalized in ICU increase the cost of inpatient treatment. The need for mechanical ventilation during treatment and the presence of sepsis/septic shock are additional factors that increase the cost.

Incidental Aluminum Phosphide Poisoning: Case Report and Current Management.

Aluminum phosphide (AlP) is a commonly used cheap rodenticide, insecticide, and fumigant. Most intoxications in the literature are suicidal ingestions, however, AlP may cause incidental inhalational toxicities as well. After ingestion or inhalation, nausea, vomiting, dyspnea and abdominal pain develops within minutes. Hallmark of toxicity is refractory hypotension, cardiac failure and severe metabolic acidosis developing within a matter of hours are the major cause of mortality. In Turkey, AlP tablets are widely accessible and are sold without any restrictions. However, there are few local case reports in the literature. Additionally, incidental AlP intoxications are rarely reported. Herein, we present a 25-year-old male patient incidentally poisoned with AlP. He was found unconscious in a grain storage unit protected by aluminum phosphide tablets. He had hypotension and tachycardia. Arterial blood gas analysis did not reveal metabolic acidosis. He was quickly intubated and admitted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Supportive care crystalloid solution, n-acetyl cysteine and norepinephrine infusion was administered. After 36 hours, he was extubated and discharged without any complications. There is no specific antidote or treatment for AlP toxicity. Literature is controversial regarding treatment approach. Inhalational toxicity may occur under extreme conditions, as presented in this case report. Preventive strategies should be considered to reduce incidents. Clinicians should also be aware that AlP is a widely available and highly toxic compound that has no specific antidote and toxicity needs to be urgently treated with best supportive care.

Prophylactic use of acetaminophen in children vaccinated with diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis.

BACKGROUND: The present randomized non-blind trial was conducted to clarify the effect of analgesics on febrile responses of booster diphtheria-tetanus-whole cell pertussis (DTP) vaccine in 15-20 months old infants. METHODS: A total of 270 healthy infants were randomized to receive acetaminophen (10 mg/kg) along with DTP vaccine (group 1), 2 hours after vaccination (group 2), and after the appearance of febrile reactions or irritability following vaccination (group 3, control). In addition to study medication, if the axillary temperature was higher than 38 degrees C or if the infant seemed to be irritable, the parents were told to give acetaminophen (10 mg/kg) and record on a diary card. Vaccinees were monitored for local and systemic reactions. RESULTS: The incidences of local swelling, pain and erythema were not significantly different among the 3 groups. No difference was observed in the incidence of systemic reactions including febrile responses, irritability, anorexia, and vomiting among the 3 groups during the 7 days after vaccination. Of the infants, 45.1%, 46.7% and 51.9% manifested fever (axillary temperature > or =38 degrees C) within 24 hours after the vaccination in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively (P>0.05). The second dose of acetaminophen was less in the control group than in the prophylactic groups (P=0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Administration of acetaminophen along with DTP vaccine or 2 hours after vaccination does not affect the occurrence of febrile responses following booster vaccination. Unnecessary use of analgesics should be prevented.

The glycosylation status of murine [corrected] postnatal thymus: a study by histochemistry and lectin blotting.

During the intrathymic development, the fate of the thymocytes depends largely on variable expression of CD4/CD8 markers and T cell receptor protein expressions. In addition, changes of cell surface glycosylation status also affect the thymocyte maturation. In this study the glycosylation alterations in thymic tissues from 1, 9, 13 and 16 days old mice were evaluated by histochemical and lectin blotting techniques. With alcian blue (AB) at pH 5.7/periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) stainings, it was shown that thymic microenvironments contained carboxlylated and sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Strong positivity to AB at pH 2.5, which specific for sialomucins, was seen in some medullary thymocytes. Similarly, it was shown that with Maackia amurensis agglutinin (MAL) medullary thymocytes, but not cortical ones, contained alpha(2 --> 3) linked sialic acid structures. On the other hand, while reaction with peanut agglutinin (PNA), which specific for core disaccharide galactose beta(1 --> 3) N-acetylgalactosamine, was only seen in cortical thymocytes, reaction with Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA), which specific for terminal mannose residues, was seen in both cortex and medulla. However, Datura stramonium agglutinin (DSA), which recognizes galactose beta(1 --> 4) N-acetylglucosamine, was not only cell-specific, but it was bound some thymic vessels. With lectin blotting studies, five glycoprotein bands of molecular weights approximately 39, approximately 54, 100, approximately 110 and approximately 212 were found which reacted with MAL, PNA and DSA as well as GNA. These results suggest that glycosylation patterns of cell surface glycoconjugates are modified during thymocyte selection processes of postnatal days.