The prognostic role of D-dimer in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

INTRODUCTION: In COVID-19 patients, the determination of the relationship between elevated D-dimer level and prognosis and the determination of thrombosis formation in the early stages of the disease are very important. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic role of D-dimer levels based on presentation in patients hospitalized with the diagnosis of COVID-19. METHOD: The study was conducted on patients hospitalized with the diagnosis of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 between March 11 and April 20, 2020. Patients with diseases that could have caused an increase in D-dimer were excluded from the study. RESULTS: The evaluation was made across a total of 1,669 patients, comprising 782 (46.9 %) females and 887 (53.1 %) males. The effects of D-dimer, CRP, ferritin, and troponin on mortality were evaluated with Enter Logistic Regression Analysis, and the model was found to be significant, with an explanatory coefficient of the model at a very good level of 91.3 %. The D-dimer scores were determined to be higher in patients who did not survive. The risk of mortality was seen to be 7.325-fold higher in cases with D-dimer measurement ≥0.5. CONCLUSION: The study results showed that the D-dimer test was an independent risk factor showing mortality in COVID-19 patients (Tab. 6, Ref. 27). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: D-dimer, SARS-CoV-2, mortality.

Successfully treated Mycobacterium abscessus mastitis: a rare cause of breast masses.

Rapidly growing mycobacteria are pathogens responsible for cutaneous or subcutaneous infections especially occurring after injection, trauma or surgery. We describe a patient with Mycobacterium abscessus mastitis that presented as a mass lesion and haemorrhagical discharge. It was initially diagnosed and treated as fibrocystic disease and non-specific abscess. Full recovery was obtained with combination therapy of clarithromycin, linezolid and amikacin without surgical debridement followed by several abscess aspirations. Atypical mycobacteria should be considered in diagnosis of chronic breast lesions in endemic areas. This is the first reported case of mastitis due to M. abscessus in Turkey.

Predictors of mortality in tuberculous meningitis: a multivariate analysis of 160 cases.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate predictors of mortality in 160 patients with tuberculous meningitis (TBM). DESIGN: One hundred and sixty patients with TBM who had been followed for 11 years in a tertiary referral centre hospital were assessed retrospectively. Features considered as predictors of mortality in TBM were studied by multivariate logistic regression to develop a prognostic rule. RESULTS: Of 160 patients, 84% were in Stages II and III; 27 (17%) died. In univariate analysis, age, stage, altered sensorium, underlying comorbidities, pulmonary tuberculosis, leukocytosis and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)/blood glucose < 0.30 and rise in CSF protein were associated with an increased risk of death. In multivariable analysis, age (OR 4.64, 95%CI 1.03-24.74, P = 0.046), altered sensorium (OR 8.62, 95%CI 1.25-110.0, P = 0.036), underlying comorbidity (OR 9.75, 95%CI 1.58-59.95, P = 0.014) and leukocytosis (OR 9.74, 95%CI 1.67-56.7, P = 0.011) were shown to be the best predictors of mortality in TBM. CONCLUSIONS: We observed that TBM patients who died were more likely to be older and have altered mental status on admission, underlying comorbidities and leukocytosis than TBM patients who survived. These factors were the most important predictors of mortality from TBM.