Tuberkuloz ve Toraks-Tuberculosis and Thorax最新文献

Introduction: The aim of this study was to elucidate the incidence of local, large local and systemic reactions after subcutaneus immunotherapy (SCIT) injections in our clinic and to determine the characteristic features of these adverse reactions.

Materials and methods: A total of 6000 SCIT injections administered to 163 patients between January 2011 and December 2021 were retrospectively evaluated. The study population consisted of patients with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis who underwent SCIT due to pollen, house dust mite or cat allergy, or patients who underwent SCIT due to venom allergy. Demographic characteristics of the patients, diagnoses, allergen sensitivities, immunotherapy protocol applied, adverse reactions, and the characteristics of these reactions were recorded.

Result: Totally, 163 patients with a mean age of 36.8 ± 12.7 years were enrolled in this research. Sex distribution was as follows: 55.2% (n= 90) were females. During the study, 218 allergic reactions were detected in 83 patients. The incidence of adverse reactions per injection was 3.6%. The probability of developing an adverse reaction in a patient during the entire subcutaneous immunotherapy was 53.9%. Of the adverse reactions that developed, 94 (43.1%, n= 47) were observed locally while 56 (25.7%, n= 40) were large local reactions, and 68 (31.2%, n= 30) were systemic. Incidence of adverse reactions per injection were 1.5%, 0.9%, and 1.1% for local reaction, large local reaction, and systemic reaction, respectively.

Conclusions: The results of this analysis elaborated that subcutaneous immunotherapy is a safe and tolerable treatment modality. However, before initiating treatment, the benefits and risks should be evaluated. The risk of systemic reactions is quite low, but fatal anaphylaxis can occur, so physicians need to be aware of the potential risks.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the real-life treatment and follow-up data of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in a singlecenter setting.

Materials and methods: The study included consecutive patients diagnosed with IPF who were followed up at the Akdeniz University, between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2022. Patient information was obtained from the hospital automation system.

Result: A total of 227 patients with a mean age of 72.0 ± 8.2 years were included in the study. One hundred sixty-seven patients (73.6%) received pirfenidone while 60 patients (26.4%) received nintedanib treatment. Radiological findings were used to diagnose IPF in 79.3% (n= 180) of cases. Mean duration of antifibrotic treatment was 26.3 ± 19.9 months. Of the patients, 49.8% experienced hospital admissions during the treatment course, with respiratory reasons accounting for a majority of these admissions (33.6%). Disease exacerbation was detected in 26.6% of the patients during the treatment period. At least one side effect was observed in 126 patients (55.5%), with a significant portion of these side effects being mild to moderate (n= 79, 34.8%). Disease progression was observed in 21.6% of the patients under antifibrotic treatment. Dose reduction was necessary in 22.9% of the patients, with an average duration of dose reduction of 29 months. Antifibrotic treatment was switched to another medication in 24.2% of the patients. There were no statistically significant differences in baseline forced vital capacity (FVC) levels between the two groups (p= 0.314) while the diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO) level was higher in the nintedanib group (p= 0.024), and the six-minute walk distance was shorter (p= 0.049).

Conclusions: In this study evaluating patients with IPF under follow-up in our hospital, it was observed that the majority of patients consisted of elderly male individuals, frequent hospitalizations were due to respiratory reasons, and both antifibrotic medications were well tolerated with a similar side effect profile.

Introduction: Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease with an unpredictable clinical course. Chitotriosidase is a chitinase mainly expressed by activated macrophages. Increased chitotriosidase activity has been reported in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of sarcoidosis patients compared to healthy controls. This study aims to evaluate the role of serum and BAL chitotriosidase activity on diagnosis, disease characteristics, and prognosis of sarcoidosis.

Materials and methods: Patients referred with suspected sarcoidosis or other interstitial lung disease were prospectively included in the study. All patients underwent bronchoscopy with BAL. Serum and BAL chitotriosidase activity, BAL differential cell counts, and lymphocyte phenotypes were determined. Sarcoidosis patients were followed up regularly.

Result: Forty-two sarcoidosis and 28 non-sarcoidosis patients were included in the study. Serum chitotriosidase activity was higher in sarcoidosis group 247.5 (2.78-461) vs 108 (2.78-272) nmol/h/mL (p< 0.001). BAL chitotriosidase activity tended to be higher in sarcoidosis group 11 (2-308) vs 6.95 (2.27-44) nmol/h/mg but was not found to be statistically significant (p= 0.11). Serum and BAL chitotriosidase activities were correlated with each other (p= 0.023, r= 0.355). No significant difference was found between the diagnostic performance of BAL CD4/CD8 ratio and serum chitotriosidase activity (p= 0.079). Serum chitotriosidase and ACE activities were correlated with each other (p= 0.004, r= 0.457). No significant difference was found between serum or BAL chitotriosidase activity and stage or extrapulmonary involvement. Serum chitotriosidase activity was higher in patients who needed systemic therapy at diagnosis (p= 0.046). However, no significant difference was found between serum or BAL chitotriosidase activities and disease progression (p= 0.395 and p= 0.723, respectively).

Conclusions: Serum chitotriosidase activity can be helpful in the differential diagnosis of sarcoidosis with a similar diagnostic performance with BAL CD4/CD8 ratio. Although serum chitotriosidase activity at diagnosis does not predict progressive disease, it is associated with the need for systemic therapy at diagnosis. Serial chitotriosidase measurements may be useful in monitoring disease progression during follow-up.

Sevoflurane is a commonly used inhalational anesthetic agent for inducing and maintaining general anesthesia. However, it has been associated with a rare but serious pulmonary condition known as diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH). DAH is characterized by decreased hemoglobin levels, diffuse pulmonary infiltration, and respiratory failure with hypoxemia. We present a case of DAH in a healthy young adult who experienced this condition following general anesthesia with inhaled sevoflurane during an uncomplicated orthopedic procedure. Notably, there were no other risk factors or known causes that could account for the development of DAH in this patient.

Introduction: While there is sufficient information about acute COVID-19, which can cause a multisystemic and fatal disease, post-COVID syndrome and risk factors for this condition remain poorly known. We aimed to identify postCOVID symptoms and risk factors for chronic post-COVID syndrome through this study.

Materials and methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 254 out of 384 COVID-19 patients admitted to our COVID-19 polyclinic between February and April 2021. The patients were questioned with a list of 37 symptoms at the fifth and twelfth weeks after disease onset via phone review, and their acute post-COVID (APC) and chronic post-COVID (CPC) symptoms were recorded. Data on risk factors were collected from the hospital's medical records system. Associations between symptom count in the CPC phase and age, sex, hospitalization, RT-PCR result, specific radiological findings, comorbidities, and long-term medications were evaluated.

Result: Two hundred twenty-one patients had APC symptoms, and 138 patients had CPC symptoms. While the most common symptom was fatigue at week five, it was hair loss at week 12. Symptoms were observed significantly less in the CPC phase than in the APC phase (Z= -12.301, p= 0.00). Female sex and the presence of specific radiological findings were significantly associated with the occurrence of CPC symptoms (p= 0.03, p= 0.00, respectively). Long-term use of angiotensin-2 receptor blockers (ARBs) was correlated with a low symptom count in the CPC phase (p= 0.00).

Conclusions: Female sex and the presence of specific radiological findings were risk factors for developing CPC. Long-term use of ARBs was associated with a low chronic post-COVID symptom burden. A substantial cluster of multisystemic symptoms was observed in both phases, and this condition highlights the requirement for customized outpatient management that includes long-term follow-up and treatment of COVID-19 patients. Identifying the high-risk patients that will develop persistent symptoms can guide this management.

Iatrogenic bleeding during bronchoscopy may lead to early termination, insufficient sample collection, decreased diagnostic accuracy, and even death. Unlike rigid bronchoscopy, the management of bleeding during flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy does not allow the use of methods such as cautery, direct pressure, etc. and is usually limited to the application of liquids. The management of endobronchial bleeding usually depends on two main mechanisms: 1) vasoconstriction; 2) enhancing coagulation to form fibrin clots. The data on cold saline, the most widely recognized agent, is based on case reports and the experience of centers, not randomized controlled trials. Vasoconstrictor agents consist of adrenaline, vasopressin analogues, phenylephrine, and xylometazoline hydrochloride. However, there are only a limited number of randomized controlled trials on adrenaline, and information on the remaining substances is limited to retrospective studies, case reports, and expert opinions. The endobronchial administration of tranexamic acid, which inhibits fibrin degradation, has been the subject of very few studies. Despite its documented efficacy, information regarding its dosage, frequency of use, and safety is lacking. Although Ankaferd Blood Stopper, which binds erythrocytes to the vascular endothelium, has been shown to be effective in controlling bleeding related to dental procedures, the gastrointestinal tract, and operations, only one retrospective study found it to be effective against endobronchial bleeding that could not be controlled with cold saline and adrenaline. Although there are a variety of agents that centers use in their routine procedures, there is not yet a consensus on the efficacy, dose, frequency, and safety of any of them.

Introduction: In a resource-constrained situation, a clinical risk stratification system can assist in identifying individuals who are at higher risk and should be tested for COVID-19. This study aims to find a predictive scoring model to estimate the COVID-19 diagnosis."

Materials: Patients who applied to the emergency pandemic clinic between April 2020 and March 2021 were enrolled in this retrospective study. At admission, demographic characteristics, symptoms, comorbid diseases, chest computed tomography (CT), and laboratory findings were all recorded. Development and validation datasets were created. The scoring system was performed using the coefficients of the odds ratios obtained from the multivariable logistic regression analysis."

Result: Among 1187 patients admitted to the hospital, the median age was 58 years old (22-96), and 52.7% were male. In a multivariable analysis, typical radiological findings (OR= 8.47, CI= 5.48-13.10, p< 0.001) and dyspnea (OR= 2.85, CI= 1.71-4.74, p< 0.001) were found to be the two important risk actors for COVID-19 diagnosis, followed by myalgia (OR= 1.80, CI= 1.08- 2.99, p= 0.023), cough (OR= 1.65, CI= 1.16-2.26, p= 0.006) and fatigue symptoms (OR= 1.57, CI= 1.06-2.30, p= 0.023). In our scoring system, dyspnea was scored as 2 points, cough as 1 point, fatigue as 1 point, myalgia as 1 point, and typical radiological findings were scored as 5 points. This scoring system had a sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 76.3% for a cut-off value of >2, with a total score of 10 (p< 0.001).

Conclusions: The predictive scoring system could accurately predict the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection, which gave clinicians a theoretical basis for devising immediate treatment options. An evaluation of the predictive efficacy of the scoring system necessitates a multi-center investigation.

It is important to make the differential diagnosis of restrictive changes associated with hepatic hydrothorax or hepatopulmonary syndrome seen in the later stages of chronic liver diseases and restrictive changes associated with interstitial lung disease. Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia (LIP) is in the rare idiopathic interstitial pneumonia subgroup of interstitial lung diseases. LIP is a rare disease, and its incidence is unknown. LIP is characterized by infiltration of the alveolar interstitium with lymphocytes, plasma cells, and histiocytes. The etiology of LIP includes idiopathic causes, rheumatological diseases, immune deficiencies, viral infections, and drug-related causes. Chronic liver diseases are also rarely included in the etiology of LIP. A 75-year-old male patient who was followed up for liver cirrhosis presented with dyspnea. He had hypoxemia in the arterial blood gas. In the thorax and abdominal computed tomography, irregular reticulations in bilateral lungs, ground-glass opacities, and scattered air cysts in both lung parenchyma, chronic liver parenchymal disease, splenomegaly, chronic portal vein thrombosis were determined. Clinical and radiological changes in the patient were evaluated in favor of interstitial lung disease. Although histopathological diagnosis could not be made, the patient whose radiological pattern was compatible with LIP was evaluated together with clinical findings and was accepted as lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia. He was evaluated in terms of diseases that could cause LIP. He was accepted as LIP due to chronic liver disease. Although histopathological examination is the gold standard for the diagnosis, a biopsy could not be performed in our case. Radiological and clinical findings were considered sufficient for the diagnosis of LIP. Chronic viral hepatitis and cirrhosis are also present in the etiology of LIP. Our case is presented as an example in the literature because it is a case of LIP due to chronic liver disease, and it is rare.

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) can cause diseases not only in individuals with compromised immune systems but also in those with normal immune function. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of NTM in Türkiye and worldwide between 2012 and 2022. This study was designed following the guidelines outlined in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) procedure. A systematic search was conducted between January 2012 and September 2022 using different electronic databases, including Pubmed, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Ebsco, Scopus, Türk Medline, and Google Scholar. During the literature review process, titles and abstracts were examined and the full texts of the studies were accessed. In 13 research articles from Türkiye included in the study, a total of 17.293 samples were studied and a total of 1304 NTM (7.54%) strains were isolated from these samples. Among the 1304 NTM strains reported from Türkiye, the top three most frequently isolated species were M. abscessus (29.83%), M. lentiflavum (14.97%), M. fortuitum (14.38%). In 35 studies included from around the world, a total of 512.626 samples were studied and a total of 12.631 NTM (2.46%) strains were isolated from these samples. Among the 12631 NTM strains isolated, the top three most frequently isolated species were M. intracellulare (28.13%), M. avium (17.70%) and M. abscessus (14.88%). This study unveiled the global prevalence of NTM-infected patients, detailing species distribution and microbiological diagnostic methods. Variations in NTM spread were observed, influenced by diverse factors.