Tuberkuloz ve Toraks-Tuberculosis and Thorax最新文献

Introduction: Non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) is a successful treatment modality in hypercapnic respiratory failure. Patient compliance and mask selection are the most important factors in the success of NIMV. In our prospective randomized study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of full-face and oronasal masks in the treatment of patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure who underwent NIMV and to investigate the mask compliance of the patients.

Materials and methods: In this prospective randomized study, 60 patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure were divided into two groups; the full face mask group (n= 30) and the oronasal mask group (n= 30). Arterial blood gas values and respiratory rates were measured before the treatment and at the 1st, 6th, 24th, and 72nd hours of the treatment. The compliance of the patients with the treatment was evaluated with the patient compliance scale (PCS) at the 1st, 6th, and 24th hours of the treatment.

Result: Eight patients from the full-face mask group were excluded because of mask-face mismatch and claustrophobia, and two patients from the oronasal mask group due to persistent hypercapnia. In the full face mask group, improvement in pH was observed at the 1st and 24th hours of treatment (p= 0.042, p= 0.033), and PCO2 decreased at the 72nd hour of treatment (p= 0.024). There was no difference in patient compliance and respiratory rate between groups. The complaints of burning sensation and pressure in the eyes were higher in the full face mask group (p= 0.025), and pressure ulcers were more common in the oronasal mask group (p= 0.025).

Conclusions: The reduction in PCO2 and improvement in pH were greater with a full face mask. Pressure sores were less common with a full face mask. In our study, no difference was found in terms of patient compliance between groups. It should be noted that choosing a full face mask in patients with high compliance will increase the success in the treatment of hypercapnic respiratory failure.

Introduction: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive disease of unknown etiology with an unpredictable course. We aimed to investigate the effects of the presence of hiatal hernia (HH) and its consequences on the clinical manifestation of IPF.

Materials and methods: Patients diagnosed with IPF with or without hiatal hernia were retrospectively compared in terms of clinical findings, total fibrosis scores (TFS), and lung function in the interstitial lung diseases (ILD) outpatient clinic.

Result: A total of 142 IPF patients were included in the study. HH was detected in 62.7% (n= 89) of the patients. There was no statistically significant difference between IPF patients with or without HH in terms of age, gender, smoking history, and anti-reflux drug use (p> 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between IPF patients with or without HH in terms of symptoms such as dyspnea, cough, regurgitation, heartburn, nausea, dysphagia, chest pain, and hoarseness (p> 0.05). In addition, no statistically significant difference was found between IPF patients with or without HH in terms of mortality rate, survival time after diagnosis, and exacerbations (p> 0.05). Six-minute walking distance and SpO2 change, percentage of predicted forced vital capacity (FVC) value, and percentage of predicted diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) value did not differ significantly between the groups (p> 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of total fibrosis score (p= 0.668).

Conclusions: According to the results of this study, 62.7% (n= 89) of IPF patients had HH, and there was no difference in clinical outcomes, TFS, and pulmonary functions between IPF patients with or without HH.

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a heterogeneous disorder. The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) cannot fully reflect this heterogeneity on its own. In this study, the OSA patients were analyzed by grouping them based on the predominant type of respiratory event, and the distinctive findings of each group were evaluated.

Materials and methods: The records of 213 patients with OSA were evaluated retrospectively and the patients were divided into three groups as Group 1 (apnea-predominant OSA; apnea index (AI)≥ 2x hypopnea index (HI) and HI≤ 15/hour), Group 2 (hypopnea-predominant OSA; HI≥ 2xAI and AI≤ 15/ hour), and Group 3 [No Respiratory Event-Predominant OSA (NREP OSA)].

Result: There were 65 patients in Group 1, 58 patients in Group 2, and 90 patients in Group 3. There was no difference between the groups in terms of sex, age, body-mass index, the distribution of symptoms, and concomitant diseases (p> 0.05). Only witnessed apnea was more frequently described by Group 1 patients (p= 0.042). Except for the higher N2 percentage and arousal index (p= 0.009, p= 0.011, respectively) in those with apnea-predominant OSA compared to those with hypopnea-predominant OSA, there was no difference in sleep architecture. In the apnea-predominant group, while the AHI, apnea durations (p= 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, respectively), total oxygen desaturation index (tODI), NREM ODI and REM ODI were higher (p= 0.000, 0.000, 0.047, respectively), nocturnal minimum oxygen saturation (SpO2) was lower (p= 0.001).

Conclusions: This study concluded that apnea-predominant OSA patients had more severe OSA in terms of AHI, respiratory event durations, and problems in oxygenation. These differences may guide the management of OSA.

Introduction: Although the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients have been described; the pathogenesis of the disease and its long-term consequences are still unclear. Pulmonary fibrosis is one of these late outcomes. In this study we evaluated Interleukin-17 (IL-17), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) levels of COVID-19 infected patients with different clinical course and their effect on pulmonary fibrosis in post-COVID period.

Materials and methods: In total, 90 patients were evaluated. Among the patients who presented for a control visit between 3-12 weeks after acute infection; patients with signs of pulmonary sequelae radiologically (traction bronchiectasis, interseptal thickening, disorders in parenchyma architecture) were classified as Group I (n= 32), patients who recovered without sequelae radiologically as Group II (n= 32). The Control group included healthy individuals who did not have COVID-19, and was classified as Group III (n= 26).

Result: The mean age in Group I was significantly higher than Group II and III (p<0.001). There was a statistically significant difference between the VEGF and IL-17 values based on the patient group they are in (p<0.05). Vascular endothelial growth factor values of Group I and III were significantly lower than the patients in Group II (p<0.001). IL-17 values of Group I and II were found to be significantly lower than Group III (p= 0.005). There was no statistically significant relationship between groups in terms of IgG4 values.

Conclusions: In our study, it was observed that the profibrotic effects of VEGF, IL-17, and IgG4 were not dominant in patients who recovered with pulmonary sequelae after COVID; therefore, it is thought that different mechanisms mentioned or not yet revealed may cause this outcome.

Introduction: Computed tomography (CT) is an auxiliary modality in the diagnosis of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease and can guide physicians in the presence of lung involvement. In this study, we aimed to investigate the contribution of deep learning to diagnosis in patients with typical COVID-19 pneumonia findings on CT.

Materials and methods: This study retrospectively evaluated 690 lesions obtained from 35 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia based on typical findings on non-contrast high-resolution CT (HRCT) in our hospital. The diagnoses of the patients were also confirmed by other necessary tests. HRCT images were assessed in the parenchymal window. In the images obtained, COVID-19 lesions were detected. For the deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) algorithm, the Confusion matrix was used based on a Tensorflow Framework in Python.

Result: A total of 596 labeled lesions obtained from 224 sections of the images were used for the training of the algorithm, 89 labeled lesions from 27 sections were used in validation, and 67 labeled lesions from 25 images in testing. Fifty-six of the 67 lesions used in the testing stage were accurately detected by the algorithm while the remaining 11 were not recognized. There was no false positive. The Recall, Precision and F1 score values in the test group were 83.58, 1, and 91.06, respectively.

Conclusions: We successfully detected the COVID-19 pneumonia lesions on CT images using the algorithms created with artificial intelligence. The integration of deep learning into the diagnostic stage in medicine is an important step for the diagnosis of diseases that can cause lung involvement in possible future pandemics.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the presence of EGFR mutations, ALK rearrangement and the standardized uptake value (SUV) of 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose (18F-FDG) by PET/CT imaging in patients with NSCLC.

Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed NSCLC patients, who underwent EGFR mutation, ALK rearrangement testing and pre-treatment PET/ CT. The relationships of EGFR mutation, ALK rearrangement with patient characteristics and three parameters based on 18F-FDG PET/CT, including the maximal standard uptake value (SUVmax) of the primary tumour (tSUVmax), lymph node (nSUVmax) and distant metastasis (mSUVmax) were evaluated.

Result: EGFR mutations were found more frequently in females and nonsmokers. tSUVmax was the only PET parameter that was lower in EGFRpositive patients than in EGFR-negative patients (8.7 vs. 11), with a p value of 0.032. There were no differences between nSUVmax and mSUVmax results and EGFR mutation. tSUVmax, nSUVmax and mSUVmax were not significantly different between ALK positive and ALK negative groups in NSCLC. The presence of pleural fluid at the time of diagnosis was significantly associated with positive ALK expression.

Conclusions: We showed that low tSUVmax and primary tumour diameter were associated with mutant EGFR status and could be evaluated with other clinical factors to increase the discrimination in EGFR mutation status in some NSCLC patients without EGFR testing. There is a correlation between ALK positivity and the presence of pleural fluid. We also noted that the ALK positivity might be only in the adenocarcinoma group and at a younger age.

Introduction: The leading cause of mortality in pulmonary embolism (PE) is hypoxemic respiratory failure. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) and conventional nasal cannula (CNC) oxygen therapy in PE patients with hypoxemia.

Materials and methods: Fifty-eight patients with a PaO2/FIO2 ratio below 300 who were admitted to the emergency department with acute respiratory distress and followed up in our intensive care unit due to PE between March and October 2019 were included in the study. One group (n= 29) received HFNC oxygen therapy and the other group (n= 29) received CNC oxygen therapy.

Result: Arterial blood gas analysis showed no significant differences in baseline SpO2 and PaO2 between the HFNC and CNC groups, whereas both values were significantly higher in the HFNC group starting at 1 hour (PaO2: p= .01, p= .001, p= .001; SpO2: p= .009, p= .005, p= .002). Among massive PE patients with contraindications for thrombolytic therapy, there was no significant difference between the HFNC and CNC groups in baseline SpO2, PaO2, or respiratory rate, but those who received HFNC therapy had significant higher SpO2 starting at 15 minutes (p= .004 for all), significantly higher PaO2 starting at 1 hour (p= .01, p= .001, p= .001), and significantly lower respiratory rate starting at 30 minutes (p= .003, p= .001, p= .001, p= .002, p= .002).

Conclusions: In patients presenting with PE and hypoxemic respiratory failure, HFNC oxygen therapy was more effective on both vital signs and arterial blood gas parameters compared to conventional oxygen therapy and can be used safely as primary treatment.

Introduction: One of the patient groups adversely affected during the COVID19 pandemic is those suffering with cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of lung cancer (LC) patients with COVID-19.

Materials and methods: Three thousand seven-hundred and fifty hospitalized patients with a presumptive diagnosis of COVID-19 in a tertiary referral hospital between March 2020-February 2021 were retrospectively evaluated. Among them, 36 hospitalized COVID-19 patients with a history of primary LC were included in the study. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to assess the risk factors associated with severe disease.

Result: Of the 36 patients included in the study, 28 (77%) were males and 8 (23%) were females. Median age was 67 years (min-max: 53-81 years). Six patients (17%) had a diagnosis of small cell LC, whereas 30 patients (83%) had a diagnosis of non-small cell LC. The most common symptoms were fever (n= 28, 77%), coughing and myalgia (n= 21, 58%) and dyspnea (n= 18, 50%). The most common radiological finding was ground glass opacity (GGO) (n= 30), of which 13 was bilateral and 17 was unilateral in distribution. Nearly 30% (n= 11) of LC patients with COVID-19 developed severe disease, 5% (n= 2) of the 36 patients were admitted to intensive care unit and all of these patients eventually expired. LC patients with COVID-19 and patchy consolidation on computed tomography of thorax (Th CT) on admission had a higher risk of developing severe disease in univariate (HR 2.41, 95%CI: 1.4- 4.4, p= 0.04) and multivariate Cox regression analysis (HR 0.48, 95%CI: 0.24-0.97, p= 0.03).

Conclusions: Clinical characteristics, laboratory and radiographic findings were similar in LC patients with COVID-19 when compared with the general population, LC patients have a higher mortality rate than the general population, with a 5% mortality rate in our series. Our findings suggest that LC may be a risk factor associated with the prognosis of COVID-19 patients.

Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), causing a global pandemic starting from December 2019, showed a course that resulted in serious mortality in the world. In order to understand SARSCoV-2 better, here we aimed to compare the similar and different characteristics of Influenza viruses occurring in the same season with SARS-CoV-2.

Materials and methods: A total of 144 patients (31 patients with COVID-19, 62 patients with H1N1 influenza, and 51 patients with influenza B) were included in the study. Demographic findings, chronic diseases, laboratory values, chest x-ray, and chest CT findings of the patients were evaluated retrospectively.

Result: Median age of the COVID-19 patients and rate of male patients were higher than other patient groups (55 years; p< 0.001) (61% male; p< 0.001). The most common chronic medical conditions were hypertension and diabetes. Platelet numbers and alanine aminotransferase values were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients. Radiologically, bilateral (74.2%) and nonspecific distribution (58.1%), ground-glass opacities with consolidation (51.6%), patchy image (25.8%), ground-glass opacities with interstitial changes (22.6%) and halo sign (22.6%) were quite evident than other groups in COVID-19 patients (p< 0.05).

Conclusions: We suggest that due to the higher PLT values observed in COVID-19 patients, initiation of anticoagulant therapy should be considered in the early stage and routine follow-up with d-dimer and fibrinogen should be applied for suspected patients. Moreover, attention should be paid in terms of possible liver toxicity of the drugs to be used in treatment due the higher ALT values observed in COVID-19 patients. Since we did not detect SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses concurrently in the same patient, it may be helpful to focus on only one virus in a patient with symptoms, and radiographic differences can be used to differentiate COVID-19 from influenza.