Poor Risk Factors Affecting Cancer Patients Infected with Covid-19: A Retrospective Comparative Study from a Pandemic Hospital

OBJECTIVE It is known that cancer patients are more prone to infections than the general population. We aimed to describe the risk factors affecting the survival of cancer patients infected with COVID-19 and clinical findings compared with a large COVID-19 patient population without cancer diagnosis. METHODS The clinical data of 61 cancer and 558 non-patients with COVID-19 infection who applied to the emergency room were compared retrospectively. Risk factors affecting overall survival in cancer patients were analyzed. RESULTS Gender and mean age were comparable in both groups. In the entire cohort, cancer diagnosis was found to be an independent poor prognostic factor (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.09, p32 seconds, INR >1.1, N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) >400 pg/ml, C-reactive protein >100 mg/L, and procalcitonin >0.23 ng/mL were determined as prognostic risk factors. Lung cancer (HR=5.277, p=0.012) and NT-proBNP >400 pg/ml (HR=0.139, p=0.021) were determined as independent prognostic risk factors in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION Cancer patients with COVID-19 infection have poor survival outcomes. Lung cancer diagnosis and elevated NT-proBNP levels were identified as the most crucial prognostic risk factors in cancer patients infected with COVID-19

Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2-Positive Patients with Suspected Reinfection

The aim of this study was to investigate the reinfection rates and characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 in individuals with SARS-CoV-2 RNA present in their clinical specimens for COVID-19. Our data from the COVID-19 Laboratory of Istanbul University were analyzed for 27,240 cases between 27 March 2020 to 8 February 2022. Demographic characteristics, vaccination statuses, comorbidities, and laboratory findings were evaluated in cases with suspected reinfection, as determined by the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA at a rate of 0.3% in clinical specimens. When comparing laboratory values, leukocyte counts were lower in the second and third infections compared with the first infection (p = 0.035), and neutrophil counts were lower in the second infection (p = 0.009). Symptoms varied, with coughing being common in the first infection and malaise being common in subsequent infections. These results suggest that it is important to continue to monitor reinfection rates and develop strategies to prevent reinfection. Our results also suggest that clinicians should be aware of the possibility of reinfection and monitor patients for recurrent symptoms