Traumatic lung pathologies confused with COVID-19

While the COVID-19 pandemic affected the whole world, lung radiologic imaging has become widely used for diagnosis. Ground glass opacity is the most detected radiologic findings in pulmonary tomography. However, in the first 6-8 hours of CT scans of patients admitted to the hospital with injuries affecting the chest cavity, single or multiple patchy and/or diffuse ground-glass parenchymal infiltrates can be seen usually. Due to these appearances, it is necessary to eliminate COVID-19 in cases with a lung contusion. This study aims to evaluate the clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients who presented with pulmonary trauma and were suspected of COVID-19 due to lung images. Between the March 2020 and December 2020 pandemic period, patients who applied to our hospital in emergency services due to trauma and who were discharged or hospitalized in COVID services or followed in intensive care units because COVID-19 could not be excluded due to lung tomography findings were included in the study. It was evaluated retrospectively with laboratory tests and thoracic CTs in patients over 18 years old. Fourteen cases were included in the study, seven of them were males (50%), with a mean age of 45 (19-74). The COVID-19 PCR result was negative for all patients except one patient (case 11) with lymphopenia. Peripherally located ground-glass opacity (GGO) (92.9%), subpleural line (85.7%), air bronchogram (64.3%), pleural thickening (64.3%), atelectasis (% 64.3), consolidation (50%), ground glass mixed consolidation (42.9%) was detected in chest CT cases. Eleven cases (78.6%) were hospitalized to the COVID service or intensive care unit. Thoracic CT images of patients with lung trauma may be confused with COVID-19. It is appropriate to evaluate the cases together with epidemiological data, clinical and laboratory findings. Lymphopenia may help physicians to consider the diagnosis of COVID-19 in trauma patients. [Med-Science 2022; 11(2.000): 712-6

Aspergillus And Nocardia Coinfection In A Patient With Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation

In this report, we present a rare case of Aspergillus and Nocardia coinfection in a patient who underwent extensive immunosuppressive treatment due to graft versus host disease after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. We would like to emphasize the effect of targeted treatment on patient survival, and importance of collaboration between clinicians and laboratory professionals in providing early diagnosis even in rare infections.WoSScopu

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever among Health Care Workers, Turkey

We investigated 9 cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (1 fatal, 2 asymptomatic) among health care workers in Turkey. Needlestick injuries were reported for 4 workers. Eight received ribavirin. In addition to standard precautions, airborne infection isolation precautions are essential during aerosol-generating procedures. For postexposure prophylaxis and therapy, ribavirin should be given

Monitoring Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus RNA shedding in body secretions and serological status in hospitalised patients, Turkey, 2015

Introduction: Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne disease in Africa, Asia, the Balkan peninsula, the south-east of Europe and the Middle East, with mortality rates of 3-30\%. Transmission can also occur through contact with infected animals or humans. Aim: This observational, prospective case series aimed to investigate detectable viral genomic RNA in whole-body fluids and antibody dynamics in consecutive daily samples of patients diagnosed with CCHF until discharge from hospital. Methods: We tested 18 patients and 824 swabs and sera with RT-PCR and 125 serum samples serologically. Results: The longest duration until clearance of viral RNA was 18 days from serum collection and 18, 15, 13, 19 and 17 days, respectively, from nasal, oral, genital (urethral or vaginal) and faecal swab, and urine. In seven patients, viral load decreased in serum at the same time as it increased in urine or persisted at the same logarithmic values. Despite clearance in serum, viral RNA was detected in faeces and genital swabs in two and three patients, respectively. Viral clearance from body fluids occurred earlier than from serum in eight patients on ribavirin treatment. The shortest seroconversion time was 3 days after symptom onset for IgM and IgG. Seroconversion of IgG occurred until Day 14 of symptoms. Conclusion: We report persistence of viral RNA in urine, faeces and genital swabs despite serum clearance. This may indicate a need for extending isolation precautions, re-evaluating discharge criteria and transmission risk after discharge, and considering oral swabs as a less invasive diagnostic alternative

Efficacy of oral ribavirin treatment in Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever: A quasi-experimental study from Turkey

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of oral ribavirin treatment in patients with Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF)