Country-based analysis of COVID-19 publications in the first few months of the pandemic

Dear Editor, Assisted by the advanced technology and trade, the novel coronavirus has swiftly diffused around the globe. In a matter of few months, by March 2020, the world was faced with a pandemic1 . The fatality rates have varied within a wide band according to countries. Hospital capacities have been tested severely as SARS-CoV-2 spread at unprecedented rates, causing COVID-19 patients to need heavy hospitalization and intensive care. In almost all countries, lockdowns have led to economic and psychological problems. The urgency and global scope of the pandemic created a lacuna to be filled by national and international information sharing. Almost all scientific journals have prioritized COVID-19 and published additional issues to share the knowledge and experience on COVID-19. The need for inter-disciplinary and multidisciplinary collaboration required a prompt adaptation of academics to the crisis management

How Successful is Non-Invasive Ventilation Treatment that is Initiated in the Emergency Department in Cases of COPD Exacerbations with Acute Hypercapnic Respiratory Failure? Can We Predict Treatment Failure?

Objective: We aimed to investigate the success rate of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in wards and the predictors of failure in cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-related acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF). Methods: The was a retrospective study conducted in a tertiary teaching hospital between May 2011 and 2013. Patients who were admitted to the emergency department (ED) because of COPD with AHRF were evaluated; 544 patients who initially received NIV in ED and were transferred to wards were included. Patient characteristics, baseline and follow-up pH values, and partial arterial carbon dioxide (PaCO2) values were recorded. Baseline pH values were categorized as severe (pH<7.26), moderate (pH≥7.26–7.30), and mild (pH≥7.30) acidosis. According to the in-hospital outcome, patients were classified in 2 groups: Group 1: home discharge, Group 2: death or intensive care unit transfer. Results: Treatment resulted in success in 477 (88%) patients. Albumin levels were significantly low and the mean Charlson index (CI) score was significantly high in Group 2. Admission pH and PaCO2 values did not affect the treatment outcome. Patients in Group 2 had higher PaCO2 and lower pH values as well as a lower level of decrease in PaCO2 values within 2 hours of treatment in ED. Similarly, higher PaCO2 and lower pH values at the end of the first day in wards were indicative of NIV failure (p<0.05). Conclusion: The success rate of NIV in wards in cases of AHRF is high. Patients with low albumin levels and higher CI scores have worse response to treatment. pH or PaCO2 values after a few hours of treatment and not the baseline pH or PaCO2 values are better predictors than the baseline pH and PaCO2 values

Sol ana bronş tümörüne sağ torakotomi ile izole sleeve rezeksiyon

Trakeobronşial sistemin mukoepidermoid karsinomları, submukozal bezlerden gelişen ve primer tedavisi cerrahi olan malign tümörlerdir. Parankim hasarı yapmamış ve bronş dışına yayılımı yok ise izole parankim koruyucu rezeksiyon yapılabilir. Hastamız, sol ana bronşta yerleşik karinaya bir cm uzaklıktaki polipoid lezyonundan biyopsi ile düşük dereceli mukoepidermoid karsinom tanısı alan bir olguydu. Radyolojik tetkiklerinde sağ alt lobta da minimal FDG tutulum gösteren parankim nodülü saptanması üzerine hem nodülün değerlendirilmesi, hem de proksimal yerleşimli sol ana bronş tümörü nedeniyle; hastaya sağ torakotomi ile girişim planlandı. Parankim nodülü benign olarak bildirilince, hastaya sol ana bronş izole sleeve rezeksiyonu yapıldı. Nadir uygulanan cerrahi rezeksiyon tekniğin, literatür eşliğinde tartışılması amaçlanmıştır