The evaluation of retinal and choroidal structural changes by optical coherence tomography in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

gok, mustafa/0000-0002-7660-6557; yildirim, berna botan/0000-0001-7730-1379WOS: 000427324100016PubMed: 28956644Purpose: To evaluate the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCL+) thickness, and macular choroidal thickness (mCT) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Methods: A total of 79 COPD patients and 71 age-and sex-matched healthy individuals were enrolled in this prospective cross-sectional study. The patients were divided into two subgroups (with mild-to-moderate COPD and severe COPD) using spirometric data suggested by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease guideline. The RNFL, GCL+, and mCT were compared between groups. Results: The average and nasal RNFL thicknesses in the COPD group were significantly lower than those in control group (p = 0.023 and 0.027 respectively). Statistically significant reductions in average thickness and in those of all six wedge-shaped GCL+ sectors were evident in the COPD group compared with control group and were more marked in patients with severe COPD. The other RNFL data did not differ significantly between COPD and control groups. The mCT was somewhat thinner at all the measured locations in COPD group compared with control group, but statistically significance was not attained. Conclusions: The study results revealed significant average, nasal RNFL, global GCL+ loss, and a nonsignificant choroidal thinning in patients with COPD compared to healthy subjects. The eye seems to be one of the affected tissues during the natural course of the COPD

The Relationship between COVID-19 Severity and Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)/ Mycobacterium tuberculosis exposure history in healthcare workers: a multi-center study

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought countries' health services into sharp focus. It was drawn to our group's attention that healthcare workers (HCWs) had a lower mortality rate against higher COVID-19 incidence compared to the general population in Turkey. Since risk of exposure to tuberculosis bacillus among healthcare workers are higher than the population, we aimed to investigate if there is a relationship between BCG and Mycobacterium tuberculosis exposure history with COVID-19 severity in infected HCWs. This study was conducted with 465 infected HCWs from thirty-three hospitals to assess the relationship between COVID-19 severity (according to their hospitalization status and the presence of radiological pneumonia) and BCG and Mycobacterium tuberculosis exposure history. HCWs who required hospital admission had significantly higher rates of chronic diseases, radiological pneumonia, and longer working hours in the clinics. Higher rates of history of contact and care to tuberculosis patients, history of tuberculosis, and BCG vaccine were observed in hospitalized HCWs. HCWs who had radiological pneumonia had a significantly increased ratio of history of care to tuberculosis patients and a higher family history of tuberculosis. The findings from our study suggest that the lower mortality rate despite the more severe disease course seen in infected HCWs might be due to frequent exposure to tuberculosis bacillus and the mortality-reducing effects of the BCG vaccine