Purpose We aimed at measuring the choroid and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness with optic coherence tomography (OCT) in patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods A total of 60 patients with COPD and 23 healthy controls were evaluated in the scope of this prospective, observational study. COPD patients were divided into two groups as those that were stable and those with an exacerbation based on the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) classification. Subfoveal choroid thickness (SFCT) of the patients and the control group was compared by measuring the choroid thickness at points 1000 µm nasal and temporal to the fovea and the mean retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness. Results The subfoveal choroid thickness of the COPD patients in both the exacerbation and stable groups was found to be statistically significantly thinner than the control group (p=0.047 and p=0.046, resp.). No statistically significant difference was found between the subfoveal choroid thickness of the patients that were stable and those that had an exacerbation (p=0.813). No statistically significant difference was found between the mean RNFL, 1000 µm nasal, or 1000 µm temporal choroid thicknesses of the COPD patients and the control group (p=0.263, p=0.455, and p=0.611, resp.). Conclusion Decreased subfoveal choroid thickness was found in the COPD patients both during an exacerbation and in the stable period, when compared to the control group. The mean RNFL thickness was similar in the exacerbation and stable period of the stable COPD patients when compared to the control group. This suggests that ocular findings might be important in terms of COPD morbidity. This trial is registered with www.chictr.org.cn/enIndex.aspx.

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Introduction and Objective: In COVID-19, sudden onset anosmia-ageusia can be observed in patients, regardless of other rhinologic symptoms or prominent nasal symptoms. In our clinical follow-ups, it has drawn our attention that patients presenting with anosmia-ageusia have milder pulmonary symptoms and milder progression. It was thought that this group of patients were infected with neurosensitive SARS-CoV-2 and the study was planned based on this hypothesis. We present our results to contribute to the literature because our study may be a practical screening approach in patient follow-up, may provide predictions of disease progression, and isolation period can be determined. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in March 2020, by interviewing recorded patients via phone. Patients’ anosmia-ageusia characteristics, hospitalizations, and recorded Thoracic Computed Tomography (CT) reports were evaluated. The reports were analyzed by a single physician and CT positivity was reported and grouped as mild, moderate and severe. Results: A total of 1438 patients were included in the study. Of the patients, 47.8% were male and 52.0% were male, while the mean age was 44.33 ∓ 16.01 years. In terms of educational levels, patients were found to be elementary (25.6%) and high school (20.7%) graduates at most. Discussion and Conclusion: Hospitalization rates of patients presenting with anosmia-ageusia were lower and their disease progression were milder. We suggest that there are mainly neuro- or pulmonary-sensitive variants of the virus. This characteristic is of great importance for the long-term follow-up of these patients and predictions of complications. Patients presenting with a sudden development of anosmia-ageusia should be considered as positive patients. Quarantine and isolation periods should be extended in these patients, keeping in mind the prolonged RT-PCR positivity as well. Besides, it should be noted that these patients are more likely to develop central nervous system complications and they should be followed up.

Purpose: Our study investigates the correlation between thiol/disulfide homeostasis and mortality among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure (HRF). Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional prospective study comprises a total of 104 subjects, including 64 HRF patients admitted to the Emergency service due to respiratory failure and 40 healthy controls. HRF patients were further divided into two subgroups as those in whom mortality occured after 1 month (n=14), and those who survied (n=50). Thiol/disulfide homeostasis was evaluated using a novel and automated assay developed by Erel and Neselioglu. Results: The total thiol (TT) and native thiol (NT) levels were significantly lower in the HRF group than the control group, whereas the mean disulfide (Ds)/TT and Ds/NT values were significantly higher. The Ds levels were not significantly different between the groups. On the other hand, Ds, Ds/TT, and Ds/NT values of surviving HRF patients were significantly lower than those of the HRF patients who died. In this article we found that Ds may be an indicator of mortality in COPD (sensitivity: 85.7%, specificity: 70%, AUC: 0.793, 95% CI: 0.673-0.884, p

Several different guidelines and therapeutic recommendations have been reported for the treatment of COVID-19 since the announcement of the pandemic. In our study, the attitudes and approaches of patients with a medical indication for COVID-19 who were given drugs towards drug usage were evaluated. We aimed to present our data on the drug usage characteristics of patients to contribute to the literature. A total of 399 patients were included in the study. In the study, 51.1% of the patients were female, and 48.9% were male. The highest number of the patients were in the 18-30 age group (27.6%), the lowest number of the patients were 65 years old or older (9.8%). Twenty-five questions prepared by the researchers were asked to the patients to evaluate "their knowledge and attitudes on drug usage and disease prevention in COVID-19." Of the patients, 75.7% were not smokers. No history of chronic disease was present in 65.5% of the patients. It was determined that no drug was recommended for 9.8% of the patients, and hydroxychloroquine and favipiravir were recommended together in 49.9%. The rate of the use of chloroquine alone was 4.8%, and the rate of using only favipiravir was 32.8%. Eighty-two percent of the patients reported that they regularly used the drugs that were recommended. Among the patients, 11.5% either never used the recommended drugs or did not use them at the recommended dose and time. Of the 46 (11.5%) patients who did not use the prescribed drugs regularly, none died. In other words, improvement was observed in the patients who did not use the drugs that were recommended to them. Our aim in this study was to determine the rate and characteristics of the drugs prescribed by physicians in diagnosed patients. In this cross-sectional sample of Turkey, it was determined that the rate of recommended drug usage was sufficient with the data of the city where the study was carried out.