Background and Purpose: Candidemia remained important in the intensive care units (ICU) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the clinical and laboratory data on candidemia in COVID-19 patients. Materials and Methods: The baseline characteristics, as well as laboratory and clinical findings of candidemia and non-candidemia patients, were compared. Candidemia was defined as the isolation of Candida spp. from blood cultures. The isolates were identified by VITEK® 2 (bioMérieux, France) commercial method. Antifungal susceptibility was assessed using the E-test method. Univariate and multiple binary logistic regression analyses were performed to compare the variables. Results: In total, 126 patients with the COVID-19 disease were included. Candidemia was diagnosed in 44 (35%) of the patients. The number of patients with diabetes mellitus and chronic renal failure was higher in the candidemia group. In the candidemia group, the duration of ICU stay of patients, the 30-day mortality rate, mechanical ventilation therapy, and systemic corticosteroids (Prednisone) usage were significantly higher in candidemia patients. Moreover, the median white blood cell, neutrophils, and lactate dehydrogenase were higher in the candidemia group. Univariate and multiple binary logistic regression analyses were performed to compare the variables. Isolated species were identified as Candida albicans (n=12, 41%), Candida parapsilosis (n=7, 24%), Candida glabrata (n=6, 21%), Candida tropicalis (n=3, 10%), and Candida dublinensis (n=1, 3%). In total, three isolates of six C. glabrata species had dose-dependent sensitivity to fluconazole, and one C. parapsilosis was determined to be resistant. Conclusion: The COVID-19 patients who are admitted to ICU have many risk factors associated with candidemia. The most common risk factors for the development of candidemia were mechanical ventilation, diabetes mellitus, neutrophilia, and low hemoglobin level. The most frequently isolated species was C. albicans. Moreover, caspofungin was found to be the most effective drug in vitro. No significant resistance pattern was detected against the isolated species. It should be noted that risk-stratified antifungal prophylaxis in the ICU is possible.

Background Organ transplantation reduces mortality and morbidity in patients with end-stage organ failure. The number of living organ donations is not enough to meet the current organ transplantation need; therefore, there is an urgent need for organ donation from cadavers. We aimed to determine the organ donation rates and reveal the obstacles against donation. Methods This study is designed as a retrospective multicenter study consisting of eight university hospitals, three training and research hospitals, 26 state hospitals, and 74 private hospitals in nine provinces in Turkey. A total of 1,998 patients diagnosed with brain death between January 2011 to April 2019 were examined through the electronic medical records data system. Results Median patient age was 38 (IQR: 19–57), and 1,275 (63.8%) patients were male. The median time between the intensive care unit admission and brain death diagnosis was 56 (IQR:2–131) hours. The most commonly used confirmatory diagnostic test was computed tomography in 216 (30.8%) patients, and the most common cause of brain death was intraparenchymal hemorrhage with 617 (30.9%) patients. A total of 1,646 (82.4%) families refused to permit organ donation. The most common reasons for refusal were family disagreement (68%), social/relative pressure (24%), and religious beliefs (8%). Conclusions Many families refuse permission for organ donation; some of the provinces included in this study experienced years of exceptionally high refusal rates.

Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction is common in the intensive care unit (ICU), although there is no consensus on biomarkers of GI dysfunction. We aimed to evaluate ultrasound-based gastric antrum measurements and serum intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (IFABP) and citrulline levels in relation to GI dysfunction in critically ill patients.Methods: Adult critically ill patients receiving enteral nutrition and stayed for in the ICU for ≥48 h was included. GI dysfunction was described using Gastrointestinal Dysfunction Score (GIDS). Gastric antrum measurements, including craniocaudal (CC) diameter, anteroposterior diameter, and antral-cross sectional area (CSA), as well as serum levels for IFABP and citrulline, were prospectively recorded at baseline and on day 3 and day 5 of enteral nutrition. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate gastric ultrasound parameters, serum IFABP, and citrulline concentrations in predicting GI dysfunction.Results: Thirty-nine participants with a median age of 60 years were recruited and 46.2% of participants had GI dysfunction. ROC analysis revealed that the cutoff value of CSA score to predict GI dysfunction was 4.48 cm 2 , which provided 72.7% sensitivity and 77.2% specificity (area under the curve = 0.768, 95% CI: 0.555-0.980). At baseline, gastric residual volume was highly correlated with CC diameter and CSA (r = 0.764, P < 0.001 and r = 0.675, P < 0.001, respectively). Serum IFABP and citrulline levels had no correlation with GI dysfunction or gastric ultrasound parameters (P > 0.05). Conclusion:CSA was associated with GI dysfunction in critically ill patients. Serum IFABP and citrulline concentrations were poor in predicting GI dysfunction.

Background: Patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have high mortality rates; therefore, new biomarkers are necessary to predict the prognosis in the early stages. Serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level is a specific marker of lung damage, but it is not sensitive because it is affected by several factors. This study aimed to determine whether the LDH/albumin ratio could be used as a prognostic biomarker in patients with severe ARDS due to COVID 19.Methods: Tertiary intensive care unit (ICU) patients with severe ARDS and confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis between August 1, 2020, and October 31, 2021, were included. The demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were recorded from the hospital databases, together with laboratory results on the day of admission to the ICU and the length of stay in the ICU and hospital. LDH/albumin, lactate/albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP)/albumin, and BUN/albumin ratios were calculated. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine independent risk factors affecting mortality.Results: Nine hundred and five patients hospitalized in a tertiary ICU were evaluated. Three hundred fifty-one patients with severe ARDS were included in this study. The mortality rate of the included patients was 61.8% (of 217/351). LDH/albumin, lactate/albumin, and BUN/albumin ratios were higher in the nonsurvivor group (P < .001). The area under the curve (AUC) from the receiver operating characteristic analysis that predicted in-hospital mortality was 0.627 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.574-0.678, P < .001) for the LDH/albumin ratio, 0.605 (95% CI: 0.551-0.656, P < .001) for lactate/albumin, and 0.638 (95% CI: 0.585-0.688, P < .001) for BUN/albumin. However, LDH/albumin ratio was independently associated with mortality in multivariate logistic regression analysis.Conclusion: LDH/albumin ratio can be used as an independent prognostic factor for mortality in patients with severe ARDS caused by COVID-19.

Various scoring systems and cytokines have been cited as predicting disease severity in COVID-19 infection. This study analyzed the link between mortality rate, levels of cytokines, and scoring systems such as the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Acute Physiologic Assessment and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), and Charlson Comorbidity Index in patients infected with COVID-19. Adult patients infected with COVID-19 were followed up in the intensive care unit (ICU) and analyzed prospectively. We measured serum cytokine levels (Interleukin-10 (IL-10), Interleukin-8 (IL-8), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and High mobility group box 1 (HMGB-1)) and recorded GCS, APACHE II, SOFA, and Charlson comorbidity index scores on admission to the ICU. Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis was performed to predict mortality from IL-1β, IL-6 IL-10, IL-8, TNF-α, and HMGB-1 values. Study participants were grouped as follows: Group A, survivors, and Group B, deceased, during the 28-day follow-up. The mean age was 65.69 (±13.56) in Group A (n = 36) and 70.85 (±10.06) in Group B (n = 27). The female/male ratio was 23/40. Age, sex, body mass index (BMI), comorbid illnesses, GCS, APACHE II, SOFA, and Charlson scores, duration of hospitalization or ICU admission, therapeutic choices, and lymphocyte, PMNL, NLR, platelet, D-dimer, fibrinogen, GGT, CRP, procalcitonin, and lactate levels were similar between the groups. The frequency of acute kidney injury (AKI) was higher in Group B (p = 0.005). Serum IL-10, IL-8, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, HMGB-1, ferritin, and LDH values were higher, and PaO2/FiO2 was lower in Group B than in Group A. ROC analysis showed that there was an association between serum IL-1β (>1015.7), serum IL-6 (>116.7), serum IL-8 (>258.4), serum IL-10 (>247.5), serum TNF-α (>280.7), and serum HMGB-1 (>23.5) and mortality. AKI gave rise to a greater risk of mortality (odds ratio: 7.081, p = 0.014). Mortality was associated with serum IL-10, IL-8, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, and HMGB-1 but not with GCS, APACHE II, SOFA, or Charlson comorbidity index scores. AKI increased the risk of mortality by seven times. Our findings suggest that cytokine levels (serum IL-10, IL-8, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, and HMGB-1) were predictors of mortality in COVID-19 infection. In addition, our results might give an opinion about the course of COVID-19 infection.