There is increasing data regarding the association between vitamin D and COVID-19. This study aimed to reveal the alterations of vitamin D metabolism in the setting of COVID-19. We examined 119 adult COVID-19 inpatients and 44 apparently healthy adult individuals with similar serum 25OH-D3 levels as a reference group. The assessment included serum biochemical parameters (total calcium, albumin, phosphorus, creatinine), parathyroid hormone (PTH), vitamin D-binding protein (DBP), vitamin D metabolites (25OH-D3, 25OH-D2, 1,25(OH)2D3, 3-epi-25OH-D3, 24,25(OH)2D3 and D3) and free 25OH-D. COVID-19 patients had in general very low vitamin D levels (median 25OH-D3 equals 10.8 ng/mL), accompanied by an increased production of the active vitamin D metabolite (1,25(OH)2D3), estimated as higher 1,25(OH)2D3 serum levels (61 [44; 81] vs. 40 [35; 50] pg/mL, p < 0.001) and lower 25OH-D3/1,25(OH)2D3 ratio (175 [112; 260] vs. 272 [200; 433], p < 0.001) which is presumably aimed at preventing hypocalcemia. Patients with COVID-19 also had elevated DBP (450 [386; 515] vs. 392 [311; 433] mg/L, p < 0.001) and low free 25OH-D levels (<LoB vs. 3.9 [3.2; 4.4] pg/mL, p < 0.001). Follow-up assessment of the COVID-19 inpatients showed recovery of the observed changes. Overall, hospitalized patients with an acute course of COVID-19 have not only very low levels of 25OH-D but also profound abnormalities in the metabolism of vitamin D regardless of the clinical course of the disease. These alterations might exacerbate existing vitamin D deficiency and its negative impact.

Hyponatremia is the most common disorder of water and electrolyte balance encountered in clinical practice. Conditions associated with hyponatremia require hospitalization in 15–20% of cases. Hyponatremia is a predictor of poor outcome in a wide range of diseases and therefore requires an interdisciplinary approach. This problem leads to an increase in complications and the length of hospital stay and mortality. The review focuses on the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH), which accounts for approximately one third of all cases of hyponatremia and is more common in endocrinology than other fluid and electrolyte disorders along with central diabetes insipidus. The article presents modern approaches to the treatment of SIADH based on international clinical guidelines.

Laboratory diagnosis of endocrine diseases has undergone many important changes over the past decades, despite the progress of thyroid function immunoassays technologies interferences cannot be completely excluded. These interferences can affect measurement of analyte which leads to misinterpretation and subsequent wrong clinical decisions, the probability of which is about 1%. However, the scale of the problem may be greater due to the lack of awareness to the problem among doctors and the lack of laboratory screening for interfering factors. These factors can be both endogenous and exogenous, bind both to antibodies to the analyte and to the reagent in the test system. The specificity of the immunoassay depends not only on the binding properties of antibodies, the activity of reagent, but also on the composition of the test system and the format of the methodology (non-competitive two-site or “sandwich” and competitive assays). This review provides a description of the main interferences that can affect the measurement of thyroid hormones, in particular thyroid stimulating hormone, free thyroxine and triiodothyronine, calcitonin, and demonstrates clinical cases reported in the literature over the past few years.

Share of food allergies is quite high in the general structure of allergy morbidity (varies between 0.1% and 7%). Allergy diseases comprise global problem of public health care system. Goal of the work: foal of our work is study of prevalence of food allergies and risk factors in children’s population in selected populations of Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi-Tskaltubo Materials and methods Studied population includes 2655 children (2010–2013) from 1-month to 14-year age. 1359 of them were girls and 1296 – boys (I group: children from 1 month to 6 years and II group – from 6 years to 14 years). At the first stage of epidemiological study, screening of 2665 children was conducted by means of the initial questionnaire filled in directly at a time of interviewing of the parents. Identification of the factors of causal significance was provided based on anamnesis data, comparison of general serum and specific IgE and in vivo allergologic diagnostics (prick-tests). Obtained data were statistically processes by means of SPSS/V12.5 software (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). Results Epidemiological studies showed that prevalence of food allergies in children’s population (7.5% - Tbilisi; 6.2% - Kutaisi-Tskaltubo; 4.3% - Adjara) was 18.04%. Average total IgE, im both cases, was 3–5 times higher than normal value and no statistically reliable difference between the groups was found (p > 0.05). Only 3.9 of children with food allergies had IgE within normal limits. High frequency of late diagnostics was established (p < 0.001). Conclusion Thus, according to the obtained data, share of the manageable risk factors is high and this could provide basis for development of targeted and effective prevention measures for the children’s population. Food allergy is complex and versatile process requiring further study.

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