SARS-CoV-2 virus causes infection which led to a global pandemic in 2020 with the development of severe acute respiratory syndrome. Therefore, this study was aimed at examining its possible role in predicting severity and intrahospital mortality of COVID-19, alongside with other laboratory and biochemical procedures, clinical signs, symptoms, and comorbidity. This study, approved by the Ethical Committee of Clinical Center Kragujevac, was designed as an observational prospective cross-sectional clinical study which was conducted on 127 patients with diagnosed respiratory COVID-19 viral infection from April to August 2020. The primary goals were to determine the predictors of COVID-19 severity and to determine the predictors of the negative outcome of COVID-19 infection. All patients were divided into three categories: patients with a mild form, moderate form, and severe form of COVID-19 infection. All biochemical and laboratory procedures were done on the first day of the hospital admission. Respiratory ( p < 0.001 ) and heart ( p = 0.002 ) rates at admission were significantly higher in patients with a severe form of COVID-19. From all observed hematological and inflammatory markers, only white blood cell count ( 9.43 ± 4.62 , p = 0.001 ) and LDH ( 643.13 ± 313.3 , p = 0.002 ) were significantly higher in the severe COVID-19 group. We have observed that in the severe form of SARS-CoV-2, the levels of superoxide anion radicals were substantially higher than those in two other groups ( 11.3 ± 5.66 , p < 0.001 ) and the nitric oxide level was significantly lower in patients with the severe disease ( 2.66 ± 0.45 , p < 0.001 ). Using a linear regression model, TA, anosmia, ageusia, O2−, and the duration at the ICU are estimated as predictors of severity of SARS-CoV-2 disease. The presence of dyspnea and a higher heart rate were confirmed as predictors of a negative, fatal outcome. Results from our study show that presence of hypertension, anosmia, and ageusia, as well as the duration of ICU stay, and serum levels of O2− are predictors of COVID-19 severity, while the presence of dyspnea and an increased heart rate on admission were predictors of COVID-19 mortality.

This prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, single-center trial was performed on parallel groups. The patients (n = 40) undergoing elective CABG were randomized receivin preoperative intravenous omega-3 PUFAs (Omegaven 10%) infusion (the PUFAs group) or the same volume of 0.9% saline solution infusion (the control group). Infusion was given a day before surgery and repeated four hours before starting extracorporeal circulation (CPB) via the pe ripheral vein at single doses of 100 mL (25 mL/h). Platelet function analysis was performed using multiple electrode aggregometry (MEA, multiplate-analyzer) before starting CPB and 2 h postoperatively for the patients of both groups. Results. There were no clinically relevant differ ences in baseline characteristics between the groups. He matological parameters were not significantly different between the groups pre-, intra- and postoperatively. Dur ing the first 24 h after surgery, the loss of blood was simi lar in the PUFAs and the control group (680 +/- 274 mL and 608 +/- 210 mL, respectively; p = 0.356). Postopera tively, platelet aggregation was not significantly different between the PUFAs and the control group in adenosine diphosphate (ADP) test (39 +/- 11 and 42 +/- 15, respec tively; p = 0.701), arachidonic acid (ASPI) test (64 +/- 24 and 70 +/- 27, respectively; p = 0.525) and trombin receptor-activating peptide (TRAP) test (68 +/- 25 and 75 + 26, respectively; p = 0.396), while their aggregation in collagen (COL) test was statistically significantly lower in the PUFAs related to the control group (32 +/- 15 and 47 +/- 20, re spectively; p = 0.009). Conclusion. Acute pretreatment with omega-3 PUFAs insignificantly affected the activity of platelets and did not influence postoperative blood loss.

Background: Serratia marcescens (SM) is a Gram-negative pathogen discovered by Italian pharmacist, Bizio, in 1819. According to the literature, S. marcescens is resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, including penicillin, cephalosporin, tetracycline, macrolide, nitrofurantoin, and colistin. We conducted a systematic review of published reports, determined what invasive infections could cause SM, and established the most appropriate antibiotic therapy. Methods: We registered this systematic review on the PROSPERO registry of systematic reviews–meta-analyses before we started our research (registration number CRD42022323159). The online searches of published studies were implemented via MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EBSCO, Scopus, Google Scholar, SCIndex, and the registry of clinical studies of human participants (ClinicalTrials.gov). Results: Our study included 32 published articles (9 case series and 23 case reports). There were 57 individual cases, respectively. The oldest patient was 97 years and the youngest patient was a newborn. S. marcescens was, in most cases, isolated from blood followed by urine and cerebrospinal fluid. In most cases, sensitivity was tested to cotrimoxazole (from 27 isolates, 10 showed resistance) followed by gentamicin (from 26 isolates, 3 showed resistance) as well as amikacin (from 21 isolates, none showed resistance). Patients died from an infection in 21 cases (31%). Conclusions: Treatment of SM infections should include carbapenems or aminoglycosides in combination with third-generation (and eventually fourth-generation) cephalosporin. Cotrimoxazole should be considered in cases of uncomplicated urinary infections.