Objective: SARS-CoV-2 has caused nearly 4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide in the approximately 4 months since it emerged in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Comorbidities increase morbidity and mortality in COVID-19, and many laboratory parameters have been associated with mortality. The aim of the present study was to identify the relationship between endogenous carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) level and the clinical course and prognosis of COVID-19. Methods: The study included 48 non-smokers or ex-smokers aged 18 years or older who presented to the emergency department, were diagnosed with COVID-19 by real-time PCR analysis of nasopharyngeal swab sample, and were treated in the pulmonary diseases ward of the Atatürk University hospital after between March 24, 2020 and April 15, 2020. The patients’ laboratory parameters and demographic data were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Prothrombin time and C-reactive protein (CRP), troponin-I, and D-dimer levels decreased in COVID-19 patients during follow-up (p=0.024, p=0.001, p=0.001, p=0.001), while PaO2/FiO2 ratio and COHb increased (p=0.002, p=0.001). COHb level at admission was significantly lower in patients who developed macrophage activation syndrome (MAS), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and those who died compared to the other patients (p=0.002, p=0.001). COHb level on day 5 of treatment was significantly higher in patients with ARDS and patients who died (p=0.001, p=0.001).Significant correlations were detected between COHb level and CRP (r=-0.425, p=0.001), ferritin (r=-0.395, p=0.001) and PaO2/FiO2 ratio (r=0.431, p=0.001). Conclusions: COHb level may be an easily accessible biomarker that guides early follow-up and treatment planning to avoid ARDS, MAS, and mortality in COVID-19.

Objective: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is usually a complication of deep vein thrombosis and is an important cause of mortality and morbidity. Vascular endothelial growth factor D (VEGF-D) is a secretory protein that plays a role in the remodeling of blood vessels and the lymphatic system. This study aimed to determine the relationship between VEGF-D level and clinical risk scoring in patients with PE. Methods: The study included 117 patients admitted for PE that were divided into 4 groups: high-risk patients (n=35), high-intermediate-risk patients (n=30), low-intermediate-risk patients (n=24), and low-risk patients (n=28). Plasma VEGF-D was measured from peripheral venous blood samples (5 cc) using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Pulmonary Artery Obstruction Index (PAOI) was calculated from CT angiography imaging. Results: VEGF-D levels in the low-risk PE group differed significantly from those in the high-intermediate and high-risk groups (p=0.001 for both) but not from that in the low-intermediate-risk PE group (p=0.155). There was no significant difference in troponin-I and NT-proBNP levels between the high-intermediate-risk and high-risk PE patients, whereas VEGF-D levels differed significantly (p=0.134, p=0.146, p=0.016). VEGF-D level was moderately correlated with mean pulmonary artery pressure and PAOI (r=0.481, p=0.01; r=0.404, p=0.01). In ROC curve analysis, a cut-off of 370.1 pg/ml for VEGF-D had 91.4% sensitivity and 67.4% specificity in the differentiation of high-intermediate-risk and high-risk PE patients. Conclusion: This study showed that plasma VEGF-D level was more reliable than troponin-I and NT-proBNP in clinical risk scoring and demonstrating thrombus burden. VEGF-D can be used as a biomarker in clinical risk scoring and estimation of thrombus burden in patients with acute PE.

Objective: COVID-19 is one of the most important health problems concerning the last century and our knowledge of the disease is still limited. In our study, we aimed to compare serum-soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) level with clinical course in COVID-19 patients. Methods: Our study included 102 patients over the age of 18 who were diagnosed with Covid-19 between September 2020 and December 2020 by taking nasopharyngeal swap and using real time PCR method and 30 volunteer medical personnel over the age of 18 who were PCR negative after the nasopharyngeal swap. KİM-1 and suPAR were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: NLR, LDH, prothrombin time, CRP, PaO2/FiO2, D-Dimer, ferritin and fibrinogen levels, which have been mentioned in previous studies to be of prognostic importance for COVID-19, were observed to be higher in the severely ill group (p=0,001, 0,001, 0,05, 0,001, 0,001, 0,005, 0,001, 0,001 respectively). suPAR and KIM-1 levels were statistically significantly higher in patient groups compared to the control group (p=0.001 for all). While suPAR level was statistically significantly lower in severe patients compared to moderate patients (p=0.034), KIM-1 level was observed to be higher in severe patients (p=0.001). Conclusion: The increased level of KIM-1 in severe patients, which is thought to play an important role in the endocytosis of SARS-CoV-2 to the cell, may have an important place for the therapeutic target in the future. SuPAR can be considered to play an important role especially in the defense mechanism and fibrinolysis and its decreased level in severe patients may be associated with poor prognosis in the early period. However, extensive studies are needed to reach a definitive opinion about suPAR.