Objective: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR) is a biomarker for systematic inflammation. It is also thought that the NLR can be used as a new biomarker by clinicians in predicting the prognosis of patients with multiple myeloma(MM). This study, aimed to retrospectively investigate the prognostic significance of pretreatment NLR in patients with MM, based on the hypothesis that elevated pretreatment NLR is a biomarker indicating worse survival in patients with MM. Materials and Methods: Patients aged >18 years with MM diagnosed, follow-up, and treated between January 2011 and December 2017 in the department of internal and geriatric medicine at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine were enrolled into this study. We retrospectively collected the data of 40 patients from the medical records. The relationship between NLR and baseline characteristics, laboratory parameters, prognosis, and survival outcome was analyzed. Results: The study showed that the mean NLR was 2.84±2.62 (0.1-14.8) in the whole blood count. No significant correlation was found between NLR and mortality (p=0.965). A significant relationship was found between higher stage and mortality (p=0.035). In addition, anemia, low albumin level, and elevated lactate dehydrogenas (LDH) level indicated poor survival time in patients with MM (p=0.022; p=0.031; p=0.023). Conclusion: Our study showed no relationship between NLR and both mortality and overall survival (OS). The above result can be explained by the fact that our study had some limitations such as the use of retrospective data from a single-center and the small sample size.
Objective: In this study, we aimed to analyze the demographic characteristics, symptoms, and comorbidities of 504 patients hospitalized for COVID-19. We also sought to describe the relationship between these features and intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mortality. Material and Methods: This study is a descriptive study involving 504 COVID-19 patients hospitalized between 16.03.2020 and 07.05.2020 at Istanbul University's Faculty of Medicine Hospital. Information about the patients was obtained from the hospital automation system and evaluated retrospectively. Results: The average age of the 504 patients was 56±15.14, and 59.1% of them were male. The proportion of the patients admitted into ICU 11.9% and for 8.52% of them the disease resulted in death. Real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results were positive for 60.5% of the patients. The median time spent in the hospital was eight days. Fifty six percent of the patients had at least one accompanying comorbid disease, with hypertension (39.3%) and diabetes (20.8%) being the most common. Being 65 years old or older (p<0.001), days spent in the hospital (p<0.001), presence of at least one comorbidity (p=0.009), hypertension (p=0.003), coronary artery disease (p=0.004), congestive heart failure (p=0.005) and dyspnea (p<0.001) were all factors found in those admitted to ICU. Conclusion: COVID-19 infection leading to high morbidity-mortality rates and an increased requirement for ICU admission is mainly seen among older patients and those who have dyspnea. During the process of analyzing patients suspected of COVID-19 who are admitted to hospital, it is crucial to consider both the patient's age and any respiratory symptoms. Such a clinical evaluation is crucial for a better understanding of the course of the disease.
Amaç: Sistemik inflamasyon göstergesi olan nötrofil-lenfosit oranı (NLR), kanser hastalarında son zamanlarda önerilen basit ve ucuz bir prognostik faktördür. Çalışmamızda, tedavi öncesi yüksek NLR değerinin lenfoma hastalarında kötü sağkalımı gösterdiği hipotezine dayanarak lenfoma hastalarında tedavi öncesi NLR değerlerinin geriye dönük prognostik anlamını inceledik. Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışmamıza Ocak 2011 ve Aralık 2017 tarihleri arasında İstanbul Tıp Fakültesi iç hastalıkları ve geriatri bölümünde tanı konulan, takip ve tedavi edilmiş 18 yaş üstü lenfoma tanılı hastalar dahil edildi. Sekseniki hastanın verileri retrospektif olarak hastane otomasyon sistemlerinden elde edildi. NLR ve temel karakteristikleri laboratuar parametreleri, prognoz ve sağkalım sonuçları arasındaki ilişki değerlendirildi. Bulgular: HL hastalarında, tanı anında daha ileri yaş grubundaki hastalarda yüksek mortalite hızı ve plevral efüzyonun varlığı uzun dönem sağkalım üzerine anlamlı negatif etkiye sahipti (p=0,008, p=0,035). NHL hastalarında, ileri yaş yüksek IPI skoru, düşük PLT seviyesi ve yüksek beta 2 mikroglobulin düzeyi yüksek mortalite oranıyla ilişkili bulundu (p=0,001, p=0,044, p=0,023, p=0,009). Sonuç: HL ve NHL hastalarında NLR ile mortalite ve uzun dönem sağkalım arasında bir ilişki gösterilememiştir. Bu retrospektif analizin küçük bir örneklem büyüklüğüne sahip olması, geç tanı konulmuş hasta popülasyonu ve tek merkezli bir çalışma olması bu beklenmedik sonucun nedeni olabilir.
