International journal of clinical practice
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Int. J. Clin. Pract. · Dec 2021
COVID-Q: validation of the first COVID-19 questionnaire based on patient-rated symptom gravity.
The aim of the present study was to develop and validate the CoronaVirus-Disease-2019 (COVID-19) Questionnaire (COVID-Q), a novel symptom questionnaire specific for COVID-19 patients, to provide a comprehensive evaluation that may be helpful for physicians, and evaluate the questionnaire's performance in identifying subjects at higher risk of testing positive. ⋯ COVID-Q could be validated since the evaluated aspects were overall significantly related to infection. The application of the questionnaire to clinical practice may help to identify subjects who are likely to be affected by COVID-19 and address them to a nasopharyngeal swab in order to achieve an early diagnosis.
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Int. J. Clin. Pract. · Dec 2021
A Novel Enema Method Can Prevent Infectious Complications of Transrectal Ultrasound-Guided Prostate Biopsy: A Single-Center Experience.
TRUS biopsy is the preferred method for diagnosing prostate cancer, but it can cause infectious complications that arise with the contribution of fluoroquinolone resistance. We aimed to explore the potential protective effect of a second rectal enema before biopsy. ⋯ Older age and the presence of diabetes mellitus are independent risk factors for UTI after prostate biopsy. A second enema procedure before biopsy may protect patients from related infectious complications and could therefore be used as an alternative preventative method.
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No effective treatment has yet been found for SARS-Cov-2, which caused a pandemic outbreak in 2019. It is crucial to detect the progression of COVID-19 in patients as early as possible. Fibrinogen to albumin ratio (FAR) has been used as a new inflammatory marker. We aimed to find out whether the use of the FAR as a predictor of mortality in COVID-19 patients provides clinical benefit. ⋯ As a result of this study, increased FAR were found to be important markers in determining the mortality levels in COVID-19 patients.