Diagnostic study
Nasal and pharyngeal swabs were analyzed for COVID-19 infection via
quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction
(qPCR). COVID-19 was diagnosed and treated based on the World Health
Organization (WHO) interim standards and the Turkish Ministry of
Health’s COVID-19 Diagnosis and Treatment Program (4-6).
The study population was divided into three groups, based on the Turkish
Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 guide: (1) hospitalized patients with
severe clinical conditions such as oxygen saturation below 90%
breathing room air, bilateral diffuse pulmonary infiltrates, and
tachypnoea (30/min); (2) out-patient follow-up of participants with a
mild clinical condition (7).
Patients underwent routine blood testing, chemical, and immunological
investigations, and chest CT scanning to establish the COVID-19
severity. A serial chest CT scan was then conducted every other day to
track illness progression and therapy success.
Chest computed tomography (CT) scans were accomplished using a
particular inspiratory period in a commercial multi-detector CT scanner
(Optima CT540, GE Healthcare, USA). Patients were told to hold their
breath to reduce artifacts and motion. The following settings were used
to create computed tomography images: tube voltage of 100–120 kVp;
effective tube current of 110–250 mAs; detector collimation of 0.625
mm; slice thickness of 1 mm; slice interval of 1 mm.
In our hospital’s laboratory, blood samples were tested using normal
methods. A standard approach was used to evaluate blood samples. Vacuum
tubes were used to collect venous blood samples for hematological and
biochemical analysis. The sample was centrifuged for 10 minutes at 3000
RPM after the blood had coagulated. The tubes containing K3-EDTA were
utilized to investigate the complete blood count (CBC). An automated
hematological analyzer was used to determine the quantity of CBC
parameters (XT2000i, Sysmex, Osaka, Japan ). Biochemical and
hematological tests were performed on a 15 mL sample of peripheral
blood. After centrifugation at 3000 rpm, serum was extracted and kept at
-20°C until analysis. The VITROS 5600 Integrated Immunodiagnostic System
was used to examine serum biochemistry (VITROS 5600, Johnson, New
Jersey, USA ).