Background Wearing face shields and masks, which used to have very limited public use before the Covid-19 outbreak, has been highly recommended by organizations, such as CDC and WHO, during this pandemic period. The aim of this prospective study is to scrutinize the dynamic changes in vital parameters, change in end tidal CO2 levels, the relationship of these changes with taking a break, and the subjective complaints caused by respiratory protection while healthcare providers are performing their duties with the N95 mask. Methods The prospective cohort included 54 healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, paramedics) who worked in the respiratory unit of the emergency department (ED), performed their duties by wearing valved N95 masks, face shields. The vital parameters and end-tidal CO2 levels were measured at 0-4th-5th-and 9th hours of the work-shift. Results Only the decrease in diastolic BP between 0-9 hours was statistically significant (p=0.038). Besides, MAP values indicated a significant decrease between 0-9 hours and 5-9 hours (p= 0.024 and p=0.049, respectively). In terms of the vital parameters of the subjects working with and without breaks, only PETCO2 levels of those working uninterruptedly increased significantly at the 4th hour in comparison to the beginning-of-shift baseline levels (p=0.003). Conclusion Although the decrease in SBP and MAP values is assumed to be caused by increased fatigue due to workload and work pace as well as increase in muscle activity, the increase in PETCO2 levels in the ED healthcare staff working with no breaks between 0-4 hours should be noted in terms of PPE-induced hypoventilation.

Abstract Background:The clinical picture of acute acalculous cholecystitis can be observed in a wide range from mild lesions to a degree threatening the patient’s life due to serious complications.In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between patients with acalculous cholecystitis and diabetes mellitus (DM) that has serious complications. Methods:The demographic varibles of patients such as age, gender along with blood tests, were gathered from 110 patients were gathered. The acalculus cholecystitis patients were divided into two groups of DM (DM+) and non DM (DM-) acalculus cholecystitis patients. Descriptive statistics for numerical variables were presented as mean, standard deviation, median, min-max values. Non-parametric test procedures were conducted for on non-normally distributed data. In this context, the non-parametric alternative of the independent sample t-test, the Mann-Whitney U test, was used to determine the the difference between means of each group. Perason correlation analysis was used to test the correlation between continuous variables and chi-square analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between categorical data. Results: The overall analyses revealed that there was a positive correlation between CRP and AST, CRP and ALT, CRP and GGT, ALT and GGT in DM+ patients. The results also indicated that gender is not a significant factor for the relationship between DM and acalculous cholecystitis. Conclusions: It can be said that advanced age and the presence of DM increase the risk of acalculous cholecystitis and blood parameters used to show the presence of infection. Furthermore, deterioration in liver function tests increases more in DM patients.

Background: This study was conducted to determine the frequency and clinical features of patients who were diagnosed incidentally as having diabetes mellitus (DM) in the emergency department. Aim: Our aim was to investigate the frequency of DM in patients whose high blood glucose levels were detected, and to examine the subsequent treatment these patients. Methods: The participants were selected from among patients who had a glucose level of ≥200 mg/dL and admitted to emergency department with symptoms of hyperglycemia in the past 1 year. Age, sex, presence of chronic disease, and the laboratory blood parameter results of the patients were recorded. We divided the patients into three groups as those who had never been admitted to clinics for treatment, those who were admitted and given treatment, and not given treatment. Results: According to their sexes, 73 (52.1%) were male and 67 (47.9%) were female. It was determined that 86 of the 140 patients included in the study were admitted to clinics for treatment. It was determined that no medication was given to 50 of these patients, but treatment was initiated in 36. Patients with glucose level ≥300 mg/dL were found to be receiving more treatment significantly (p=0.031). Conclusions: In this study, diabetic patients whose blood sugar is between 200-300 mg/dL should be sent to the DM related clinic immediately when diagnosed in the emergency department.