Publications by authors named "Ahmet Balikci"

Background: Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) poses a significant threat to global TB control and remains a major public health issue. This study aims to evaluate treatment outcomes and identify risk factors for unfavorable outcomes in patients with multi-DR-TB (MDR-TB) treated at a major reference hospital in Istanbul.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 413 patients with rifampicin-resistant and MDR-TB who received treatment between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2023, at the University of Health Sciences Süreyyapaşa Chest Diseases Training and Research Hospital.

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Introduction: Ehrlich-Ziehl-Neelsen (EZN) staining and culture methods are often used to diagnose tuberculosis. This study aimed to determine the acidfast bacteria (AFS) positivity rates in various clinical samples sent to our laboratory over five years and the growth and resistance rates in two different (solid and liquid) cultures and compare them with the data from Türkiye and the world.

Materials And Methods: A total of 62.

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Mycobacterium abscessus (M.abscessus), which is from the group of non-tuberculosis mycobacteria and is widely found in the natural environment, has been reported with increasing frequency as the causative agent of various infections; especially in the lower respiratory tract and in immuncompromised people. In this report, a case of M.

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Background: In recent years, with the development of laboratory methods, the frequency of nontuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) infections has increased. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) growths in respiratory samples, and the secondary aim was to evaluate the treatment regimens and treatment outcomes of treatment for TDM disease.

Methods: This study was a retrospective cohort study.

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Background: The antigen 85 complex (85B) is secreted in large quantities from growing mycobacteria and the presence of bacterial mRNA is an indicator of cell viability. The quantitative detection of 85B mRNA expression levels can be used to assess the success of anti-tuberculosis treatment outcomes to detect viable mycobacteria cells. Therefore, we evaluated the levels of 85B mRNA of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

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Introduction: Effective diagnosis of tuberculosis is of great importance for transmission control and treatment success. The purpose of this study is to evaluate microscopic examination results of Ehrlich-Ziehl Neelsen (EZN) and Auramine-Rhodamine staining methods and automated BACTEC MGIT 960™ system and Löwenstein-Jensen (L-J) culture results of various clinical samples in the light of recent data from the world and Turkey.

Materials And Methods: Specimens that were sent from various clinics to Sureyyapasa Chest Diseases and Chest Surgery Training and Research Hospital Microbiology Laboratory from January 2012 to December 2015 were evaluated retrospectively.

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A one-year active surveillance study was conducted to investigate the epidemiological and microbiological characteristics of invasive group A streptococci (GAS) infections in Turkey and to provide data for the establishment of national preventive strategies related to invasive GAS infections. A total of 46 clinical microbiology laboratories from 12 different regions of Turkey (Istanbul; Eastern and Western Marmara; Eastern and Western Blacksea; Aegean; Mediterranean; Western, Central, Northeastern, Middle-eastern and Southeastern Anatolia) participated in the study. Accordingly, GAS strains isolated from sterile body sites (blood, cerebrospinal, synovial, pleural, peritoneal, pericardial fluids) in the study centers between June 2010-June 2011, were sent to Maltepe University Hospital Clinical Microbiology Laboratory for microbiological confirmation and further analysis.

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Blood culture is the gold standard for diagnosis of bloodstream infections. Many studies have shown that rapid isolation and identification of the microorganisms in blood culture and initiation of early antimicrobial therapy are critically important to reduce the mortality rate. It was found that the rate of contamination in blood cultures is increasing with automated systems developed to facilitate the growth of microorganism and tracking positivity.

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Primary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the lung is a rare type of non-small cell lung carcinoma. In this study, we aimed to present a 62-year-old smoker male with a primary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the hilar region of the left lung. The patient underwent left pneumonectomy and no adjuvant therapy was given.

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Arcanobacterium haemolyticum, previously known as Corynebacterium haemolyticum, is a facultative anaerobic, gram-positive bacillus with negative catalase and positive CAMP inhibition test results. It may be the causative agent of about 0.5-3% of acute bacterial pharyngitis especially in children and young adults.

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Frequency of invasive group A streptococcus (GAS) infections is increasing worldwide in recent 20 years. Serotypes responsible for these clinical manifestations and their antibiotic susceptibilities should be known in order to establish preventive measures and initiate appropriate treatment. This study was aimed to determine the serotypes, antibiotic susceptibilities and inducible clindamycin resistance among invasive GAS isolated between 2006-2009 period.

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