Publications by authors named "Altunal L"

Background: Diabetes foot infection is a very important public health problem that causes serious health problems, mortality, and high health expenditures, and is one of the most important complications of diabetes mellitus. There are concerns that approaches such as limited personal visits to doctors, avoidance of hospitals, and restrictions on nonemergency surgical procedures during the coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic pose a threat to those with diabetic foot problems, including diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), ischemia, and infection, resulting in increased limb loss and mortality.

Methods: This multicenter, retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted in 14 tertiary care hospitals from various regions of Turkey.

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  • - The study focused on distinguishing tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLN) from non-tuberculous lymphadenitis (NTBLN) in adults in Turkiye, analyzing demographic, clinical, and laboratory data from patients with swollen lymph nodes.
  • - A total of 812 patients were studied, revealing that TBLN was the most common diagnosis (53.69%), with higher occurrence in females and those who had elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and positive test results for tuberculosis (p < 0.05).
  • - The findings suggest that identifying specific variables can help clinicians improve their diagnosis and treatment strategies for adult lymphadenopathy.
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The immunogenicity of vaccines decreases over time, causing a need for booster doses. This study aimed to present the long-term (Day 84) immunogenicity results of the double-blind, randomized, controlled, phase II Hybrid COV-RAPEL TR Study (NCT04979949), in which the TURKOVAC or CoronaVac vaccines were used as a booster after the second dose of primary vaccination with CoronaVac. A total of 190 participants from the Hybrid COV-RAPEL TR Study, who had both Day 28 and Day 84 immunogenicity results, were included.

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Background: The association of.

C: ytomegalovirus (CMV) infection with ulcerative colitis (UC) still remains a controversial topic for the clinicians. Aim: In this study, we aimed to elucidate the CMV infection related parameters in the exacerbation of UC.

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  • The study investigates the prevalence and risk factors of polypharmacy and potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs) among people living with HIV (PLWH) in Turkey, particularly those on modern antiretroviral therapies.
  • Conducted between October 2021 and April 2022, the study found that 6.8% of PLWH were using five or more non-HIV medications, with 30.7% taking at least one over-the-counter drug.
  • Key factors associated with PDDIs included having a CD4 count over 500, three or more comorbidities, and the use of certain medications, highlighting the need for careful monitoring in HIV care to avoid harmful interactions.
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Protective neutralizing antibody titers reduce in time after COVID-19 vaccinations, as in individuals who have had COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of CoronaVac and TURKOVAC vaccines used as a booster dose after CoronaVac primary vaccination. This double-blind, randomized, controlled, phase II, multicenter study included healthy male and female adults (18-60 years) who were vaccinated with two doses of CoronaVac vaccine and did not exceed the duration of at least 90 days and a maximum of 270 days from the second dose of vaccination.

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Objective: Interleukin-6 inhibitor Tocilizumab (TCZ) is effective to prevent the mortality of severe COVID-19 by suppressing the cytokine storm, however, its appropriate use needs to be detailed. We aimed to describe the appropriate use of TCZ in severe to critical cases with COVID-19 pneumonia in the early phase of the pandemic.

Materials And Methods: This single-center, retrospective, observational study was conducted in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive COVID-19 patients who received TCZ between April 01, 2020 and June 30, 2020, in Ümraniye Research and Training Hospital İstanbul, Turkey.

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Introduction: Since the beginning of the pandemic, factors associated with mortality in patients with corona virus infection disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been investigated. Comorbidities and increased age have been frequently reported to be associated with mortality. We aimed to evaluate the factors associated with unfavorable outcome of patients with COVID-19 at an early period of the pandemic.

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Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) associated pneumonia may progress into acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Some patients develop features of macrophage activation syndrome (MAS). Elevated levels of IL-6 were reported to be associated with severe disease, and anti-IL-6R tocilizumab has been shown to be effective in some patients.

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Background: The current knowledge about novel coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) indicates that the immune system and inflammatory response play a crucial role in the severity and prognosis of the disease. In this study, we aimed to investigate prognostic value of systemic inflammatory biomarkers including C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in patients with severe COVID-19.

Methods: This single-center, retrospective study included a total of 223 patients diagnosed with severe COVID-19.

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  • The study evaluates the Modified Anticoagulation and Risk Factors in Atrial Fibrillation Risk Score (M-ATRIA-RS) to determine its effectiveness in predicting in-hospital mortality for COVID-19 patients, comparing it to other scoring systems like CHADS and CHA2DS2-VASc.
  • Data from 1,001 patients was analyzed, revealing that higher M-ATRIA-RS scores correlated significantly with increased mortality rates and other severe clinical outcomes.
  • The findings indicate that M-ATRIA-RS is an independent predictor of mortality, outperforming other scoring systems, and is easier to use than the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI).
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To describe the change in the epidemiology of health care-associated infections (HAI), resistance and predictors of fatality we conducted a nationwide study in 24 hospitals between 2015 and 2018. The 30-day fatality rate was 22% in 2015 and increased to 25% in 2018. In BSI, a significant increasing trend was observed for Candida and Enterococcus.

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Objective: Turkey is one of the latest countries that COVID-19 disease was reported, with the first case on March 11, 2020, and since then, Istanbul became the epicenter of the pandemic in Turkey. Here, we reveal sequences of the virus isolated from three different patients with various clinical presentations.

Methods: Nasopharyngeal swab specimens of the patients were tested positive for the COVID-19 by qRT-PCR.

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