Diagnostic Role of Opsonic Activity in Acinetobacter baumannii Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.

In this study, we investigated the diagnostic value of opsonic activity against Acinetobacter baumannii in Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) among 50 patients, compared to 102 negative and positive controls. Out of the 50 patients, only 33 (66 %) were diagnosed with VAP using the Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (CPIS). The opsonic activity assay demonstrated three key findings: (i) 95 % sensitivity and 91.

Serological Evidence of Tick-Borne Encephalitis and West Nile Virus Infections Among Children with Arthritis in Turkey.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and West Nile virus (WNV) are mainly transmitted by arthropod vectors to vertebrate hosts including humans, resulting in fever and neurological signs. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of antibodies to TBEV and WNV, and TBEV-RNA and WNV-RNA in Turkish children with fever and/or arthritis. For this purpose, 110 sera and buffy-coat samples were collected; sera were analyzed by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the presence of IgM and IgG antibodies to TBEV and WNV, and buffy-coat-derived white blood cells were analyzed by quantitative real-time RT-PCR for TBEV-RNA and WNV-RNA.

Genotypes of hepatitis a virus in Turkey: first report and clinical profile of children infected with sub-genotypes IA and IIIA.

Background: Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a food and water-borne virus causing clinical (mainly hepatitis) and subclinical disease in humans. It is important to characterize circulating strains of HAV in order to prevent HAV infections using efficacious vaccines. The aim of this study was the detection and characterization of the circulating strains of HAV in Turkey by performing serology, RT-PCR, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis.

Evaluation of Adenovirus-36 (Ad-36) antibody seropositivity and adipokine levels in obese children.

Adenovirus 36 (Ad-36) has recently been suggested as a possible contributor to the current obesity epidemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Ad-36 antibodies in obese children, as well as investigate the role of serum leptin and lipid levels in Ad-36-obesity. Seventy-one obese children and 62 non-obese children were included as the patient group (PG), including the healthy control group (HCG), respectively.

Determination of clinical significance of coagulase-negative staphylococci in blood cultures.

The aim of this study was to investigate the criteria used to distinguish coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) bacteremia from contamination. We evaluated 162 adult patients with CoNS-positive blood cultures (BCs). Of the 162 patients, 35 (21.

Investigation of carbapenem resistance and the first identification of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) enzyme among Escherichia coli isolates in Turkey: A prospective study.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the presence of carbapenem resistance and carbapenemase production in Escherichia coli isolates from clinical samples in Turkey.

Methods: The prospective study included a total of 4.052 Escherichia coli isolates collected from patients admitted to a hospital from March 2011 to May 2012.

Travel-associated infections caused by unusual serogroups of Legionella pneumophila identified using Legionella BIOCHIP slides in Turkey and Iraq.

Background: Although Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 is the common disease causing serogroup, rare serogroups can also may cause legionellosis. A 54-year-old male patient (index case) reported that he had been on a religious trip (for visiting, tomb of Ali, which is important for Shias) to Iraq with a large group (50 shia pilgrims from Kars city of Turkey) two weeks prior to admission. Due to civil war, the hotel where the patient stayed in Iraq lacked proper hygiene.

Patterns of EPIYA motifs among cagA-positive Helicobacter pylori strains: a case-control study in a Turkish population with Eurasian geographical features.

Geographical variation in the frequency of various gastroduodenal pathologies was shown to be related to the geographical diversity of H. pylori CagA Glu-Pro-Ile-Tyr-Ala (EPIYA) patterns. We examined the EPIYA patterns of H.

The role of adenovirus 36 as a risk factor in obesity: the first clinical study made in the fatty tissues of adults in Turkey.

Obesity which developes due to multifactorial reasons, was associated recently with human Adenovirus-36 (Ad-36). The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Ad-36 antibodies in obese adults and also to investigate the DNA of Ad-36 in their adipose tissue. In this cross-sectional and case-control based study, 49 obese adults, with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2), and 49 non-obese adults, with BMI ≤ 25 kg/m(2), applied for esthetic purposes and were included in this study as patient and control groups, respectively.

The epidemiological and molecular characterization of vancomycin-resistant enterococci isolated from rectal swab samples of hospitalized patients in Turkey.

Background: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are a serious problem all over the world. The present study was conducted to investigate antimicrobial resistance patterns, genotypes, clonal relationship, and virulence fac- tors of VRE species isolated from rectal swab samples of hospitalized patients, patient's relatives, and medical staff at Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical School hospital.

Methods: The VRE isolates were typed with an automated VITEK system and their antibiotic sensibilities were analysed by disc diffusion and Etest® method.

Microorganisms in respiratory tract of patients diagnosed with atypical pneumonia: results of a research based on the use of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) DNA microarray method and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Background: Numerous molecular-based tests were applied for the laboratory-based diagnosis of viruses. In this cross-sectional case control study, in addition to bacteria, we aimed to determine respiratory viruses using, for the first time in our country, the Reverse Transcription PCR DNA Microarray method, and we also aimed to evaluate its diagnostic performance.

Methods: Respiratory viruses were investigated from nasopharyngeal swabs of 76 patients diagnosed with atypical pneumonia and 64 healthy controls using the CLART Pneumovir (Genomica, Spain) kit and from 10 mL blood samples of the same subjects.

The relationship between bifidobacteria and allergic asthma and/or allergic dermatitis: a prospective study of 0-3 years-old children in Turkey.

Bifidobacteria are beneficial bacteria for humans. These bacteria are particularly effective at protecting against infectious diseases and modulating the immune response. It was shown that in newborns, the fecal distribution of the colonizing Bifidobacterium species influences the prevalence of allergic diseases.