Fungal colonization and infections in patients with COVID-19 in intensive care units: A real-life experience at a tertiary-care hospital.

Purpose: To evaluate the management of patients with COVID-19 in the intensive care units (ICUs) with fungal infection/colonization and to highlight diagnostic problems in these patients.

Methods: We included all patients with a COVID-19 diagnosis who were aged ≥18 years and followed in the ICU for the first 8 months. Patient data were obtained from medical records.

Is European Medicines Agency (EMA) sepsis criteria accurate for neonatal sepsis diagnosis or do we need new criteria?

Background: Currently, there is a lack of clear definition for neonatal sepsis. The Pediatric Committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) developed consensus criteria to ensure a standardization for neonatal sepsis definition. However, there is no evidence supporting the accuracy of the EMA sepsis criteria in neonatal sepsis diagnosis.

Multicenter evaluation of crystal violet decolorization assay (CVDA) for rapid detection of isoniazid and rifampicin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate the performance of the crystal violet decolorization assay (CVDA) for detection of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). This study was performed in 11 centers in two phases. A total of 156 isolates were tested for INH and RIF resistance.

[Multicenter evaluation of the indirect nitrate reductase assay for the rapid detection of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis].

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is defined as resistance to at least isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RIF), and it complicates the implementation of tuberculosis control programmes. The rapid detection of MDR-TB is crucial to reduce the transmission of disease. The nitrate reductase assay (NRA) is one of the colorimetric susceptibility test methods for rapid detection of MDR-TB and based on the ability of reduction of nitrate to nitrite by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

[Implementation of "5S" methodology in laboratory safety and its effect on employee satisfaction].

Health institutions use the accreditation process to achieve improvement across the organization and management of the health care system. An ISO 15189 quality and efficiency standard is the recommended standard for medical laboratories qualification. The "safety and accommodation conditions" of this standard covers the requirement to improve working conditions and maintain the necessary safety precautions.

[Three step MIRU-VNTR for routine mycobacteriology laboratory practice].

Several methods are available for the molecular typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates. The results of the recent research demonstrated that Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Unit (MIRU)-Variable Number Tandem Repeats (VNTR) method has high discriminatory power and reproducibility, is easy to perform, and available for multi-center studies and automation. However, there is insufficient data about the MIRU-VNTR profiles in Turkey.

[Quality assurance in tuberculosis laboratories].

The laboratory has always played a critical role in diagnosis of tuberculosis and monitoring treatment. The basic aim in tuberculosis laboratory is to generate accurate and reliable test results for clinicians. This aim can be achieved by using quality assurance programs.

[Evaluation of a rapid trehalase test for the identification of Candida glabrata].

Candida species which cause local infections, may also lead to fatal systemic infections. The increasing incidence of non-albicans Candida, especially fluconazole susceptible or resistant dose-dependent C. glabrata, increased the importance of rapid and accurate species level identification for Candida.

A comparison of the prophylactic uses of topical mupirocin and nitrofurazone in murine crush contaminated wounds.

Objectives: This work was conducted to study the prophylactic efficacy of 2 topical antibiotic ointments (mupirocin and nitrofurazone) against wound infection in experimental contaminated crush wounds.

Methods: Male Wistar rats underwent two 2-cm incisions at the back side and randomized into 3 groups--placebo (n = 14), mupirocin (n = 14), and nitrofurazone (n = 14)--and infected with either Staphylococcus aureus or S. pyogenes.

[Comparison of minimum inhibitory and minimum effective concentration values for the detection of in vitro susceptibilities of Aspergillus species against caspofungin].

Caspofungin is a promising echinocandin-group antifungal agent used especially in the treatment of resistant invasive aspergillosis. The guidelines for in vitro susceptibility testing of Aspergillus species against caspofungin are not described by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). The minimum inhibitory concentration that showed a prominent reduction of growth (MIC-2) and minimum effective concentration (MEC) endpoints are frequently used for the susceptibility testing of caspofungin as MIC determination criteria.

Is it valuable to examine more than one sputum smear per patient for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis?

The simplest, cheapest, and fastest diagnostic method for tuberculosis (TB) is the detection of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) by microscopy. The algorithm advised for the diagnosis of TB recommends examination of three consecutive sputum specimens from TB suspects for the presence of AFB. In the present study, we evaluated the contribution of each specimen to the final detection of TB suspect patients with culture-proven disease.

Species distribution and antifungal susceptibilities of dermatophytes during a one year period at a university hospital in Turkey.

Dermatophyte infections have been considered to be a major public health problem in many parts of the world. The aim of this study was to determine the causative agents of dermatophytoses and their antifungal susceptibilities in a Turkish University Hospital, west of Turkey. A total of 926 patients suspected to have dermatophytic lesions were examined over a period of 1 year (2001-2002).

Evaluation of Cobas Amplicor MTB test to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis in pulmonary and extrapulmonary specimens.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major public health problems in the world. Effective control of TB depends on rapid and correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of Cobas Amplicor MTB (CA-MTB) test for pulmonary and extrapulmonary specimens isolated in our laboratory.

Fungi and indoor conditions in asthma patients.

This study was carried out with 127 asthmatic patients and 127 controls, which aimed to compare and evaluate the environmental conditions in the homes of asthmatic patients and the control group. Air samples were obtained by using an air sampler and the mean mould colony counts were established. Aspergillus and Penicillium were the most common isolated species.

[Molecular epidemiologic surveillance and antifungal agent sensitivity of Candida albicans isolated from anesthesia intensive care units].

Patients in intensive care units (ICU) are at risk of nosocomial infections. The incidence of nosocomial fungal infections has increased in parallel with the increase of nosocomial infections. Candida albicans is the most frequent pathogenic species among the fungi.