Publications by authors named "Ayse Willke"

Background: There is limited evidence on the modification or stopping of antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens, including novel antiretroviral drugs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the discontinuation of first ART before and after the availability of better tolerated and less complex regimens by comparing the frequency, reasons and associations with patient characteristics.

Methods: A total of 3019 ART-naive patients registered in the HIV-TR cohort who started ART between Jan 2011 and Feb 2017 were studied.

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Background: Outcomes of antibiotic treatment of diabetic foot infections (DFIs) may depend not only on the antimicrobial susceptibility of the aetiologic agents, but also their ability to produce virulence factors. This study aimed to use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers to investigate the presence of virulence genes among isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates cultured from specimens from diabetic foot and other infections.

Methods: We examined 63 P.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological and molecular features of clinical meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates in Turkey. MRSA isolates were collected from six regions of Turkey. The mecA and nuc genes were detected by PCR.

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HIV-1 replication is rapid and highly error-prone. Transmission of a drug-resistant HIV-1 strain is possible and occurs within the HIV-1-infected population. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of transmitted drug resistance mutations (TDRMs) in 1,306 newly diagnosed untreated HIV-1-infected patients from 21 cities across six regions of Turkey between 2010 and 2015.

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Background Context: No direct comparison between brucellar spondylodiscitis (BSD) and tuberculous spondylodiscitis (TSD) exists in the literature.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare directly the clinical features, laboratory and radiological aspects, treatment, and outcome data of patients diagnosed as BSD and TSD.

Study Design: A retrospective, multinational, and multicenter study was used.

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Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a threat to patient safety; however, there were no available data on SSI rates stratified by surgical procedure (SP) in Turkey.

Methods: Between January 2005 and December 2011, a cohort prospective surveillance study on SSIs was conducted by the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) in 20 hospitals in 16 Turkish cities. Data from hospitalized patients were registered using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) methods and definitions for SSIs.

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Background: Device-associated healthcare-acquired infections (DA-HAI) pose a threat to patient safety, particularly in the intensive care unit (ICU). We report the results of the International Infection Control Consortium (INICC) study conducted in Turkey from August 2003 through October 2012.

Methods: A DA-HAI surveillance study in 63 adult, paediatric ICUs and neonatal ICUs (NICUs) from 29 hospitals, in 19 cities using the methods and definitions of the U.

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Introduction: The objective of this study was to determine the transmitted drug resistance mutations (TDRMs) in newly diagnosed HIV-1 positive patients in Turkey.

Materials And Methods: The study was carried out between 2009 and 2014 and antiretroviral naïve 774 HIV-1 infected patients from 19 Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Departments in Turkey were included; gender: 664 (86%) male, median age: 37 (range; 1-77), median CD4+T-cell: 360 (range; 1-1320) count/mm(3), median HIV-RNA load: 2.10+E6 (range; 4.

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Immunosuppressive patients are at risk of fungal and bacterial infections. Therefore, these patients receive prophylactic, preemptive, empirical or target antifungal and concomitant antibiotic therapy. To this end, caspofungin (CAS) or voriconazole (VRC) antifungals and cefoperazone-sulbactam (CPZ/SAM) or piperacillin-tazobactam (PIP/TAZ) antibiotics may be used.

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Background: In the past, Staphylococcus aureus infections have displayed various patterns of epidemiologic curves in hospitals, particularly in intensive care units (ICUs). This study aimed to characterize the current trend in a nationwide survey of ICUs in Turkey.

Methods: A total of 88 ICUs from 36 Turkish tertiary hospitals were included in this retrospective study, which was performed during the first 3 months of both 2008 (period [P] 1) and 2011 (P2).

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Bacteremia caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has a significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of real-time polymerase chain reaction (Rt-PCR) targeting nuc and mec genes in the culture extracts of blood culture systems for the early diagnosis of MRSA. A total of 48 samples that gave positive growth signal in BACTEC 9000 MB (BD, USA) and stained as gram-positive cocci, were included in the study.

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Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral hemorrhagic disease with high mortality rate. CCHF is endemic in Central Anatolia and East and Central Black Sea parts of Turkey, however sporadic cases have been detected in the other regions. The incubation period of the disease is between 1-3 days (maximum 12 days).

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The incidence of serious fungal infections, particularly invasive Candida infections exhibit an increasing trend in the last decades since the number of patients receiving immunosuppressive treatment is increasing. This situation eventually results in an increment in resistance to antifungal agents. The aim of this study was to compare the standard broth microdilution (BMD) and E-test methods for antifungal susceptibility testing of Candida species isolated from blood cultures in our hospital, against fluconazole, voriconazole, caspofungin and amphotericin B.

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The aim of this study was to describe a pseudo-outbreak due to Serratia marcescens associated with laboratory contamination, and also the epidemiologic and laboratory methods used to determine the source of contamination. An apparent increase in positive culture results for Serratia marcescens was observed in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory of Kocaeli University Hospital between September and November 2007. An outbreak investigation including retrospective and prospective studies using chart review, environmental sampling and random arbitrary polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) of randomly selected isolates were performed by the Infection Control Committee.

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Objective: The relationship between bacterial flora of the adenoids and middle ear problems is unclear. In this study, superficial and deep aerobic and anaerobic bacterial flora of adenoid tissues were compared in children with and without chronic otitis media with effusion (cOME).

Patients And Methods: Between 2004 and 2007, family members of children (ages 1-14 years) who were scheduled to undergo adenoidectomy were approached for participation in the study.

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Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) inhibitors which can be found in the clinical specimens lead to increased cost of these tests and also cause delay in the results particularly in the routine laboratories. Lysis/dilution methods are effective on the removal of PCR inhibitors and the performance of internal amplification control (IAC). This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of some methods, such as lysis (freezing and thawing) and dilution (1/10) of serum samples, used for the removal of PCR inhibitors, on IAC results.

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External quality assessment (EQA) has been playing an increasingly important role in the implementation of nucleic acid amplification techniques (PCR) for clinical diagnosis. In this study, the results of HBV-DNA quantification and HCV-RNA detection tests evaluated by United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Scheme for Microbiology (NEQAS) were analysed and the performance of our laboratory was evaluated. Between April 2006-January 2008, in four different distribution panels including 16 freeze-dried serum and six plasma specimens for HBV-DNA and HCV-RNA testing, respectively, were received.

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In Turkey, where brucellosis is endemic, a comparison of conventional and molecular genotyping methods has not been published to date. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis of rpoB gene in the genotyping of Brucella melitensis strains by sequencing. In light of the molecular genotyping method available now in Turkey, the adequacy of serological typing alone should be re-evaluated as a tool for epidemiologic studies of B.

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We present herein an unusual case of anthrax pneumonia secondary to gastrointestinal infection. In this case, severe abdominal pain occurred during the course of a stent placement procedure. The patient had undergone surgery with the prediagnosis of intestinal ischemia.

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Nocardiosis is a rare disease generally caused by members of Nocardia asteroides complex, particularly in immunosupressed patients. Nocardia cyriacigeorgica is a newly described member of this complex. In this article, a case of pulmonary nocardiosis with a large solitary cavitary nodule caused by N.

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Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections are commonly seen in humans and are usually mild or asymptomatic. However, these infections have significant medical risks in pregnant women, newborns and immunocompromised patients. Seronegative subjects and infants acquire CMV through infected blood products or direct contact with infected people.

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We investigated the frequency of the presence of intestinal parasites and the factors affecting this frequency in an elementary school. We tried to discover whether there was a relationship between the presence of intestinal parasites and sanitary habits such as hand washing, toilet flushing, and use of human manure, cleanness of drinking water and also the educational level of the parents. A total of 114 students participated in this study.

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In this study, 5178 fecal samples collected from patients who applied to our university during May 2003 through June 2005 were examined for the presence of intestinal parasites. Out of 5178 samples, 4560 of them were collected with cellophane tape preparations. Fecal samples were examined using native- Lugol and the trichrome staining method after sedimentation by formal-ethyl acetate concentration.

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