Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels after COVID-19 vaccine in chronic hepatitis B patients.

Aim: The aim was to compare SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody levels in chronic hepatitis B patients and healthcare personnel selected as the control group and to determine factors such as age, gender, vaccine type, and number of vaccines that may affect the antibody levels.

Materials And Methods: 87 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients followed in Ankara Training and Research Hospital Infectious Diseases Clinic and Mamak State Hospital Infectious Diseases outpatient clinic and 89 healthcare personnel selected as the control group were included in the study.SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody levels in the serum samples of patients and healthcare personnel who received the COVID-19 vaccine were studied with the ELISA method in the Microbiology Laboratory of Ankara Training and Research Hospital, using a commercial ELISA kit (Abbott, USA) in line with the recommendations of the manufacturer.

Evaluation of thorax computed tomographic findings in COVID-19 variant cases.

Background: Because of genetic mutations occurring during viral replication, new SARS-CoV-2 variants will continue to emerge. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, thorax computed tomographic (CT) findings have played a crucial role in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with COVID-19. In this study, we compared the thorax CT findings of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 variants (variant group) with those of patients infected with the non-variant strain (non-variant group) to assess if thorax CT findings may be utilized to discriminate between the groups.

Investigation of risk factors for community-acquired urinary tract infections caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase and species.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors for community-acquired urinary tract infections (CA-UTIs) caused by extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing and species.

Materials And Methods: The patients diagnosed with CA-UTIs caused by or spp. were included in the study.

[Cutaneous larva migrans in Turkey: an imported case report].

Cutaneous larva migrans (CLM) is a parasitic infection most commonly found in tropical and subtropical areas. However, with the ease and increase of foreign travel to many countries around the world, the infection is not limited to these areas. CLM is an erythematous, serpiginous infection with skin eruption caused by percutaneous penetration of the larvae to the skin.

The efficacy of oral ribavirin on clinical and laboratory parameters inCrimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever: an observational study from Turkey.

Background/aim: In this observational study, the effects of oral ribavirin on clinical and laboratory parameters and blood products use in patients with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) were evaluated.

Materials And Methods: CCHF patients (n = 100) who were hospitalized between 2007 and 2010 were included. Oral ribavirin was administered to 56 patients with symptom duration less than 5 days.

Evaluation of Risk Factors for Antibiotic Resistance in Patients with Nosocomial Infections Caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Background. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is resistant to various antibiotics and can cause serious nosocomial infections with high morbidity and mortality.

Synergistic effects of sulbactam in multi-drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.

Acinetobacter baumannii is a frequently isolated etiologic agent of nosocomial infections, especially in intensive care units. With the increase in multi-drug resistance of A. baumannii isolates, finding appropriate treatment alternatives for infections caused by these bacteria has become more difficult, and available alternate treatments include the use of older antibiotics such as colistin or a combination of antibiotics.

Incidence and Risk Factors for Colistin-Associated Nephrotoxicity.

Polymyxins have recently reemerged as a treatment option in response to the increasing number of resistant bacterial infections seen in recent years. Therefore, the current study aimed to determine the rate of and risk factors related to colistin-associated nephrotoxicity. All adult patients who had received colistimethate sodium (CMS) between 2010 and 2012 and met the inclusion criteria were included in the study.

Evaluation of clinical and laboratory predictors of fatality in patients with Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in a tertiary care hospital in Turkey.

The fatality rate of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) disease has been reported as 5.4-80%. In this prospective study our aim was to evaluate the clinical and laboratory predictors of fatality in patients with CCHF.

Brucella: a cause of peripheral neuropathy.

Brucellosis is a common infectious disease in Mediterranean countries. We evaluated the peripheral nerve involvement in patients with brucellosis. Thirty-eight patients with brucellosis were examined.

Visual evoked potentials in neurobrucellosis.

Objective: To investigate whether visual evoked potentials (VEPs) are valuable for distinguishing between brucellosis with or without neurological involvement.

Methods: A total of 23 patients who were admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, and Neurology, Ministry of Health Ankara Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey between December 2004 and August 2005 with a diagnosis of brucellosis were included in this study. After a detailed neurological and ophthalmological examination, VEPs were recorded.

The effect of a restriction policy on the antimicrobial consumption in Turkey: a country-wide study.

Background: The total annual expenditure of antimicrobials in Turkey in 2002 was 24% of all drug spending. In order to reduce the cost of drug expenditure, the Turkish government introduced a new restriction policy on the prescription of antimicrobials in June 2003. This new policy is based on the justification that the physicians specializing in infectious diseases should be primarily responsible for the prescription of antimicrobials.

[Evaluation of Brucella tube agglutination test in patients with brucellosis, patients with bacterial infections other than brucellosis and healthy subjects].

Results obtained by standard tube agglutination (STA) test which is the most widely used serological method for brucellosis, are often evaluated together with the clinical and microbiological findings, and the titers of > or = 1/160 are generally accepted as an indicator of acute infection. However, cross reactions with some other bacteria may lead to false positive results in this test. In this study, the performance of STA test in the diagnosis of brucellosis has been evaluated by using serum samples obtained from 40 culture positive brucellosis patients, 54 patients with bacterial infections other than brucellosis and 40 healthy blood donors.

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole induced rash and fatal hematologic disorders.

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) is a combination chemotherapeutic agent, a commonly used antibiotic. Adverse drug reactions occur in 6-8% of patients. Although, the most common adverse reactions include mild gastrointestinal distress and cutaneous events, also a wide range of hematological abnormalities have been ascribed to TMP-SMX.

Evaluation of brainstem auditory potential in brucellosis patients with and without neurological involvement.

This study investigated the changes in brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) in acute phase of brucellosis. Twenty-two patients with brucellosis without neurologic involvement and seven patients with neurobrucellosis were included. BAEPs were evaluated before treatment.

Salmonellosis and ulcerative colitis. A causal relationship or just a coincidence.

Coincidence of salmonellosis and ulcerative colitis is a rare clinical problem. Salmonella infection was reported to complicate the ulcerative colitis, as either facilitating its occurrence or activation. In this article, we present a case with salmonellosis whose clinicopathological findings also suggested ulcerative colitis.

Unusual clinical presentations of brucellosis.

The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to atypical presentations of brucellosis. A prospective study identified 240 consecutive patients with brucellosis admitted to our department between December 1999 and July 2002. From these cases we present 11 patients with unusual clinical presentations.

A rare cause of wound infection: Shewanella putrefaciens.

Shewanella putrefaciens has a wide geographical distribution, including all forms of sea water, fresh water, fish and soil. In humans, it is an unusual pathogen of wound infections. In this report, a wound infection was presented in a previously healthy man.

Osteoarticular involvement of brucellosis and HLA-B27 antigen frequency in Turkish patients.

The aim of the present study is to investigate a possible association between osteoarticular involvement of brucellosis and HLA-B27 antigen. Standard microtoxicity technique method was used for detection of HLA-B27 antigen in 78 patients with brucellosis and 100 healthy donors. Osteoarticular complications were defined in 25 of 78 patients (32.

Escherichia coli bind to urinary bladder epithelium through nonspecific sialic acid mediated adherence.

The first step in the bacterial colonization and infection of uropathogenic Escherichia coli is adherence to uroepithelium. Over 80% of all urinary tract infections are caused by E. coli.