Heparin Binding Protein in Early Differential Diagnosis of Bacterial Meningitis.

Heparin-binding protein is a serine protease that is mobilized rapidly from emigrating polymorphonuclear leukocytes that acts as a chemoattractant activator of monocyte and macrophages. We investigated the potential role and efficacy of serum and cerebrospinal fluid heparin binding protein in differentiating bacterial meningitis from tuberculosis and viral meningitis. A case diagnosed with acute bacterial meningitis (n:37), viral meningitis (n:30) and tuberculous meningitis (n:30) was included in this study.

Evaluation of peripheral and central olfactory pathways in HIV-infected patients by MRI.

Aim: To investigate peripheral and central olfactory pathways using cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients.

Materials And Methods: The cranial MRI images of 37 HIV-infected adult patients and 37 adults without HIV infection having normal cranial MRI results were included in the study. In both groups, olfactory bulb (OB) volume and olfactory sulcus (OS) depth; and insular gyrus and corpus amygdala areas were measured using cranial MRI.

Causes of sleep disturbance in human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals: Is it depression or obstructive sleep apnea?

Objectives: To examine the possible association of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and depression on sleep quality in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PWLHIV).

Methods: Adult PWLHIV were included in this prospective, cross-sectional, case-control study. Our study was completed with 99 patients and 80 control subjects.

Comparison of Immunological and Virological Recovery with Rapid, Early, and Late Start of Antiretroviral Treatment in Naive Plwh: Real-World Data.

Background: Rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduces the transmission of HIV infection in the community. This study aimed to determine whether rapid ART initiation is effective compared to standard ART treatment in our country.

Methods: Patients were grouped based on time to treatment initiation.

Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitor (INSTI) Genotypic Resistance Analysis in Treatment-Naive, INSTI Free Antiretroviral-Experienced and INSTI-Experienced Turkish Patients Infected with HIV-1.

Background And Objective: Integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) are currently the standard of practice for first-line HIV therapy for most patients. We evaluated the mutations associated with INSTI resistance in naive HIV-1 infected patients and treated them with antiretrovirals (ART).

Methods: The study, conducted in the 2018 - 2020 period, included 50 ART-naïve patients, 69 INSTI free ART-experienced patients, and 82 INSTI-experienced patients.

Effects of Oncology Patients' Health Literacy on Use of Complementary and Alternative Therapy.

Context: Health literacy is defined as the capacity of an individual to acquire, interpret, and understand basic health information and services to improve their health. Cancer patients often turn to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to cope with diagnosis and treatment processes.

Objectives: The study aimed to determine the effects of health-literacy levels on oncology patients' use of CAM.

Identification of Recent Tuberculosis Exposure Using QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus, a Multicenter Study.

We investigated whether the difference of antigen tube 2 (TB2) minus antigen tube 1 (TB1) (TB2-TB1) of the QuantiFERON-TB gold plus test, which has been postulated as a surrogate for the CD8 T-cell response, could be useful in identifying recent tuberculosis (TB) exposure. We looked at the interferon gamma (IFN-γ) responses and differences in TB2 and TB1 tubes for 686 adults with QFT-plus positive test results. These results were compared among groups with high (368 TB contacts), low (229 patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases [IMID]), and indeterminate (89 asylum seekers or people from abroad [ASPFA]) risks of recent TB exposure.

Efficacy and safety of an inactivated whole-virion SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (CoronaVac): interim results of a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial in Turkey.

Background: CoronaVac, an inactivated whole-virion SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, has been shown to be well tolerated with a good safety profile in individuals aged 18 years and older in phase 1/2 trials, and provided a good humoral response against SARS-CoV-2. We present the interim efficacy and safety results of a phase 3 clinical trial of CoronaVac in Turkey.

Methods: This was a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial.

Occult hepatitis B infection in Turkish HIV-infected patients: A multicentre, retrospective, cross-sectional study, Schindler study.

Objective: Occult hepatitis B infection (OHBI) appears to have a higher prevalence in populations at high risk for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection with concomitant liver disease. The aim was to assess the prevalence of OHBI in a sample of human immunodeficiency virus -1 positive and HBV surface antigen-negative (HIV-1+/HBsAg-) Turkish patients.

Methods: Ten centres in Turkey were included in the study.

Trends and factors associated with modification or discontinuation of the initial antiretroviral regimen during the first year of treatment in the Turkish HIV-TR Cohort, 2011-2017.

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.

Temporal Trends in the Epidemiology of HIV in Turkey.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the temporal trends of HIV epidemiology in Turkey from 2011 to 2016.

Methods: Thirty-four teams from 28 centers at 17 different cities participated in this retrospective study. Participating centers were asked to complete a structured form containing questions about epidemiologic, demographic and clinical characteristics of patients presented with new HIV diagnosis between 2011 and 2016.

Molecular Identification of HIV-1 in the Presence of Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus Co-infections.

Background: Because of their similar modes of transmission, the simultaneous infection of viral hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus are increasingly seen as a big problem related to human health.

Aims: To determine the drug mutations in hepatitis B virus and/or hepatitis C virus co-infected human immunodeficiency virus-1 patients in Turkey.

Study Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study.

Current status of HIV/AIDS-syphilis co-infections: a retrospective multicentre study.

Objective: Treponema pallidum and HIV are transmitted frequently through sexual contact, these agents with epidemiological similarities co-infect the same host. The current number of HIV-infected cases in Turkey is increasing. For this reason, we aimed to reveal the characteristics of syphilis in HIV/AIDS cases.

Assessment of histopathological alterations in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection following long-term oral antiviral therapy.

Objectives: To evaluate the histopathological changes in the liver after oral antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Methods: A total of 79 HBeAg-negative and positive patients who had been on lamivudine, entecavir, or tenofovir disoproxil for at least 3 years prior to inclusion were enrolled between March 2015 and 2016, retrospectively. There were 23 patients on lamivudine, 21 patients on entecavir, and 35 on tenofovir.

Rapid emergence of colistin resistance and its impact on fatality among healthcare-associated infections.

This article describes the emergence of resistance and predictors of fatality for 1556 cases of healthcare-associated Gram-negative bloodstream infection in 2014 and 2015. The colistin resistance rate in Klebsiella pneumoniae was 16.1%, compared with 6% in 2013.

Healthcare-associated Gram-negative bloodstream infections: antibiotic resistance and predictors of mortality.

This article describes the prevalence of antibiotic resistance and predictors of mortality for healthcare-associated (HA) Gram-negative bloodstream infections (GN-BSI). In total, 831 cases of HA GN-BSI from 17 intensive care units in different centres in Turkey were included; the all-cause mortality rate was 44%. Carbapenem resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae was 38%, and the colistin resistance rate was 6%.

Are serum quantitative hepatitis b surface antigen levels, liver histopathology and viral loads related in chronic hepatitis b-infected patients?

Background/aims: Fluctuations in hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels complicate assessment of the phases of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection and correct identification of the inactive HBV carrier state. In this study, we aimed to examine the role of HBsAg quantification (qHBsAg) in the identification of the phases of HBV and to evaluate its association with liver histopathology.

Patients And Methods: Inactive HBV carriers (IC) (n = 104) and CHB patients (n = 100) were enrolled in the study.

Evaluation of patients diagnosed with fascioliasis: A six-year experience at a university hospital in Turkey.

Introduction: In this study, clinical, laboratory, radiological, and serological examinations of fascioliasis patients were analyzed, and data with a significant impact on differential diagnosis were evaluated.

Methodology: Clinical, radiological, and laboratory findings and treatment responses of a total of 22 fascioliasis patients, treated between October 2009 and September 2014, were evaluated. Nineteen patients were diagnosed with fascioliasis at the invasive phase and three patients at the chronic phase.

Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitors (INSTIs) Resistance Mutations in HIV-1 Infected Turkish Patients.

Objectives: Integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) is a new class of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs designed to block the action of the integrase viral enzyme, which is responsible for insertation of the HIV-1 genome into the host DNA. The aim of this study was to evaluate for the first time INSTI resistance mutations in Turkish patients.

Methods: This study was conducted in Turkey, between April 2013 and April 2015 using 169 HIV-1-infected patients (78 ARV naive patients and 91 ARV-experienced patients).

Assessment of bloodstream infections and risk factors in an intensive care unit.

Background/aim: Nosocomial bloodstream infection (BSI) increases mortality rates, duration of stay in hospital, and treatment costs. This study was conducted to determine the rate and the risk factors of BSIs among intensive care unit patients.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-four patients with BSIs (patient group) and 79 patients without a nosocomial infection (control group) were enrolled in the study.

HIV-1 Transmitted Drug Resistance Mutations in Newly Diagnosed Antiretroviral-Naive Patients in Turkey.

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.

[Two cases of visceral leishmaniasis from Kahramanmaraş, Turkey].

Turkey is an endemic area for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) according to the data of World Health Organization. CL is more widely distributed in Sanliurfa region (located at south-eastern part of Anatolia) of Turkey, while visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is reported sporadically from all parts of Turkey, especially in pediatric cases. However VL has not been reported from our region yet.

Investigation of VIM, IMP, NDM-1, KPC AND OXA-48 enzymes in Enterobacteriaceae strains.

Gram-negative bacteria especially Enterobacteriaceae species have become an increasing etiologic agent of nosocomial infections. The development of resistance to carbapenems have become an increasing problem in the treatment of nosocomial infections. Especially carbapenamases are common for Enterobacteriaceae strains.