Publications by authors named "Mefkuere Eraksoy"

Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to address the lack of research on pneumonia management in immunocompromised patients, focusing on their specific unmet needs.
  • An observational study of 140 CAP patients indicated a 30-day mortality rate of 17.8%, with higher fatalities noted in patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and in those who did not respond to treatment within three days.
  • The findings suggest that early treatment response is crucial for improving outcomes in immunocompromised patients, highlighting a significant area that needs more attention in clinical care.
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Article Synopsis
  • Cardiovascular disease (CVD) significantly affects people living with HIV (PLWH), with this study finding a diagnosed CVD prevalence of 10.8% among 1425 participants aged 40-75.
  • The assessment utilized five different risk evaluation tools, revealing that 42.8% of participants had a high 10-year risk of CVD, while 71.7% were classified as high- to very high-risk using the SCORE2 tool.
  • The findings stress the need for better cardiovascular health monitoring and highlighted that current utilization of lipid-lowering therapy is inadequate, despite a large number of PLWH being eligible for such treatment per recent guidelines.
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Background: We aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Patient-Reported Impact of Spasticity Measure (PRISM-TR).

Methods: Expert opinions and the forward-back translation method were used for linguistic validation. Cronbach α and test-retest analysis were performed for reliability analysis.

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Background: To investigate the reliability of balance tests administered using a tele-assessment method in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: The participants were assessed both online and face-to-face. The assessments were performed synchronously by two physiotherapists.

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Background: Falls in multiple sclerosis can result in numerous problems, including injuries and functional loss. Therefore, determining the factors contributing to falls in people with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS) is crucial. This study aims to investigate the contributing factors to falls in multiple sclerosis using a machine learning approach.

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Background: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the effectiveness of specific concentrations of antibiofilm agents, such as N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), rifampicin, and ozone, for the treatment of pan-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (PRKp).

Objectives: We evaluated the effectiveness of antibiofilm agents, such as NAC, rifampicin, and ozone, on biofilm formation in PRKp at 2, 6, 24, and 72 h.

Design And Setting: This single-center experimental study was conducted on June 15, 2017, and July 15, 2018, at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey.

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Human pegivirus (HPgV) is transmitted through sexual or parenteral exposure and is common among patients receiving blood products. HPgV is associated with lower levels of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) RNA and better survival among HIV-infected patients. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of HPgV and determine its subtypes in HIV-infected individuals living in Istanbul, which has the highest rate of HIV infection in Türkiye.

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Among sexually transmitted diseases, HIV causes very serious clinical manifestations that can lead to death. As a result, millions of people have to live with this problem that threatens their health. The virus attacks the immune system of the host, especially CD4+ T lymphocytes, causing the suppression of the immune system.

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Background: During multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment different modes of action such as lateral (interferon beta to glatiramer acetate or glatiramer acetate to interferon beta) or vertical (interferon beta/glatiramer acetate to fingolimod) drug switch can be performed. This study aims to investigate the clinical effectiveness of switching from the first-line injectable disease modifying treatments (iDMTs) to fingolimod (FNG) compared to switching between first-line iDMTs.

Methods: This is a multicenter, observational and retrospective study of patients with relapsing-remitting MS who had lateral and vertical switch.

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The authors aimed to determine the efficacy of frequently used antibiotics, alone or in combination, against biofilms of ventilator-associated pneumonia isolates. The authors determined the MICs, minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations and minimum biofilm eradication concentrations of meropenem, ciprofloxacin and colistin as well as their combinations against planktonic forms and biofilms of , and clinical isolates. Generally, the minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations and minimum biofilm eradication concentrations of the antibiotics were 1000-fold higher than their MICs, and synergy was provided by different concentrations of meropenem-colistin and meropenem-ciprofloxacin combinations with checkerboard and time-kill curve methods.

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COVID-19 vaccines are highly protective against severe disease; however, vaccine breakthrough infections resulting in hospitalization may still occur in a small percentage of vaccinated individuals. We investigated whether the clinical and microbiological features and outcomes were different between hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were either fully vaccinated with Coronovac or not. All hospitalized COVID-19 patients who had at least one dose of Coronavac were included in the study.

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Objective: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus 2 (SaRS-Cov-2) associated respiratory disease (COVID-19), announced as a pandemic, is a multisystem syndrome. SARS-CoV-2 directly infects and damages vascular endothelial cells, which leads to microvascular dysfunction and promotes a procoagulant state. Dipyridamole (DP) acts as a reversible phosphodiesterase inhibitor and is used mainly as an antiplatelet agent.

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The authors aimed to investigate the biofilm-forming features of panresistant (PRKp). The biofilm formations were shown under light microscope and laser scanning confocal microscopy. The optical densities of the wells were measured and classified according to biofilm-forming capacities.

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The possibility of encountering multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria is higher in nosocomial meningitis. These bacteria are clinically important because of their higher mortality rate, and colistin is almost the only treatment option in resistant strains. However, intrathecal administration of colistin can result in chemical meningitis.

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Q fever is a zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii. In this report, a case of chronic Q fever endocarditis with pancytopenia and hypergammaglobulinemia mimicking a lymphoproliferative disease was presented. A 39-years-old male living in Çatalca and whose family is engaged in animal husbandry admitted with the complaints of weakness and fatigue.

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Introduction: Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness has been used for monitoring of disease activity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Macular ganglion cell complex (GCC) layer of retina also can be measured by OCT and has been suggested as a potential biomarker in MS. In this study we investigated the macular GCC and its role as a potential biomarker in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

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Introduction: Co-receptors involved in cell entry of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and mutations in genes encoding their ligands may play a role in the susceptibility to infection and resistance to the progression of the infection. The best studied mutations that can exist in these genes are the CCR5-Δ32, CCR2-64I and SDF1-3'A mutations. The frequency of these mutations vary from continent to continent and even from region to region.

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Aims: Sexual dysfunction (SD) is common in female patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) reporting overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) and pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) with biofeedback on SD in female patients with MS reporting OAB symptoms.

Methods: Patients with overactive bladder and SD were allocated to receive TTNS or PFMT daily.

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Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Tuberculosis.

Gastroenterol Clin North Am

June 2021

Gastrointestinal (GI) tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant problem worldwide, and may involve the luminal GI tract from oral cavity to perianal area in addition to associated viscera and peritoneum. Although GI TB more commonly affects immunocompromised hosts, it can also occur in immunocompetent people. Diagnosis is difficult because it usually mimics a malignancy or inflammatory bowel disease.

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Objectives: Disease severity, previous medications and immunosuppressive agents could affect the antibody response against SARS-CoV-2. This study aimed to analyze variables affecting the humoral response to SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: This prospective cohort study included adult patients who recovered from COVID-19 and were admitted to a COVID-19 follow-up unit.

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Background: The genetic and epidemiological features of hereditary ataxias have been reported in several populations; however, Turkey is still unexplored. Due to high consanguinity, recessive ataxias are more common in Turkey than in Western European populations.

Objective: To identify the prevalence and genetic structure of hereditary ataxias in the Turkish population.

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Purpose: Bruch's membrane opening-minimum rim width (BMO-MRW) and RNFL measured using anatomic positioning system (APS-RNFL) are novel OCT methods and remained unexplored in MS patients.To investigate the novel parameters of spectral-domain OCT as an alternative biomarker in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: Retrospective cohort study; participants consisted of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients and healthy controls (HC).

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