Publications by authors named "Nuri Ozkutuk"

Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABSC) is one of the most resistant bacteria against antimicrobial agents. The number of agents that can be used by oral route, such as macrolides, is limited in antimicrobial therapy. In recent years, rifabutin and clofazimine have gained importance as they can be administered by oral route and have shown synergistic effects with macrolides and aminoglycosides.

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Purpose: The aim of this multicenter study is to evaluate AYC.2.2 agar for the isolation of mycobacteria from clinical samples.

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Tuberculin skin test (TST), which is used in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection, may cause Koebner's phenomenon and false-positive results in psoriasis patients. The purpose of this study is to compare TST with QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-plus) test in psoriasis patients and to determine the effects of psoriasis on TST results. Ninety-two psoriasis patients and 30 control subjects were included in the study.

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Streptomycin (STR) and ethambutol (EMB) are important drugs used for the treatment of tuberculosis. There is a need for fast, reliable and inexpensive methods for detecting resistance to these drugs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the crystal violet decolorization assay (CVDA) for the detection of STR and EMB resistance that is important drugs in tuberculosis treatment.

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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.

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Background & Objectives: Zoonotic diseases are well recognised threat to public health globally. The information of regional prevalence and associated risk factors allow the national programmes to determine and frame better strategies for their control, as they also provide the actual status of zoonosis in the region. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of West Nile virus (WNV), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), Francisella tularensis and Borrelia burgdorferi among the rural residents of Manisa region, Turkey and to identify the associated risk factors.

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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.

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The aims of the study were to perform the identification of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolated from different clinical specimens in the Mycobacteriology Laboratory of Celal Bayar University, Manisa (located at Aegean region of Turkey), by DNA sequence analysis, and to discuss the epidemiological aspects of the data obtained. Out of 5122 clinical specimens sent to the laboratory with the initial diagnosis of tuberculosis in the period April 2007 to July 2011, M.tuberculosis complex and NTM were identified in 225 (4.

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Background: Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to antituberculosis drugs is an increasingly common clinical problem. This study aimed to evaluate drug resistance profiles of TBM isolates in adult patients in nine European countries involving 32 centers to provide insight into the empiric treatment of TBM.

Methods: Mycobacterium tuberculosis was cultured from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 142 patients and was tested for susceptibility to first-line antituberculosis drugs, streptomycin (SM), isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RIF) and ethambutol (EMB).

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Introduction: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most important nosocomial pathogens and is also emerging in Turkish hospitals. The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of MRSA isolated from Turkish hospitals.

Materials And Methods: A total of 397 MRSA strains isolated from 12 hospitals in Turkey were included to present study.

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Early and accurate detection of tuberculosis (TB) is a global priority for TB control. In order to obtain results in a short period of time, nucleic acid amplification tests are increasingly used worldwide for the rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis. The Xpert MTB/RIF® (Cepheid, USA) is a commercially available, real-time PCR-based assay, which can detect both TB and resistance to rifampicin directly in clinical samples.

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Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most frequent agents causing hospital infections. S.aureus has a great ability to adapt itself to variety of conditions and successful clones can be epidemic and even pandemic by its ability spread from one continent to another.

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Article Synopsis
  • The rising cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), particularly extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), pose a significant public health challenge, especially in developing countries where testing options are limited.
  • This study aimed to examine 81 multidrug-resistant (MDR-TB) isolates from patients in Istanbul, Izmir, and Manisa to assess resistance patterns and the incidence of XDR-TB in the Marmara and Aegean regions.
  • Findings revealed no XDR-TB cases among the isolates studied, highlighting the importance of ongoing surveillance and tailored treatment protocols to effectively combat MDR-TB in these regions.
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Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular diversity and clonal relationship of drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated in Western Turkey.

Materials And Methods: A total of 87 strains isolated between 2006 and 2009, eight of which were rifampicin monoresistant and 79 were multidrug resistant, were analyzed with IS6110 RFLP and spoligotyping methods.

Results: The results of spoligotyping showed that 7% of the strains were orphans, and 8% were undefined for family in the SpolDB4 database.

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This study was conducted to compare BACTEC 460 TB system and the proportion method in commercially available and ready to use antibiotic added Löweinstein-Jensen (LJ) medium for susceptibility testing of first line drugs in Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates. A total 238 M.tuberculosis strains isolated from clinical samples in our laboratory between 2006-2010 period were included in the study.

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A 29-year-old man with painless ulcers on the lumbar and inguinal regions associated with purulent discharge of 1.5 years' duration presented to our outpatient clinic. Dermatological examination revealed palpable nodules, discharging sinuses and scars on the left lumbar, gluteal and inguinal regions.

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Pyrazinamide (PZA) is a primary antituberculous drug. BACTEC 460TB is the recommended reference method for the detection of PZA resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This method is more expensive than the conventional susceptibility methods and therefore, it is recommended that each laboratory should establish their own protocol for the inclusion of PZA in the panel of primary drugs tested.

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Tuberculin skin test which is used for the detection of latent tuberculosis (TB), has many disadvantages such as false positivities due to cross reactions between environmental mycobacteria and BCG strain, false negativities due to immunosuppression and malpractice, and also difficulties in application and evaluation. Recently a new diagnostic test which measures the production of interferon (IFN)-gamma in whole blood upon stimulation with specific ESAT-6 and CFP-10 antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been introduced. Since most of the mycobacteria other than tuberculosis and BCG strain do not contain these antigens, the detection of IFN-gamma levels indicates the specific T-cell response against M.

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The nature and frequency of mutations in the rpoB gene of rifampicin (RIF)-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates vary considerably according to the geographical location, and very little information is available regarding specific mutational patterns in our country. The main objective of this study was to determine the frequency of mutations in the hypervariable region of the rpoB gene in RIF-resistant M.tuberculosis isolates recovered from tuberculosis patients in our region by using the INNO-LiPA Rif.

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Background: Although high antituberculosis (anti-TB) drug resistance rates have been reported in Turkey, the clinical characteristics and implications for the outcome of anti-TB treatment have not been fully investigated. We determined the prevalence of anti-TB drug resistance and examined demographic data, clinical characteristics and treatment outcome in relation to patterns of resistance.

Methods: From the TB case registry of a university hospital and the two largest dispensaries in Manisa city, we identified all pulmonary TB cases with a culture-proven definitive diagnosis and antimicrobial susceptibility results for a 7-year period.

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