[A rare case of endocarditis due to Moraxella catarrhalis in an immunocompetent patient].

Moraxella catarrhalis is a gram-negative, catalase and oxidase positive diplococcus. While it causes otitis media, sinusitis, bronchitis and conjunctivitis in children and adults, it has a tendency to cause lower respiratory tract infections in older ages. More severe clinical pictures with the range of sepsis to endocarditis are also seen in immunocompromised patients.

Evaluation of the relationship between passive smoking and salivary electrolytes, protein, secretory IgA, sialic acid and amylase in young children.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between passive smoking as determined by salivary cotinine levels and salivary electrolytes, protein, secretory IgA, sialic acid and amylase in children.

Design: Saliva was collected from 90 passive smoker (PS) subjects (the study group) and 90 healthy age-matched children (the control group). The study group was divided into three subgroups according the number of cigarettes smoked.

A fatal case of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome.

In daily medical practice, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome is an infrequent clinical entity which carry a very high risk of fatality. Early recognition of this toxin mediated immunopathological disease is very important to apply necessary invasive procedures such as an prompt amputation of the effected areas to save the patient. Here, we report a 47 year-old male farmer with a fatal streptococcal toxic shock syndrome to highlight the importance of emergency care and aggresive surgical intervention in similar situations.

Long-term effects of chemotherapy on caries formation, dental development, and salivary factors in childhood cancer survivors.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effects of chemotherapy on oral health and dental development in childhood cancer survivors (CCS).

Study Design: Ninety-six CCS patients with a mean age of 10.8 years and 96 healthy children of the same age and sex and social background composed the study group.

[Short communication: use of cefoxitin disc diffusion method for the detection of methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates].

The aim of this study was to compare the cefoxitin disc diffusion method with oxacillin broth microdilution and agar screening methods for the detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The presence of PBP2a in 94 S. aureus clinical isolates were screened by latex agglutination MRSA-Screen test (Oxoid Ltd, UK), and 64 (68%) of the strains were found positive.

Necrotizing scleritis due to varicella zoster infection: a case report.

Purpose: To report a case with necrotizing scleritis due to varicella-zoster infection.

Methods: The patient records were evaluated. The present literature was investigated using MEDLINE.

[Surveillance study of vancomycin resistant enterococci in pediatric haematology and oncology patients].

In this study, the prevalence and risk factors of fecal carriage of vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) among patients in Ondokuz Mayis University Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinics have been investigated. During two months, rectal swab samples were collected weekly from all of the patients hospitalized in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinics, for the surveillance cultures. During the study a total of 85 rectal swabs were obtained from 34 patients who had been hospitalized in the inpatient clinic with 20 bed capacity.

Two new colorimetric methods for early detection of vancomycin and oxacillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus.

We developed two colorimetric methods for the detection of vancomycin- and oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in View Article and Find Full Text PDF

[Case report: a nosocomial infection caused by vancomycin resistant enterococcus].

Vancomycin resistant enterococcus (VRE) was recovered from the urine culture of a 61 years old female patient, who was being treated for sepsis, on the 15th day of hospitalization in Ondokuz Mayis University Hospital Infectious Disease Unit. The underlying diseases of this patient were chronic renal failure and diabetes mellitus. The patient died due to septic shock on the day of VRE isolation.

[Identification of Candida dubliniensis strains using heat tolerance tests, morphological characteristics and molecular methods].

Described in 1995, Candida dubliniensis is a novel Candida species closely related to Candida albicans due primarily to its ability to produce germ tube and chlamydospores. Given these phenotypic similarities between the two species, C. dubliniensis cannot be readily distinguished from Candida albicans by routine laboratory work-up.