Vitamin D Deficiency and Its Association with Inflammatory Markers, Lipid Profile and Regulatory T-cells in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease Patients.

We investigated vitamin D deficiency in pediatric sickle cell disease patients and its association with selected bone, lipid and inflammatory parameters. The study included 64 patients (33 SS and 31 SB) and 21 carriers (AS). Blood was obtained to assess levels of vitamin D, WBC, CRP, Ca, P, ALP, PTH, triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL, VLDL, HDL, IL-2, IL-12, TNF-α, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 and regulatory T cells.

Correction to: Prediction of unfavorable outcomes in cryptococcal meningitis: results of the multicenter infectious Diseases International Research Initiative (ID-IRI) cryptococcal meningitis study.

In the original version of this article, Mustafa Sunbul was not included in the list of authors for this article. The name has been added accordingly.

Prediction of unfavorable outcomes in cryptococcal meningitis: results of the multicenter Infectious Diseases International Research Initiative (ID-IRI) cryptococcal meningitis study.

Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is mostly seen in immunocompromised patients, particularly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients, but CM may also occur in apparently immunocompetent individuals. Outcome analyses have been performed in such patients but, due to the high prevalence of HIV infection worldwide, CM patients today may be admitted to hospitals with unknown HIV status, particularly in underdeveloped countries. The objective of this multicenter study was to analyze all types of CM cases in an aggregate cohort to disclose unfavorable outcomes.

Predictors for limb loss among patient with diabetic foot infections: an observational retrospective multicentric study in Turkey.

We aimed to investigate the predictors for limb loss among patients with diabetes who have complicated skin/soft-tissue infections. In this observational study, consecutive patients with diabetic foot infection (DFI) from 17 centres in Turkey, between May 2011 and May 2013 were included. The Turkish DFI Working Group performed the study.

Predictors of response to pegylated interferon treatment in HBeAg-negative patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Introduction: Although pegylated interferons (pegIFNs) alpha-2a and alpha-2b have been used in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) treatment for many years, there are few studies concerning predictors of sustained virologic response (SVR) to pegIFN therapy. In this study, we aimed to investigate the predictors of response to pegIFN treatment in cases with HBeAg-negative CHB infection.

Methodology: Seventeen tertiary care hospitals in Turkey were included in this study.

Low Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among HIV-Positive Patients: Data From a Large-Scale Cohort Study in Istanbul, Turkey.

Background: Rate of coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) varies in different countries. This may be attributable to common transmission routes as well as social, economic, and cultural factors.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of HCV infection among HIV-positive patients in Istanbul, Turkey.

Evaluation of tularaemia courses: a multicentre study from Turkey.

In this multicentre study, which is the largest case series ever reported, we aimed to describe the features of tularaemia to provide detailed information. We retrospectively included 1034 patients from 41 medical centres. Before the definite diagnosis of tularaemia, tonsillitis (n = 653, 63%) and/or pharyngitis (n = 146, 14%) were the most frequent preliminary diagnoses.

Predictors of fatality in pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus infection among adults.

Background: The fatality attributed to pandemic influenza A H1N1 was not clear in the literature. We described the predictors for fatality related to pandemic influenza A H1N1 infection among hospitalized adult patients.

Methods: This is a multicenter study performed during the pandemic influenza A H1N1 [A(H1N1)pdm09] outbreak which occurred in 2009 and 2010.

First-line monotherapies of tenofovir and entecavir have comparable efficacies in hepatitis B treatment.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a health problem worldwide. Current treatment options for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) are nucleoside or nucleotide analogues and pegylated interferons. Tenofovir and entecavir are much more commonly used as they have better efficacy, tolerability, and high genetic barriers to resistance.

Epidemiological profile of naive HIV-1/AIDS patients in Istanbul: the largest case series from Turkey.

The aim of the study was to report the epidemiological profile of HIV-1 positive patients from, Istanbul, Turkey, which has one of the lowest HIV-1/AIDS prevalences in Europe. The patients were followed by ACTHIV-IST group which was established by the Infectious Diseases Departments of five teaching hospitals (three university hospitals and two public hospitals) in Istanbul, Turkey. The HIV-1 positive patients were added to the standard patient files in all of the centers; these files were then transferred to the ACTHIV-IST database in the Internet.

Mortality indicators in pneumococcal meningitis: therapeutic implications.

Background: The aim of this study was to delineate mortality indicators in pneumococcal meningitis with special emphasis on therapeutic implications.

Methods: This retrospective, multicenter cohort study involved a 15-year period (1998-2012). Culture-positive cases (n=306) were included solely from 38 centers.

HIV-1 subtypes and primary antiretroviral resistance mutations in antiretroviral therapy naive HIV-1 infected individuals in Turkey.

In this study, we determined the subtype distribution and the primary drug-resistant mutations in HIV-1 strains isolated from antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive patients in Turkey. The study included 117 newly diagnosed HIV-1 positive Turkish patients. HIV-1 subtypes and circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) were identified by phylogenetic analysis (neighbor-joining method), and drug-resistant mutations were analyzed according to the 2009 World Health Organization list of surveillance drug-resistant mutations.

A new model using platelet indices to predict liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection.

Background: We aimed to investigate whether mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) are variables determining the severity of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic HBV infection.

Methods: Patients were divided into two groups with fibrosis scores of 0-2 and 3-6 (according to Ishac scoring system). Whether MPV and PDW were independent variables determining the severity of liver fibrosis score or not was investigated by comparing these groups.

Withdrawal of Staphylococcus aureus from intensive care units in Turkey.

Background: In the past, Staphylococcus aureus infections have displayed various patterns of epidemiologic curves in hospitals, particularly in intensive care units (ICUs). This study aimed to characterize the current trend in a nationwide survey of ICUs in Turkey.

Methods: A total of 88 ICUs from 36 Turkish tertiary hospitals were included in this retrospective study, which was performed during the first 3 months of both 2008 (period [P] 1) and 2011 (P2).

Oxidative protein damage with carbonyl levels and nitrotyrosine expression after chemotherapy in bone marrow transplantation patients.

Protein oxidation is defined as the covalent modification ofa protein, induced either directly by reactive oxygen species/reactive nitrogen species or indirectly by reaction with secondary by-products of oxidative stress. Protein carbonyls are the most commonly measured products of protein oxidation. Additionally, nitrotyrosine is a product of tyrosine nitration mediated by reactive nitrogen species such as peroxynitrite anion and nitrogen dioxide.

HIV-related eye disease in patients presenting to a tertiary care government hospital in Turkey.

Aim: To document the ocular involvement in HIV-infected individuals in Turkey and to compare the findings with those from other centers throughout the world.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, patients with HIV infection being monitored in a tertiary hospital in Istanbul were enrolled. Ocular examination was performed, and the prevalence of ocular manifestations determined.

Efficacy and tolerability of antibiotic combinations in neurobrucellosis: results of the Istanbul study.

No data on whether brucellar meningitis or meningoencephalitis can be treated with oral antibiotics or whether an intravenous extended-spectrum cephalosporin, namely, ceftriaxone, which does not accumulate in phagocytes, should be added to the regimen exist in the literature. The aim of a study conducted in Istanbul, Turkey, was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of ceftriaxone-based antibiotic treatment regimens with those of an oral treatment protocol in patients with these conditions. This retrospective study enrolled 215 adult patients in 28 health care institutions from four different countries.

Plasma protein oxidation is correlated positively with plasma iron levels and negatively with hemolysate zinc levels in sickle-cell anemia patients.

Introduction: Sickle-cell anemia (SCA) is a disease of high oxidative stress. The oxidative medium of SCA was evaluated by protein oxidation parameters and their correlation with lipids and ions were investigated both in the plasma and in the erythrocyte.

Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 15 steady-state patients with SCA, 10 carriers, and 10 controls.

Hypocholesterolemia is associated negatively with hemolysate lipid peroxidation in sickle cell anemia patients.

The oxidative stress levels in plasma and hemolysate and cholesterol levels in plasma of sickle cell anemia patients, carriers and controls were evaluated. A total of 40 cases-17 patients, 13 carriers and 10 controls-were involved in the study. Plasma and hemolysate malondialdehyde (MDA) were detected via thiobarbituric acid reaction with a fluorimetric detector by high-performance liquid chromatography system.

[Investigation of the relationship between hepatitis c virus (HCV) genotypes with HCV-RNA and alanine aminotransferase levels in chronic hepatitis c patients].

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are of particular importance owing to its high frequency of chronicity, leading to hepatic failure, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The objective of this retrospective study was to determine the distribution of HCV genotypes in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection at our region and to investigate the relation between genotypes and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and HCV-RNA levels. Serum samples from 52 patients (26 females, 26 males; mean age: 51.

Microvesiculation of the microvilli provides a membranous medium within the lumen during digestion.

A hypothesis is presented which states that there is a membranous medium within the intestinal lumen which occurs during digestion. The medium is thought to be generated by the microvesiculation of the microvilli.